How would you beat the Denver Broncos?

Baltimore needs to do whatever it can to get pressure on our passing game…no one has really been able to do that so far and I think it is the key to stopping our offense.

When they have the ball they need to establish the running game…if they can get Rice to consistently chew up 4 – 6 yards or more on 1st down, it will get us off-balance and having to bring up more in the box which will open up their passing game. If they don’t get the run game going, it will be a long day for Flacco IMHO.

Good question, and I rarely think about it from this viewpoint. My mind is always looking at how we can beat the other team in all sides of the game.

The only way I can see to truly stop this team on offense is to get large amounts of pressure on Kyle. Kyle is very easy to sack if you can bring the pressure, IMO. While this is a slight knock on Kyle from me, don’t get me wrong, I love me some neckbeard and am in the “he is our franchise QB for years to come” camp. But, I think the fact that he has taken as many sacks as he has while being protected phenomenally all year backs up my assertion that he is pretty easy to take down once the pocket is broken. He goes into “turtle” mode, and while this can be frustrating to watch, it is also a part of his large upside for us, the fact that he would rather take a sack than risk throwing a costly INT or fumble the ball. There aren’t many teams in the league who have the depth and skill in the secondary to match up with our weapons. Alternatively, there aren’t many teams who can stop our run between our line and backs. So, my answer to stopping our offense would be: Bring pressure, pressure, pressure… Easier said than done.

Now, defensively… Other than our susceptibility to screens and occasional soft spots in zone coverage in the middle of the field on crossing routes, we don’t really give up too much. We don’t have a weak link on this defense, AT ALL. (Awesome to say!) But, there are times where screens and quick, intermediate passing can break through our stout defense…. So, that is the route I would go. If I (in all my infinite wisdom :rolleyes: :) were calling the plays for the Ravens offense, I would avoid running the ball out of standard formations too often, and if I did, I would test the edges. I would call a lot of screen plays to Rice, even though this runs the risk of negative yardage and drive killers as our D has adjusted well to these lately. I would line up in the shotgun and test the coverage with tight, quick, rhythm passing to crossing wide receivers… Just my uneducated thoughts.

saving them for this game. Marshall will have alot of impact for us especially if he is double teamed. That should free up Royal who finds ways to get open and Stokley in the slot. The Ravens will show blitz and back off then try to pick off Kyle’s passes, while bringing the blitz with the same formation to upset his rhythm.

I look for Kyle to drop back in a 3, 5 and 7 step to try and get off better with his passes using the running back option a lot more in this game. We have to establish some sort of running attack to be successful in the air, showing disguises to keep their defense off balanced.

Watch for some trick plays this week, reverses, and maybe even a flea flicker from Moreno to Orton. I am not sure if we can just run it down their throats because they are pretty good at stopping the run. Their weak spot so far have been in the secondary and if we can exploit it then we might have some success there. I am sure McDaniels will have a plan to keep them from making the big plays if that is possible.

While on defense, bring pressure up the middle, the Broncos have struggled with tough NT’s, so I think if you can bring pressure and force Moreno and Buckhalter into protection rolls up the middle you should have some success. I would probably play combo zone/man to try to confuse Orton.

On offense, I think the question will be can they protect long enough. I think if you can provide decent protection then things do open up in the secondary, I would probably try to match up some bigger guys against Williams and Goodman and challenge them deep. I would probably try to run at Dumervil, force him to respect the run and not have his ears pinned back.

Let Knowshon and Corell gain 9 yards on 1st down and force us into a short yardage situation.

J/K. I would man up tight in coverage and make Orton throw over the top. On offense I would keep pounding the rock even if it didn’t work at first and keep running it, because let’s be honest, you aren’t going to complete much against Champ, Goody, B-dawk and Hill.

PS, Renaldo Hill needs a catch nickname. How about Renegade!

Do something offensively in the second half. Short and sweet, but that has made all of the difference.

McDaniels and Nolan are now notorious for their adjustments. The trick is to force our hand. Exploit a weakness (like screens and flat passes) and be prepared for our coming adjustment (backing off the pass rush, more pressing on WRs). Once we make the change, burn a LB with play action to a fast slot or TE. That’s exactly what happened with the Chargers. They killed us with screens early on, never the same one twice. Then we made changes, and Norv tried go for the slot and TE passes after two failed drives, but the Chargers O-line couldn’t give Rivers the time he needed.
McDaniels has turned the game into a bit of a chess match. Anticapting our moves and preparing a plan against them is critical for any team to stand a chance. I think that’s why we saw the “wild horses” against NE early on. McDaniels was sending a message to Bellichick. “You think you know me huh? Well let’s see if you saw this coming!” As soon as the Pats adjusted, we moved on to other calls. Cat and mouse. So far, we’ve been the cat.

If I’m Baltimore, i try to put the game away early…because if the Bronco’s are winning or it’s close at the half, it’s bed time for the Ravens.

You guys are going to get more Rice thrown at you than a wedding party. We don’t really run up the middle anymore. When we do, we use McGahee or McClaine. Our O line is excellent. Oher played 1 game at RT as a pro and stopped JJ in Minn.. the other bookend is even bigger and just as good. Birk at center. Tough tough line to crack.

If you do get by the line Flacco is a miny Ben getting away from sacks. He’s 6’6" and loves to dump down to Rice. He can see over anything. You’ll see Heap getting 2 20 yard catches. Mason will get his 8 for 80. Clayton his 5-55. Washington his 3-30. Rice 8-100. The rest scattered.

Take away some very very bad calls in the last 2 minutes and we are 5-1 at worse. We had Brady beat in NE but Clayton dropped an easy pass on their 9 with a minute left to end it. We had Minn beat but our boy kicker choked. Cincy did the best job handling us so far. We’re pretty pissed and will lay it all out there Sunday. I don’t think Orton will be able to handle the crowd noise. We are the loudest stadium in the league. That’s not bunk either.

We have the 3rd best home record over the past 10 years. behind the (i think) Colts and Steelers.

Your receivers will totally keep me on the edge of my seat. It could be a DB disaster. I am relying on Rice and Mason because they will need to match the success that Marshall and Royal WILL have.

I just hope that we return to the 3 man running game like we did to close the old Texas Stadium. There is no reason not to spend the 1st quarter banging away on you. If you get an early lead that will all but be abandoned. BUT, the short passes to Rice are essentially runs. Without him this year we’d be hosed.

I am looking forward to seeing the Broncos. They are a mystery to me. The Broncos don’t get the 50 hours a week ESPN coverage like the Steelers, Favre and Pats.

Play tight d, no cushions, stop the dink and dunk for no yac. Completely stop the run game, make em settle for fieldgoals, no turnovers on offense. on third and five or more, run some delays, cause the edges will be flying to big ben. and bing bam boom, you got yourself a 17-12 victory over the broncs. Least thats what this Steeler fan is dreaming of. But you dang Broncos better beat the stinkin Ravens. Cause you guys are my nephews team, he is j-man on here, and he eats and sleeps Broncos. If i am not winning, then i am rooting for him and the Broncos.
And i think Chase Daniels is already the coach of the year, and the next Tomlin!

And the 3-4 rules!! I been telling Shannahan to switch for years!!