My Quick Take on Today's Game Against Tampa Bay

by hoosierteacher on Oct 5, 2008 6:21 PM MDT Comment 39 comments

I have been able able to review games, but today I was able to see the game as it was broadcasted. A few things stood out to me, and I want to point them out while they are still fresh in mind.

1) I really liked the spirit I saw today. Guys were hustling, slapping each other on the back, jumping for joy, and getting excited. Most importantly, I was seeing this happen on the defense.

2) I'm not thrilled with some of the runs we gave up, but overall I really liked the major improvement that I saw. While I saw some lanes opened up with brute force, the defense fought back hard and did a great job keeping the TB run offense in check.

3) I really liked how the defense made TB eat over five minutes on the last TB drive.

4) I'm impressed with the balance that Selvin shows on runs. Several times I saw him keep his feet after taking big hits.

5) Pittman was terrific. On one run he lowered his head a couple of times and speared his way ahead. Not a safe way to protect your neck from injury, but it worked.

6) No one dared throw towards Champ Bailey, and yet Bailey was in on multiple plays.

7) Cutler is still failing to look off his passes, but he more than made up for it by taking the underneath passes. He made at least three terrible passes that could have been intercepted, but he also made some smart decisions.

8) The DTs (whom I always pick on) did a great job plugging gaps except on two plays. On those plays there was some miscommunication, and a gap was left unfilled. Other than that, I liked what I saw. Because the DTs had a great game, the LBs were able to stuff several runs.

9) Doom and Ekuban looked great. A small part of the improvement was the removal of the pins in Doom's finger, but a MUCH bigger factor was the solid work by our DTs.

10) The Offensive Line still needs some work on run blocking, but is still improving. The pass protection remains outstanding, even facing a very solid front four from TB.

11) I liked the play calling much, much more in this game. More man coverage, and less zone. Still some silly 3 man rushes, but much more 4 man rushes and some blitzes.

12) We dished out some hard hits. I like that a lot.

13) The crowd sounded too quiet at first. That bothered me. But part of the way into the game the crowd picked it up.

14) Hats off to our coverage units on STs! They looked much better today. We can win the field position war with these guys if they keep it up.

15) Nice 53 yard field goal kick. Gutsy call, and well executed.

16) Shanny ball is back! Lots of bootlegs, misdirection, and a little more running. I also like that the ball was spread out to several targets.

Overall, the game was close and low scoring, but that's ok with me. Our defense played a heck of a game, and we can be more than one dimensional going forward. Is it too early to say that Denver has fixed what ails them? Perhaps. But I like what we showed today against a solid team, and it shows that we have the ability to play better than we have (even in the wins we've had).

Today's game showed a big step forward for this team. Impovements on defense and STs, and even playcalling. We're moving in the right direction. Still, we can't rest. We have a couple of potentialy tough games coming up, and we'll need to keep improving.

This team still doesn't look like a deep playoff contender, but it looks like it can get to the playoffs. With SD an KC losing today, we are well situated. We also have time to improve further. We're a young team, so the sky's the limit.

Great job Team!

This is a Fan-Created Comment on MileHighReport.com. The opinion here is not necessarily shared by the editorial staff of MHR

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Bailey gets zero thrown his way

I saw that stat on the TV and was stunned it was zero. I know QBs stay away from him, but zero. The announcer also said that only 11 balls have been thrown his way all season. That’s shutting it down.

"It doesn't dissipate" ~ Mike Shanahan

Cutler's 4th qtr/OT game winning drives: 4

by weazel on Oct 5, 2008 6:27 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

People blame him when he doesn't get INTs.

But the mark of a REAL shut down corner (yes, I believe there is such a thing) is a guy that is so good he doesn’t get to play.

Baile is like a nuclear deterence. He’s so scary, no one wants to risk it.

"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe

by hoosierteacher on Oct 5, 2008 6:41 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Champ is the man

"It doesn't dissipate" ~ Mike Shanahan

Cutler's 4th qtr/OT game winning drives: 4

by weazel on Oct 5, 2008 6:47 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Champ obliterated Griese

I’d say he did his job.

by binford04 on Oct 5, 2008 6:48 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

That was a sweat blitz wasn't it?

