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From The Diaires -- Zapparulez' One Step Forward

There are two ways I can choose look at this victory.  The first is that we are BACK and a contender again and the other is that we played beyond our ability for this game.

What I saw last night was what I was expecting to see all year.  

1. Our offense clicked and scored in the red zone even with Travis Henry's second straight poor showing(his legal troubles must be affecting his concentration).  Cutler has shown that he doesn't necessarily need to be surrounded by stars, like Jake the Fake, in order to be successful.  

One last note with the offense is that on those big third down conversions I saw an aspect of Selvin Young that makes me even more excited by this mans future with the Broncos.  This guy is an elite pass blocker.  I saw him one time back up to block and no one came, which he recognized and bolted to the other side of the line where he met and blocked a blitzing linebacker.  Anyone who doesn't think Selvin Young is a football player and our biggest UFA pick up since Rod Smith is nuts.

Offensive Grade: B (running game sucked)

2. Our defense finally played a solid game.  I was only disappointed towards the end of the game when PITT finally put up some rushing numbers.  But I don't believe the Broncos gave up 100 yds rushing to them until the 4th quarter breakdowns.  Let's hope Bates works on getting the defense to play all the way down the stretch.  

Through other forums I was pretty much alone in my belief that Elvis was the real deal during last season, so I am glad to see that my beliefs are being vindicated week in and week out.  So keep that in mind when I rant on and on about Selvin Young. ;)  

Defensive Grade: A for effort, B for performance

3. I was actually most pleased with our ST performance.  I was outside during the opening kick off so I will pretend that that never happened.  I loved seeing Selvin Young returning kicks and I think he should get the nod over Glenn Martinez, but perhaps Shanny wants to protect this young back until he knows what is going to happen to Henry in the near future.

Overall ST: A+  Screw the kick out of bounds.

Ok, now that I got the positive spin out of the way.  Here is what concerns me.

First of all, is this the type of team we should expect from this point forward or are we just a one shot wonder?  It is my hope that we "found" ourselves finally and will now proceed to kick ass and take names.  

We obviously still need to concentrate on our run defense, 3rd down D, and goaline.  We were subpar in all three of those areas last night and that won't win us many games down the road.  We absolutely MUST figure out a way to close games on defense.  We got "lucky" again because we have a strong armed competitor at QB who saved our defense's ass last night...again.  Not since John Elway have I seen a Bronco QB able to put a team on his shoulders to victory.  

As for Cutler, the interceptions do not bother me that much.  Everyone forgets how many INTs Elway threw in his first couple of years.  The fact is this kid likes to compete and to win.  

My feeling long term is that we will continue to struggle to improve on Defense and the victories we do get will be close, heartstopping moments.  Yet, I also see a few more big losses in our future.  The Broncos D needs to prove to me that they are stable before I commit to saying we are going to be a force to be reckoned with.  

Side Note - I decided to stay with my Bronco pick even after hearing about Walker and Champ, only because I am superstitious about changing my picks after already making them(mainly because my winning PCT when I do that is like 1 out of every 10 works out in my favor lol).  However, Guru convinced me to change two of my picks in my Yahoo $ league.  So far HOU almost, but didn't work out...so I am hoping JAC wins tonight or I will be pretty bummed out.  If JAC wins I will at least tie(I am pretty sure the other two guys in front of me picked Indy) for first this week. ;)

Keep on posting, I love coming in here and reading the dairies to see what everyone thinks about our beloved Broncos.

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

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Jake the Fake?
I just don't understand the problem people have with what Jake Plummer did for us.

All the guy did was win!!

If you blame him for the 2006 AFC Title game loss, then maybe you should look at the defense which gave up a million 3rd down conversions to the Steelers.

Rod Smith is a Hall of Famer.

by Jake The Stash on Oct 22, 2007 1:18 PM MDT reply actions  

I made that reference
ONLY to point out that Jake needed a star studded cast around himself in order to succeed.  I like Jake Plummer as a person and I have a lot of respect for him in that regard.  But as a football player, Cutler is head, shoulders, and torso above Jake Plummer.  That was the only point I was trying to make, so perhaps I should have stayed away from the Jake the Fake pun since it had no bearing on what I was trying to say.  

by Tim Lynch on Oct 22, 2007 1:44 PM MDT up reply actions  

I liked Jake too
If you blame him for the 2006 AFC Title game loss, then maybe you should look at the defense which gave up a million 3rd down conversions to the Steelers.

