4 problems fixed ....

[omac]

Gotta hand it to Shanny. Coming into the season, 4 of our biggest concerns have been addressed .....

1. Rush Defense. 15th in the league, at 104 yards allowed per game. Quite a climb from 30th last season, and 2 against rushing offenses that have gashed us last season. The goal line stand against NO was the exclamation point.

2. Pass Protection. The worst pass rushers in the league? Whoever the Broncos play. Maybe Jay doesn't even wash his jersey. :cheers:

3. Red Zone Scoring. How about one of the highest scoring offenses in the league? How about the 2nd highest number of rushing TDs this season? :rockon:

4. Starting Field Position. Oakland - 24, 17, 20, 43, 20, 8, 34, 20, 82, 16; SD - 20, 71, 20, 52, 20, 20, 24, 20, 20, 20; NO - 55, 35, 20, 33, 1, 30, 20, 20, 23, 33.

Against Oakland, we started below the 20 on only 3 occasions out of 10 possessions. Against SD, we never started below the 20s; also, their kicker was booming a few into the endzone. Against NO, the only time we started below the 20s was at the 1 when we took over on lost possesions through downs.

Sure, not Buffalo or Chicago good, but pretty decent.

Now all we need to fix is our pass rush and pass coverage, and put a little more snarl into our running game and we'll be in Tampa playing for the superbowl, hehehe. :D

[Rusty Shackleford]

I like the way you think.

[omac]

I like the way you think.

Thanks, man. :cheers:

Seems simple enough; all we'd really need is some QB pressures and everything should fall into place. :cool:

[Kaylore]

I'm personally not sure we've even fixed our rush defense. No one runs on us because they are all catching up so we haven't had a real test yet.

[anton...]

we need some 11 db sets out on the field...

[OMorange&blue]

Our rush D is 15th in YPG and 20th in YPC, supporting Kaylores supposition.

[BroncoFanatic]

I'm personally not sure we've even fixed our rush defense. No one runs on us because they are all catching up so we haven't had a real test yet.

Isn't that just another way to fix it? By forcing teams to abandon the run? :woot:

[Kaylore]

Isn't that just another way to fix it? By forcing teams to abandon the run? :woot:

I would say that's scheming to hide your weaknesses. We might actually have a good rush defense, but I'm just saying we haven't played a team that has had a chance to use it too much. I guess Oakland was a test but we didn't do so hot against them.

[Northman]

I would say that's scheming to hide your weaknesses. We might actually have a good rush defense, but I'm just saying we haven't played a team that has had a chance to use it too much. I guess Oakland was a test but we didn't do so hot against them.

True. The last two games we jumped out to 21-3 leads. If a team happens to be in range throughout the whole game i think we will get a better idea of where we are at with the rush defense.

[frauschieze]

Isn't that just another way to fix it? By forcing teams to abandon the run? :woot:

Yes, yes, that's it! Abandon the run and face our league-worst passing defense. BRILLIANT! Muahahahahahaha!!!

:rolleyes:

[silkamilkamonico]

I firmly believe the pass protection is a mix of better talent, and even moreso a bunch of linemen that firmly believe in their QB.

[hamrob]

Our rush D is 15th in YPG and 20th in YPC, supporting Kaylores supposition.True, but we have had a few long runs that have scewed that average.

I don't think they're great by any means...but I like what I see in our run defense. At least now...when it's 3rd and 1 or 2...I feel we have a chance to stop them.

[Kaylore]

I firmly believe the pass protection is a mix of better talent, and even moreso a bunch of linemen that firmly believe in their QB.

And the QB getting rid of the ball and knowing what he's doing with it. The best QB's in the league regularly have the lowest number of sacks and half of this is because the Qb knows where he's going with the ball and he knows how to get rid of it.

[omac]

I'm personally not sure we've even fixed our rush defense. No one runs on us because they are all catching up so we haven't had a real test yet.

You have a good point. I do notice just from watching the games, specially on 1st downs, that we're pretty good at limiting the rushing yards of the opponent. I think we've had quite a bunch of 3rd and 6 or more and that usually equates to very limited initial gains. Most teams have been completing their 3rd downs against us through passing, not rushing, and that's at least a slightly better evil. Nothing is more frustrating than a defense that knows a team will run, and they can't stop them.

[broncobryce]

I firmly believe the pass protection is a mix of better talent, and even moreso a bunch of linemen that firmly believe in their QB.

