Aussie Meanderings: Things that team, coaches and fans can learn from the Baltimore loss!

by boydy2669 on Nov 2, 2009 6:34 PM MST Comment 35 comments

Hi Everyone!

Firstly, congrats to Baltimore! They outplayed, out schemed and out enthused us. They were clutch, and we were a little over awed.

Anyway, as my pops used to always tell me, you learn more about yourself from hardships, and as I tell all my athletes, you take more away from a loss than a win!

With this in mind, I want to look at some things that players, Coach McD and fans can take away from this game, both some positives, and some things to think about.

Read on and enjoy!

Coach McD:

Defense is awesome. It was as good as Baltimore's, and these are the 2 best defenses in the NFL. Coach Nolan continues to do a great job. We were inches away from this being a 6-7 sack day, and Flacco must be given credit for pocket awareness and keeping plays along. We brought good pressure and simply ran out of gas. We got killed in TOP.
Kyle Orton is a lot more mobile, and has better pocket presence than he gets credit for. I mentioned this yesterday, but it is a miracle that he did not get killed yesterday. I know the haters will be back in force, but go back and watch the game! He was constantly on the run and did all he could.
This was the first time when McD was out coached. And it will be good for him! His presser was classic.....he was humble, forthright, diplomatic, a gracious loser but your could tell it was eating him up. I learnt more from this than anything. He will LEARN from this and get this team better prepared, and himself and his coaches better prepared. Lets see how our young uber-coach responds.
Coach Preifer better have a GREAT week! Our ST screwed the pooch AGAIN this week, and the worst thing is it was on a different part of the game....kick off return! Last year, I believe we were out gunned personnel wise.....i mean , DAMN, most of our 1st teamers would not have made other teams ST. But this year, we drafted with ST in mind...we have ST gamers from college. This comes back to scheme and coaching. We have good personnel and COULD be good. This has me scratching my head!
McD's offensive strategy has me...well, to be honest, mystified! We have an attacking, balls to the wall defense. Why the hell are we not matching that intensity with the same attitude on offense. Here's some home truths. Orton's arm is plenty strong. You dont have a great arm in high school and in college and then mysteriously lose it somewhere in Chicago. People who think his arm is week have not researched him at al...and I am sick of hearing it. Moreno is NOT good between tackles. He struggles to fall forward and dances too much. The zone game sets up better for him, and will let him run to his strengths. We have a WR and TE corps (collectively) is in the Top 3 in the league.....then add Hillis to the list. Looking at these facts, I have to question what McD is thinking. He is selling Orton and the whole offense short, and his want for a power running game is stifling his, and our offenses creativity. WE NEED TO ATTACK ON OFFENSE! Whave not done this allyear, bar the game against NE and we saw what happened there....we were unstoppable. I am hoping yesterdays is an aberration, and not a harbinger of things to come!

PLAYERS:

Offensive line was SO blah yesterday. As Tim "Zappa" Lynch mentioned, we are trying to play a power running game, but playing finesse-like (which is a nice way for saying playing with no fire). Guru mentioned last night that we dont have the personnel for a power running game. I agree. Our running game has been ordinary. We have broken some big ones, but our offense (so far) relies upon decent pick ups on 1st and 2nd down to put us in manageable positions. Me, I am personally sick of seeing Moreno run between the tackles for between 0-2 yards! Our big gains have been made on draws, sweeps, tosses and off tackle. Lets go back to zone, at least play to our strengths (both o line and running backs). Which leads me to Moreno......
I was SO high on this kid coming out of college. He showed the ability to make one cut, head up field, and then be illusive in space and hard to tackle in open field. I do NOT like what I am seeing out of him. He dances before cutting, seems hesitant, and struggles to fall forward after contact. HE IS TRYING HIS GUTS OUT,,,no doubt....but man I am SICK of him not getting any more than 1 or 2 yards per carry on first downs. It has us chasing the chains, and with the low risk scheme that McD seems infatuated with, makes 3rd down hard on this team. I am not sure whether it is him, mainly the scheme, or a combination of both, but we need to get him going.
Dumervil continues to surprise. He brought lots of pressure yesterday, but is shining in the run and dropping into coverage too. Hes becoming a COMPLETE linebacker and an every down player.
Robert Ayers is playing REALLY well. A couple of tackles for loss yesterday, and is bringing plenty of pressure. I am happy we have this kid!
Eddie Royal???? I am concerned. he is dropping balls, struggling to separate and making bad decisions in the return game. THE KID IS TRYING SO HARD....maybe over trying. Bar the SD game, he has been terrible in the return game. I feel this is a combination of bad protection by ST and his indecisiveness. I would like to see him just concentrate on his WR position. He is a wasted resource at the moment and we need him to come to life!
Dawkins continues to amaze me!
Where is the Alphonso Smith from the first week. Seems he is going thru the motions at the moment and his ST play has been average.
Sheffler had the hot hand, could have cut the Ravens apart and he gets thrown to.....once? What gives!
I am not a Mitch Berger fan. Painfully slow release, gave us bad field position. Look, I get it about net, and letting your coverage team get down the field, but seriously, kicking it 20 yards high in the air does nothing. I will reserve my judgment, but I am on record as saying I am skeptical!
The Ben Hamilton Era needs to be done. He has been good for us but we need to start at least rotating in Olson. Benny was blown up consistently, and he should buy Orton a sumo suit just to protect him, because Ben by himself cant!

