10 Reasons for Optimism
by UnarmingMermaid on Aug 11, 2008 6:52 AM MDT
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After taking some time to reflect on Saturday night’s game against the Texans, I have developed a guarded optimism concerning the Broncos 2008 season. There were clearly areas of “opportunity“; however, at Mike Clark’s suggestion, I have decided to focus on the positive aspects of the game (Mike says I’ll live longer). Therefore, I’ve put together a top ten list of reasons to be optimistic regarding the upcoming season based on Saturday’s game.
1. Jay Cutler: Is Cutler’s 3rd season going to be his breakout year? So far so good!!!
2. Run Defense: Saturday night was an early indication that our renewed commitment to stopping the run has paid off. We saw numerous 8 and 9 in the box formations and, as a result, Houston’s running game was consistently shut down within a yard or two of the line of scrimmage (excluding a long jaunt by Houston‘s punter and a couple of bootlegs by their 3rd string QB). Unfortunately, the defense looked poor on passing plays. Saturday’s game against Dallas will give us a better indication of how improved we really are on defense.
3. Eddie Royal: Is Royal’s 1st season going to be his breakout year? So far so good!!!
4. Running Game: Denver showed why they are a strong running team year in and year out. This year should be no exception, assuming the line gets up to snuff.
5. Tight Ends: Both Nate Jackson and Tony Scheffler demonstrated why they create such match up headaches for the opposing defense. Both are big men that can run and catch like wide receivers yet line up at TE. Several times during the game, Houston showed why you can’t expect to cover these guys with a LB. Hopefully Nate and Tony can help fill the Brandon Marshall void in weeks one and two. Oh yeah, Daniel Graham looked pretty good too!
6. Blitz Packages: While we were admittedly unable to pressure the QB with just our front four, all of the blitz packages we brought looked very effective. Several corner and safety blitzes hurried Houston’s Quarterbacks enough to make them get rid of the ball prematurely for incompletions and even caused a good looking sack off of a corner blitz. Look for Slowik to bring the heat this season!!!
7. Marlon McCree: M&M made two TD saving plays for us. While it would have been nice to see him get an INT on one of his stops, he effectively diminished any concerns about his ability to replace Lynch as a starting Safety.
8. Darrell Jackson: While Jackson did nothing spectacular, he showed he has consistent hands and the ability to get a catch in traffic for tough yards. That is all we need him to do this season…be consistent!
9. Ryan Clady: Even though Mario Williams made Clady his little (fill in the blank) early in game, Clady recovered nicely from an inauspicious begining and even looked pretty good towards the end of the first half. He looked solid on passing plays…his run blocking clearly needs improvement.
10. No Sacks!!!: this is a significant achievement for a line that is very inexperienced working together and extremely young at several key positions. While there was ample cause for concern, not allowing a sack in their first game playing together is certainly something to grow off of.
I know many of you would have liked to see Wesley Woodyard included in this list. However, while his performance against Houston was very encouraging, he played against Houston’s 3rd team offense. I will need to see Woodyard perform against 1st and 2nd team offense to get a real feel for his ability. Alridge is in the same boat. I’d like to see if he can have that same type of performance against the 1st and 2nd team defense. He also needs to show that he can be trusted with the football and can at least be semi-effective in the blocking game (an area in which there is considerable room for improvement). Prater's debut with the Broncos was a wash. While he went 3 for 4, the one he missed was a thirty yard chip shot. We'll have to wait and see.
Another positive is that some of the biggest concerns, mental errors and penalties., are fixable in the short term and may have simply resulted from nerves and rust. Also, even though our secondary looked porous, neither Champ nor Hamza played and Dre Bly saw very limited action. All in all, the game was somewhat encouraging and at least left open the possibility for a pretty solid 2008 season.
and yes, I know it's just preseason!!! ;-)
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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didn't see it but...
what are your negatives, did see a bit of Clady early and wasn’t impressed but it is Mario Williams…also when you say Eddie Royal for a breakout season is he looking like the clear cut no. 2.
