Broncos Gameday Recap: Preseason Game #4 - vs Cardinals

Here is hoping that this man (Correll Buckhalter) gets the starting Broncos running back gig, since I own him on both of my fantasy football rosters.

Thursday night's Broncos preseason 19-0 victory over the Cardinals proved one thing. The Broncos third and fourth stringers are vastly superior to the Cardinals third and fourth stringers. I watched this game, but I'm not going to pretend to you that I watched it exceptionally closely. I despise preseason football, but the final preseason game is particularly odious, as the real players are pretty much given the night off and the game is a battle of scrubs trying to make a last impression in order to not get cut.

That said, there were a few things to take away from Thursday night. The Broncos had a crispness to them that they had not possessed in the previous three preseason matches. The offense was running well, and the defense was aggressive and ball-hawking. None of that means a thing, as when the season starts, no team will be playing their third stringers for the majority of the game. It was, however, a tiny drink of water for Broncos fans walking through the desert of ineptitude that has been this preseason.

These are the few things I noticed to share about Thursday's game:

1. For the first time Tom Brandstater actually looked like a competent NFL quarterback. Granted the competition was nothing to write home about, but he at least looked capable of making something happen, which was a welcome change from watching him get rocked during his first couple of outings.

Brandenstater didn't look completely hopeless, which is good since there is a very small chance he may be behind center when the Broncos open the season in Cincinnati.

2. Kurt Warner looked atrocious, perhaps it's because he's 86 years old, but Warner looked abysmal, tossing errant throws all over the field. If you drafted Warner in your fantasy league, you better hope that he improves quickly once the regular season starts, or you better have a good backup on your roster.

Kurt Warner played badly, but what do you expect from an Octogenarian?

3. The Broncos are actually allowed to take the ball away from their opponent. I was beginning to think that there was some rule passed in the offseason that said that that the Broncos defense was forbidden from intercepting a pass or recovering a fumble. I am happy to say that is not the case, and the Broncos actually won the turnover battle 4-1 against Arizona.

4. I'm kind of reaching for something at this point, but I liked the elusiveness of the Cards third string quarterback Tyler Palko. He'll probably never amount to anything, but he had some impressive shows of athleticism in the game, and I thought I'd give him a few props for doing a good job.

I was impressed by the elusive and immortal Tyler Palko.