FanPost

Oakland vs Denver: The No Bull Review

Loss number 1 in the books for the 2011 season. I can tolerate this loss this year. Because last year, we lose by 40 in a game like this. Everyone back up from the ledge. Your 2011 Denver Broncos are REBUILDING. The level of immaturity of some of our fanbase is just sickening to me. Well, this is the no bull review, and I will as always call it like I see it.

People calling for Tebow after one game = pathetic.

People saying this loss was worse than the home drubbing we got from Oakland last year = insane.

I for one will always appreciate a hard fought loss over a complete clusterfunk of a game every day of the week. Our team tried hard to win for us. We'll get into reasons why, but we got beat. I can take that...I can not take getting blown out of our own house to a division rival. To me, this game was a step forward and very telling about where we are today and where we are going.

Opponent

  • First off, as much as I abhor everything Oakland Raiders, I will say this: They have a superior running offense.
  • Cambell is a bona-fide joke at QB. The only thing he does well is dump offs and hand-offs to guys within 10 yards of the LOS. That's it. He isn't going to kill you deep unless your defense blows it. He isn't going to pick you apart with intermediate routes.
  • Oakland's D-line won all day long against our O-line. This is why we didn't score more points. This is why our offense left a bad taste in our mouths. Credit to Oakland's line...they played extremely well when they remembered how to play NFL football (you know...don't jump across the line until the ball is snapped, etc)

Offense

  • Our running game didn't work much at all. We tried to enforce our will in the middle of the line and it didn't work. Where were the stretch plays? Tosses? Something to get Moreno in space? Notice when they passed him the ball in space he gained yards. You have to play to your strengths. I don't like that we didn't even try to adjust our play calling in the run game to make things work.
  • Here's the loss for our Broncos: The O-line stunk in pass protection. Again, I credit Oakland's D-line, but I have to say that near the end of the game, Orton was finally getting a couple seconds to throw and he was looking good. Credit to McGeorge's scouting from Florida: Orlando Franklin is an all-out liability in the passing game. That kid was awful, awful, awful.
  • Orton was Orton and I for one don't blame him for the loss. His line didn't do him any favors...his WRs were dropping balls that he was putting on the money. And let's give everyone's favorite whipping boy in Denver some credit: He made a TD drive in crunch time...scoring from the red zone mind you. Good job Orton. The Tebow chumps out there are all throwing down about how you just magically fumbled the ball...I for one was paying attention to more than who was holding a clipboard on the sidelines and know that it was raining all over...wet footballs kinda slip out of people's hands. Also, kudos to Orton for being a leader during the game and pumping up our guys on the sidelines. I noticed even if no one else wants to admit it. Anyone calling for a QB switch is just nuts.
  • Overall an inconsistent game from our WRs. They all showed good stuff...they all showed some moments of whiskey tango foxtrot, over.

Defense

  • Oakland is plainly an achilles heel type of offense for us. They are bigger and stronger from what I saw in last night's game. If we rely on our speed and athleticism to win on D, then against a team like Oakland you MUST finish your tackles. Too much weak sauce tackling led to sustained drives for Oakland. You have to wrap up and hold on to them...let them drag you for a yard, but don't let them go. We weren't...our guys were trying to hit hard to make the tackle and were not trying to get ahold of the runners.
  • Boo to Vaughn for the last drive pass that got a 1st down. You have to know the situation and your opponent son! It is 4th quarter with less than 3 minutes to go. Cambell is not going to throw a long pass in that situation. You stay with your WR and play the 1st down marker. They never should have completed that 1st down and I put that on Vaughn.
  • The D-line is what I feared this pre-season - great against the pass, but not great against the run. We are missing talent at DT. I don't know if Warren is it, but the guys we had inside were failing hard and getting pushed around in the run plays. Our ends are weak against the run. I don't know how to fix this and I only think there is so much you can get from Von and Doom in the run game. They maybe can do better (and Hunter...as Doom wasn't in much of the game), but I don't know how much.
  • Dawkins looked supreme in the game...he was all over the field getting him some. Hopefully that rubs off on our team as we need more of that from others besides him and Bailey.

Special Teams

  • FANTASTIC coverage on the punt return by Decker. That was some of the best coverage I've seen by our ST units for years. Decker ran well, but that TD belongs to the whole unit because they owned it on that play.
  • I like Decker on returns - he has sure hands and runs with good vision after the catch. I'm looking forward to more of him on ST and on offense.

Coaching

  • I don't think Tebow is the answer at QB right now, but where the heck was he? Why are we not using him in situations here and there? Red zone earlier? I just don't get not at least having a Tebow package and getting some of your money out of the kid. He isn't an NFL QB yet, but he can still be a great weapon.
  • Absolute fail at the end of the game on not attempting an onside kick. It is raining...everything is slick and our Defense was NOT going to stop Oakland's run game. Keeping Oakland from scoring is doable, but keeping them from getting a couple 1st downs is NOT. I called it from home and told my wife: Fox is going to kick off like a moron and throw this game in the garbage. I hate being right like that. Onside kick was the right call...the offense was hot...the defense was not.
I'll close by saying, I'm encouraged by our team. Keep things in perspective guys...we are at best a mediocre team this year from what I'm seeing and that is okay because it is a step forward from the pile of offal we were last year. Go Broncos!

This is a Fan-Created Comment on MileHighReport.com. The opinion here is not necessarily shared by the editorial staff of MHR.