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Buff
09-22-2008, 02:03 PM
Post your random notes about the game here. I didn't want to derail anyone else's thread...

I'll start--

Why didn't we run a QB sneak from our own half yard line? Obviously it's easy to 2nd guess now, but it seemed like a no-brainer to me at the time as well. Why hand it off 3-4 yards deep in the backfield to our smallest back? If nothing else, give it to the fullback for crying out loud.

Prater's looking good-- No missed FG's, a few solid touchbacks yesterday. I'd say this is about as good as we could have hoped for.

Glad we won in our orange jerseys or it'd probably be another 3-4 years before we saw them again (though I know we're scheduled to wear them 1 more time this year regardless.)

It goes to show you just how terrible the defense looked when no one is talking about their goalline stand and a fumble recovery for a touchdown.

shank
09-22-2008, 02:05 PM
achoo!

Kaylore
09-22-2008, 02:06 PM
Maybe these close wins we're exercising some demons. We usually lose to the Chargers and we usually lose in our Orange Jerseys. Perhaps we've turned the page on those issues.:D

Mike
09-22-2008, 02:07 PM
I also was puzzled at the goaline decision. Thought the same thing as you...let Cutler push the pile forward for some breathing room.

I was a little disappointed that they didn't try to get Scheff more involved in the game.

Cutler seems to want to go for the big play a lot. Not that I am against that...but it would seem to be more beneficial to the defense if the team dinked and dunked a bit...took the short stuff instead of trying to force the ball for a big gain. Don't get me wrong, I like the aggressiveness, but would like to see a little more ball control.

girler
09-22-2008, 02:14 PM
Hey, I love random observations!

How many cheerleaders are there? Were we missing one yesterday? There were 4 sets, 8, 8, 8, and 7. Leave it to my son to notice that. :tongue:

Nate Webster's touchdown was the most coordinated, on-the-fly play I've seen. It was awesome watching him point out who should block who, and then watching it happen from almost straight up. :laugh:

The feeling from the fans in the crowd was INTENSE! You just can't feel that through the TV. It was almost like Mile High Stadium again. I haven't been to a game in a few years, and there was a marked difference in how much the crowd cared and influenced the game than in previous Invesco games I attended.

If the defense can figure itself out (I really really hope so!) then this offense is going to come together and be one FINE scoring machine! Running and passing. The OL is brand new, and doing so fine protecting Cutler, soon they'll figure out how to make those seams for the RBs, and then BOOM baby!

BigDaddyBronco
09-22-2008, 02:16 PM
Five Things I liked

1. B Marsh still looks like a stud
2. Prater's long kick-offs helping the ST coverage
3. Great hustle on Defensive TD and goal line stand
4. Pass protection, Cutler still has a clean jersey
5. Running game looks solid


Five things I didn't like

1. Defensive scheme was weak and it didn't change when it wasn't working
2. Offense didn't run the ball enough and eat clock when the defense was struggling
3. Cutler had an "off" game
4. No pressure from D-Line
5. Corner blitzing wasn't very surprising or effective

girler
09-22-2008, 02:18 PM
Oh, and it was awesome to hear 75k people count to 2 in unison on that TD replay. :laugh: Though the ref still had his doubts. :rolleyes:

smith49
09-22-2008, 02:21 PM
my humble obsevations:

the D came out strong in the 1st quarter.

the O came out strong in the 1st quarter.

the O put a lot of pressure on the D.

the D did step up on some key plays, but needs to get a lot better.

overall it was ok, but i see a lot of reason for concern and much room for improvement before we can start to claim anything. hopefully it will continue to come together like it has even if luck is involved.

ambiguous
09-22-2008, 02:22 PM
I enjoyed the footage of Brandon Marshall dancing and playing the drums after the game - when I could actually breathe again.

frauschieze
09-22-2008, 02:23 PM
Our special teams were kinda serviceable. Not stand out, but I didn't want to kill them all game long either. It's a start.

Requiem / The Dagda
09-22-2008, 02:25 PM
Clady and Harris are badass mofos.