Are you saying if they don't believe in him they will say "screw it, I'll just let him get CREAMED!" I don't think so. LOL :rolleyes:

[omac]

Our rush D is 15th in YPG and 20th in YPC, supporting Kaylores supposition.

Yes, and compared to last season's defense, which ranked us at 30th in YPG and 31st in YPC, it's still a huge improvement. Though it still needs work, I'll take this defense over last seasons any day. :cool:

[omac]

Are you saying if they don't believe in him they will say "screw it, I'll just let him get CREAMED!" I don't think so. LOL :rolleyes:

Wasn't it the rumour that Ryan Leaf's OL was doing that to him? :D

I think there is some truth to that, though. Linemen seem to play better when they know that their QB will stand in the pocket and take the hit in order to deliver a good throw. A lot in football is leading by example.

[omac]

And the QB getting rid of the ball and knowing what he's doing with it. The best QB's in the league regularly have the lowest number of sacks and half of this is because the Qb knows where he's going with the ball and he knows how to get rid of it.

I agree with you. Since last season, Jay's been pretty good at getting rid of the ball pretty fast; a Pittsburgh writer even wrote an article about it after the Broncos beat the Steelers. The only problem Jay had was because of the lack of protection, he didn't have enough time to look at secondary receivers much less tirtiary(?) ones, like he does this season. The only way he had more time was when he'd buy it himself, moving outside the pocket.

David Garrard looked great last season with his "decision making"; this season, injuries to his offensive line have suddenly made him look like an INT machine.

Our OL is coming up huge! :cheers:

[dogfish]

I'm personally not sure we've even fixed our rush defense. No one runs on us because they are all catching up so we haven't had a real test yet.


we're still giving up 4.4 yards per carry, 20th in the league. . . the saints are a pass-first offense with no feature back, and the chargers essentially didn't have LT when we played them. . . jumping out to leads and forcing teams to abandon the run may be great for our rushing yards surrendered stat, but i still don't think this efense is good against the run-- and i think we'll see that the first time the O fails to grab a big lead early, and somebody actually makes a legitimate effort to run on us. . . (not counting the chefs-- they're just too bad to count :lol: ). . .



omac, you're absolutely right about the red zone offense and the pass pro. . .

[OM-Merlin]

Not trying to defend this defense, but when it mattered against the Raiders (the first 3 qrts), Denver's rushing D was stout. LT looked absolutely mediocre when it mattered (but he was injured). Against NO on 3rd and short, again the D was stout (but NO seems to have trouble rushing on 3rd and short). Although the D is not clearly strong against the rush yet, it is head and shoulders better than last yrs D against the rush (in every conceivable measure).

[Beantown Bronco]

Though it still needs work, I'll take this defense over last seasons any day. :cool:

Not me.

In 16 games last season, the Broncos defense gave up 30+ points on 5 occasions. In 3 games this season, the Broncos defense has done it twice already. That pace would equate to 11 games over the course of the season.

I could care less where they rank in yards given up on the ground or through the air. I do, however, care about pts given up because THAT is where games are truly decided. And this year's defense is on pace to give up far more points than last season's.

[omac]

Not me.

In 16 games last season, the Broncos defense gave up 30+ points on 5 occasions. In 3 games this season, the Broncos defense has done it twice already. That pace would equate to 11 games over the course of the season.

I could care less where they rank in yards given up on the ground or through the air. I do, however, care about pts given up because THAT is where games are truly decided. And this year's defense is on pace to give up far more points than last season's.

Well, one thing to consider is that when a team can run against you at will, their drives take much longer as they win the TOP battle. The scoring is actually easier, but it just takes longer, so less points will be on the board.

By the same token, we relied much heavier on our rushing offense last season versus this season, so again, that will use up clock and keep the score lower.

But to reinforce OM-Merlin post about the defense being able to make the needed stops ... we're more effective doing that this season, because we're better at stopping the run. If we can't stop the run, 3rd and short is automatic, and we all remember what that was like.

[Beantown Bronco]

But to reinforce OM-Merlin post about the defense being able to make the needed stops ... we're more effective doing that this season, because we're better at stopping the run. .

I disagree. How many times has the Broncos defense actually made a stop in the last two games?

[Benetto]

I disagree. How many times has the Broncos defense actually made a stop in the last two games?

I can think of 1 game deciding stop...The goalline stand that cost the Saints to lose by 2 points.

[omac]

I can think of 1 game deciding stop...The goalline stand that cost the Saints to lose by 2 points.

