In the Trenches v the Jets

by firstfan on Nov 29, 2008 2:26 AM MST Comment 30 comments

I enjoy watching the performance of our offensive and defensive lines each week. I try to look ahead to get a feel for our upcoming opponent and then read HT’s Chalk talk to try to make some sense of what might happen once the ball is snapped. Following is what I have come up with for the Jets and if Bronco fans enjoy this or find it useful I will do it each week.

When Denver has the ball we will face a Fairbanks-Bullough 3-4 defense anchored by one of the best Nose Tackles in the entire NFL. # 77 Kris Jenkins is 6’4” and 349 lbs. He is in his 8th season and the Jets snared him away from Carolina. He plays the two gap zero technique as well as any NT in the league and is the main reason teams find it difficult to run up the middle against the Jets. He is strong and agile and consumes offensive linemen. This allows the quick linebackers of the Jets to make plays. On the left Jenkins is flanked by #92 Shaun Ellis. Ellis is 6’5” and 285 lbs. and is in his 9th year. At right end the Jets start #93 Kenyon Coleman who is 6’5” and 295 lbs. and in his seventh year. At linebacker the Jets have #97 Calvin Pace on the right outside. Pace is 6’4” and 270 lbs. and is a sixth year veteran. Next to him on the inside is #50 Eric Barton who is 6’2” and 245lbs. and a 10 year veteran. Barton is known to the Broncos from his six years with the raiders right after the turn of the century. The left outside linebacker is 6’4” 266 lb. Bryan Thomas who sports #99. Thomas is in his seventh year. #52 David Harris is the starter at left inside linebacker but he is listed as questionable and only practiced partially. He is 6’2” and 243 lbs. and is in his second year. If he cannot play he will likely be replaced by fifth year man #53 Cody Spenser who is 6’2” and 254 lbs. The other linebacker we might see is rookie Vernon Gholston out of Ohio State. He plays in the middle and is 6’3” and 264 lbs. and wears #56.

I really think that HT is on to something when he talks about our need to run the ball. The reason I have listed every players dimensions is to illustrate that while the Jets are an experienced team, our zone blocking offensive line will have a pretty significant size advantage all across the front seven with the exception of Jenkins. I think we can get four and five yards up the middle nearly all the time and as Jenkins wears out we can get downfield blocking and spring some much longer runs in the third and fourth quarter.

When the Jets have the ball we will face another experienced offensive line. They are anchored by their center #74 Nicholas Mangold who is 6’4” and 300 lbs. He is in his third year. The right guard is #65 Brandon Moore. Moore is 6’3” and 295 lbs and is a 6th year veteran. The right tackle is Damien Woody who wears #67 and is 6’3” and 335 lbs. He is a ten year veteran. The left guard is the venerable Alan Faneca. Faneca is an 11 year veteran and is 6’5” and 307 lbs. The left tackle is 6’6” 312 lb. D’Brickashaw Ferguson. Ferguson wears #60 and is a third year man. This line has done a great job of run blocking but they have surrendered 25 sacks of Farve. We really need DOOM to have a great game this week.

I really think we can do this. We need to win the trenches and we have the size and speed to win both of the wars in the trenches. We need to control the TOP and that means running the ball. We need to stop their running game with seven and get some pressure on Farve. GO BRONCOS!

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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Very good stuff, and rec'd

Another issue we face is the nature of the Fairbanks versus the zone block. It is much easier to zone block against 1 gap linemen taking a slant to their assignment. But because the two gap player mans up and then decides which gap to take, he can’t be taken out in that critical first couple of seconds.

On pass rushes, Jenkins will get a center and guard in a double team. A RB will likely need to stay in to block. If we run a lot of two TE sets, this means losing the FB. (Because the Jets run a 3-4, we are likely to see a lot of two TE sets to block out the wide blitzes of the wide OLB blitzes).

Most folks will focus on the two QBs this game (top notch guys against weak secondaries). But the trenches will be the place to see the real war in this one. This will be the best trench game of the season if Denver doesn’t get cute with the play calls.

Again, solid post First!

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

by hoosierteacher on Nov 29, 2008 5:54 AM MST reply actions 1 recs

Thanks HT

for the compliment and the insight on the zone block versus the Fairbanks with a two gap NT. This extra piece of knowledgd you provide makes watching the game that much more enjoyable.