Meck77
09-22-2008, 02:25 PM
Here's one. Dre Bly is scared to tackle people. Watch the two TD scores at minute 1:35 (Dre is playing two hand touch) and minute 3:14 (He makes NO ATTEMPT to make the tackle as the saints score. NONE)

Obviously there were a ton of blown tackles but I was stunned to see Bly just let up like he did.

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter?game_id=29568&season=2008&displayPage=tab_gamecenter

shank
09-22-2008, 02:36 PM
i have no problem with the run that resulted in a safety.

you never plan to get an i-formation dive stuffed 4 yards behind the LOS, it was a rookie mistake by harris.

the odds of that run getting stuffed like it did couldn't have been much higher than the odds that jay muffs the snap or something imo. the dice just came up snake eyes.

hamrob
09-22-2008, 02:38 PM
I like this format...so I borrowed it for my thoughts:

Five Things I liked

1. Passing game is unstoppable when Jay is on
2. ST's were much improved overall
3. Defense played well in spots
4. Pass Protection is still very good
5. DJ Williams is getting better and better


Five things I didn't like

1. Lack of "Ball-skills" on defense
2. Brees going 39 of 48 with 8 guys defending the pass
3. No pressure from the D-Line
4. Defense allowing big play conversions on 3rd downs
5. Turnovers (especially the one in the redzone)

LRtagger
09-22-2008, 02:41 PM
achoo!

bless you

NightTrainLayne
09-22-2008, 02:41 PM
I loved watching Brandon Marshall just run right by and through the Saints Defense for that TD.

hamrob
09-22-2008, 02:45 PM
John Lynch was in the booth....and still unemployed but not yet retired.

Cutler was off...but still had a good game.

When are we going to go deep to Royal? That was a nice play to Marshall for the TD...but we haven't seen many deep throws on fly routes yet. Are we saving those?

Our guys aren't very good at blitzing the QB. I can recall guys like Lynch and Atwater...and even Chicken...flying across the line...dodging the FB and pounding the QB. Our guys (it seems) are content with getting taken out of the play....by allowing themselves to be blocked.

Lastly...where's the anger on our defense? I mean, we seem to be having fun...but where's the explosive hits etc.? (if you're going to let them catch 39 balls...they sure as hell ought to pay for those catches...shouldn't they?)

Buff
09-22-2008, 02:48 PM
i have no problem with the run that resulted in a safety.

you never plan to get an i-formation dive stuffed 4 yards behind the LOS, it was a rookie mistake by harris.

the odds of that run getting stuffed like it did couldn't have been much higher than the odds that jay muffs the snap or something imo. the dice just came up snake eyes.

I know you can't plan on it getting stuffed- but when you've got the ball INSIDE your own 1 yard line, and your defense just came up huge with a stop--you've got to do a better job there. Don't leave anything to chance, especially with a reeling defense who needs as much support as they can get.

Buff
09-22-2008, 02:50 PM
John Lynch was in the booth....and still unemployed but not yet retired.

Yeah, I forgot about that. And judging by Joe Buck's commentary, Lynch will probably be joining one of the Fox broadcast teams here in the near future.

claymore
09-22-2008, 02:51 PM
I know you can't plan on it getting stuffed- but when you've got the ball INSIDE your own 1 yard line, and your defense just came up huge with a stop--you've got to do a better job there. Don't leave anything to chance, especially with a reeling defense who needs as much support as they can get.

I think it was a planned safety, so we had room to punt. :D

dogfish
09-22-2008, 02:56 PM
nice thread. . . post some pics of ms. buff. . . . :D










i freakin' love the orange jerseys, they're badass-- the broncos are supposed to wear orange!

T, can you get a petition started to make those our official jerseys from here on out?

Northman
09-22-2008, 02:57 PM
nice thread. . . post some pics of ms. buff. . . . :D










i freakin' love the orange jerseys, they're badass-- the broncos are supposed to wear orange!

T, can you get a petition started to make those our official jerseys from here on out?

Ill pass, give me the all blue. :D

elsid13
09-22-2008, 03:06 PM
That I going to have to drink a helluva lot more if I'm going to enjoy watching the Defense.

