Broncos coach Josh McDaniels, among other things, is a fan of ex-Patriots and veteran defensive backs. In cornerback Ty Law, the Broncos get the best of both worlds. ESPN reported that Law is flying to Denver to take a physical and sign with the team.

Young cornerbacks Jack Williams and Alphonso Smith have had spotty moments the past few weeks, and signing a 35-year-old cornerback doesn't bode well for their development the rest of the year. The Broncos' cornerbacks are playing well, but are each 31 years old. The Broncos gave up a 2010 first-round pick to select Smith in the second round this year.

Law played the final seven games of last season for the Jets, starting six. Law has 52 career interceptions, many of which came during his 10 seasons with New England. Williams and Smith combined for no interceptions and five passes defensed between them.

Plenty of people are still curious why receiver Eddie Royal has disappeared from the Broncos' offense for most of this season. That became obvious when @roshon2411 and @DrJoeMcK each immediately asked about Royal when I wondered earlier this week what was on the minds of Broncos fans.

Surely, Royal has had a baffling season. Aside from a 10-catch, 90-yard game against New England, Royal hasn't surpassed three catches or 20 yards in any other game. He had half of his 20 catches and more than half of his 158 yards in one game. Royal, who caught 91 balls as a rookie last year, is on pace for 48 catches and 362 yards. For some perspective, last year tight end Daniel Graham - who is primarily a blocking tight end - had 389 yards receiving.

So while it is well established that Royal is having a quiet year, Josh McDaniels' answer to the questions about him have remained the same.

"I sit up here and say the same thing every week - the ball goes to the guy that is open, or at least that's what we're trying to do," McDaniels said. "It's not always their fault, sometimes coverage dictates we go somewhere else. Like the San Diego game, (Tony) Scheffler has 100-some yards receiving, and that's because of the way they played us. We're not worried about that, we'll continue to try to get everyone better and involved in the offense and put them in a position to make plays, but we're not going to beat our head in the wall to try to do it."

McDaniels said Royal's big game against New England showed that effect - the Patriots' coverage made Royal the best read in the offense, and he got the ball often.

"Eddie is a very good player, obviously, but we have more than one of those on offense," McDaniels said. "As long as we're trying to move the ball the right way and not turning it over and taking care of it, we're going to keep spreading it around and trying to give it to who deserves it based on what they're doing against us. In the New England game, they dictated we throw over there a bunch, and it helped us win."

It seems like a natural comparison, given that Steelers outside linebacker James Harrison and Denver's Elvis Dumervil play the same position, are both considered short for their position (Dumervil is 5-11, Harrison is 6-0) and get sacks in bunches. They even wear the same jersey number, 92.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin doesn't see many similarities in the way they play, and did a great job explaining how two players of similar stature at the same position can be completely different yet effective.

"I think Dumervil is a very skilled, detailed rusher who uses his hands extremely well, and has unique quickness," Tomlin said. "I think James is probably a power player first, as far as how he approaches the rush concept."

Twitter follower @Mr_East_BT was wondering if there would be changes to the offensive gameplan after a loss. The short answer would be that the Broncos change the plan every week, but I understand he is probably asking more about a philosophical change. And @Carlos_Herrera_ wondered about the urgency to fix problems, which I think ties into the first question.

What I've observed is there is a sense of urgency but no panic. Changing an offensive plan after one bad (OK, horrendous) offensive performance would be a bit of an overreaction, and the Broncos aren't planning on it.

"We need to have a good plan each week," McDaniels said. "That certainly gives your team the best chance to win. Then, we need to get our players to execute that plan against whatever defense we are playing better. Ultimately, each game comes down to that. If we have a good plan and we execute it then we usually win."

That doesn't mean the Broncos won't look at themselves long and hard in the mirror. There were areas to be fixed on offense, defense and special teams and the coaching staff deserves the benefit of the doubt that it can correct those issues. Players and coaches agreed that it's a lot easier to fix mistakes after a loss than after a win, and that has been the case this week.

"It's hard for a coach to say 'These are the things we're doing wrong,' because you say 'Coach, we're 6-0,'" cornerback Andre Goodman said. "(Against Baltimore) it caught up to us. I think we have the quality character of guys that are going to respond the right way."

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said the status of safety Ryan Clark will be determined later this week. Clark has sickle-cell trait and when he played at Denver in 2007, his body reacted so poorly to playing in the altitude that he needed his gall bladder and spleen removed.

Clark has been cleared to play medically and Tomlin said they are preparing as if he will play, but that doesn’t mean he will play. Tomlin has said he reserves the right to overrule Clark, even if Clark wants to play on Monday.

“As the game gets closer, we’ll probably see the situation with more clarity,” Tomlin said.

Clark is a key member of the Steelers' defense, with 39 tackles and two interceptions this year. Tomlin said he didn’t want to make a decision early in the week and then reverse it, which is why the Steelers will wait to determine if Clark will play.

“From my perspective, it’s prudent to take that approach,” Tomlin said. “It’s not something that needs to have a deadline.”

The NFL ages in dog years. The 2005 season wasn't that long ago, and plenty of people will always think about the AFC Championship Game that year when they see Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger at Invesco Field at Mile High. But there's barely anybody still with the Broncos who was involved in that game.

The Broncos have only three players left from that team four years ago: guard Ben Hamilton, cornerback Champ Bailey and linebacker D.J. Williams. The Steelers have kept a lot of that team together, with 22 players remaining from 2005. Perhaps if the Broncos had won that game and the subsequent Super Bowl as Pittsburgh did, they would have kept more than a few guys around too.

Both coaches are different, many of the players are different, and even Roethlisberger says he won't think much about that game when he returns for Monday night's game against Denver.

"It was a long time ago," Roethlisberger said. "When I come up there, I think more about (John) Elway than I do of that game."

Record: 5-2

Last week: Bye. In Week 7, Pittsburgh beat Minnesota 27-17

Series vs. Broncos: Broncos lead the regular-season series 13-6-1, teams are tied 3-3 in playoffs.

OFFENSE: Once a run-first franchise, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has taken over the offense. The Steelers have attempted 234 passes to 185 runs this season. The shift has worked out well - Roethlisberger is completing 70.4 percent of his passes and has 2,062 passing yards already. He likes to hold the ball and takes a lot of sacks, but is also hard to bring down and makes big plays when he does get free. Roethlisberger has plenty of talented targets: Receivers Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes have almost 1,100 yards combined, tight end Heath Miller has 40 catches and third receiver Mike Wallace is capable of making a big play. The Steelers are still decent running the ball, with 2008 first-round pick Rashard Mendenhall having replaced Willie Parker as the starter. Mendenhall is averaging 5.4 yards per catch.

DEFENSE: The Steelers' defense last year should get more recognition for being among the best ever. Pittsburgh ranked first against the pass, second against the run, and first in points allowed. This year's unit isn't nearly as dominant, but still good. The Steelers still rank first against the run, well ahead of the second-ranked 49ers, but the pass defense isn't as good. Pittsburgh ranks 16th in the NFL in pass defense, although that ranking is skewed a bit because teams abandon the run against the Steelers. Still, the Broncos' best chance to move the ball seems to be through the air. When Kyle Orton drops back, the Broncos have to protect him against a group of linebackers that puts a lot of pressure on the quarterback. Linebacker James Harrison, the reigning NFL defensive player of the year, is the headliner of that group.

SPECIAL TEAMS: The good news for the Broncos' struggling special teams is the Steelers don't have a big-play returner. Primary returner Stefan Logan has been decent but hasn't broken any big plays. Kicker Jeff Reed and punter Daniel Sepulveda are an average kicking duo.

After Denver got beat 30-7 at Baltimore to fall to 6-1 this season, I thought it would be a good time to get the pulse of Broncos fans, so I asked Twitter followers to predict the team's regular-season record at the end of the season.

Overall, it was a pretty optimistic response:

@toby_king_8251: I think 12-4 or 13-3. All home games should be winnable, games at Philly and Indy will be tough. Could possibly lose to SD at home.

@theorangepage: I predicted 12-4 on our radio show at the beginning of the year, I'm going to stick with that one... ::knock on wood::

@nabrahamson: I still think 13-3 with losses against Indy and Philly.