Bringing in both corners is a very high risk move. I guess Griese’s “revenge tour” will have to wait. : )

"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe

by hoosierteacher on Oct 5, 2008 6:54 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

preseason featured the corner blitz extensively

and it has cropped up whenever the defense seems to be having its way. It disappears when it gets into a shootout.

Could Slowik have the Corner blitz as a “cornerstone” of the architecture of this defensive scheme?

Every week it looks like Slo is putting a few more pages in the playbook. The sign of an inadequate coach, or a great teacher?

Mountains, forest, sea: these render man fierce, but yet do not destroy the man.

by styg50 on Oct 5, 2008 7:18 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Corner blitzes are a play technique...

…that to my knowledge don’t speak to a particular scheme. Unless…

I noticed several zone blitzes in this game (which involve dropping back linemen into coverage and sending in LBs). One such play even netted an interception by a DLman. Perhaps the CB blitz is being used as part of a zone blitz system package.

Given the frequency with which we are using the 3-4, I wonder if the lack of 4 man rushing is being used to set up more zone blitzing as the season moves forward? As long as we keep our CBs in man coverage, I think it would be a good wayt o ease in the system. Perhaps we are seeing a transition to the zone blitz being put into place incrementaly. That could explain a lot!

"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe

by hoosierteacher on Oct 6, 2008 5:03 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Part of zone blitz

HT: Check your replay if you get one…that was definitely part of a zone blitz package of some sort…they dropped two DL on that play and caught the O-Line with their pants down and the QB totally unaware.

by sadaraine on Oct 7, 2008 9:15 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Right. I'll be writing more on this soon.

"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe

by hoosierteacher on Oct 7, 2008 12:31 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not sure if that helped TB more than the Broncos

I rooted for Griese back in the day, but he never stepped up. He always held the ball too long and was always getting dinged up. Too much thinking, just not instinctive enough. Anyway, Champ proved once again that he is a game changer.

by Arctic Bronco on Oct 5, 2008 7:15 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

This was definitely a team win.

Good effort all around. Some things to fix for sure on both sides of the ball, but Tampa Bay really is a good football team. I liked that Cutler didn’t make mistakes but I hope he isn’t losing his edge and will continue to take shots down the field.

by RockyMountainThunder on Oct 5, 2008 7:23 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

In terms of where Cutler took shots (including the deep throw)...

…The Fox broadcasters did a good job of stressing the patience required to take advantage of the Tampa-2 scheme. Cutler couldn’t play his regular kind of style, and he did a great job being patient and taking what TB would give him underneath. I could tell it was frustrating him, because he threw some awful passes that missed their marks (and Jay is usually right on target). But he stayed the course and did a great job nickle and diming the defense.

I think he still has his edge, he just had to adapt to a defense built to stop QBs like himself. He passed the test, and is a better QB for it.

"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe

by hoosierteacher on Oct 6, 2008 5:09 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Great win!

I loved seeing Thomas drop back into coverage. I was also surprised to see how well Peterson did as a NT, although Thomas and Robertson took that on as well. Unusual to rotate the position among three players?

A qestion, then HT -

Why did we do so well in the Phillips today? Granted, they were embarrassed last week and played their hearts out. Their communication was much better save those two plays; I know that helps. But since we don’t have the optimum personnel for the 3-4 scheme, why did we play it so well today? Thanks, teach.

Fullbacks Rule

by broncobear on Oct 5, 2008 10:22 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

It didn't dawn on me until this morning when I was replying to Styg above in the thread.

We played an awful lot of zone blitz yesterday. I’m starting to think we played a vanilla 3-4 in the first several games to ease us into a zone blitz type of program. It’s still a bit early to know for sure, but it might explain some of the growing pains earlier in the season.

The zone blitz can be run as a one or two gap program, so it is pretty versatile. I saw the zone blitzing yesterday, and noticed the frequency, but I didn’t make the connection until this morning that it was done often enough and that it “clicked” so well after 4 weeks of mediocrity. Perhaps Slowik deserves more credit than I realized, and is putting in a zone blitz piece by piece.

This will occupy a lot of my thinking over the course of this week.

"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe

by hoosierteacher on Oct 6, 2008 5:17 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Zone Blitz

I saw this progression coming and have been practically screaming for them to put more zone blitz in with their 3 linemen set…why does it take so long to get to this point? Why couldn’t Slowik have called more of this vs KC? I think there were a lot of us on MHR that could see our personnel would be better suited to this type of play calling….

by sadaraine on Oct 7, 2008 9:19 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Slowik is a teaching coach.