THE FANS:

OK....look, game threads are going to get heated, so I think we ALL need to give each other a break...from the doomsdayers all the way to the Kool AId drinkers. A 24 hour monotorium would be good. THESE ARE ALL PASSIONATE FANS...lets remember that before we get stuck into each other. I get sick of the calling out and questioning each others fandom. First and foremost, we all love the Broncos...nuff said!
Hands up who thinks our team is FAR ahead in its development? I have my 2 arms up! Just think about this for a minute, and its the thought that brought me back to reality. Can I really be that disappointed or be bitching because we are 6-1 and we got beaten by a super bowl favorite. Just think about it MHR brethren....we are play off bound. I did not think we would be there until next season, and there is still so much we can improve on...BE STOKED EVERYONE!
TRUST ME ON THIS......this loss will be better for the long term development of the team than a win, Our young guys are going to see how to react from our vets, our vets will be fired up, because for some of them, this is a legit chance at the Super Bowl. It will be great for McD, who I believe will be one of the greatest ever. He laid a BIG TIME EGG yesterday, so we will see what the young buck has got. Next week will be a STATEMENT GAME...we win this we will be incredibly hard to beat, You judge the GREAT teams not by their wins, but by their positive reactions to hardship. I have a feeling our team will rebound. WE WONT GET BLOWN OUT AGAIN!

Just some random thoughts:

I would have kicked off and defended first. By forcing a 3 and out on defense would have taken the crowd out of it. You saw the role the Ravens got on from that first sack!
My heart bled for Aaron Rodgers. That must be one of the worst O lines in the league at Green Bay

Amyway, lots of positive guys. There is always a silver lining!
My wish is for us to come out amd ATTACK on both side of the ball and put the STeelers away early.
Peace guys!

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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Comments

You give me too much credit. lol

I said we were soft which you so aptly made me look smart by translating into “power running with finesse”. hehe

Seriously though, good read and rec’d bro!

Verbose in style, dispersion of thought, procrastination in life.

The guy formerly known as ZAPPA

by Tim Lynch on Nov 2, 2009 6:38 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

I knew what you manet my friend HAHAHA!

Those that cant coach, compete!
Failing to plan is planning to fail.
All I want is 53 Rod Smiths. Is that asking too much????
"Peyton Hillis didn’t rip the sleeves off his jersey, they flew off out of fear."
Calijoefornia.

by boydy2669 on Nov 2, 2009 6:43 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

In "THE FANS No. 2"

You say we’re a 6-2 team? Do you know something the rest of us don’t?

Otherwise, great writing, like we’ve come to expect, Boydy. Your eyes make mine smarter.

Keep the faith!

"Remember, it's only a game."

by robswenson on Nov 2, 2009 6:48 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

Sorry 6-1 man soon to be 7-1!

by boydy2669 on Nov 2, 2009 6:50 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

I think you can still edit it

from your side of the screen.

