dogfish
09-03-2008, 01:51 AM
Well, the long-anticipated time is almost here. And what better way to start a fresh season than by kicking the snot out of the Faders? Actually, the closer I look at this matchup, the less sure I am that it’s going to go down that way. Oh, I feel pretty confident that we’re going to win—but I have a feeling that they may keep it close for longer than we like. Right now, with no Brandon Marshall in the lineup, I’m afraid that there are more similarities between these two teams than most Broncos fans would like to admit. But luckily for us, the most obvious differences are at a few of the most important spots. Namely, quarterback, left tackle and head coach.
Rob Ryan has traditionally played a man-heavy defensive scheme, although they played more zone last year. Without Brandon Marshall to occupy their attention, I fully expect them to run lots of Cover-3 and load the box against the run. I think we’ll see a fair amount of blitzing, both to slow the run and to test our inexperienced tackles on passing downs. If they bring heavy linebacker and safety blitzes, we should be able to exploit the middle of the field with our typical quick slants. They have a very talented pair of corners, and quite frankly I think our receivers are going to have a tough time getting much separation on deeper routes. Asomugha’s good enough to give any of our guys fits, especially in press coverage. If we can get it, IMO our best matchup is Eddie Royal against Meangelo Hall— I’d go right at him. Despite his elite physical tools, Meangelo’s prone to mental lapses, and has a nasty habit of biting on double moves and getting beat deep. If the slants are working early, the slant-and-go may be there later for Fast Eddie. Routt is a solid nickel back, and I don’t anticipate a lot of big plays from Stokley, but Stokes should be crafty enough to get away from him when we need to move the chains. OLB Thomas Howard is a rare athlete that can run with any RB in coverage, and Cutler will have to respect that speed when he looks to throw to the backs. I think the chef presents a nice size mismatch if we can get him against free safety Michael Huff—particularly in the red zone.
This will be the first regular season test of our re-vamped line, and I think they should do well against an underwhelming Oakland front four. Derrick Burgess is a good challenge, but the good news is that they don’t have anybody else that commands a double team, meaning that we can give either OT tight end help if necessary. My one concern is blitz pickup—this isn’t preseason, and a group of guys with no live experience together when the real bullets are flying will have to be sharp, communicate well and not miss assignments. This is particularly critical given that we may not have Nails making the line calls, and neither of our top tailbacks is exactly a standout in pass protection. I won’t be surprised to see Pittman or Hillis in a single back set on obvious passing downs.
Hopefully the line can continue moving bodies in the running game the way they did in preseason. Combine a fairly weak group of D-tackles with sideline-to-sideline speed in the linebacker corps, and I’d run the ball straight up the gut—nothing fancy, just the I-formation and the tight zone. As I’ve said before, I like Hall better than Young as a between-the-tackles runner, but I imagine that they’ll share carries about evenly unless one of them really starts lighting it up. I feel pretty confident that our OLs can consistently get to the second level, but with no Marshall the other guys are going to have to step up their run blocking outside. If they crowd the LOS early we may have to use the short passing game to loosen them up a little bit, but we should be able to run on them effectively over the course of four quarters.
When they have the ball, we’re just as likely to stack the box against the run. I don’t know if they have any receivers healthy, but that group doesn’t scare me even if they are. Their running backs are a much more talented group, and their line is better at run blocking than pass pro. They’re running a ZBS now, and they proved to be pretty effective at it last year. Their backs are both quick, so our LBs will have to react quickly as well, and cover up those little creases that the ZBS is designed to exploit. Overpursuit can be deadly when facing the zone scheme, and unfortunately our LBs are rather well known for it—especially Webster. I thought DJ improved in that area last year, but he’s still guilty from time to time. I hope that our DT play is at least somewhat better, but I’m hardly expecting a dominant performance. I’ll be happy if we keep a safety in the box pretty much the whole game other than third-and-longs, and I’d also like to see us run blitz the hell out of them. I really just don’t trust our D right up the middle, and the tighter we can pack the LOS the happier I’ll be. I’d rather take my chances with that tub’o’guts quarterback than Fargas and McFadden. Speaking of McFumble. . . he’s awfully prone to it, and our guys should look to strip the ball from him whenever they get a chance. I’m counting on him to cough it up at least once. I don’t think we shut their running game down, but I think their offense will be too one-dimensional to do a lot of damage unless we shoot ourselves in the foot and repeatedly give them a short field with turnovers or special teams gaffes.
I’m just not scared of Jamarcus Russell throwing to those receivers. He may have one year on the bench under his belt, but he’s essentially still a rookie, and very few rookie QBs prove capable of moving the ball consistently. Russell was very raw coming out of college, and he wasn’t known for either his mental acumen or his work habits. I don’t think he’s ready to process information and read defenses at the speed it takes at this level. Of course, our so-called pass rush doesn’t exactly force a lot of quick throws. Kwame Harris is garbage, and I fully expect Elvis Dumervil to eat his lunch, even one-handed. Unfortunately, the lack of a complimentary rusher on the other side will allow them to double Doom consistently. At least baby-sitting Kwame will keep the underrated Zach Miller from having a big game against our very pedestrian safeties. If I were Slowick, I’d jam their wideouts on the outside and throw every blitz I could find against Russell. Harris will almost certainly oblige with a few costly penalties, and if we put pressure on the inexperienced Russell, turnovers may ensue.
