I'm confused... no, wait, maybe I'm not!

But I think for answers we will have to wait till the season starts to find some answers, especially those about our defense and screen passes. I do agree about Williams, I am a big fan, think he’s a great linebacker, one of the rocks of our defense, but he hasn’t done enough yet to be in the discussion for ring of honor.

And aren’t the Chargers going to run away with the division and win the SB every year? How has the last part worked out for them. I say forget what you hear. Use your own intuition.

The defense wore down last year, plain and simple. We didn’t have all the personnel in place to completely and effectively run the defense the way it could be. I think we have made improvements there.

I completely agree with the screen pass situation. A few times a game would be ideal, not every 5th play. It becomes so obvious. If I can sit at the local watering hole and figure out when it’s coming, I’m sure the defensive coordinators in the league are able to do the same. My only guess is that it is a high reward, low risk play. But only when the opponent is caught off guard.

The old saying might apply here. If you have three QB’s you probably don’t have one legitimate one. Although with that said, look at Cleveland for example. Whom would you rather have. Orton, Quinn and Tebow or Delhomme, Wallace and McCoy. I’ll take my chances with the prior.

I think part of the issue with DJ is that he has been moved around time after time. He is a solid player with the potential to be a ring of famer. I’d like to see what he could do playing the same position for a few years. He has over 600 tackles in his six years. Not too shabby i.m.o.

Good thoughts and a great discussion piece.

Glad they are now fixed!

I don’t think you are confused at all. I like this post.

SB nation was informed and they’re working on it, with their apologies. Nice article, by the way, bp – rec’d! Given the variations of the screen, (Note – there are many kinds other than bubble screens, and all of the screens thrown by Denver were not, contrary to some beliefs, bubble screens) I don’t have a problem with it’s use, but I share your desire for lots of other options. Apparently, that’s unanimous – McDaniels commented during OTAs that they are looking to use much more of the vertical game when passing and become much more aggressive this year on both sides of the ball. I think that a lot of us will feel relieved!

“A Jack of All Trades and Master of None” This makes him a very good candidate for a 3-4 linebacker, whos range of responsibilties are bigger than the LB roles in a 4-3. They’ve got to be able to cover multiple gaps, stuff the run, drop back in coverage, as well as inside blitz and do all these thing often. They need great range especially when the OLBs play up on the line and attack the QB or contain as Ends. 3-4 ILBs have to be extremely versitle in a 3-4 Defense; almost as versatile as their 3-4 OLB counterparts.

Thats the sacrifice you have to make when you run the 3-4. Because a 4-3 is more straightforward and positional roles are more focused, the positions require much more expertise at specific responsiblities while the 3-4 players have to have a vast knowledge of the defense in their entire area of the field as roles are quite-often interchanged (as is seen in a zone blitz). You get D-linemen dropping into coverage, while 3 of your linebackers attack the QB. It just takes a lot of knowledge and the ability to do a lot of things well.

I think DJ will really shine as a 3-4 ILB, and this second year in the system will really tell if he can translate that knack of being where the ball is to making plays on the field. The 3-4 by far gives each player the prime opportunity to make individual plays in the backfield. The D-Line gets the least opportunity in it because these guys are basically consuming as many blockers as possible so all of the skill positions behind them can not just do the normal responsiblities of attacking the ballcarrier and covering recievers but ALSO attack the QB unexpectedly – with many more options than a 4-3 would give you.

Last year left a lot of things unsaid about what this defense will be. We had hints of what it could be, but expect many of your questions about it’s character to be answered in this 2nd year with about 75% of the players returning with specific knowledge of this system and this D-coordinator.

I also was getting the page locked up EVERY SINGLE TIME I accessed the site. Then I went to Tools, Internet Options and Delete. Deleting your browsing history might help. Mine works just fine now. Hope it helps you.

during the first six games of the season, but once there flaw was exposed (run defense, no deep threat, Orton’s injury in Washington (he was never the same after that), and our short running game just to name a few), teams changes there game plan to exploit these weakness and our coaching staff did not do enough and the players did not do enough to compensate for these weaknesses.

This season will indicate how we are doing and where our progression is. Things look really good on paper, but what is on the paper and what happens in reality are two different things.

the deal with the screen is that it’s apparently an extremely well-designed play that is almost foolproof, but is also horrendously complicated in terms of assignments. apparently – and I can’t remember the source if where I read this – the Broncos didn’t run it correctly until late in the season, and then when they finally did, it worked great. I imagine it was always almost there and so McD just kept pounding it until they got it right.

I do know that Tim Tebow definitely walks on water. Unfortunately the game of football is played on grass (or a facsimile thereof). TT’s water walking seems to have translated to NCAA grass but for reasons that are not fully understood, NCAA grass appears to be different than NFL grass. Maybe it’s the hash marks…maybe it’s Saturdays versus Sundays. At any rate it remains to be seen if TT can translate his water-walking skills to NFL grass.

I always like to say that most of us come to MHR to learn more than to teach. Although, many times it seems quite the opposite (myself highly included in what might be perceived as a know-it-all attitude in some exchanges I like to get into). So kudos for your humbleness in this post. I could learn a thing or two and be reminded of a thing or two from that..

I haven’t read any predictions of the Chargers making it to the Super Bowl. I have read quite a few who belive that they will win the AFC West only because it’s a weak division…

But we’ll see how weak it turns out to be!

I started experiencing the freeze up on July 10. At first I could read one or two posts before it happened, but then I’d have to reboot. After a few days of this, it froze as soon as I got to MHR. I contacted Bena and kentucky bronco at MHR. No response from Bena but kb tried to be helpful.
I contacted sbnation and described the problem, and got a response from a guy named Chris (cases@sbnation.fogbugz.com) who said they were aware of the problem and were working on it.
On July 16, my computer really froze – I had to shut down and re-start three times to be able to exit MHR. I stayed away from MHR until 7/22. I contacted Chris again in the meantime and was told again that they were working on it.
On 7/22, I tried MHR again and haven’t had any problems. I informed Chris of this and he replied that the problem seemed to be working itself out but that there were still sporadic problems.
There was some discussion about this in the Commenst section of the 7/12 edition of HorseTracks.

although, I don’t agree in total on DJ, you just don’t get a 100 tackles in a year by being average. Did he miss some plays? Yup, but so did the majority of the front seven throuhout the year.

I am really hoping I see fewer screen plays this year, or that when I see them they are productive. I’m really anxious to see if we really have fixed our OL, which, I’m not completely convinced we have. There are just too many questions there to feel comfortable.

I’m sure many here at mhr will disagree (vehemently), but the reason that people think Denver is without a quarter back is two fold:

1. The organization has sent clear signals that they do not believe in Orton as a long term solution at QB. (the draft, the trades, the other needs on the team that were placed on the back burner in order to obtain QB’s). It’s easy to assume that McX is planning for a new route.

2. Settling on a middle-of-the-road QB is no way to get to the Super Bowl. Elite talent at that position is the beginning of most championship teams. Across the NFL, there are teams who either have “the guy”, or there are teams who are looking for “the guy”. Many folks who have actually watched Orton play, (rather than reading his stat sheet) have come to the conclusion that he cannot be “the guy” in Denver or anywhere else. Being better than Chris Simms, and having a winning record are not the makings of a champion in themselves.

This has been debated endlessly here and elsewhere, and most people have made a decision about how they feel on Orton. But you asked why people say Denver is without a QB, and I think I know why they feel that way. I was watching the games too.

The answer is no. DJ Williams is not a ROFer.