"Remember, it's only a game."

by robswenson on Nov 2, 2009 7:03 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Good idea!

by boydy2669 on Nov 2, 2009 7:03 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Great post. I love it all. Thanks for bringing us bronco opinion from down under.

I’ll trust you on fans number 3. I, too, believe that this team will grow a lot from this loss and be better off in the end.

If Taylor Swift were to try and tackle me, I'd let her.

by kentuckybronco on Nov 2, 2009 6:51 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

You pretty much summed it up for me too

But maybe one other thing. Remember, McD’s system got us 6-1 for the first 7 games, so abandoning the philosophy is not a good thing, which seems like many are calling for. Not that there isn’t room for improvement. And coach has said over and over again, he doesn’t want to be predictable. I think he was yesterday, and I’m confident he’ll learn from it and adjust. Great post Boydy, thanks and rec’d!

Give a man a fish, and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he'll eat for a lifetime.
"Losing stinks" - Josh McDaniels

by azbroncomaniac on Nov 2, 2009 7:55 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

Thanks AZ!

by boydy2669 on Nov 2, 2009 7:58 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Good post Boydy

I always enjoy reading your thoughts. I especially agree with your thought that this loss will be good for the team and especially good for McDaniels. I think McD likes having a fire lit under him, and he will respond accordingly in the upcoming weeks. The test comes when we see what kind of adjustments the Broncos make in the next game. Last year was frustrating because we kept losing games in the exact same ways, never acknowledging our faults or doing anything to disguise or improve upon them. I have a feeling that for the Steelers to beat us, they’ll have to do so in a different way than the Ravens did. Our weaknesses the game before will become our strengths. McD will force us to adapt.

by bowma101 on Nov 2, 2009 8:55 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

I agree on the zone blocking

Our running game was great there for many years. It has been somewhat dissapointing to see them go away from the zone blocking. However, it has been great to see us get so much stronger on defense. I have enjoyed the team a lot this year, but I agree with you on the conservative offense and running game.

Overall a good read and recommended. Thanks,

by Quietone on Nov 2, 2009 8:58 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

Great piece

Thing that is even more troubling about Moreno. This kid never lost a fumble in the 2 years he spent playing in the all powerful SEC, not one. What a difference the jump from college to pro is. Please hold on to the ball Knowshon.

by johnnyurrotten on Nov 2, 2009 9:50 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

Not that there is such thing as a good fumble...

But I doubt many of the elite backs in the NFL would hold on to that ball. The way to prevent that turnover would have been to block Reed or not throw the “F’yer buddy pass.”

by Velveeta on Nov 3, 2009 6:27 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

I agree completly

I wasnt just refering to that fumble. Knowshon has put several on the rug this year. No one in the league could have held on to that ball after Reeds hit. Kind of blame Orton for that one he televised the hell out of that throw even pumping it once before throwing it. Now that I think about it not the first time hes led one of our players into a crushing blow. Still got nothing but love for you Kyle, I;ll enjoy watching you bounce back this week.

by johnnyurrotten on Nov 3, 2009 10:34 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

I agree with it all boydy.

Character may be manifested in the great moments but it is made in the small ones -- Philip Brooks

by KaptainKirk on Nov 2, 2009 10:32 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

Great post!

Patience with the offense boydy, it will come. New/complicated scheme for all the players. Crawl before you walk…walk before you run. McD is limiting the playbook until they master the currents plays, imo.
Couldn’t agree more on Berger. He’s terrible and they should at the very least keep trying out new kickers. What the heck were they thinking when they released Kern for this guy.

by rocko1 on Nov 2, 2009 10:40 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

This may sound sick.

but I have never felt so at ease with a lose. That’s sick, huh?

by bfree2bronc on Nov 3, 2009 12:05 AM MST reply actions 0 recs

Hey Boydy

Interesting points. I am also going back through the tape for my weekly spotlight and I am very stoked actually. Each mistake we made can be corrected. It’s no lie when McD came out yesterday and talked about line miscommunication. Most of the pressures were NOT linemen getting blown up. They were mental errors. I noticed several times guys simply let off on their block or slide to another man too quickly on combo blocks.

The Berger experiment? I am withholding judgement. Last night I did some regression on punting stats and winning. It was quite interesting.

Rec’d!

Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

by TJ Johnson on Nov 3, 2009 8:40 AM MST reply actions 0 recs

Thanks dude....

I have always wondered why teams did not bring in rugby players. Part of my skill set growing up was being able to kick off both feel, and do a VARIETY of kicks: up and unders, grubber kicks, torpedos, cross kicks….none of these SEEM to be taught with NFL kickers. They sure could learn a lot form rugby.

by boydy2669 on Nov 3, 2009 8:47 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Get your cleats, Boydy! I'm sending you to Dove Valley!

"Take what you can. Give nothing back!"

by Colorado_Kitten on Nov 3, 2009 9:57 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Actually

Check out the punter for the University of Texas this year (I don’t know his name or whether there’s UTube film). He’s kicks rugby style with either foot and while I don’t think he’s been very consistent, the unorthodox style is a breath of fresh air.
Go Broncs!

It's "just" football

by Donkhead on Nov 3, 2009 1:14 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks Boydy...Always enjoy your point of view...Rec'd

I am a huge McDaniels Fan and have been from the get-go so I too am really looking forward to seeing how he responds to the adversity…Also, your points regarding the power running game vs. the zone blocking is completely valid and something I am hoping that McD comes to terms with as well…He can address obtaining players for more power during this off-season, but in the meantime I would like to see him more agressive with the zone running game!

Thanks for the post…Go Broncos

by BroncoSense72 on Nov 3, 2009 9:22 AM MST reply actions 0 recs

Boydy .... I couldn't agree with you more on the Broncos Running game!!

As you know, I was the lead drum beater of the Knowshon to Denver marching band starting way back in January. The reason was I saw unlimited potential for Moreno in the Zone Blocking Scheme. Now unfortunately I believe, that dream match up will never come to fruition. Unforturnately, for whatever reason McDaniels likes to employ the Draws, Traps and Pulling Guard style he is familiar with. Here is issue…

At Georgia they used the ZB scheme and Moreno out on the edge was dangerous, his highlights showed the shake and bake to make guys miss, the elusiveness and wiggle to get the tough yards. His two biggest assets are Vision and cut back ability with excellent burst. Those two assets are now nullilfied as he is used strickly between the tackles.

Ben Hamiliton weighs 290 pounds, Chris Kuper weighs 303 pounds … this entire line was built by the old regime to fit the Zone Blocking scheme. It’s raw physics!! How is Ben Hamiliton going to pull around to the play side and move a 340 pound DT by taking him head on?? How is Kuper going to seal off a Trap against a man much larger than him? Well in the ZB scheme they used ANGLES to move the entire line as a unit and the back would find the right hole…I don’t think any of us can say that Denver couldn’t run the ball over the last 14 years!! Guys selling insurance now used to be 1000 yard backs in Denver!

Using Knowshon like John Riggins is putting a square peg in a round hole! Josh McDaniels clearly has proven that he knows how to coach. I have personally talked to a few Bronco players and they all really really like playing for him. I don’t think he refuses to use the ZB scheme due to EGO or anything like that, it’s just not familiar to him and he may not feel comfortable coaching them up on it.

The biggest and best runs of this season have been when Denver has Zone Blocked and most, if not all have been by Buckhalter…leaving fans and pundits to say, Buchalter is the better back in Denver right now. The long run against Cleveland for a TD was a ZB run. It’s by far more effective when you have a mobile athletic undersized line and not Moreno’s fault he never gets to run them!

I disagree with the notion that Knowshon is too hesistant and “dances” too much, when the play unfolds look at the DT pushing the Guard back in his face! He has to “dance” or spin to create a new running lane that is no longer there. Look at how Vince Wilford OWNED Ben Hamilton. Remember in SB 32 when all the pundits and experts said the big guy for the Packers, Gilbert Brown was going to chew up the Broncos undersized line…well they ZB the heck out of him, kept him on skates all day and by the end he was worn out and couldn’ stop anyone!

I definitely like what I see from Denver on the whole, they play smart effecient football. The Defense is flat out awesome, the Offense needs a bit more explosion and to push the ball downfield more and in the end, if we get back to using the undersized lineman in the ZB scheme, the Broncos running game will take off like it did in years past.

