DenBronx
08-22-2010, 12:27 AM
http://maxdenver.com/blog1/
DENVER – Five observations — three positive, two negative — from the Broncos’ 25-20 preseason loss to the Detroit Lions at Invesco Field on Saturday night.
WHAT WORKED:
KYLE ORTON: He looked more nimble, more composed under siege and more accurate than we’ve seen. His numbers last week in Cincinnati were more impressive; tonight’s effort was better given the pressure he faced from Detroit’s front. He also had the chance to work in the two-minute drill, carrying over the success he had with it in training camp. Orton, like Fletch in his hoop dream, “truly defines grace under pressure,” at least on this evening.
BRUCE HALL: With the Broncos’ running game flagging with just 29 yards on 13 rushes in the first three quarters, the third-teamer from Mississippi entered and was a shot of B-12, picking up 41 yards on three carries to push the Broncos into field goal range. Hall had wider holes than Lance Ball and Justin Fargas had for most of the night, but his 43 yards on that drive were more than Hall had in the last two weeks combined.
JARVIS MOSS: He came around the edge for one sack of Detroit quarterback Shaun Hill and would have had another — at the expense of a double-team, no less — had Detroit’s Jason Fox not yanked Moss’s face mask. The Broncos desperately need his presence and pass rush from the edge, and this might have been his best game as a Bronco. At the least, it showed tangible evidence that the optimistic pronouncements of the offseason are not just chatter.
WHAT DIDN’T:
EARLY PROTECTION: Denver’s offensive line crumbled under a furious rush from the Lions’ front four, led by rookie Ndamukong Suh and veteran Kyle Vanden Bosch. The Broncos used plenty of two-tight end packages, with Marquez Branson often playing an H-back role and lining up alongside Orton in the shotgun formation, and began finding more success keeping a clean pocket when they kept their backs and tight ends in to block.
FIRST-TEAM DEFENSE: While it clamped down in the red zone and held the Lions to three field goals on four trips inside the 20-yard-line, it has yet to force a punt on six preseason series. Changing that statistic will be its primary goal next week against Pittsburgh.
DENVER – Five observations from the first half of the Broncos’ preseason clash with the Lions …
1. O-LINE NEEDS HEALTH: It was going to be enough of a challenge to get two rookie first-teamers up to speed, but the injuries to Ryan Clady and Chris Kuper left the line buckling, and finally collapsing, under the strain of the Lions’ aggressive four-man front. Ndamukong Suh, lining up mainly at left defensive end early, spent the game’s first few possessions collapsing the pocket, once pancaking Ryan Harris and knocking him to the ground.
2. ORTON ON THE MOVE: Only the improved footwork of Kyle Orton — which is entirely attributable to the health of his ankles — saved the Broncos from complete offensive meltdown. Orton spent most of the first quarter darting and dodging linemen in white and blue jerseys, but didn’t make any significant mistakes; his lone interception was a good pass to Lance Ball that skipped off the running back’s hands.
3. AYERS INTO THE BACKFIELD: Robert Ayers’ primary move is a bull-rush, but it’s probably the best way to use his strength. He got a key second-quarter sack of Matthew Stafford when he pushed Detroit’s Jon Jansen back four yards and right into Stafford’s path; Ayers then ran him down with help from Justin Bannan. Ayers had one sack and three pressures (unofficially) in his three quarters of work the last two weeks; if he does that in the regular season, the Broncos couldn’t ask more from him.
4. BUT THE FIRST-TEAM DEFENSE has yet to force a punt this preseason. Six series against it by the Broncos’ opponents have yielded a touchdown, four field-goal attempts and a stop on downs when the Bengals went for it in field-goal range. Of all the statistics from the last two weeks, this is the most troubling.
5. THE BRONCOS’ BEST DRIVE came in the two-minute drill, in which Orton excelled during the last three weeks of training camp. Perhaps the Broncos should incorporate some no-huddle looks into the offense at other points in the game?