BigDaddyBronco
09-22-2008, 03:14 PM
I know you can't plan on it getting stuffed- but when you've got the ball INSIDE your own 1 yard line, and your defense just came up huge with a stop--you've got to do a better job there. Don't leave anything to chance, especially with a reeling defense who needs as much support as they can get.
Especially with NO having no TO's left and little time left on the clock. One or two QB sneaks and the half is over.

shank
09-22-2008, 03:14 PM
I know you can't plan on it getting stuffed- but when you've got the ball INSIDE your own 1 yard line, and your defense just came up huge with a stop--you've got to do a better job there. Don't leave anything to chance, especially with a reeling defense who needs as much support as they can get.

i honestly don't think we were 'leaving it to chance.' i think if you run a qb sneak 100 times and an i-formation dive 100 times both will probably fail only a few times out of those 100.

we run that play out of our own endzone all the time, and no one ever claims it was a bad play because it almost always gains a couple yards and gives us more room to work with.

to me, it's just monday morning QBing... if we had tried a short pass there and failed, everyone would say it was a bad call, if we complete it for 20 yards, it's freaking brilliant.

coaches call plays with the full intention of them working, and that wasn't a risky playcall, especially when your backs are averaging 6 and 5 ypc...

no problem with the play call

Dreadnought
09-22-2008, 03:19 PM
Selvin Young has played very well the past two weeks after looking a bit rusty and sluggish against the Faid. I think he complements our passing attack very nicely.

frauschieze
09-22-2008, 03:19 PM
That I going to have to drink a helluva lot more if I'm going to enjoy watching the Defense.

I'm not sure there is enough alcohol in the entire world for that.

BroncoWave
09-22-2008, 03:23 PM
Did anyone else notice that Reggie Bush was WIDE FREAKING OPEN every single time they threw the ball to him? I mean seriously, almost every time he caught the ball there wasn't a defender within 5 yards of him and he got an easy first down. That was the most frustrating thing I noticed during the game.

Buff
09-22-2008, 03:26 PM
i honestly don't think we were 'leaving it to chance.' i think if you run a qb sneak 100 times and an i-formation dive 100 times both will probably fail only a few times out of those 100.

we run that play out of our own endzone all the time, and no one ever claims it was a bad play because it almost always gains a couple yards and gives us more room to work with.

to me, it's just monday morning QBing... if we had tried a short pass there and failed, everyone would say it was a bad call, if we complete it for 20 yards, it's freaking brilliant.

coaches call plays with the full intention of them working, and that wasn't a risky playcall, especially when your backs are averaging 6 and 5 ypc...

no problem with the play call

Fair enough, I'll have to go home and watch the play again to see what kind of a formation we were in and who missed their assignments before I form my final opinion...

But even so, I can't help but think you reduce your chances of taking a loss/safety by running a sneak or a FB dive as opposed to a HB dive. I think if you run all 3 plays 100 times, the sneak and the FB dive will have a lower % of plays that go for a loss... Granted, all will have a low failure rate and you can't count on your RT getting beat on the play, but as bad as the defense has been playing, I think you have to play it very close to the vest there-- No short pass, no 20 yard pass-- just bang out your 1 yard and repeat so you can get your punter some breathing room.

dogfish
09-22-2008, 03:26 PM
i honestly don't think we were 'leaving it to chance.' i think if you run a qb sneak 100 times and an i-formation dive 100 times both will probably fail only a few times out of those 100.

we run that play out of our own endzone all the time, and no one ever claims it was a bad play because it almost always gains a couple yards and gives us more room to work with.

to me, it's just monday morning QBing... if we had tried a short pass there and failed, everyone would say it was a bad call, if we complete it for 20 yards, it's freaking brilliant.

coaches call plays with the full intention of them working, and that wasn't a risky playcall, especially when your backs are averaging 6 and 5 ypc...

no problem with the play call



i agree. . . that's about as conservative a playcall as there is, what more do you want? harris just got beat-- it happens. . . charles grant is an exceptionally talented end, and harris more than held his own against him for most of the day. . . the other guys are getting paid too, and sometimes they're going to make plays. . .

BigDaddyBronco
09-22-2008, 03:28 PM
Fair enough, I'll have to go home and watch the play again to see what kind of a formation we were in and who missed their assignments before I form my final opinion...

