Horse Tracks 11/3/09 - Harris expected to be out three weeks with two dislocated toes

Orton was being harassed all day. I think that, given time, the broncos can set up for a lot of stop and go routes and really kill a defense with a deep ball.

I wish that we had more time for Orton on sunday because Marshall had Foxworth set up for a big play a few times. The CBs were cutting off the slants and short out passes and sitting on the comeback routes. Given more time, those CBs could have been left out to dry a few times.

highlights a philosophic criteria of mcdaniels: when the safeties are over the top, don’t throw the deep ball. Denver does an awesome job of this on defense themselves, by keeping Dawkins and hill deep, they force a presnap read that tells the QB to ignore the deep ball. I think the Ravens proved that defenses can do the same thing to the Denver offense, though it is worth pointing out that Cinci did the same thing, as did NE and SD. BAL was the first team to beat us doing it, and it was more noticeable because we got so far behind.

This highlights 2 concerns: the first is that when teams take away the deep ball schematically, they expose a weakness elsewhere. If our Pass protection had held up, Orton may have been able to find those options, but 2 sacks, 5 hits and even more hurries doesn’t help.

The second concern is that Bmarsh needs to develop into a viable deep threat where Orton can throw him a “trust” ball. They don’t have that connection yet, for whatever reason. I think it can develop with time, but it is probably equal parts Orton’s accuracy, BMarsh’ ability to attack the ball, and offensive opportunitites, namely single coverage.

I think the best opportunity to start developing that relationship will come when Denver manages to gain an early lead in the first half. Because it is a risky style of playcalling, I can’t see Denver attempting it during close games, or when they have a chance to get back into a game. Until we start seeing early leads from our offense, I dont’ think we will be seeing any deep ball offense.