We also have a lot of young guys on the defense. It’s still early to be entirely sure, but I’m guessing that Slowik was probably being very patient and bringing the unit along slowly. If we are truly a zone blitz team right now, Slowik should get an award for the patience he showed implementing it.

"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe

by hoosierteacher on Oct 7, 2008 12:33 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

If they're handing out awards for patience with the defense

then we should all get one.

by CoastalBronco on Oct 7, 2008 3:23 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Good one!

: )

"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe

by hoosierteacher on Oct 8, 2008 12:27 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Loved It.

I can’t think of anything that made me sick all game. My favorite was the special teams coverage units flying down the field and making solid tackles.

Here we go again: http://thefulldeck.blogspot.com/

by ejruiz on Oct 5, 2008 11:54 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Overall a great game

There’s one play that I feel deserves recognition, though. Tony Scheffler’s catch at the end of the game where he got the first down, and then fell to the turf really stood out in my mind. That was the sort of play that even experienced players won’t think to make, and I was very impressed that Tony had the presence of mind to stay inbounds and not risk a fumble trying to get extra yards that weren’t necessary.

That’s something that I think Marcus Thomas could learn, but I understand that a D Lineman never actually gets a chance to handle the ball…

Regardless, it was a great defensive effort – definitely one of the best in the last couple seasons – and the offense did a very good job avoiding turnovers. You can tell that last week was a wake-up call, and that the team seems to have taken to heart what the coaches said after the loss.

by hai17 on Oct 6, 2008 12:37 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Hats off to Tony!

It’s hard to blame a player, with all of the adrenaline pumping, to have the presence of mind to go down with the ball. Tony did the right thing, and it made a difference.

Thomas has a bigger excuse (besides being a linemen). As big as he is, it is hard to tuck in the ball for the run. His best option (because it was late enough in the game with a lead) might have been to just take a knee and get touhed. But even so, I doubt it was running through his mind that he was going to get the ball in such a manner. I’d almost bet that if he had recovered a fumble he would have known to just stay with the turnover and forget about risking extra yards. It was wrong to charge ahead, but as you correctly point out, it was understandable.

I’ll bet he gets a lot of good natured ribbing from the coaches, and nothing worse.

"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe

by hoosierteacher on Oct 6, 2008 5:25 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Pittman said

that he was going to teach Thomas how to hold the ball correctly. He said that Thomas was holding it like a loaf of bread, but I’ve never seen anyone hold a loaf of bread that way. It looked like he had his arm in the right position to hold the ball correctly, but the ball was 90 degrees out of kilter with the length of the ball pointing straight up between his body and arm!

"It's all over Fat Man" - Tom Jackson to John Madden 1977 AFC Championship Game

"I love your analysis of our team. Its kinda like watching a spider monkey trying to figure out a jar of peanuts.. you know whats going on.. you know whats in there, but to actually figure it out, is just a bit beyond your mental skills..."
- Bronco Dano

by DesertBroncoFan on Oct 6, 2008 1:27 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sheffler and Thomas

I’m not so sure Sheff did that on purpose. I thought so initially, but he exited the game after that with his groin injury. If you watch the replay, he went down in pain.

As for Thomas, I think you’re right on as far as him not getting many chances to handle the ball contributing to his desire to “house it.” Remember his first day at training camp last year when he opened up the practice by doing a back flip? This guy is extremely athletic for a 300 lb’er. I’m thinking his head was filled with visions of himself as Selvin Young and he was just going for broke. Hard to fault a kid for that, but he just needs to wrap the ball with both hands until he’s in the clear.

Or so I'm told.

by MN Bronco on Oct 6, 2008 10:07 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Good point on Scheff re the injury factor.

I hadn’t considered that, but you may have hit the nail on the head. As to Thomas, I wonder if he is physicaly capable of wrapping up the ball with both arms. He looks like a dinasour with little arms, and may be too big!

"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe

by hoosierteacher on Oct 6, 2008 12:49 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Great point!

Today’s game showed a big step forward for this team. Impovements on defense and STs, and even playcalling. We’re moving in the right direction. Still, we can’t rest. We have a couple of potentialy tough games coming up, and we’ll need to keep improving.