But even so, I can't help but think you reduce your chances of taking a loss/safety by running a sneak or a FB dive as opposed to a HB dive. I think if you run all 3 plays 100 times, the sneak and the FB dive will have a lower % of plays that go for a loss... Granted, all will have a low failure rate and you can't count on your RT getting beat on the play, but as bad as the defense has been playing, I think you have to play it very close to the vest there-- No short pass, no 20 yard pass-- just bang out your 1 yard and repeat so you can get your punter some breathing room.
I think it was Kuper who blew it, and I think the big risk with the QB sneak is getting Cutler's bell rung, but I was shocked they didn't go with the sneak there.

I yelled and my wife looked at me like I was nuts. She then took the kids to the park. :tsk:

shank
09-22-2008, 03:32 PM
it wasn't that harris got beat, he got run-by. i think it was a rookie-type assignment mistake where he thought someone else was supposed to block grant. when he leaves his stance it looks like he wanted to block for a stretch play, and quickly realizes his mistake. without that, no safety occurs.

Dreadnought
09-22-2008, 03:33 PM
Look at it this way...if the Saints were down 4 instead of 2 they would have gone for it on 4th and one...anyone want to bet real money we could stop them yet again? Especially if they would have passed on third down with more confidence or desperation? Little things can play out very strangely in this game.

shank
09-22-2008, 03:34 PM
I think it was Kuper who blew it, and I think the big risk with the QB sneak is getting Cutler's bell rung, but I was shocked they didn't go with the sneak there.

I yelled and my wife looked at me like I was nuts. She then took the kids to the park. :tsk:

kuper got beat on the play, but it was on the backside. it was a dive play right of center, and if grant hadn't been unblocked, the run would have reached the LOS at worst.

BigDaddyBronco
09-22-2008, 03:35 PM
Look at it this way...if the Saints were down 4 instead of 2 they would have gone for it on 4th and one...anyone want to bet real money we could stop them yet again? Especially if they would have passed on third down with more confidence or desperation? Little things can play out very strangely in this game.

Wow. Good point. Maybe Shanny had it planned that way. :laugh:

Thnikkaman
09-22-2008, 03:37 PM
I also was puzzled at the goaline decision. Thought the same thing as you...let Cutler push the pile forward for some breathing room.

I was a little disappointed that they didn't try to get Scheff more involved in the game.

Cutler seems to want to go for the big play a lot. Not that I am against that...but it would seem to be more beneficial to the defense if the team dinked and dunked a bit...took the short stuff instead of trying to force the ball for a big gain. Don't get me wrong, I like the aggressiveness, but would like to see a little more ball control.

Very good observation. The D usually plays better after we have completed a drive that took 8 to 9 minutes off the clock. Maybe our poor :defense: isn't just bad play calling on the D side of the ball. I mean, we only had the ball for 10 minutes in the first half yesterday.

Buff
09-22-2008, 03:38 PM
it wasn't that harris got beat, he got run-by. i think it was a rookie-type assignment mistake where he thought someone else was supposed to block grant. when he leaves his stance it looks like he wanted to block for a stretch play, and quickly realizes his mistake. without that, no safety occurs.

Yes, and if you run a sneak, then no safety occurs either even if Grant runs by Harris...

I definitely see your point in that you've gotta have faith in your players to execute the play and it's easy to 2nd guess as fans when they don't run it right. But why even take the risk of a botched handoff or missed block? Why not just let Cutler cram it behind Wiegman and Hamilton? I know it's MMQB'ing, but like I said, it seemed like a no-brainer even at the time.

Rex
09-22-2008, 03:38 PM
Buff was on the radio last Thursday.

Listen to him.

shank
09-22-2008, 03:47 PM
Buff was on the radio last Thursday.

Listen to him.

if ms. buff tells me we should have snuck it, i'll smile and nod...



fyi buff, you missed a seinfeld setup :tsk:

Benetto
09-22-2008, 04:03 PM
Jay still has a tendency to stare down his intended WR before he guns it....This hasn't been an issue yet, because he steams the ball in there so fast, no DB on Earth can bat down or pick off his lasers..

Soon defenses will see how he stares down his WR's before the throw, and start picking him off more often...JMHO..Has anyone else noticed how he doesn't look off defenders?

