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View Full Version : Breakin’ It Down, Week Two Vs. San Diego



dogfish
09-13-2008, 02:42 AM
Stomping out Oakland was a great way to start the season, but this game should provide a better litmus test for how good this year's Broncos really are. San Diego absolutely demolished us twice last year, but that team was crippled by injuries-- this time around, it appears that the Chargers are the ones that are behind the eight ball on that front. They still have plenty of weapons, but we seem to have narrowed the talent gap a good bit with a productive draft-- this matchup should be far more competitive than last year. Although anything can happen, I'd be shocked if they rolled over the way the Fade did-- but this game suddenly looks much more winnable than it did before the start of the season. I think two of our big keys will be producing touchdowns in the red zone and getting off the field on third downs defensively. They ran away from us early in the game both times last year. While I like our offense's chances of hanging with theirs much better this time, it would sure help if the defense could slow them down and reduce the pressure to score every time we have the ball.

With a number of injuries, San Diego never had a chance to get their offense in rhythm over the offseason, and Carolina kept that trend alive by running the ball and keeping the Charger's O on the sidelines for significant stretches. San Diego bullied our defense in the trenches last year, but it's going to be harder for them with left tackle Marcus McNeil and center Nick Hardwick both out with injuries. Their line didn't win many battles against Carolina's front seven, which kept LT under wraps for the most part. I'm still not especially confident in our group up front, but hopefully they can slow down a banged-up San Diego ground game. LT didn't practice Friday and is questionable with an injury that's reported to be turf toe. If he can't go, we'll likely see a two-headed attack with the speed of Darren Sproles combined with the tough inside running of rookie Jacob Hester. Either way, I'd still feature plenty of eight-man fronts, unless/until our D proves that they can stop the run without the extra defender in the box. They still have a tough, physical pair of guards. Backup center Jeremy Newbury is a hard-nosed vet, but his knees are mostly shot. Both of our starting DTs should have a quickness advantage on him-- I'd love to see Marcus Thomas lining up on a shade and attacking the A gaps, trying to penetrate and be disruptive in the backfield. If we can get Tomlinson moving laterally instead of slashing to the edges, we've got a much better chance of containing him.

Left tackle L.J. Shelton is a big step down from the enormous and athletic McNeil-- he's probably going to need help with Elvis Dumervil on passing downs. When they go two-TE, which may be even more frequently than before with a rookie fullback replacing long-time fixture Lorenzo Neal in the backfield, second TE Brandon Manumaleuna is one of the game's best blockers at the position. When they spread it out, I'm guessing they'll be more likely to have a back provide help than to chip block with Gates. They run a balanced offense, but they aren't afraid to take some shots vertically. Rivers doesn't have a cannon arm, but he can still be pretty effective throwing it down the field, as evidenced by a long TD pass to Chris Chambers last week. I expect Champ to keep Chambers in check, but the matchup that I really fear is 6'5" wideout Vincent Jackson against 5'10" Dre Bly. I really hope we roll coverage to that side when those two are matched up, especially on third downs. In the past, Gates has been a huge thorn in our sides, and our coverage against tight ends was among the worst in the league last year. Boss Bailey was supposed to help with that, but at this point he's coming off an injury and is basically an unknown. Of course, Gates isn't a hundred percent either. He looked a little slow and tentative in the Carolina game, but he's still big, quick and athletic enough to be a factor. Against Oakland, we were having our box safety mirror the TE-- if Boss is healthy, I'd rather see him get the assignment, because I don't particularly trust either of our safeties to contain Gates.

While I don't think we can entirely stop their big-bodied receiving targets from making some plays, we certainly need to limit them if we want to win. Probably our best weapon will be slowing the ground game to keep them out of easy down-and-distance situations. If we can force third-and-longs, at least we can do things like playing a two-deep safety look, bringing in our nickel and dime packages, and selective blitzing. Their play-action can be deadly on second-and-short, and on third-and-short their array of weapons just gives them too many options to consistently stop them. Rivers threw to his backs quite a bit against the Panthers, something our OLBs definitely need to be aware of-- at least those guys have to speed to stay with most backs in coverage.

It's obvious that our passing game is the strength of the team this year, but I still think we need a balanced attack on offense. Passing to set up the run is fine, but if you get too pass heavy they'll start dropping extra defenders into coverage, and the pass rush stops respecting the run and pinning their ears back and getting straight upfield. We need to at least run enough to keep them honest, and I think we can find some success there. In years past, Jamal Williams has made running on San Diego really difficult, but he had offseason knee surgery, and was apparently nicked up against Carolina. The Panthers ran right up the gut against them, and while we don't have the same powerful man-blocking scheme that they run, I still think we can be effective if we keep at it. Williams crushes double teams when he's completely healthy, but if he's hobbled we should be able to work the combo blocks effectively inside, and get an OL to the second level to attack the ILBs. Their best inside linebacker, Steven Cooper, is out due to suspension. His replacement, Derek Smith, is a canny vet, but he doesn't match Cooper's athleticism and footspeed. Matt Wilhelm, the other starter inside, is tough at the point of attack but doesn't move very well laterally. If our OTs are successful at cutting the backside DE, we may be able to pop a few nice runs up the middle with Hall or Young. I'd make them chase those guys early and see if we can tire them out a bit, then let Hillis and Pittman go to work. San Diego's tackling has been sloppy up to this point, so our backs may have a chance to gain extra yards after contact.