Stepping back a little, if I’d been told the Broncos would be 4-1 at this point, I’d have been plenty satisfied with that. I didn’t think this team was Super Bowl bound to start the year. And I’m still just hoping they can get to the playoffs and pick up a post-season win. They are well on their way. Also, they look like they are making strides in the right direction each week. This week it was all about getting back on track, responding to a bad week. Did they simply overlook the Cheeves?

Anyway, the point is that as young as this team is, they are making significant strides in the right direction and gaining the experience and confidence for the future. Instead of being a few years away, they may only be 1 or 2.

Or so I'm told.

by MN Bronco on Oct 6, 2008 10:14 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

I believe the team is only one year from a serious, deep playoff run.

The team has a good enough record right now that I feel they are ahead of schedule. In the reloading season I guessed them to be a 10-6 team with a playoff spot, but an early exit. If this team can get a playoff spot and get a win, it would be great experience going into next year. Given the cracks appearing in the SD program, the basement status of oakland, and the slow (but positive) growth of the Chiefs, I think Denver is already in the first year of a multi year AFC front runnuer status.

We still have some things to build on (we gave up somewhere near 6 ypc on runs, and a lot of total yards), but the team made a tremendous move on defense and STs, and the offense is already SB caliber in my opinion.

BTW, let’s hope Scheff and Royal are back for the Jax game.

"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe

by hoosierteacher on Oct 6, 2008 12:58 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

do you think

with how the AFC is right now Denver could possibly end up with a first round bye? To me a deep run is the 2nd round and beyond. I agree I think they are a year away from serious SB contendors. But I hope the MSM keeps bagging on them. It makes it so much sweeter.

somethings wrong, Trying to conquer these fears i thought were gone. And it's been so long, I'm dying to live in a world i don't belong

by broncfanstuckinsd on Oct 6, 2008 1:23 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well,

I’ve gone from thinking 10-6 with an early exit to thinking that we are young enough and showing enough improvement that we might get to the next round by either a bye or a wild card victory. I didn’t forsee the improvement we saw against TB (though I felt we would get somewhat better as the season moved on). I still want to see if the improvements carry over into the next two weeks.

Tenn is a good team, as is NE (even without Brady). If we show them what we showed TB, I think a good showing in the playoffs is a possibility.

I try not to get excited by wins or depressed by losses. Our 3-0 start excited a lot of people, but I saw a lot of holes on the team (I guess that’s a coaching thing). Our loss to KC depressed a lot of folks, but I felt we had a cushion from the earlier wins to correct our mistakes. Now we’ve won a good game, and I’m cautiously optimistic. The number one key for this team is to learn. We’re young, and the best formula for success right now is to learn an improve. We have 12 weeks (counting the bye) te get ready for the playoffs. If we make it there, we might do well. Still, this isn’t a group of guys with a lot of playoff experience. If we start getting to that point, the coaches will need to keep the guys calm and focused on a game by game mindset.

I don’t see us getting to the SB this year. On the other hand, we’re the third best team in the AFC by tie break. A first round bye is going to be tough to get (and still to early to speculate about). I’m not yet ready to modify my 10-6 prediction. We’re doing better than I expected, but the so-called “weak” schedule we were facing looks stronger to me than it did at the start of the season too.

"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe

by hoosierteacher on Oct 6, 2008 2:23 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think

we are gonna see really where this team is with the next 2 games. They are huge, in respects to seeing where the Broncos are against what is percieved as some of the “elite” of the AFC. I have to be honest if Denver is 5-2 at the bye I will be more than thrilled at the prospects for a home playoff game

somethings wrong, Trying to conquer these fears i thought were gone. And it's been so long, I'm dying to live in a world i don't belong

by broncfanstuckinsd on Oct 6, 2008 2:31 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Great Post

I dont understand when you say a 53 yard fg is gutsy. Isnt that the reason they have Prater because he can make those long ones. (Plus he hasnt missed over 50 yet). I am encouraged with Thomas. Looks like him and Harris are definate studs from that 07 draft. I would like to see more from Crowder and Moss, I just dont know if they played yesterday or not. I do realize it take around 3 seasons for DE to really show if he is worth it or not. But I like the blitzes. Gruded stated yesterday denver rushed 3 men 23 times and that, believe it or not, confused the TB QB’s a bit. I loved the double CB blitz where Griese got hurt.
On next week I do think Denver will come out passing. Pitt did and even with their porus OL had great game passing the ball. IMO Denver is a better passing team than Pitt. I can see Denver getting their 7th straight home win. The key is going to be how Denver can handle the Jax running game. Last season they totally ran over the Broncos.

somethings wrong, Trying to conquer these fears i thought were gone. And it's been so long, I'm dying to live in a world i don't belong

by broncfanstuckinsd on Oct 6, 2008 12:05 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Actually, it wasn't 53.

