REV'D UP - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly on Friday Night

Friday Night was horrible.  Not because the Bronco's lost or because Orton threw 3 picks, but because I was stuck in the Idaho mountains, far away from a TV and the game.  Thank God for my cell phone which allowed me to pick up an occasional twitter update from time to time...

But thanks to the NFL Network replaying the games... and a DVR, I have gotten a chance to watch the game a couple of times and thought I would throw out a few observations about the game.  I know that lots of you have already processed through the game, but this is a good way for me to "unload" since I am a pretty lonely Bronco fan in my neck of the woods, that's why I love MHR.  Anyway, I saw alot of good things... a few things that didn't look so hot... and just one ugly.  So here we go.

THE GOOD

ORTON - I know you are going to question this one, but I have watched Orton's four series a few times now and the guy looks really good.  Sure, he made 3 mistakes and has some "happy feet" (who wouldn't after a few years behind Chicago's line), but it's pre-season game 1 and he is virtually a rookie QB this year learning a new system.  Take the three INT's out of the tape, and you will be impressed with the guy and the offense.  It was pretty clear to me that Orton and the offense pretty much did whatever they wanted.  They moved the ball at will.  Kyle spread the ball around (wasn't locked into any 1 guy... gee... wonder where I saw that all last season... or this week against the bills for that matter)... the receivers were getting great separation (especially Royal)... and Kyle was making great reads and running the offense very well.  The SF commentators made mention several times about how well Orton was running the offense and how Denver fans should be feeling pretty good about the direction of things (even after Orton had 2 ints, the commentators were talking up Orton's play).   Again, take the three bad plays off the table and Orton looks really, really good. 

SIMMS - I like Chris Simms.  He's a tough player and a straight up guy.  He played very well on Friday and handled the second squad very nicely.  He even defended Orton after the game... a class act.  His play was very good.  He made good decisions, put good zip on the ball, didn't turn the ball over, and led the offense on three scoring drives.  He wasn't playing against the first team D-fense, but he still played very well.  It's nice to know we have got someone who can roll if something ever happened to KO. 

THE O-LINE - We have an awesome offensive line.  Even the second and third guys played very well.  The protection was very good all night, and the running game was decent.  It must be a pretty strange feeling for Orton to stand behind those guys and not to have to worry about the pocket collapsing a second after the snap.  Those guys will keep the offense in a very good place all year.

ROYAL - The guy might catch 200 passes this year.  He looked amazing and seems like he could get open at will.  I predict a Pro-Bowl for Eddie this year.

HILLIS - Everytime the guy touches the ball, it takes several guys to bring him down.  He has got great quickness and power... but is also a pretty nimble guy too.  At SF, he consistently made guys miss and had to be gang tackled almost every time.  He is an animal.

MORENO - Looked very good in his few touches.  Even after it looked like he tweeked his knee, he pushed the D back for an extra 4 yards.  He had good burst, and pops up after every touch.  I am excited to see him rolling in our backfield this year, and not SD's.

SACKS - It was really good to see the D getting some pressure on the QB.  4 Sacks is an OK night for a D... and those sacks came early on... not in garbage time late in the game.    I was frustrated all last year at the lack of pressure we got on opposing teams QB's, so it was very good to see a few sacks from the D.

SPECIAL TEAMS - Maybe the most surprising improvements that I noticed was on Special Teams.  We looked prepared and disciplined.  Phonz looked pretty good as a returner (might have broke one all the way had he not been tripped up) and McKinley showed some skill as a returner as well.  Coverage was very good, and our punters each had punts downed inside the 20 (Coulquitt had one at around the 5... he looks pretty good as a rook...)  It is obvious that McD is making ST a priority.

COACHING - the team looks well coached and prepared for the game... I even think the MSM is starting to realize that McD has got his act together and understands how to coach a football team.  I liked McD going for 2 at the end... it showed maturity and an understanding of what they are trying to accomplish in the pre-season... which is to evaluate and prepare.  I loved Shanny, but McD has impressed me from Day 1... and it continued on Friday.

THE BAD

COVERAGE ON THE TE's and FB's - Vernon Davis ate our lunch, and it could have been worse.  Their Full Back scored both of theirtouchdowns.  The defense is going to have to fix that problem... and fix it fast because we have some very good TE's on the schedule this year.

TOO MUCH HILLIS - Don't get me wrong, I love watching Hillis play, but he pretty much played the whole game, and I would hate to see him get hurt before the season starts.  He is a smash mouth kind of back, that requires multiple defenders to bring him down.  Save him for the season... he is too versatile and creates too many match up problems to waste in the pre-season.

NOT ENOUGH TE's - Where was Sheffler, DG, and Quinn in the offense?  TE's can also create some real match up problems for a D - and we have some great ones to utilize.  Seemed like we under utilized them on Friday.

NO TURNOVERS CREATED BY THE D - I know it was only game 1, but last year the broncos lost the turnover battle big time, and I was hoping to see the D-fense create a turnover or two... but not so.  If the team is going to be competitive this year, they are going to have to win the turnover battle...

FIRST TEAM RB's - Buck and Jordan didn't exactly look great, in fact Jordan looked slow and stopped driving at first contact.  Neither looked like anything that a Defense was going to need to gear up for.  I would have liked to see a much more steady dose of run... so that it at least makes the D play honest.

3 INT's - I am not too concerned about Orton's 3 picks... because he has never been a turnover prone player in the past, so I don't expect the same in the weeks to come.  However, 3 first half turnovers is virtually impossible to overcome... and it puts a huge strain on the D. 

AYERS - Maybe I was expecting too much, but Ayers didn't look good at all.  He looked like he was behind the play all night.  I know that he's a rook, but it seems as if the speed of the game is overwhelming him at the moment.  Hopefully more coaching and pre-season playing time can help him catch up.

THE UGLY

BRANDSTATER's HAIRCUT - um... if you haven't seen the pictures, they are worth a look... :) 

All in all, I thought the team looked pretty good for a brand new team (new coaching staff, new system on both sides of the ball, and virtually new personnel at every position).  I think a whole lot of questions will be answered this week at Seattle... so we will see!  Go Broncos!