FanPost

Random Rants and Rewards - Dolphins

Back in the WIN column! The way the game started, it had me saying "here we go again". It was the first time this season that I was questioning this team. Down 14-3 and coming off an offensive 3 and out, things looked bleak early against a great defense. The offense responded, only for the defense to give up another long touchdown drive to a Dolphins offense that supposedly struggled in the redzone. Instead, Miami converted ALL 5 redzone trips into touchdowns. Second ranked defense in the league and their offense converting 5 redzone touchdowns and you'd think this was another blow out loss for the Broncos. The emotions from slight depression, to fury, to hope and then elation had all the makings of the Tebow era. Yea, I went there. Our Broncos were on the ropes, but they battled back in a slugfest and came out on top and still on track.

Joe Mahoney, AP

Brandon McManus

Nice knowing you.

Backed Into A Corner

The offensive line took it the worst over the past week and with good reason. They just were not playing well. Often, we as fans tend to overlook some of the obvious. This unit is just getting used to playing together. It was unrealistic to think making the switch would be an instant fix. As much flak as they received last week, I thought it would only be right to give them the credit they deserve. Again, the Dolphins came in with the 2nd ranked defense in the entire NFL and 3rd in total sacks. They must have been salivating at the mouth to come and eat greedy in Denver. Instead, the Broncos put up 39 points, rushed for 201 yards and only gave up a single "sacrifice" sack where Peyton really didn't have to(Welker was wide open for a possible TD in the flat). The unit played with a chip on their shoulder and it showed from the very first snap. On first down, the entire offensive line moved the line of scrimmage 4 yards down the field as a cohesive unit like a tidal wave where everyone won their battle and CJ Anderson gained 8 yards to start the game. It was a sign of things to come. I want to give special credit to Louis Vasquez because did anyone even hear "Cameron Wake" mentioned at all yesterday? Did he even play? He's the All-Pro talent on that defensive front and he was COMPLETELY neutralized by our All-Pro RG turned RT. Huge redemption by the offensive line. I think we've found our lineup. Let the chemistry continue.

The Horse Is Loose!

CJ Anderson is on a tear! His total offensive production the past 3 weeks breaks down like this: Oak 163 yards, Stl 115 yards and Mia 195 yards. Many have suggested that CJ was the best back in the stable. Maybe his undrafted status is what has kept him back, but he's forced the coach's hand. You can't let any other RB coming back from injury to take back the reigns. I don't care what round you drafted them in. I was a little skeptical at first because Montee got the short end of the stick when the offensive line just wasn't opening any holes early in the season. Anderson is getting better blocking, but let's not give the line all the credit. I'm sold on CJ because he's shown me that he can do it himself, unlike our other drafted RBs. First, it started against the Raiders where he made several(including a hall of famer) miss enroute to a 51 yard checkdown TD romp that swung the momentum on a 3rd down where the offense was on the brink of a 3 and out and stuck in the mud. Then on the first drive against the Dolphins, faced with another 3rd down, he converted another checkdown into a first down after making guys miss then plowing through a couple more to gain the first down and continue the scoring drive. He is a complete back that runs with great vision, power and elusiveness. Why was he undrafted again?

Dirty Laundry

The big elephant in the room is the penalties. The Broncos are the most penalized team in the entire NFL. That shows a total lack of discipline and it's costing the team. We've already had several TDs, big plays, and turnovers wiped away by penalties. I don't know if it's a coaching problem. The players know the rules, heck I learned the rules when I was still in junior high football. Malik Jackson is the most bone headed player on the team. How many personal foul penalties does he have now? Seems like he has one every other game. I'd hate for a yellow flag to end this season for us and if they don't get their head's out their asses, that just may be the final outcome. As classy as this organization is and full of veteran leadership, it doesn't make sense that they can't get this issue addressed. Disappointing that we can expect to lose 100 yards per game due to penalties. My question is, has a championship team ever won the big game after being the most penalized team in the league?

Hat Tricked

Demaryius Thomas continues his onslaught on league defenses. Even Brent Grimes(2nd in NFL with INTs) was no match. Grimes gave Calvin Johnson all he could ask for just last week. Then DT comes and just blows away the entire Miami squad with 3 TDs. I've mentioned it in my other write ups that Denver, for some odd reason, forgets that DT is on the team. Other teams like the Steelers and Giants(just last night) find a way to get their marquee WR the ball. I'm tired of seeing Jacob Tamme being our go to receiver on third downs(it's not working). DT has shown he can beat any corner in the NFL, yes, EVERY corner. Right after tweeting about my displeasure, DT goes off on a 3 TD run. He was clearly my MVP for the game in a 3 point victory. Unfortunately, Optimus Prime didn't get the 100 yards receiving to tie the top spot with Megatron. The silver lining is his new contract might be $100 cheaper because he doesn't have that on his resume to counter with.