Yeah, that was crucial. The other one in the same game was when NO had 3rd and very short, and if they were able to get a 1st down, they could just run down the clock and win the game. DJ tackled their RB behind the line of scrimmage for a loss of yards.

[OM-Merlin]

I can think of 1 game deciding stop...The goalline stand that cost the Saints to lose by 2 points.
Also in NO's last possession. That is why they had to attempt a FG from the 40s as opposed to the 30s. Two extremely important stops. Against the Raiders they did it numerous times early on, but then it's the Raiders. Against SD they forced them into FGs on some occasions and prevented them from driving down for a FG at the end (granted, time was running out, but last yr's D would have allowed them to get there with time to spare).

[Beantown Bronco]

I can think of 1 game deciding stop...The goalline stand that cost the Saints to lose by 2 points.

Vs. San Diego, the defense only forced one punt all game long and that was because they sacked Rivers on a third down pass play.

Vs. New Orleans, the defense only forced two punts all game long, and in both cases, the Saints passed the ball 3 straight times. Unreal. It had nothing at all to do with the Broncos run defense.

The goal line stop listed above was only possible because Brees fumbled away the snap on 3rd down. The Broncos run defense was hardly responsible for that.

[OM-Merlin]

Yeah, that was crucial. The other one in the same game was when NO had 3rd and very short, and if they were able to get a 1st down, they could just run down the clock ...
They could not have run down the clock since they did not have the lead; however, they could have had a better chance at the FG.

[omac]

Vs. San Diego, the defense only forced one punt all game long and that was because they sacked Rivers on a third down pass play.

Vs. New Orleans, the defense only forced two punts all game long, and in both cases, the Saints passed the ball 3 straight times. Unreal. It had nothing at all to do with the Broncos run defense.

The goal line stop listed above was only possible because Brees fumbled away the snap on 3rd down. The Broncos run defense was hardly responsible for that.

So you aren't going to give them credit on the crucial 4th down goal-line stop at the 1 yard line? And you won't give them credit for the very critical 3rd down stop to prevent the Saints from running down the clock to win? :coffee:

[omac]

They could not have run down the clock since they did not have the lead; however, they could have had a better chance at the FG.

What I meant was they could run down the clock to the last possible second before taking an almost automatic FG, and that's what the sportscasters were saying too. Since they were stopped, they had to take the FG early, and even if they did make it, it still gave the Broncos enough time to try for a comeback.

[BroncoJoe]

Now all we need to fix is our (FIX THIS) pass rush and (AND THIS) pass coverage (WILL BE FIXED TOO), and put a little more snarl into our running game and we'll be in Tampa playing for the superbowl, hehehe. :D

Nice post. :salute:

[Beantown Bronco]

So you aren't going to give them credit on the crucial 4th down goal-line stop at the 1 yard line? And you won't give them credit for the very critical 3rd down stop to prevent the Saints from running down the clock to win? :coffee:

I will give them some credit, but I'm not going to say that those two plays alone make them all of a sudden a better unit against the run than last year's unit....like some here would have you believe.

I want to see a solid run defense in the open field, not just the "goal line unit" which is a very specialized group. I want to know that they can shut down the run consistently in a close game and not let teams rip off big runs at will. They haven't been in such a position yet because of the offense, so nobody can say with any certainty that they can do it.

Saying this early that the Broncos run defense looks far improved is kind of like saying that last year's pass defense was good. Just because teams haven't really had to test it because the other half of the defense REALLY blows doesn't mean it's necessarily a good unit.

[Lonestar]

Gotta hand it to Shanny. Coming into the season, 4 of our biggest concerns have been addressed .....

1. Rush Defense. 15th in the league, at 106 yards allowed per game. Quite a climb from 30th last season, and 2 against rushing offenses that have gashed us last season. The goal line stand against NO was the exclamation point.

2. Pass Protection. The worst pass rushers in the league? Whoever the Broncos play. Maybe Jay doesn't even wash his jersey. :cheers:

3. Red Zone Scoring. How about one of the highest scoring offenses in the league? How about the 2nd highest number of rushing TDs this season? :rockon:

4. Starting Field Position. Oakland - 24, 17, 20, 43, 20, 8, 34, 20, 82, 16; SD - 20, 71, 20, 52, 20, 20, 24, 20, 20, 20; NO - 55, 35, 20, 33, 1, 30, 20, 20, 23, 33.

Against Oakland, we started below the 20 on only 3 occasions out of 10 possessions. Against SD, we never started below the 20s; also, their kicker was booming a few into the endzone. Against NO, the only time we started below the 20s was at the 1 when we took over on lost possesions through downs.

Sure, not Buffalo or Chicago good, but pretty decent.

Now all we need to fix is our pass rush and pass coverage, and put a little more snarl into our running game and we'll be in Tampa playing for the superbowl, hehehe. :D


I'll grant you number 2-4 for now, but IMO the rush defense has only been slowed down for the fact they do not have to run on us they can get it in bigger chunks on via the air.. we are 3rd to last in pass defense..

Now lets really look at it the difference between 15th and:
18th 10 yards
20th 48 yards
24th 102 yards
28th 205 yards
32nd 305 yards

do you think that had LT and deuce been healthy we would still have been in the 15th spot. I do not!


last but not least we are tied for 20th in YPC allowed with only 10 teams worse than we are..

[Hawgdriver]

I'm personally not sure we've even fixed our rush defense. No one runs on us because they are all catching up so we haven't had a real test yet.

Agreed. We have stopped the rush in short yardage situations well so far, it's something to build on. But we are giving up yardage about like last year so far. 4.4 ypc vs. 4.6 ypc, the only difference is that teams are running about 24 rushing plays vs. 31 last year. People last year or before were clamoring for the offense to help the defense, and I suppose you could use that as an example. But the bottom line is that we're pretty much in line with last year's metrics. We have surrendered 1 40+ and 2 20+ runs, which is about like last year if you carry those 73 attempts to a 501 attempt season.

If you consider plays like Sproles TD run from a pass to the flat more of a run than a pass, it's even more bleak. That 66 yard chunk bumps ypc up about a yard, and ypg up 22.

A game in which we fall behind will be the first true test.

[BroncoFanatic]

Yes, yes, that's it! Abandon the run and face our league-worst passing defense. BRILLIANT! Muahahahahahaha!!!

:rolleyes:

So... you're suggesting we score less, so opposing teams will feel obligated to run more?

I know in France it's acceptable policy to appease by appearing weak, but I'd rather we take our chances through strength :coffee:

[omac]

Nice post. :salute:

Thanks, man! :cheers:

[broncosinindy]

Gotta hand it to Shanny. Coming into the season, 4 of our biggest concerns have been addressed .....

1. Rush Defense. 15th in the league, at 104 yards allowed per game. Quite a climb from 30th last season, and 2 against rushing offenses that have gashed us last season. The goal line stand against NO was the exclamation point.

2. Pass Protection. The worst pass rushers in the league? Whoever the Broncos play. Maybe Jay doesn't even wash his jersey. :cheers:

3. Red Zone Scoring. How about one of the highest scoring offenses in the league? How about the 2nd highest number of rushing TDs this season? :rockon:

4. Starting Field Position. Oakland - 24, 17, 20, 43, 20, 8, 34, 20, 82, 16; SD - 20, 71, 20, 52, 20, 20, 24, 20, 20, 20; NO - 55, 35, 20, 33, 1, 30, 20, 20, 23, 33.

Against Oakland, we started below the 20 on only 3 occasions out of 10 possessions. Against SD, we never started below the 20s; also, their kicker was booming a few into the endzone. Against NO, the only time we started below the 20s was at the 1 when we took over on lost possesions through downs.

Sure, not Buffalo or Chicago good, but pretty decent.

Now all we need to fix is our pass rush and pass coverage, and put a little more snarl into our running game and we'll be in Tampa playing for the superbowl, hehehe. :D

the run defense is improved due to the fact that we are horrible agaisnt the pass why run when you can get better results through the air. everything else ill give ya

[omac]

I'll grant you number 2-4 for now, but IMO the rush defense has only been slowed down for the fact they do not have to run on us they can get it in bigger chunks on via the air.. we are 3rd to last in pass defense..

Now lets really look at it the difference between 15th and:
18th 10 yards
20th 48 yards
24th 102 yards
28th 205 yards
32nd 305 yards

do you think that had LT and deuce been healthy we would still have been in the 15th spot. I do not!


last but not least we are tied for 20th in YPC allowed with only 10 teams worse than we are..

Grrr ... you like making me do research, don't you, hehehe. :D

Okay, here we go .....


1-10-NO 32 (8:25) 25-R.Bush left guard to NO 35 for 3 yards (55-D.Williams, 51-J.Winborn).

