Denver Post sports writer Mike Klis posts his Broncos Mailbag on Wednesdays during the NFL season.

Pose a Broncos- or NFL-related question for the Broncos Mailbag.

I can foresee a "redemption run" to the championship, with the Broncos playing New England, Houston and Atlanta to get there. With all three of these having shown their weaknesses in the last couple of weeks, how do you like our team's chances?
-- Steve, Calistoga, Calif.

Steve - That would be a cool scenario. It worked for the Broncos in winning their first-ever Super Bowl in the 1997 season. That year they beat Woody's Jag-wads to avenge their 1996 playoff shocker, then the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead, where the Broncos had lost earlier in the 1997 season. Then the Broncos beat Kordell Stewart's Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC championship game, which avenged a December loss at Three Rivers Stadium earlier that season. And then in Super Bowl XXXII, the Broncos beat the Packers, who had trounced the Broncos the year before, 41-6.

As for the chances of this year's Broncos against the Pats, Texans and Falcons? I like them. The toughest deal would have been playing the Pats in New England. But now that the Broncos are likely to wind up with the No. 2 seed, they will have a much better chance of defeating the Pats in Denver during the playoffs' second round.

Beating the Texans in Houston? It will be tough. But the controlled weather environment is conducive to Peyton Manning's arm issue, so the Broncos will have a chance there.

And then if it works out that the Broncos would play Atlanta in New Orleans, I like Manning's shot after a mulligan, especially in his hometown.

Having said all that, Steve, New England, Houston and Atlanta would be a

playoff gauntlet. Even if the second-round game is in Denver, I think the Patriots will show up. Even if Texans quarterback Matt Schaub has no playoff experience as of now, he operates the league's most balanced offense. Even if the Falcons have gagged three of the past four years in the playoffs, they do have a stronger team this year thanks to the maturity of quarterback Matt Ryan and smarts of new defensive coordinator Mike Nolan.

The odds of the Broncos beating New England, Houston and Atlanta in succession? Not great. The odds of winning one game against New England, though, are decent. And then the odds of beating the Texans in Houston would be OK. And then the odds of beating the Falcons, on one day in February, would be good.

Do you think Broncos football has an identity and, if so, how do you think the Broncos compare to the top teams in football?
-- Dro, New York

Dro - Peyton Manning is the Broncos' identity, particularly from a national perspective. Peyton Manning with John Elway and John Fox on his flanks.

Locally, people are more encouraged by their defense. Manning has been hit-or-miss in the postseason in large part because his Indianapolis Colts never had a defense as good as the one the Broncos have now.

The combination of Von Miller, Champ Bailey and Jack Del Rio makes Denver's D unique. Compared to the other top teams, the Broncos have a quarterback in Manning who's at least as good as Tom

Brady and Matt Ryan, and better than the likes of Andrew Luck, Matt Schaub, Joe Flacco, Ben Roethlisberger and Andy Dalton. Not sure where San Francisco's Colin Kaepernick fits in among the postseason quarterbacks. He's the wild card to this postseason.

But just as importantly I think Denver and San Francisco will bring the best defense into the postseason.

Eric Decker and Demaryius Thomas drop one or more catchable balls just about every game. My coaches used to preach, "If you can touch it, you can catch it." They're paid a lot of money to receive the ball. What gives?
-- Mo, Grand Junction

Mo - According to Pro Football Focus, Thomas is tied for the third most drops this season with nine. Jimmy Graham has 11 drops and Victor Cruz has 10. Dez Bryant, Wes Welker and Denarius Moore also have nine.

Eric Decker is tied for the 11th most drops with seven, along with the likes of A.J. Green and Reggie Wayne.

Calvin Johnson is considered the league's best receiver and he has eight drops.

Strange how the league's star receivers have the most drops. Part of it is that they are targeted more than others, so therefore they have more chances to drop the ball. And part of it may be that catching a pass in an NFL game is a more difficult skill than it looks.

Still, you're right, Mo: The 16 drops between Thomas and Decker through 14 games is a couple too many.

This isn't the Knowshon Moreno circa 2009. This Knowshon is patient, shows great vision and finishes runs. He finally gets it, and it's really nice to see. When I look at Moreno, I see the Broncos' starting running back in 2013 with Ronnie Hillman being the change-of-pace back. What do you see, Mike?
-- MJ, Arizona

MJ - I see Knowshon Moreno and Willis McGahee competing for the featured running back role in training camp. I do see Moreno with the inside track on that job with McGahee possibly coming in for "power back" situations. And I do see Hillman as the change-of-pace back.

I can also envision the Broncos drafting a running back, but the miniscule forecast segment of my brain is cloudy regarding the name and round.

Hey, Mike. Unless I'm mistaken, I thought I saw Matt Prater make two crucial tackles during the Ravens game (which was awesome). Does anyone keep statistics on the number of tackles made by kickers and, if so, is Prater near the top of the list?
-- Geoff, Idaho

Geoff - Yes, they do keep such stats. And yes, Geoff, Prater leads all NFL place kickers with three tackles. Next among kickers with two tackles are Houston's Shayne Graham, Jacksonville's Josh Scobee, Seattle's Steven Hauschka, Kansas City's Ryan Succop, St. Louis' Greg Zuerlein, New England's Stephen Gostkowski and Pittsburgh's Shaun Suisham.

It's a rather dubious accomplishment that I'm sure Prater would like to relinquish. With the Broncos' final two games at home, where Prater leads the league by far with a 92.5 touchback percentage, his tackling days should be finished for the regular season.

To what degree are television timeouts viewed favorably by the players and coaches? I am sure they provide a welcome breather at times; however, there are so many of them, there must be occasions when they disrupt the rhythm of a game or slow a team's momentum.
-- Jim Spillane, Steamboat Springs

Jim - They are mostly viewed unfavorably. The TV timeouts generally bring too much standing around. Play ball, already! Even when a team is getting whipped, the players have that much more time to think about how they're getting whipped. Furthermore, Jim, I believe the elongated TV timeouts were a factor in some of the Super Bowls I've covered. I thought offensive powers like the 2007 Pats and Peyton Manning's 2009 Colts struggled to find their rhythm in the Big Game in part because of all that standing around.

Josh McDaniels, the former and current Pats offensive coordinator, told me once: "There is no rhythm in Super Bowls."

Mike - I'm so sick of hearing about J.J. Watt. He's a heck of a player, but I think he's one dimensional, and a simple pump fake takes his swat out of the game, as Matt Stafford proved on Thanksgiving. I feel Von Miller is a much more versatile player, with just as many sacks, more forced fumbles, and not to mention the pick-six. What are his chances of beating Watt for DPOY?
-- Jarred F., Las Vegas

Jarred - Von Miller and the Broncos share your sentiments. I think Watt and Miller are almost apples and oranges in that Watt is more of an interior defensive lineman while Miller creates havoc from the edge. Neither can be blocked by one guy. I do think Miller is slightly more dynamic. Miller, Watt and San Francisco's Aldon Smith are all deserving of the Defensive Player of the Year award. If I had a ballot, which I don't, I would split my first-place vote between Miller and Watt, and Smith would get my third-place vote.

I dock Smith a tad because that 49ers defense would still be tough without him. I think the defenses for the Texans and Broncos would decline drastically without Watt and Miller, respectively.

But this award should truly be undecided with two weeks remaining. If either Watt or Smith, who each have 19.5 sacks, break Michael Strahan's single-season record of 22.5, then I think the new record holder should win the award. If no one gets the record, then I think Miller may well win it.

Man. What an answer, huh, Jarred? Huh, huh?

Hi, Mike. I really like your Q&A. I have been a Peyton Manning fan from Day One. I don't know if he has been on a team as deep as this one at any time in Indy. That being said, what in your mind would be the weakest link?
-- Farrell, Kingston, Ontario

Farrell - I think the team could use one more dynamic threat on offense. It needs a healthy Chris Kuper back at right guard. It seems like opponents are trying to post up their bigger receivers on cornerback Tony Carter but they can't because the quarterback is getting too much pressure from the Broncos' pass rush.

But these are nitpicks for an otherwise strong, complete team. The New York Giants were 7-7 at this point last season and wound up winning it all. I use their example to point out every team has flaws. The Broncos have fewer than most.

Mike - The latest from an ESPN roundtable showed that Manning is slated to get "comeback player of the year" with Adrian Peterson "getting MVP." I think they have it wrong. Peterson has made a bigger comeback due to the extent of his injury and his position. With Manning, his mind was never an issue. Not to mention, the Vikings are fighting to even make the postseason. How much of this is politics because it will be his fifth?
-- Andrew Schneider, Norfolk, Va.

Andrew - I think Manning should be the slam-dunk winner for both MVP and comeback player of the year. But whenever I state this I'm accused of bias. I'm not sure if "politics" is the current term, but there could be a backlash to Manning winning the MVP award four previous times.

I remember thinking it a joke that Michael Jordan only was named the NBA's MVP four times during his six-year title run with the Chicago Bulls. The award went to the second-best player in 1992-93 (Charles Barkley) and 1996-97 (Karl Malone).

Look, if the Vikings make the playoffs and Peterson breaks Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards? Give him the MVP. If the Vikings don't make the playoffs, then Peterson shouldn't get one first-place vote.

Man. This mailbag is hot. The Broncos have only won nine in a row. This mailbag has been delivering since the last week of July.

Pose a Broncos- or NFL-related question for the Broncos Mailbag. Listen to Mike Klis on "Klis' Korner" at 5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday as well as 12:30 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday on 102.3 FM ESPN.