Are They Good?

I'm still concerned about this defense. From all the additions, they're not playing to expectations. Far from it. Sure they're 5th in yards per game, but who cares about yards? They're 18th in points allowed(which should be the actual ranking used). They're 8th in total sacks which is respectable, but 11 sacks off the top spot. 11th in interceptions with 11, but DEAD LAST with just 2 fumble recoveries. The most frustrating part is the Dolphins put the ball on the ground about 5 times yesterday and we didn't come away with any of them. Then Von Miller gets an interception that he later fumbled back to the Dolphins which was totally wiped out by a prior penalty. Even when we force turnovers we give it right back with a new set of downs. Sure, turnovers come in bunches, but we're not getting those bunches. At least we didn't lose the turnover battle, again. Don't overlook the fact we've only recorded 5 sacks in the past 4 games. Time for Del Rio to realize his 4 man rush isn't getting the job done. I'm ok with getting a new D coordinator over the off season. Del Rio doesn't know how to drive a Ferrari. We're back to "the offense has to outscore our defense".

Slowly Slowly

What happened to the fast paced offense? We have the no huddle king, but we're playing slow. Last year's record breaking offense would have 1-2 minute TD drives. Yesterday we opened up the second half with an 8 minute, missed FG, time consuming possession. I've noticed that this year's version is taking their sweet time. I think it's a mistake. All I can think of is when the Patriots brought their high paced no huddle offense in the Tebow era(I did it again). We had no answer. Our defense was so confused and out of sync that Pretty Brady had his way. We had no counter and no time to even think of how to. Why have we done away with that strategy? The faced paced no huddle offense puts a TON of pressure on the defense. The stress brings along miscommunication and blown assignments because the defenders don't have time to think. Why are we not taking advantage of this? We have the tools for it. And it all boils down to coaching, again.

The Dream

Rahim Moore said he was planning to be an All-Pro this year. I guess that's what "the dream" stands for. He actually played really well the last couple years until he was put on IR last year. This year, he's irrelevant. He's missing tackles and taking poor angles, again. A few times he tried to bring a big hit, with his frail stature, and bounced right off the receiver. He doesn't even wrap up and it's leading to broken tackles. If it wasn't for Kayvon Webster making the stop at the 1, Rahim would have been posterized as he was trucked by the Dolphins TE deep in our redzone. I actually stayed optimistic for our young safety, but he's clearly taken a step back this year. He does not need to be re-signed. And let's not get ahead of ourselves, Quentin Carter is not the answer. He misses just as many tackles and is just as bad in coverage.

Little Quick Notes:

  • Peyton was off yesterday. A ton of missed passes where he had players WIDE open. Sanders and Welker to name a few. Even the sheriff has off days, but concerning that he's had off weeks. 4 TDs is just the masking on top. Those missed throws could cost us when the playoffs come around. He needs to get things tightened up.
  • Why are the coaches keeping Latimer on the shelf? I can't imagine he's too inept in the playbook to block a defender or catch a slant. He has the tools to be elite, but the coaches are not unleashing it. At least let the kid get 5 plays a game to get accustomed. Who knows, he may actually take a short slant to the house.
  • And in turn, deactivate Bubba Caldwell
  • Von Miller had a lot of one on one match ups and didn't win many....sigh
  • Del Rio did get creative a couple times with some pressures, finally. TJ Ward was doing what he does best, cause havoc.
  • It was great seeing Kayvon Webster laying some wood out there, reminiscent of last year. Unfortunately, it lead to a dislocated shoulder.
  • Anyone notice how the A gap stunt is the flavor of the month. It's working all across the NFL on gameday. New England gets a sack from it basically every game. We tried it, but failed. Womp womp.
  • I was glad to see we were successful with halftime adjustments. We were record setting last year. This year, not so much. We're usually the worse team coming out from halftime.
  • Derek Wolfe is solid, but never lived up to his rookie hype. That injury really set his career back.
  • Wish we could have coaxed Charles Woodson to come to Denver instead. That cat is still a baller. Our safety situation would have looked leaps and bounds better with him and Ward roaming the secondary.

The Broncos are back on track. HUGE game coming up in the raucous KC Chiefs stadium. I don't know how to judge this game. This offensive line has had 1 good game as a unit so far. The Chiefs are coming off a HORRIBLE loss to the winless Raiders, which is still hilarious. Can the Broncos offense keep the momentum going? Or are they going to start slow and wait for the pendulum to swing in either direction, win or loss. Peyton needs to lead this team to early scores and get on top of the Chiefs because you don't want that momentum to build in that stadium, with those fans. It's going to be a tough game for sure. We're beat up, but their WRs don't even show up to the games. I guess that's an even trade off. This game has big playoff implications. The Broncos need to win out if they want home field advantage. Hey Chiefs, at least we Oakland. Go Broncos!

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