2-3-NO 49 (6:25) 25-R.Bush left end to DEN 49 for 2 yards (97-B.Bailey).
3-1-DEN 49 (5:46) 25-R.Bush left end to DEN 47 for 2 yards (60-J.Engelberger).

1-10-DEN 47 (4:59) 25-R.Bush left guard to DEN 42 for 5 yards (91-E.Ekuban, 58-N.Webster).

This was NO's 2nd series, and they were only down by 7. They passed more than they rushed, but it wasn't because of the score. In the 1st rushing attempt, they only get 3 yards. In the next 2 rushing attempts, they only needed 3 yards and they had 2 chances for that, since the initial pass gave them 7 yards already. The best rushing was a 5 yarder. The run defense here was pretty decent. It was the passing offense that set things up, though.



1-10-NO 24 (:22) 25-R.Bush left end ran ob at NO 30 for 6 yards.

3-1-NO 33 (14:25) 25-R.Bush up the middle to NO 34 for 1 yard (60-J.Engelberger). FUMBLES (60-J.Engelberger), RECOVERED by DEN-58-N.Webster at NO 34. 58-N.Webster for 34 yards, TOUCHDOWN.

Initially a good run for Bush, then the rush defense forced a fumble out of him for a TD. Not bad. Again in this instance, they had 3rd and 1, not because of their rushing, but because of their passing. Before this point, they were only down 14-3, hardly panic time since the they were only beginning the 2nd quarter.



2-10-NO 20 (14:04) 25-R.Bush right tackle to NO 19 for -1 yards (58-N.Webster). NO-70-J.Brown was injured during the play.

1-10-NO 42 (13:00) 25-R.Bush left guard to NO 45 for 3 yards (58-N.Webster).
2-7-NO 45 (12:25) 23-P.Thomas up the middle to NO 46 for 1 yard (55-D.Williams).

2-2-DEN 18 (10:29) 25-R.Bush right tackle to DEN 15 for 3 yards (55-D.Williams).

1-5-DEN 5 (9:21) 23-P.Thomas up the middle for 5 yards, TOUCHDOWN.

At this point, NO was trailing 21-3, and most of what was moving the chains was again their passing, not their rushing. Again, we were pretty good against the run. Very tough to stop the 2nd and 2, and the 1st and 5; the offense can literally do anything they want, and we gave up a rushing TD for it.


1-10-DEN 36 (9:03) 25-R.Bush up the middle to DEN 39 for -3 yards (51-J.Winborn).

1-10-DEN 23 (7:00) 25-R.Bush left guard for 23 yards, TOUCHDOWN.

In this one, we first held them to negative gains, then they committed a penalty to move backwards to 2nd and 22. Again, it was their passing game that bailed them out. I believe we were doing our "very effective" 3-4 defense. :D Anyway, our rush defense messed up in one play here, but it was a big one.



2-1-DEN 1 (:57) 23-P.Thomas up the middle to DEN 1 for no gain (63-D.Robertson, 55-D.Williams).
4-1-DEN 1 (:31) 23-P.Thomas up the middle to DEN 1 for no gain (58-N.Webster).

This is the famous goal-line stand. NO started at 1st and 5. This was excellent defense, because at 1st and 5, you can do anything; you can run to get closer and maybe score, or you can pass. Their 1st pass play brought them to the 1 yard line. Now at 2nd and 1, the defense is at the mercy of the offense. Sure, Brees fumbled one of the downs, but they still had 2 downs to get a 1 yard TD. Any offense will take that any day. The defense did good.

Anyway, with the ensuing safety, the game was close again. I believe it was 23 to 19, so there's no need to panic and go pass heavy, just because of the score. So any notion that they were forced to pass and disregard the run because of Denver's lead at this point should be gone by now.



1-10-NO 24 (2:14) 25-R.Bush right tackle to NO 26 for 2 yards (97-B.Bailey).

2-10-NO 34 (:04) 25-R.Bush left guard to NO 36 for 2 yards (60-J.Engelberger).

2-7-DEN 46 (13:56) (Shotgun) 25-R.Bush left end pushed ob at DEN 39 for 7 yards (55-D.Williams).

1-10-DEN 28 (12:30) 25-R.Bush right end to DEN 22 for 6 yards (58-N.Webster).

3-1-DEN 19 (11:24) 25-R.Bush left tackle to DEN 16 for 3 yards (97-B.Bailey; 58-N.Webster).