Royal caught 2 of the 3 passes thrown his way…the incompletion was the result of a route miscommunication with Cutler. He averaged 24 yards on two kick returns. All in all, he wasn’t spectacular but made some key catches and made no mistakes. In my mind, that’s an acceptable first NFL game. Clearly the number two? Not really!
The negatives:
1. The biggest negative was the mental errors. The Broncos had an incredible amount of stupid penalties. INCREDIBLE!!!
2. Neither line looked good. The d-line could not get pressure on passing plays and the starting o-line could not run block against Houston’s starting defense.
3. The pass defense was horrendous. Houston’s QBs were able to take advantage of the lack of pressure from Denver’s d-line and consistently found wide open receivers down field.
4. Ramsey continued to look BAD! He was lucky to come away with only two INTs.
5. Keary Colbert did not have a reception and looked unable to hold a block. As in training camp, he was unable to get any seperation. We need him to be a viable option at receiver…and so far he doesn’t look the part.
6. The defense consistently overpursued and found themselves badly out of position on misdirections. At times they looked lost and confused, with players literally running into each other. Also, they were unable to get themselves off the field. A problem that plagued us throughout last season.
7. Two SAM LBs went out injury. It appears the injury bug has followed Boss Bailey to Denver. He didn’t make it two whole plays. Louis Green’s injury initialy looked severe. Fortunately, it sounds like he is going to be okay.
Again…I’m trying to focus on positives. :-)
by UnarmingMermaid on Aug 11, 2008 10:09 AM MDT up reply actions
In the words of the enigmatic Sponge Bob...
Fair enough buddy…fair enough!
by UnarmingMermaid on Aug 11, 2008 11:03 AM MDT up reply actions
I am jealous UM
Thanks for all of the info and updates from TC , since most of us could not be there ourselves—that is what I am jealous about ( lol ) it sounded like you made it to aaaalot of practices. Again – Thanks.
by okiebroncosfan on Aug 11, 2008 2:37 PM MDT up reply actions
no problem...
...it’s been a great experience. I’m happy to have a great Broncos community to share it with.
by UnarmingMermaid on Aug 11, 2008 4:10 PM MDT up reply actions
My thoughts about Woodyard were that if he was that good against the third string then
perhaps he would play well against our next opponents second team. My thought is that Shanny might give him the opportunity to do just that with the injuries we’ve sustained on our LB core. I know they are not major injuries, but I still think Woodyard deserves a look at the next level.
If God is not a Bronco fan, then WHY are sunsets Blue and Orange? - Jon Tollerud 5/22/08
I agree...
...I look forward to seeing Woodyard compete against the first and second string. Unfortunately, he is a WILL backer and both injuries were at SAM. I’m not sure how Wesley is in pass coverage; however, we may see him change to SAM.
by UnarmingMermaid on Aug 11, 2008 10:10 AM MDT up reply actions
Woodyard had a handful of INTs. in college--he is good in pass coverage.
Broncos broncos everywhere and all the league did blink,
Good to hear...
I’d like to see him make a surprise start at SAM this weekend just to see how he does against the first team offense. Talk about trial by fire…going up against Whitten is like Clady opening against Williams. I’m sure he’d get worked a couple of times…but it’d be a great opportunity for him to prove himself. I’m sure we’ll see Winborn get the start.
by UnarmingMermaid on Aug 11, 2008 4:12 PM MDT up reply actions
No Sacks! Cutler is our Ticket!
Cutler will be awesome this year, if we keep him healthy, and just give him time. We saw a glimpse of some our future identity.
We will pass more than in the past. We will however, throw a lot of quick routes, screens, and dumps. And we have the receivers and backs to really hurt teams with quick passing.
Cutler will run more to save himself, and the O-line looks like it has been told to hold a guy versus let them get to Jay (good advice). We always have a chance of overcoming a penalty, but if Cutler gets hurt, we are screwed.
"quick routes, screens, and dumps"...