However, we do seem to be transitioning to more of a passing offense, and it'll be fun to see if the creative play-calling continues. I think you can mark Royal down for at least one reverse, and the screen is another way to get him in space and let him work. It's going to be awesome seeing what we can do with legit weapons on both sides. I think Royal against Jammer and Marshall against Cromartie is probably the matchup we prefer. If Cromartie is good to play—he’s listed as questionable with a hip injury. If he’s out, we should have a good chance to attack rookie corner Antoine Cason (although he’s more polished than the average rook), and we might spread ‘em out a lot with Stokley and Djax. Jammer is more physical, where AC is simply a phenomenal athlete. I like Royal's quickness and crisp route-running much better against Jammer, if he can get off the press. You have to be careful going against Cromartie and his world-class ball skills, but every player has ways they can be attacked-- I'd throw safe routes like the curl or hook to Marshall, where he can shield the ball with his big frame. Cutler should give him some pump fakes early in hopes of slowing down his deadly quickness breaking on the ball. Cromartie isn't a great tackler, and we know how physical Marshall is running after the catch. Athletic tight end Dante Rosario tormented San Diego, and I think Chef down the seam might be our best vertical weapon in this game. If we can get Selvin Young isolated against one of their ILBs in coverage I think that's a very favorable matchup that could produce a big play. Stokes should be able to separate from any of their nickel or dime backs.

San Diego's pass rush slaughtered us the last two years, but we've got a different set of tackles this time, and they don't have their top pass rusher. Sean Phillips is still plenty dangerous, but without a proven threat on the other side we can lend help with Dan Graham if our OTs do have trouble with him. Charger fans have been talking up OLB Jyles Tucker-- but only since Merriman went down. We'll see if he has anything. Defensive coordinator Ted Cotrell isn't as creative or aggressive as Wade Phillips was-- unlike the traditional Blitzburgh style of the 3-4 that brings pressure from every angle, Cotrell generally prefers to just rush with his OLBs. This should make things somewhat simpler for a pair of young OTs without a lot of experience against the 3-4. Still, everyone needs to communicate and be assignment-sound. We weren't tested by the blitz much at all last week, so we'll see how the revamped line handles it.

Darren Sproles is a very dangerous returner, and while our coverage looked somewhat improved last week they still gave up a big one. The good news is that Prater's leg is as big as advertised, and he should be able to boom some deep kickoffs at altitude. The coverage units really need to look alive on punts. It would be great to see Royal break one open, but I'll be satisfied if he holds onto the ball-- sometimes he seems to carry it a little loosely. Scifres is among the best in the game, but at least I don't feel like we're at quite so much of a disadvantage this time around. Still, he and Kaeding may not give our return teams many opportunities.

It's only week two, but make no mistake-- this is a big game for us. Obviously the division isn't won or lost in the first month of the season, but if we want to re-establish ourselves as serious contenders instead of also-rans, we have to start by beating the Chargers. Right now they're hobbled and haven't found their rhythm yet-- we won't get a better chance, and we need to take advantage of it. I don't expect an easy time of it, but it's almost time to find out if we're up to the challenge. Bring it on!

Fan in Exile
09-13-2008, 07:11 AM
Great write up Dogfish. Like you said for this game we've really got to play on their side of the LOS. That's the change that's going to help us the most.

Sotally Tober
09-13-2008, 12:10 PM
Wow...a little biased but I'm impressed. Here's to a great game tomorrow:beer:.

turftoad
09-13-2008, 02:04 PM
Wow...a little biased but I'm impressed. Here's to a great game tomorrow:beer:.

Did you forget where you were at?

WARHORSE
09-13-2008, 02:20 PM
Nice work Dog.

Look for Paymah to match up with Jackson though most of the time, and or intermitently rolling coverage to that side depending on the situation.

Boss will be put on Gates much of the time, and thats a good matchup for us.

I expect Denver to go all out in trying to get to Rivers. They'll want to rough him up. But that will only come to fruition if we stop LT and get a decent lead. Otherwise it will be here and there.

If we bust a lead, I think they'll be in trouble. Theyre going to move the ball between the 20s decently, we need to hunker down in the redzone, make them settle for fieldgoals. Need to get them in third and long situations as much as possible.

LT screens and stopping the run will be our first priority. Force them to continue to pass........... in the end, Phallus Rubbers will choke for us.

horsepig
09-13-2008, 07:02 PM
Great job dog. I know what we have and what we can do but, I generally don't have time to really study even our divisional opponents and their tendancies unless they've been doing the stuff forever (Chefs, Faiders). We sure can't get any kind of analysis like this from any of bigtime local media, or any kind of pre-game analysis at all. Thanks for a good read.

broncohead
09-13-2008, 07:46 PM
I haven't been able to keep up with the team cause iv been in boot camp but I'm excited for this game! Great read! Marshal will be a big help this game. Get the ball to him on short routes so he can do what he does best.

Dreadnought
09-13-2008, 11:41 PM
Great stuff, great read!