2-4-DEN 10 (10:09) (Shotgun) 23-P.Thomas left end for 10 yards, TOUCHDOWN.

Here, their rushing attack definitely fared much better than our rushing defense. Though our run defense held them a few plays to some very minimal gains, they've also allowed the same amount of good gains.



1-10-DEN 33 (3:35) 25-R.Bush right tackle to DEN 26 for 7 yards (33-M.Manuel). DEN-20-M.McCree was injured during the play.
2-3-DEN 26 (3:04) 25-R.Bush up the middle to DEN 24 for 2 yards (63-D.Robertson).
3-1-DEN 24 (2:19) 23-P.Thomas right guard to DEN 25 for -1 yards (55-D.Williams).

Here, our rushing defense comes up big. After initially giving up 7 yards, Denver limited NO to 2 yards in the ensuing play, then made a tackle for a loss on 3rd down. That was very critical, because if NO was able to get the first down, they could run down the clock to the very last second before kicking a FG.

Since Denver's rush D was able to make the stop, Denver would've still had time to get into FG range if NO made the FG. The run defense definitely came up huge here.

Overall, except for 1 series, the Denver rush defense did pretty good. NO passed for most of the game, but when they had the luxury of running the ball, like when they were only down 14-3 and before that, or even after halftime, Denver's run defense usually did a pretty good job. During some of the critical scoring opportunities for NO, when they decided to run, Denver was able to get some stops. For the majority of the game, NO was much more effective passing the ball than rushing, in fact they needed it to bail them out of some of the very short gains by their rushing offense.

Like I said, not a great rushing defense, but much better than last season. :cheers:

[Lonestar]

Grrr ... you like making me do research, don't you, hehehe. :D

Okay, here we go .....



Like I said, not a great rushing defense, but much better than last season. :cheers:

Your correct it is better than last year.. BUT I do not think it matter all that much because of the total collapse of the pass defense.

In years past we have been lousy in pass defense and the run defense is pretty good then the next year we tighten up against the other and the other side suffers..

The O has caused part of this "almost" forcing their O out of their running game..

While you present some good examples that is all they are.. SAN is more balance than they showed in their game this yea but LT is hurt and maybe from now on.. WHO knows but now they some legit other options besides LT and Gates.. I see them transitioning from LT primarily to everyone else and LT just being the change of pace guy..

NOL is more of a passing team who's best RB is still hurt.. or over the hill who knows for sure..

I think they were stupid to try and pound the ball in on that goal line stand.. IMO they could have faked into the line and threw to someone or bootlegged it in..

Yes we have improved but IMHO not enough to crow about considering the total lack of pass rush and 370+ and almost 425 in the next game.. Other than them making a few bad calls/plays and we stepped up in short yardage situations doth not make a huge improvement IMHO.

Get a bit more balance and prove it against someone with a real running game, then we can get giddy about those few times we actually stopped someone so far..

[atwater27]

I think our number one priority should have been improving the pass rush. Right now, we are worst than last year in that department. And the Raiders were running all over us.
The D just flat out sucks no matter how you cut it, and I think most of the blame rests on our system.

[Lonestar]

I think our number one priority should have been improving the pass rush. Right now, we are worst than last year in that department. And the Raiders were running all over us.
The D just flat out sucks no matter how you cut it, and I think most of the blame rests on our system.

I agree 27 1st downs and 500 yard and a 5 minute disparity in TOP.. granted NOL is an offensive team via the air. BUT those numbers above are obscene..

which equals as we speak slowik or mikey..

[atwater27]

Well Mikey is an offensive guru, but he sucks at defense and he sucks at choosing defensive coaches. I love Shanny and I want him to stay our head coach, but our D has to improve. As good as our offense is, it will be exciting as hell, we should make the playoffs, we will be on of the stories of the year. And we will get beaten in the playoffs by a team that actually has a defense. We missed out on a few opportunities this offseason and settled with a DT with no cartilage in his knee. and a 3rd rate DC.

[Thnikkaman]

Wasn't it the rumour that Ryan Leaf's OL was doing that to him? :D

I think there is some truth to that, though. Linemen seem to play better when they know that their QB will stand in the pocket and take the hit in order to deliver a good throw. A lot in football is leading by example.

Do you think Jay will be buying Rollies for the O Linemen if we make it deep into the playoffs at the end of the year?

[omac]

Do you think Jay will be buying Rollies for the O Linemen if we make it deep into the playoffs at the end of the year?

Yep, and maybe some Pateks too. :D