I actually blame that game directly on Shannahan. In a fairly close game he abandoned the rushing game in the second half completely. The Steelers didn't ever have to even think about the run. Check the game log

Between 11:32 remaining in the second quarter (10-0 Steelers) and 9:03 left in the game (27-10 PIT) Denver attempted exactly 1 run, including none in the 3rd quarter. Pittsburgh's defense had no reason to even think about playing against the run.

The interception by Foote in the 4th quarter is a perfect example, the game icer basically, was a direct result of that. He was 9-10 yards deep and Plummer had to try and put it over him. Had Denver called some running plays in a game that wasn't out of hand he would have been 3-5 yards closer to Plummer and he doesn't throw that INT.

Shanny's a great coach, but that game was maybe his worst as a play-caller I have seen. He cost us that game.

by Jibblescribbits on Oct 22, 2007 4:32 PM MDT up reply actions  

I totally agree
with your assessment.  In fact, I turned the game off in the 3rd quarter.  In no way did I ever place blame on that game on Plummer, but I also never thought Plummer to be a "Great" quarterback.  He is an NFL starter to be sure, but I don't think he belonged on an elite team with Super Bowl aspirations.  We aren't the frigging Chicago Bears are we?  

This team can only be as successful and talented as its quarterback...it's been that way for 25 years now.  

That's just my take on it though...and I see Shanny's style of coaching and play calling wholly dependent upon how much talent and smarts his quarterback has.  Which is also why I think we have been so(dare I say) "average" since our last Super Bowl victory.  Yes, we had that ONE very good year...I think it might have been a fluke and everything seemed to click for a season.  (Many examples of that...1998 Atlanta ring any bells?)

by Tim Lynch on Oct 22, 2007 6:16 PM MDT up reply actions  

Thoughts on Cutler
I love a QB that is not afraid to win. Cutler obviously has all the physical tools to win. He even completes a high % of passes (rare for a "gunslinger" type even these days). If he can just pull back once or twice more a game, and avoid that interception on the long pass into the endzone, he will be an elite QB.

Run defense played way beyond their ability until they got tired and broke down. They were very fired up...

Not a good sign for week in week out showings tho.

by Fallen on Oct 22, 2007 1:42 PM MDT reply actions  

Why I don't think this was a one time thing.
Good stuff Zap.  I think everything you said was right on the money.

The reason I don't think this game was a one shot deal is because the team we beat was a quality team.  PITT is the real deal in my mind, and I expect them to win the AFC North.  I also agree that we will have some games left where we get mauled, but that's only because I don't expect it to be perfect from here on out.

Also agreed with your last year assesment of Elvis, and your take on Selvin.  Cutler has a high completion% and always looks calm in the faced of the storm.  Real deals all.

"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe

by Steve Nichols on Oct 22, 2007 4:25 PM MDT reply actions  

It does kind of remind you of
1995 doesn't it?  We finished 8-8 that year, but I remember some games where we showed flashes of greatness and other games we had looked plain awful.  

Point is, this year we will(have) experience(experienced) growing pains, but the dividends will pay off big time starting next year.  I'm not saying we are basically done for this year, I am just making a remark on what I see in the years to follow.  Move over New England/Indy...

by Tim Lynch on Oct 22, 2007 6:10 PM MDT up reply actions  

I couldn't agree more.
We have a good shot this year, but still outside.  With the talent we have, and after a year together, we should take it to a championship level next year.

The pass defense (legendary) is locked in for some time to come.  We have the receivers and the young QB of the future for years to come.  We have standout TEs.  We have depth at DE.

We just need depth at O-line, tweaks at DT, and one more key piece at LB and/or safety to make this happen.  We have 8 draft picks to use or trade, and I think we clear up some cap room with retirements and if Henry has to go.  In short, we have a solid team right now, and the tools to get even better next year.  The biggest jump next year will be in experience.

"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe

by Steve Nichols on Oct 23, 2007 6:04 AM MDT up reply actions  

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