...They have also run a ton of these in camp. I think that Shanahan might be planning on using these type of plays to compensate for a young and inexperienced offensive line that may struggle early in run blocking. For example, even though Selvin Young only had 3 yards rushing, his 20 yards receiving all came on short passes out of the backfield. This may end up being a very effective strategy.
I do not believe that the offensive line has been encouraged to hold. Harris expressed extreme frustration with his performance. I just think that our inexperienced line was a little overwhelmed in their first game of the season. We will need to see a very quick and significant improvement here.
by UnarmingMermaid on Aug 11, 2008 11:11 AM MDT up reply actions
This is similar...
to what many college programs accomplish with the “spread”. It compensates for inexperience and in some cases lesser talent at certain positions and gives athletes like Marshall, Young, Royal a chance to make plays and work in space. When you say this may be an effective strategy I would go so far as to say it will be effective and may not be just temporary with the type of athletes the Broncos can put on the field.
Cutler would also fit that system well!
He has started to get the soft touch on these types of passes that he struggled with coming into the league.
Also, several of the offseason FA signings and draft picks would seem to corroborate this hypothesis. For example, both Pittman and Hillis are known for their ability to catch out of the backfield. And DJack and Royal are great slant receivers. And with a receiver like BMarsh…I think Bates and Shanny are just going to look for ways to get the ball into his hands.
by UnarmingMermaid on Aug 11, 2008 11:36 AM MDT up reply actions
I am encouraged
I also have to remember D-rob and Champ didnt play so that could make the passing defense improve. I have read where the rush d has looked lots better and thats great. I had expected Clady to struggle some in his first start. But he has 3 more exhibiton games before the seasons first win in oakland. JC looked good and he will make the WR’s even better. Not too mention when #15 is back the passing game will be dangerous.
by broncfanstuckinsd on Aug 11, 2008 11:32 AM MDT reply actions
I'm always positive until I leave the land...
and reality hits me like a burst of furnace heat.
I was happy with the game. The start was horrible but we held their first-team to field goals.
Our first offensive series seemed bent towards going as much backwards as fowards.
Our second offensive series, we shook the cob-webs off and Cutler and gang marched down the field like they new what was needed.
Clady and Mario really encouraged me. I was worried that Clady would be killed—and at first it looked that way. Yet Clady held his ground. Some players learn and learn, study and study, but never figure out how to apply what they know. Clady seems to be the type that digests and figures out how to apply knowledge while doing it. I am very happy with Clady. Learn and improve on the job…..does Shanny see this?
We all wanted Royal to take his first return all the way-but is that realistic-I’m happy he held on to the ball and ran forward. In fact, and this just may be me stil in la-la-land, Eddie does not look like one that will ever have a problem holding onto the ball. He is going to be a great receiver—what a plus!
Alridge (my dark-horse for doing something special this year) looked good and will be returning kick-offs this year.
Selvin didn’t have a chance that first series-with 3 yards on 4 carries he would have to average 55.555553 carries a game to reach the 2000 yards we in la-la-land can see-OUCH!! He did however get a long screen called back and looked good coming out of the backfield for a catch or two.
We are obviously dedicated to stopping the run this year…Shanny is going to put that behind us—-and I am happy. We can look forward to this young team getting better at pulling back into pass coverage when needed. We have a great Corner tandem and a good lookng bunch of safeties to watch the young fronts back until they grow up.
Woodyard. He really looks good. I didn’t even know who he was when we chose our dark-horse. I wish I had.
Broncos broncos everywhere and all the league did blink,
I need to add this about Clady...
Guru, if you have any contacts with the Denver staff, you need to talk them into making Clady wear some sort af brace for his knees. Clady has basketball legs-very thin-until he takes care of this in the wieght-room—one hit and he’s out.
Broncos broncos everywhere and all the league did blink,
Great post UM!
And recommended!
A lot of folks will watch a preseason game and get discouraged by a loss and by mental errors on the field. You’ve done a terrific job of pointing out the positives that might go unnoticed. You’re also in good company. Mike Shanahan seems to think the first PS game was a positive too.
"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe
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