Malcolm Smith on Broncos: ‘You can’t expect them to come in and just lay down’
The Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos will take part in what will obviously be the “Game of the Week”, and the much-ballyhooed Super Bowl rematch will feature a Broncos team that is healthier and better than they were back in February. While everyone was busy talking about the Broncos offense vs. the Seahawks defense, they failed to realize how much better the ‘Hawks offense was than the Broncos defense at the time. Although Danny Trevathan is still a few weeks away from returning, the additions of T.J. Ward and DeMarcus Ware (he’s definitely blown away my expectations so far) and returns to health of Rahim Moore, Von Miller, and Chris Harris Jr. have the Broncos in business.
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It’s clear that the Seahawks understand how difficult it will be to have a repeat performance, and a victory by either team will almost certainly come by a slim margin in what could be the matchup of the season. Seahawks linebacker and Super Bowl MVP Malcolm Smith told the USA Today’s Tom Pelissero, “Absolutely. You can’t expect them to come in and just lay down. They’re out for a little bit of revenge, and they want to execute better than they did the last time. They don’t want to be dominated in front of the entire world like they were before.”
Smith and the Seahawks had some issues covering San Diego Chargers veteran tight end Antonio Gates, who showed off his strength, ridiculous hands, and ball skills in a three-touchdown performance to help lead the Chargers to an upset victory. Julius Thomas is even more talented, but Smith, Kam Chancellor, K.J. Wright, and Co. will surely play much better this week than they did in Week 2.
The Broncos definitely aren’t going to come in and play flat, and their offense is more deep and versatile than they were last year. With Wes Welker back in the fold, the Broncos are getting their steady slot receiver back. Although he won’t make game-changing plays, he can move the chains against the “weakest” (there is no actual weak link in the Seahawks deep crop of CBs, even with Jeremy Lane done for the year) matchup.