Magnificent 7: Week 3

Oehser runs down all the important stuff

1. Finally, a bit more Freeney. For all of the Freeney-Mathis talk in Magnificent Seven this week, there remains a chance the duo will be pretty quiet this week. At least Freeney said that could be the case. It’s not that the ends won’t influence the game, but Freeney said the reality is when teams want to keep a defensive end off the quarterback, there are ways. He said it’s his impression that Denver will make an effort to do just that. “Scheme-wise, they do a lot of different things,” Freeney said. “They try to challenge you mentally. They do a lot of different confusion and different formations to kind of keep you off-balance. It’s going to be very important for everybody to get mentally prepared for this game.” Freeney said while the Broncos have young players on the line, “They’re going to protect the rookies they have,” he said. “They’re not going to just leave them on an island by themselves. I think that’s what they’re going to do with a lot of confusion and scheme-wise. They’re not going to just leave them out to go ahead and block us. When they don’t get rid of ball quick, they go eight men in to protect, two-man routes – they do a very good job.” The Broncos last week played without starting guard Chris Kuper (knee) and starting right tackle Ryan Harris (ankle). Each worked on a limited basis on Wednesday.