It was 55. My mistake.

Still, while Prater is kicking those FGs from over 50, that isn’t the norm. Most coaches would have punted. Did you notice the jaw drop on Gruden’s face when we went for the kick and made it? I stand by my assertion that it was a gutsy move. I would have punted, and the team might have missed three points. Shanahan made the right call, but it was a high risk. TB would have had nice field position if we had missed. And let’s also give Prater credit for all of the touch backs too. While Elam was great (and is tied for the record for longest FG), I’m not missing him. I’m confident in Prater. (Still, to kick at 55 with time left on the clock…)

Crowder and Moss were inactive yesterday, but I think the 3 year development point of view is directed at DTs, and not DEs. DEs usually develop faster. And I agree that Thomas looked much better this game.

Tenn has a very smart defense, and I’m eager to see how we do against them.

Great points all!

"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe

by hoosierteacher on Oct 6, 2008 1:10 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Nice story about the 55 yarder...

…in the Post, I think. It was at the end of the first quarter, and Shanahan was going to punt, but Prater suggested to him to let the clock run out, and then he’d have the wind at his back at the start of the second. That’s what they did, and Prater made it with beaucoup yards to spare.
Broncos just gotta get this kid signed to a long term deal!!!

It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. Earl Weaver.

by bradley on Oct 6, 2008 1:21 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Pls dont misunderstand me

I guess what I was trying to convey isnt that why Denver got him, so he could kick those long ones. But to tell ya the truth I thought the 56 yarder in KC was more gutsy because he had missed a 28 yarder earlier.
I dont know about you, but I feel like the Defense is getting closer to being a real good unit. Maybe a full year away from total consistency. But I am encouraged. If they can keep up the pressure it will bode well. I think Denver’s defensive front is so much better with Drob in. In your opinion is he as good as Warren? (that trade still bugs me)
Thanks, I love your insight

somethings wrong, Trying to conquer these fears i thought were gone. And it's been so long, I'm dying to live in a world i don't belong

by broncfanstuckinsd on Oct 6, 2008 1:22 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

The Warren trade

Remember, we used the pick from that trade for Ryan Torain.

It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. Earl Weaver.

by bradley on Oct 6, 2008 1:26 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

well then, I retract that it bugs me anymore

somethings wrong, Trying to conquer these fears i thought were gone. And it's been so long, I'm dying to live in a world i don't belong

by broncfanstuckinsd on Oct 6, 2008 1:50 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not to be a pessimst

or to rain on anyone’s parade, but I don’t think that we are as good as we were against Tampa and were not as bad as we were against KC.

If we continue to play as aggressively against the Jags this week, I’ll hold out more hope, but I’m still worried.

"It's all over Fat Man" - Tom Jackson to John Madden 1977 AFC Championship Game

by DesertBroncoFan on Oct 6, 2008 1:34 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

As long

As Denver wins and I really dont care how and SD keeps losing I am happy. I am HUGE Pats fan sunday night, I want to hear the wagon riders here is SD cry all the way home

somethings wrong, Trying to conquer these fears i thought were gone. And it's been so long, I'm dying to live in a world i don't belong

by broncfanstuckinsd on Oct 6, 2008 1:51 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree

and I agree with HT above that I’m cautiously optimistic. As long as we keep winning, I’ll be more and more optimistic, it’s just that right now, I don’t see us being consistent enough on either side of the ball to be thinking that we are going to be winning it all (or even enough).

I guess I’m still being affected by the 2007 season. There were times when they were world beaters (Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Green Bay until overtime, Kansas City twice, Minnesota) then would follow up with lackluster performances (SD twice, Detroit, 2nd faders game).

I’ve always been on the bandwagon and am just withholding making the jump to the first class seats of the bandwagon until I see a little bit more consistency.

"It's all over Fat Man" - Tom Jackson to John Madden 1977 AFC Championship Game

by DesertBroncoFan on Oct 6, 2008 3:15 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs