Broncos LB Todd Davis 'absolutely' hopes to play in Week 2 vs. Bears

The Denver Broncos rode into the Black Hole as the high horse (not necessarily on a high horse) and promptly got punched in the mouth by the Oakland Raiders and laid low. What was supposed to be the team's strength — the Broncos' defense — was extremely porous (dare I say soft?) and more of a liability who couldn't get off the field on third down and keep the Raiders out of the endzone.

The front seven, in particular, was hard to watch, as the Raiders' O-line controlled the point of attack. In fairness to Denver, the team was missing two defensive starters on Monday night, one of them being the emotional captain of the unit — Todd Davis.

The Broncos' top linebacker has been working back from a calf injury suffered on day one of training camp back on July 18. He missed the remainder of camp, all five preseason games, and despite working out during pre-game warmups under the watchful scrutiny of the Broncos' medical staff, Davis was MIA vs. Oakland in the regular-season opener, too.

Is there any real chance he'll finally get to debut this week for a defense that could badly use his services? With the Chicago Bears coming to town, the Broncos are facing another stiff matchup and need all hands on deck.

“Absolutely. That’s my goal," Davis said on Wednesday. "I know the coaching staff has their plan for me and to make sure I’m healthy and ready to go, but my goal is to definitely be back on Sunday.”

Even if Davis suits up vs. Chicago, let's be real about what the expectations should be. He hasn't played a meaningful snap since July, which he fully recognizes. He's not going to be in football shape and will probably be on a snap count.

“I think it’s just conditioning," Davis said with regard to his biggest obstacle coming back. "I think it’s just getting out there, running around, taking a lot of reps with my team, with the one defense and scout team, just to get as many reps as I can to get my wind up. I think when I do that, I’ll be ready.”

Coach Fangio echoed the mitigation of expectations on Thursday.

“Yeah. It would be unrealistic for him to go out there and play 50 plays or more,” Fangio said.

Meanwhile, expect to see a healthy dose of Corey Nelson in relief of Davis, even if the incumbent starter suits up. Nelson was signed early last week and crammed a ton of information to get up to speed in Vic Fangio's defense.

Nelson's ability to assimilate the playbook, calls, and signals in such a short period of time earned him the start in Davis' place, next to Josey Jewell. Alexander Johnson, who'd spent all offseason and summer in Fangio's scheme, was an afterthought with zero snaps on defense vs. Oakland.

Nelson totaled 46 snaps (84%) and finished with only one tackle. He wasn't a high-impact player but expecting him to be such after barely a week to learn the Broncos' ropes was perhaps asking too much.

Meanwhile, Josey Jewell saw 55 snaps, playing 100% of the defense's snaps and finished with a career-high 13 combined tackles (seven solo). In a perfect world, Nelson would be a depth piece and a nickel LB. This team needs it's starting ILB duo out on the field in tandem.

The good news is, Todd Davis did practice on Wednesday, though he was limited. His participation in Thursday's practice was even more encouraging.

“Much improved," Fangio said on Thursday. "I was encouraged by the way he looked yesterday and hopefully he’ll be able to do more today.”

Davis was a limited participant in Thursday's practice. He's trending toward playing in Week 2 but don't expect him to be at full strength conditioning-wise.

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.

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