Horse Tracks - 12/4/08 - Mile High Report

Horse Tracks - 12/4/08

by John Bena on Dec 4, 2008 5:41 AM MST in Horse Tracks Comment 1 comment

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DENVER POST

They have to be, bar none, the most inconsistent team in the league. The minute you think they're going to fall apart, they rip off back-to-back wins vs. Cleveland and Atlanta. And the moment you think they've finally got some momentum going, they lose at home to the gawdawful Raiders.

No, he said, he didn't want to imagine what the Broncos' defense would have looked like this past month without linebacker Jamie Winborn.

What's happening here is that the Broncos are getting everybody well just in time -- Champ Bailey, D.J. Williams, Nate Webster, Selvin Young -- and their backups have gotten experience, so they'll have depth on defense and can spell some of the regulars at linebacker and in the secondary. I think they have a great chance to win the first playoff game, but the second game would be at Pittsburgh or Tennessee, probably, and those are two great defenses.

Linebackers Nate Webster and D.J. Williams participated fully in practice Wednesday for the first time since suffering knee injuries early last month.

Kansas City coach Herm Edwards is likening his young quarterback to Jay Cutler. Edwards said Tyler Thigpen's mobility reminds him of Cutler's ability to scramble. Thigpen leads all quarterbacks with 251 rushing yards. Cutler has rushed 37 times for 141 yards this season.

Running back Selvin Young (groin) practiced fully, but Shanahan said Peyton Hillis will remain the team's starting tailback. . . . Rookie receiver Eddie Royal, limited in practices all last week, was removed from the injury report.

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ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS

VOTE FOR THE 4 GREATEST BRONCOS EVER! Rocky sports cartoonist Drew Litton is looking for a few friendly faces for his mountain. Which four Denver Broncos greats should be immortalized on Mount Crushmore? Help us decide.

The Broncos have had their struggles in the pass rush this season, but this week, they're going to have to hit a moving target as well

Usually ultra-secretive about game-planning issues, Bob Slowik on Wednesday revealed a strategic tidbit likely to surprise no one as the Broncos approach their next game.

Never. Not once in the 40 years The Associated Press has been naming offensive and defensive rookies of the year in the NFL has an offensive lineman won the award

CBS4

One of the big reasons the Denver Broncos were able to beat the New York Jets so handily on Sunday was the play of center Casey Wiegmann on Kris Jenkins, the 6-foot-4, 350-pound defensive tackle.

How can the Denver Broncos lose at home to the lowly Oakland Raiders one week and dominate the New York Jets on the road the next?

Milehighreport_small_medium Jay Cutler was stumped. Who's the team's rookie of the year? Left tackle Ryan Clady has kept him upright and, with help from second-year right tackle Ryan Harris, has yet to allow a full sack three months into the season

MISCELLANEOUS

Big happenings in Kansas City where the Chiefs are moving linebacker Derrick Johnson from the outside to middle linebacker for the remainder of the season.

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From the Lee Rasizer Column

But the biggest bugaboo continues to be big plays, even in recent weeks. There have been seven runs of 20-plus yards in the five games since the bye, compared with nine in the previous seven games. That includes touchdown runs of 59 and 29 yards by the Jets’ Thomas Jones on Sunday.

In fact, Denver’s problems against the rush almost singularly can be traced to allowing breakout runs. While 306 of the carries against Denver this season have netted 757 yards, a 2.5-yards-per-carry average, the other 47 attempts have gone for at least 10 yards.

That means a whopping 974 yards and seven touchdowns emanate from just those 47 plays. Broken down further, that’s 56.3 percent of the total rushing yards against Denver this season on only 13.4 percent of the rushing attempts.

This is an indictment of missed gaps and safety play. PERIOD. Our DTs and DEs are getting it done, and our backers are getting it done most of the time.

I would say the problem is 30LB 69SAF 1%DL right now. But keep the following balance in mind when calling for an elite safety prospect: Lets say we bring in a stud safety who makes an immediate difference. What that will do is change the way teams play us, thus exposing the next weakest link in the defensive roster. In that instance, I’m guessing it will be the DL, specifically a penetrating DT or lack of an elite DE.

Obviously at best we only have about 3/4 (at best) of the answer at safety. This best case scenario projects Barret as a future starter, and some mishmash of what is left for depth. At best we are still missing the other starter.

At DE and DT we have Powell and DRob anchoring for the run game, but for penetrating the line we only really have Thomas, and we have suspect depth. Best case scenario we have 3/4 of the formula at DT as well, missing veteran depth. At DE we have suspect pass rushing ability in Moss and DOOM, and veteran backups in EK and Eng. At best we have 3/4 of the formula here as well, missing out on a stud everydown run stopping/pass rushing DE, or the crown jewel of the dline, basically.

My point is that if a stud pass rusher is available early in the draft, we will need to have our homework done. Too many highround DEs don’t make it, but very few later round DE’s will be what we are looking for, which is the next thing better than DOOM. I think the only thing of comparable need on this defense is safety. i would feel very good if Denver has two first round draft picks. Without two, I actually think safety could be put off till 2010 in the right draft board scenario…

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

by Jeremy Bolander on Dec 4, 2008 2:26 PM MST reply actions 0 recs