DENVER – Five observations — three positive, two negative — from the Broncos’ 25-20 preseason loss to the Detroit Lions at Invesco Field on Saturday night.
WHAT WORKED:
KYLE ORTON: He looked more nimble, more composed under siege and more accurate than we’ve seen. His numbers last week in Cincinnati were more impressive; tonight’s effort was better given the pressure he faced from Detroit’s front. He also had the chance to work in the two-minute drill, carrying over the success he had with it in training camp. Orton, like Fletch in his hoop dream, “truly defines grace under pressure,” at least on this evening.
BRUCE HALL: With the Broncos’ running game flagging with just 29 yards on 13 rushes in the first three quarters, the third-teamer from Mississippi entered and was a shot of B-12, picking up 41 yards on three carries to push the Broncos into field goal range. Hall had wider holes than Lance Ball and Justin Fargas had for most of the night, but his 43 yards on that drive were more than Hall had in the last two weeks combined.
JARVIS MOSS: He came around the edge for one sack of Detroit quarterback Shaun Hill and would have had another — at the expense of a double-team, no less — had Detroit’s Jason Fox not yanked Moss’s face mask. The Broncos desperately need his presence and pass rush from the edge, and this might have been his best game as a Bronco. At the least, it showed tangible evidence that the optimistic pronouncements of the offseason are not just chatter.
WHAT DIDN’T:
EARLY PROTECTION: Denver’s offensive line crumbled under a furious rush from the Lions’ front four, led by rookie Ndamukong Suh and veteran Kyle Vanden Bosch. The Broncos used plenty of two-tight end packages, with Marquez Branson often playing an H-back role and lining up alongside Orton in the shotgun formation, and began finding more success keeping a clean pocket when they kept their backs and tight ends in to block.
FIRST-TEAM DEFENSE: While it clamped down in the red zone and held the Lions to three field goals on four trips inside the 20-yard-line, it has yet to force a punt on six preseason series. Changing that statistic will be its primary goal next week against Pittsburgh.
DENVER – Five observations from the first half of the Broncos’ preseason clash with the Lions …
1. O-LINE NEEDS HEALTH: It was going to be enough of a challenge to get two rookie first-teamers up to speed, but the injuries to Ryan Clady and Chris Kuper left the line buckling, and finally collapsing, under the strain of the Lions’ aggressive four-man front. Ndamukong Suh, lining up mainly at left defensive end early, spent the game’s first few possessions collapsing the pocket, once pancaking Ryan Harris and knocking him to the ground.
2. ORTON ON THE MOVE: Only the improved footwork of Kyle Orton — which is entirely attributable to the health of his ankles — saved the Broncos from complete offensive meltdown. Orton spent most of the first quarter darting and dodging linemen in white and blue jerseys, but didn’t make any significant mistakes; his lone interception was a good pass to Lance Ball that skipped off the running back’s hands.
3. AYERS INTO THE BACKFIELD: Robert Ayers’ primary move is a bull-rush, but it’s probably the best way to use his strength. He got a key second-quarter sack of Matthew Stafford when he pushed Detroit’s Jon Jansen back four yards and right into Stafford’s path; Ayers then ran him down with help from Justin Bannan. Ayers had one sack and three pressures (unofficially) in his three quarters of work the last two weeks; if he does that in the regular season, the Broncos couldn’t ask more from him.
4. BUT THE FIRST-TEAM DEFENSE has yet to force a punt this preseason. Six series against it by the Broncos’ opponents have yielded a touchdown, four field-goal attempts and a stop on downs when the Bengals went for it in field-goal range. Of all the statistics from the last two weeks, this is the most troubling.
5. THE BRONCOS’ BEST DRIVE came in the two-minute drill, in which Orton excelled during the last three weeks of training camp. Perhaps the Broncos should incorporate some no-huddle looks into the offense at other points in the game?