Buff
09-22-2008, 04:06 PM
fyi buff, you missed a seinfeld setup :tsk:

:confused:

Where?

shank
09-22-2008, 04:13 PM
:confused:

Where?


achoo!

vague? sure...:beer:

Buff
09-22-2008, 04:22 PM
vague? sure...:beer:

I was wondering about that...

Did you want me to say "You are so good looking?"

I still don't get how that ties in to this thread... Enlighten me.

pnbronco
09-22-2008, 04:26 PM
Jay still has a tendency to stare down his intended WR before he guns it....This hasn't been an issue yet, because he steams the ball in there so fast, no DB on Earth can bat down or pick off his lasers..

Soon defenses will see how he stares down his WR's before the throw, and start picking him off more often...JMHO..Has anyone else noticed how he doesn't look off defenders?

Yup, I started seeing it in camp and it hasn't changed yet. You know exactly who he's going to throw to. If I can figure it out with no football background, I'm sure others will as well. I would like to see more ball control. Don't get me wrong I love seeing them score, I just wish they would take a longer time to do it.

It was fun to see Webster run in for a TD and the great thing was how many blocks did Champ make for him? When I watched the replay on the screen it was they he goes, oh again, was that him again???

The last couple of random things is I loved the orange jersey's. The crowd was really into it and was loud, it's been a while. In fact there have been a couple of games that the noise level seemed the same for both teams. The last thing I noticed is that fans were voicing their frustration with Cutler, before it was like it's ok, shake it off, ect... Yesterday I heard "come on what are you doing, get it together.... Thanks Buff for the thread.

Skinny
09-22-2008, 04:31 PM
Prater is looking real good. I had my concerns in camp and through the pre-season but the young man is doing a great job. Thank god.

Northman
09-22-2008, 04:33 PM
Prater is looking real good. I had my concerns in camp and through the pre-season but the young man is doing a great job. Thank god.

Yea, im so proud of him. Shanny put me in charge of tutoring him this offseason and its paying dividends. Plus, the fact that he and the offense are doing so well it gives me more time to get refreshments during the games and flirt with the cheerleaders. ahhh, the life of a punter.

Requiem / The Dagda
09-22-2008, 04:34 PM
Anubis you take the credit for everything!

Northman
09-22-2008, 04:35 PM
Anubis you take the credit for everything!

Just not the defense. :laugh:

Buff
09-23-2008, 09:19 PM
kuper got beat on the play, but it was on the backside. it was a dive play right of center, and if grant hadn't been unblocked, the run would have reached the LOS at worst.

I missed the most glaring detail of why the Broncos should have run a sneak. (Just watching NFL Replay) There were only 25 seconds left in the half when we took that safety. As Aikmain points out, all we had to do was run 1 play and not get tackled in the end zone.

All right, I'm done :deadhorse:

BigDaddyBronco
09-23-2008, 09:21 PM
I missed the most glaring detail of why the Broncos should have run a sneak. (Just watching NFL Replay) There were only 25 seconds left in the half when we took that safety. As Aikmain points out, all we had to do was run 1 play and not get tackled in the end zone.

All right, I'm done :deadhorse:

See that is what I thought. One play, no TO's for NO. GRRRRRR.

topscribe
09-23-2008, 09:23 PM
I also was puzzled at the goaline decision. Thought the same thing as you...let Cutler push the pile forward for some breathing room.

I was a little disappointed that they didn't try to get Scheff more involved in the game.

Cutler seems to want to go for the big play a lot. Not that I am against that...but it would seem to be more beneficial to the defense if the team dinked and dunked a bit...took the short stuff instead of trying to force the ball for a big gain. Don't get me wrong, I like the aggressiveness, but would like to see a little more ball control.

I would like to see more of the short game because that increases the TOP.
The Broncos' defense was obviously gassed at times, and this would give
them more of a break.

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topscribe
09-23-2008, 09:30 PM
Yea, im so proud of him. Shanny put me in charge of tutoring him this offseason and its paying dividends. Plus, the fact that he and the offense are doing so well it gives me more time to get refreshments during the games and flirt with the cheerleaders. ahhh, the life of a punter.

You tutored him?

Oh, Anubis, they're talking about Prater's kicking, not making sandwiches.

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