@kylebroncosfan: 12 and 4 seems just right. People seem to forget we were just 6 and 0

@ballsdeepagain: Denver's final: 13-3 w/ losses against Balt., Indy, and Philly

@YourBroncosZone: 11-12 wins, Because we have about half our games hard half not too bad

@seangui: Final rec: 11-5. The sky isn't falling in Den. Its the NFL, & Ravens r good tm. Did anyone think Den would b in pos 2 get 10+ wins?

@LG_inthe213: - If DEN plays like they did yesterday, I say 11-5 but if they find a way to stretch the field vertically vs top Dfenses I say 13-3

@jlivi2: 11-5 or 12-4 depending on division games, can beat giants steelers at home in big games cuz of home field, loss to philly, chargers loss to colts, guaranteed win over redskins and chiefs once hopefully twice and raiders..need to split steelers/giants at least

@honzinator: I think we finish 11-5. We still have a tough schedule and some tough road games left, but we will finish the season 5-4. No one said the Eagles' O had been solved when the Raiders beat them and held them to 6 points. Sometimes you just have a bad game.

@SteveOReilly: good enough to make the playoffs and that's all that matters!

@ExaminerSam: I'd guess somewhere around 12-4. I still think we beat Pittsburgh, lose to Indy, Philly. NYG and Sandy Eggo could go either way

@Carlos_Herrera_: they will beat KC (twice) Oak and DC...that's 10...they will beat the Giants (11)...their second half won't look as pretty..maybe SD. it's going to look ugly at points but at the end of the day....11-5 is where their at...maybe 12-4 if they beat SD...can't see it. i can't see them beating Indy, Philly, SD again

@DonOlmstead: I see 13-3/8-0 at home and losses at Philly/ Indy on the road.maybe too cheery, but NE responds to a loss, so we see if DEN does Mon

@mikel33: 13-3 don't laugh, loss to Balt. will propel them. 2 other losses come in Indy & Philly & only cuz they are away games vs. good team

@charleswculler: 7-2 on out and 13-3 final record. Stinker to Oakland and a very close lost to Indy. Every good team has at least 1 stinker

@bertjanbrands: no reason to panic after 1 loss. My prediction 12-4 now with loss to Steelers, Colts and Eagles. Worst possible record is 10-6 imo

@MileHighReport: I have been on 11-5 all season so I will stay with it. Broncos have proven that they will prepare enough to win at least 5 of 9

@mtokBronco: we are still a good team, regardless of the talking heads.....12-4

@achidester: 11-5, AFC West champs. I'm highly certain we sweep KC & Oak, beat Wash, then go 1-2 vs. Phi/NYG/SD. The D is good enough to get it done

Nothing was particularly good about the Broncos' special teams Sunday. New punter Mitch Berger looked shaky. Eddie Royal had nowhere to run on returns. And allowing a kickoff return for a touchdown to start the second half was a huge factor in the loss.

For Denver it was the second straight game allowing a kick return for a touchdown, and Josh McDaniels wants to see some improvement.

"We've got to play faster, we've got to play more physical," McDaniels said. "There were certainly examples of that from yesterday's game, where when we do it the way we've done it - for the most part this year - we have success covering kicks."

McDaniels said the special teams have to play every play with the same speed and intensity, or risk giving up a big play. He said Baltimore blocked its kickoff return touchdown well and simply played faster most of the day on special teams.

"It's not because we have slow players," McDaniels said. "They just played with a greater tempo, greater sense of urgency, and made more plays than we did."

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review said Pittsburgh safety Ryan Clark practiced today but no decision has been made on his status for next Monday's game at Denver. Clark, who has been cleared to play, has sickle-cell trait and lost his gall bladder and his spleen after a bad reaction to playing in the altitude during a 2007 game.

Judging from the report, the Steelers will be careful with Clark. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said he might overrule Clark even if Clark wants to play against the Broncos. Receiver Hines Ward expressed concern to the newspaper as well.

"Whatever he decides we're going to back him," Ward told the Tribune-Review. "If it was me personally, life is more precious than football."