It all starts in the trenches HT 11/11/08

by firstfan on Nov 29, 2008 4:12 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

I ditto that.

My eyes have never seen so much real football as I have since I started following this site. I really do understand the game a lot better and that makes the whole experience richer, deeper.

Thanks HT, but also you firstfan, and all the other knowledgable contributers to MHR.

I guess you can teach an old dog after all, lol.

If this be Hell, let us make the most of it!

by Trinidad Jack on Dec 1, 2008 10:26 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Despite being on the road against a good running attack and Favre

I’m somehow optimistic. We’re bound to be focused—we’d better be!—and no way can the Jets be quite as ready as they were for the Titans. The primary key is going to be our ability to generate an effective pass rush. If we can’t do it with the four linemen we’d better blitz a linebacker, and occasionally two. Otherwise it’s game over. The secondary key is, as you suggest, staying with the running game to wear down the defense and gain TOP. If we can do those two things we have a chance. D-Rob has done better against the run lately and Thomas along with him. If they can get a push on passing plays and if Doom and Moss get beat their men we might even get a turnover or two, and will at least disrupt the passing game. A key to our own passing game, besides hoping Jay is on this time, is picking up the blitzers and beating their linebackers in coverage. I hope we don’t go for the long ball until we’ve set them up with shorter passes. If we can complete enough of those we might get them to bite on short and go long. Nice analysis.

"In the empty spaces - lacunae, vacuums, pauses, voids, black holes - new things begin. We are born anew from the unexplored space, the badlands, the outlaw territory." - Sam Keen

by spock on Nov 29, 2008 5:57 AM MST reply actions 0 recs

D Rob

I am hoping Robertson comes out with a little extra edge this week to show the Jets what he can do in the right situation. Thanks spock.

It all starts in the trenches HT 11/11/08

by firstfan on Nov 29, 2008 4:14 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

I like this firstfan

a quick, concise view of the trench play is always a welcome addition to the arsenal goining into the weekend. Our “B” squad LBs haven’t been used much for blitzing, but, like spock, I am hoping that a wrinkle along those lines was introduced this week.

The other thing to watch for is the corner blitz. We use that far more, proportionally, to blitz than the LBs or S combined. It is kind of wierd actually, and may derive from Slowik’s tenure coaching our DBs. Then again, without Champ in, the corner blitzes have tapered off as well…

Concision in style, precision in thought, decision in life.

by styg50 on Nov 29, 2008 8:13 AM MST reply actions 0 recs

Agreed!

Nice post firstfan. I would definately like to see this every week!

There is only One Moment—this moment—the Eternal Moment of Now

by sirsam on Nov 29, 2008 8:52 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

The corner blitz

I was thinking the same thing. I am sure HT can clarify, but I think the corner blitz can give oyr safetys a fraction more cushion than when we commit a LB to a blitz. Our young safetys ned all the help they can get. Thanks for the comments styg and sirsam.

It all starts in the trenches HT 11/11/08

by firstfan on Nov 29, 2008 4:18 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Corner blitzing..

..is a high risk move. I’m kind of conservative, so I don’t like it so much, but that’s just a matter of taste.

Actualy, the CB blitz is higher pressure for the safeties. They either drop into man, or have to do an extra good job in a zone where there is no man-CB support. What makes the CB blitz work is that it is so high risk, it is very unexpected. If you have a lightening fast CB (he has a lot of room to cover), it can be done properly. Oddly, the fastest CB is often on the strong side, which is not the blind side of the QB. The speed has to be there in spades.

The DL will often hit gaps designed to lure defenders (particularly the RBs) to the opposite side the CB is coming from, and a LB usualy blitzes the opposite side. The biggest danger is the QB reading the blitz. If he knows the blitz is coming, he can audible to a fast pass to the uncovered receiver. In the chess match of football, sometimes a coordinator will have the CB “show” a blitz to lure the quick pass for an INT.