In a matchup of two solid running games with equally shaky run defenses, establishing a ground game in the first half will be big. If we beat them to it we might walk away with this one, but if they can get it started they just might be able to hang with us. In the end, I expect the difference in quarterback play to be a big deciding factor. I just feel that we’ve got a guy who can put a few drives together when we need them, and they don’t. We’re a different offense without #15, but we should still be good enough to get it done as long as we avoid any stupid mistakes. Are you ready for some football? I sure as hell am!
Rob Ryan has traditionally played a man-heavy defensive scheme, although they played more zone last year. Without Brandon Marshall to occupy their attention, I fully expect them to run lots of Cover-3 and load the box against the run. I think we’ll see a fair amount of blitzing, both to slow the run and to test our inexperienced tackles on passing downs. If they bring heavy linebacker and safety blitzes, we should be able to exploit the middle of the field with our typical quick slants. They have a very talented pair of corners, and quite frankly I think our receivers are going to have a tough time getting much separation on deeper routes. Asomugha’s good enough to give any of our guys fits, especially in press coverage. If we can get it, IMO our best matchup is Eddie Royal against Meangelo Hall— I’d go right at him. Despite his elite physical tools, Meangelo’s prone to mental lapses, and has a nasty habit of biting on double moves and getting beat deep. If the slants are working early, the slant-and-go may be there later for Fast Eddie. Routt is a solid nickel back, and I don’t anticipate a lot of big plays from Stokley, but Stokes should be crafty enough to get away from him when we need to move the chains. OLB Thomas Howard is a rare athlete that can run with any RB in coverage, and Cutler will have to respect that speed when he looks to throw to the backs. I think the chef presents a nice size mismatch if we can get him against free safety Michael Huff—particularly in the red zone.
This will be the first regular season test of our re-vamped line, and I think they should do well against an underwhelming Oakland front four. Derrick Burgess is a good challenge, but the good news is that they don’t have anybody else that commands a double team, meaning that we can give either OT tight end help if necessary. My one concern is blitz pickup—this isn’t preseason, and a group of guys with no live experience together when the real bullets are flying will have to be sharp, communicate well and not miss assignments. This is particularly critical given that we may not have Nails making the line calls, and neither of our top tailbacks is exactly a standout in pass protection. I won’t be surprised to see Pittman or Hillis in a single back set on obvious passing downs.
Hopefully the line can continue moving bodies in the running game the way they did in preseason. Combine a fairly weak group of D-tackles with sideline-to-sideline speed in the linebacker corps, and I’d run the ball straight up the gut—nothing fancy, just the I-formation and the tight zone. As I’ve said before, I like Hall better than Young as a between-the-tackles runner, but I imagine that they’ll share carries about evenly unless one of them really starts lighting it up. I feel pretty confident that our OLs can consistently get to the second level, but with no Marshall the other guys are going to have to step up their run blocking outside. If they crowd the LOS early we may have to use the short passing game to loosen them up a little bit, but we should be able to run on them effectively over the course of four quarters.
When they have the ball, we’re just as likely to stack the box against the run. I don’t know if they have any receivers healthy, but that group doesn’t scare me even if they are. Their running backs are a much more talented group, and their line is better at run blocking than pass pro. They’re running a ZBS now, and they proved to be pretty effective at it last year. Their backs are both quick, so our LBs will have to react quickly as well, and cover up those little creases that the ZBS is designed to exploit. Overpursuit can be deadly when facing the zone scheme, and unfortunately our LBs are rather well known for it—especially Webster. I thought DJ improved in that area last year, but he’s still guilty from time to time. I hope that our DT play is at least somewhat better, but I’m hardly expecting a dominant performance. I’ll be happy if we keep a safety in the box pretty much the whole game other than third-and-longs, and I’d also like to see us run blitz the hell out of them. I really just don’t trust our D right up the middle, and the tighter we can pack the LOS the happier I’ll be. I’d rather take my chances with that tub’o’guts quarterback than Fargas and McFadden. Speaking of McFumble. . . he’s awfully prone to it, and our guys should look to strip the ball from him whenever they get a chance. I’m counting on him to cough it up at least once. I don’t think we shut their running game down, but I think their offense will be too one-dimensional to do a lot of damage unless we shoot ourselves in the foot and repeatedly give them a short field with turnovers or special teams gaffes.
I’m just not scared of Jamarcus Russell throwing to those receivers. He may have one year on the bench under his belt, but he’s essentially still a rookie, and very few rookie QBs prove capable of moving the ball consistently. Russell was very raw coming out of college, and he wasn’t known for either his mental acumen or his work habits. I don’t think he’s ready to process information and read defenses at the speed it takes at this level. Of course, our so-called pass rush doesn’t exactly force a lot of quick throws. Kwame Harris is garbage, and I fully expect Elvis Dumervil to eat his lunch, even one-handed. Unfortunately, the lack of a complimentary rusher on the other side will allow them to double Doom consistently. At least baby-sitting Kwame will keep the underrated Zach Miller from having a big game against our very pedestrian safeties. If I were Slowick, I’d jam their wideouts on the outside and throw every blitz I could find against Russell. Harris will almost certainly oblige with a few costly penalties, and if we put pressure on the inexperienced Russell, turnovers may ensue.
In a matchup of two solid running games with equally shaky run defenses, establishing a ground game in the first half will be big. If we beat them to it we might walk away with this one, but if they can get it started they just might be able to hang with us. In the end, I expect the difference in quarterback play to be a big deciding factor. I just feel that we’ve got a guy who can put a few drives together when we need them, and they don’t. We’re a different offense without #15, but we should still be good enough to get it done as long as we avoid any stupid mistakes. Are you ready for some football? I sure as hell am!