Mile High Misery

Remember when Steve Atwater laid out Christian Okoye on Monday Night 17 years ago? Games at Mile High Stadium were tilted so dramatically in their favor that 218-pound safeties could lay out Nigerian Nightmares as easily as cradling a newborn. Those days didn't end all that long ago, either.

From 1996-2005 Denver won an astounding 80% of their home games, 64-16, and had three seasons of undefeated play at home. They made the playoffs in seven of those seasons culminating in the loss of the 2006 AFC Championship game to the Steelers. That loss was at home and seems to have given birth to the loss of the Mile High mystique.

Adam Schefter of the NFL Network points out that the Broncos have lost five of their last seven home tilts and if not for a botched snap and a well-timed timeout they would probably have lost all seven. The loss of home field advantage is something the Broncos are going to need to remedy mighty fast. They head to Indianapolis this weekend for a killer road game and then return to Denver for three straight games.

For most teams that kind of schedule would be a dream come true but the three teams coming to town don't present any easy wins. The Chargers are struggling right now but they won both games from the Broncos last season and LaDainian Tomlinson must be licking his chops at the prospect of facing off against one of the league's worst run defenses. After a bye week the Broncos will play host to the undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers.

As if figuring out how to stop the run and finish drives with touchdowns wasn't enough for Mike Shanahan to wrap his head around. You have to defend your castle to be a winning team in the NFL, we'll find out pretty soon if the Broncos are such a team.