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

by hoosierteacher on Nov 29, 2008 4:46 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

i gotta change my pick to the Broncos now....they better win! :)

If God is not a Bronco fan, then WHY are sunsets Blue and Orange? - Jon Tollerud 5/22/08

by Zappa on Nov 29, 2008 10:05 AM MST reply actions 0 recs

This has been one of you losses

from the start, but I feel Denver will win. The put the whiners in a bigger hole

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 Nov 29, 2008 11:41 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

I think we can pull it out

and I am not talking about Marshall’s glove, I mean a victory. I am really starting to like our team and either way I think the Jets will know they have been in a football game come 7:30 Sunday evening EST.

It all starts in the trenches HT 11/11/08

by firstfan on Nov 29, 2008 4:22 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

I'm taking the Jets,

…but I don’t think we’re as outclassed as folks might think. It all depends on what we bring to the game. I think the guys will play hard; I’m just worried about the playcalling. If we can just slow down their running game, I think we have a reasonably good shot. The major thing I hold against us going into this game is consistency. The Jets will come to play; I just hope we do too.

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

by hoosierteacher on Nov 29, 2008 4:12 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Excellent FF

The key is really going to be how Denver does with Jenkins. Just think last season Denver was trying to get him and that fell thru. Jenkins would be so much better than Robertson, but alas what is done is done.

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 Nov 29, 2008 11:42 AM MST reply actions 0 recs

Hey BFSISD...

Jenkins would have broken the bank, and may not have been a fit for our system.
Robertson has cost us nothing, and I think, been pretty good value. I am feeling a Denver win too….I dont know why…..I just am. I think this horrensoud loss against Oakland may have been the fianl piece this team needs to CONTINUALLY focus!!!
Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Those that cant coach, compete!
Failing to plan is planning to fail.

by boydy2669 on Nov 29, 2008 3:31 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

i agree with you

I think he is in a contract season also. Why else would Carolina trade him. It would be nice to have a 2 dominate DT’s.

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 Nov 29, 2008 6:10 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks bfsisd.

It all starts in the trenches HT 11/11/08

by firstfan on Nov 29, 2008 4:23 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Great post First. I would love to read this every week. rec'd.

by ThorpeBroncosfan on Nov 29, 2008 11:45 AM MST reply actions 0 recs

Definitely a weekly need, firstfan

I looke forward to reading them. Thanks!

He doesn’t know anything but 100 percent
- Shanahan on Larsen

by broncobear on Nov 29, 2008 12:36 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

Great post first fan, I agree I also would like to see an inside the trenches weekly!

"His incredible impact during the late '60s and early-to-mid-'70s saved the franchise from relocation and helped the Broncos become the marquee organization it is today." Floyd Little's Tales From The Broncos Sideline

by Steve O' on Nov 29, 2008 12:44 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

Yep...

Agreed and rec’d FF!

Those that cant coach, compete!
Failing to plan is planning to fail.

by boydy2669 on Nov 29, 2008 3:32 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

OK

Thanks for the comments Thorpe, bear, Steve and boydy. I will do this weekly.

It all starts in the trenches HT 11/11/08

by firstfan on Nov 29, 2008 4:26 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

Hooray!

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

by hoosierteacher on Nov 29, 2008 4:47 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

allright FF, that is awesome, looking forward to your work!

by Steve O' on Nov 29, 2008 4:50 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

firstfan--this really really a good post!

It looks like I’ll get to watch this—I’ll watch the trenches.

The best defense is a good defense!
And last week's young players. Yes!

by Mike Clark on Nov 29, 2008 7:03 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

Open thread isn't up yet,

but I wanted to lament here -

I’m doing the Columbia University Dance Marathon, which benefits the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, and each dancer pledges to raise $500 and then stay upright for 28 hours at the marathon. So today, in order to raise part of the $500, I am going with a group to Giants Stadium to go around and ask people for money while they’re tailgating ( I HATE asking people for money. Hate it). And I JUST NOW realized that …guess what? …the Broncos will be there.

AGGHH!!!! I was thisclose to getting a ticket, even though nobody else from the group will go with me and going alone to a game is totally lame, and I would have about two hours to kill anyway, AND I can’t afford it (at least, not if I want money when I go to England to visit my sister). But still, I was SOCLOSE to getting a ticket, and if I had more time to think it out before I have to leave, I would totally do it. (Maybe it’s a good thing I don’t!)

That’s just unfair, really. Especially at this point in the semester when I really just want to go home and not deal with finals…

by Squeaky on Nov 30, 2008 9:42 AM MST reply actions 0 recs