Food for thought – neither back is on pace to break 1000 yards, Knowshon has 420 yards so far and is averaging only 60 yards per game. The Broncos as a team have 862 yards rushing or about 40 more than Chris Johnson has personally!

All in all the Broncos are playing great, I am very impressed with McDaniels, Orton and Nolan but would like to see us get back to what was so successfull for many many years!

Great Post Boydy and sorry I was so long winded!

Moreno in 2009! - Check
Taylor Mays in 2010!

by Steve O' on Nov 3, 2009 1:07 PM MST reply actions 7 recs

Well put. This would get rec'ds as a post, too, IMO.

If Taylor Swift were to try and tackle me, I'd let her.

by kentuckybronco on Nov 3, 2009 1:56 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

I agree that this reply is worthy of a Fanpost

by Quietone on Nov 4, 2009 7:52 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Nice post Boydy!

And I agree with most of what you said. I will (with all due respect and playing the devil’s advocate a bit) say that while Orton may not have a weak arm, until I see some more long ball launches, I remain unconvinced that this is an effective part of Kyle’s game. I think he’s very good in the short game (particularly now that the glove’s off) and has repeatably shown great zip on anything from eight to twenty-five yards. But it seems very rare that he’s throwing the long touch pass and then, it almost always happens from the middle of the third quarter on – as if his confidence level starts pretty low each week and then generally comes up as the game moves along – except for this past week, for obvious reasons. I think some of this is developmental – he’s still learning this offense and his teammates. But some of this appears to be a timidity, probably due to “no turnovers” preaching that creates an unduly conservative approach. If I were a defensive coordinator, I would do everything I could to take away the run and short passing game and dare Kyle to beat me with the long ball. I hope he does by the way – as it makes this offense much harder to defend.
Once again, great job! Go Broncs!

It's "just" football

by Donkhead on Nov 3, 2009 1:33 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

rec'd for another great read

I agree with it all.

Just to add my two cents worth:
Coach #1: Flacco’s receivers did a better job of adjusting to the pressure on their QB than ours did.
Coach #3: And you can be sure, McD will pass that learning on to his players.
Coach #4: Returns for TD’s in consecutive games. Something’s got to change.
Coach #5: After listening to post game interviews, where there were repeated descriptions of the safeties playing deep, I tend to disagree that we weren’t attacking the Ravens’ defense. We needed the running game to work so that we could pull the safeties towards the line of scrimmage, in order to free up Orton & the receivers to attack the CBs. Problem is, our O-line didn’t seem to be able to open the holes for the RBs, nor provide consistently decent protection for Orton (kinda wonder if he didn’t start having flashbacks to Chicago ;-p ).

Players:
All of them — we need to suck it up & do better on Special Teams.

Fans:
An emphatic ditto for #1.

- I fully embrace the philosophy that you learn more about your team, their character and their chances of winning from how they react to losses than how they react to wins. Can they make the necessary adjustments and step up their game?

"The best defense is a good offense. Or is it the other way around." Wolverine
Pray for the best, prepare for the worst, and know you will come down somewhere between the two.
Livin' in La La Land and Lovin' It

by BShrout on Nov 3, 2009 3:00 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

The first thing I would have showed the team yesterday morning of the film was,

coach Harbaugh’s smirk. Then I would have flashed it after each and every play forward. Oh yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

by bfree2bronc on Nov 3, 2009 4:46 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

You sly dog...........

If Taylor Swift were to try and tackle me, I'd let her.

by kentuckybronco on Nov 3, 2009 6:11 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

awesoome post boydy...a total brainiac

MHR...and proud of it!

by MHRsGirl on Nov 3, 2009 8:43 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

good one bfree

That smirk, ooooooohhhh that smirk. Is it to harsh to say I wanted to smack it right off his face?

by johnnyurrotten on Nov 3, 2009 9:28 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

I think that Jim's smirk was bigger bulletin board material than smack talk would have been.

Personally, I think that people like Ocho and TO can talk all day. It’s not going to get under someone’s skin. However, that smirk just got to me. It makes ME want to get out there and hit someone.

So, johnny, I would say no to your question. It isn’t harsh at all.

If Taylor Swift were to try and tackle me, I'd let her.

by kentuckybronco on Nov 4, 2009 6:09 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs