Man, this was a blowout that turned, well, turned into a blowout but not nearly the the blowout that the score indicated. The offense was once again putrid, the defense once again was stellar until the 4th quarter, and the special teams had their ups, downs, and breath holding. Yep, this game had it all. Let me ask you all this, “Why is it so damn hard for us to truly blow someone out not only in the feel of the game, but the score as well?” Why? I mean, you can say doubling a team in score is a blowout, but I predicted 27-9, not 20-10!
Lets start out by saying this, our defense is still legit. Do they have mental lapses for stretches of each game? Yes. Can they be fixed? Absolutely. I’m not sure they have the same killer instinct as they did last year, but they still have the capacity to pick themselves up when they’ve been stunned by a vicious right hook and get the job done!
Basically, when you have Chris Harris Jr. picking off passes, Talib covering everyone like he’s a man amongst boys, and Von Miller making people wish they were never born, we are in good shape. Like 2015, this team is still going to go as far as our defense takes us, and if we can get these mental lapses out of the way, then I like our chances in January and hopefully February!
Von Miller, although stats aren’t fancy today, he was instrumental in 2 turnovers. He hit Bortles on the Roby pick six, and he pushed the tackle into Bortles for the fumble recovery by Shane “I’m making Denver hold their breath as I writhe on the field in pain and then come up with the fumble” Ray! TYJE? You mean TYVM (thank you Von Miller)!
Dammit Roby!!! You do great with a pick six, but this is two weeks in a freaking row that you didn’t give a crap enough to try to prevent a score. Do you know what you call a QB running right at you en-route to a TD? You call him a running back and you blow him the F up! You need to find the bench for that weak ass effort! Have you learned nothing? Have you no pride?
Then you make a silly PI, and then come back and have great coverage. I love you man, but you truly need to be more consistent my man.
Onto the offense:
Kapri Bibbs really impressed me today. When our running game was churning out 1 yard and a big ol cloud of dust, Bibbs came in and led us on our first scoring drive. Yes, it was Booker/Okung on that amazing run and pile pushing, but it was Bibbs who got us there.
Demaryius Thomas was mostly money today. He had the early alligator arm play, but after that, he was nails.
Sanders and Lynch simply need more chemistry and they’re gonna be big time together. That speed and Lynch’s arm is going to be glorious to watch.
Look, as I’ve said all year, it really doesn’t matter who our QB is, with this offensive line as disgustingly horrible as it is, nobody and I do mean nobody will look great back there. When your QB spends more time running for his life and peeling himself off the turf after every single snap, well, you just can’t expect great things from anyone.
I mean, up until absolute garbage time in the 4th quarter, the Broncos had a whopping 1 yard rushing in the 2nd half. 1 yard. That’s serious ineptitude by our blockers up front, because I didn’t see Booker taking a handoff and kneeling.
Lastly, how about Paxton Lynch? I don’t think he showed enough for a QB controversy, but that might not really matter. He got the win, Siemian is hurt, and you can tell that while he has accuracy issues, a lot of it I think will be fixed with chemistry and real game reps.
And please, I beg ALL OF YOU, perspective! Remember, Lynch just started his 2nd game, and if that weren’t enough, remember he just did it against the #3 passing defense in the NFL, which is far stiffer competition than anything Siemian has faced thus far!
One thing is for sure though, Lynch needs serious footwork tweaking. Maybe he grew up watching Favre sling the ball around awkwardly and off his back foot and jumpball throws 40 yards down the field, but man, in todays NFL, defenders are just too good and timing is too precise to draw things up in the dirt and play that way. If you can learn this, then the sky is the limit.
One thing I loved though is seeing the mobility of Lynch. He slid the pocket, ran a bit, bought time with his legs, and mostly avoided sacks with pure athleticism and quick decision making like that almost strike to Virgil Green when Siemian would have otherwise thrown a -2 yard pass to Derby, or taken a 7 yard sack. I’m telling you, all Lynch needs is game reps and he’s gonna take off.
And I don’t want anyone thinking I’m dismissing Siemian. Remember, I pounded the table for Siemian to start the year when everyone wanted Lynch. But sadly, I think Siemian is too fragile. He’s been legitimately injured 3 times already this season/preseason. He’s a football player in a baseball player’s body. That is NOT a recipe for long term viability. And remember, the best ability is availability!
Is Siemian the better quarterback today? Of course. But he’s better in different ways than Lynch is poorer. Had Lynch started week 1, he’s probably going to be clearly the better QB by now, but man, I’m not sure the Broncos aren’t going into today’s game without a losing record. So like him or hate him, thank you Trevor Siemian for helping the Broncos win as many games as they’ve won! But one thing is for sure, if we all took a shot for each 3 & out, we’d all die of alcohol poisoning!
But when the dust settles and smoke clears, whether it’s Siemian or Lynch, I want the Broncos to win! I want the Broncos to make the playoffs! I want the Broncos to win the Super Bowl again! Instead of Lynch fans pushing their agenda, or Siemian fans pushing theirs, how about we all unite in orange and truly root for better execution, better play calling, and better results? I’ve seen us win and lose with Lynch, I’ve seen us win and lose with Siemian. I’ve seen us blow nobody out with both, so it really doesn’t matter who you like, who you love, and who you hate. Lets put our petty differences aside and root for the Denver Broncos, yes?