Broncos Mtnman
10-13-2008, 12:48 AM
You'll often hear coaches and players talk about points left on the field. Today's game provided an excellent example of what this phrase means, because even though the Broncos went into the locker room at half-time down by only three points (10-7), they would fail to score on 4 of their first 5 drives in the first half.
After an impressive opening drive of 80 yards that would see Jay Cutler go 7 of 7 for 67 yards and a touchdown, the offense would give the ball to Jaguars on the next 4 drives, thanks to three turnovers and a failed attempt at 4th and 1. The Jaguars would a turn these opportunities into the only points they would score in the first half.
While it would be easy to blame the defense for this loss for the way they allowed two quick touchdowns in the second half (along with a field goal), I feel that the points left on the field on those four drives in the first half are what actually lost it for the Broncos. For instance, when Brandon Marshall fumbled on the 5-yard-line in the second quarter, the Broncos were on the verge of going up 14-3 on the Jaguars. Instead, the Jags would take that opportunity to score 7 of their own, giving them a lead they would never surrender (a 14 point turnaround). Further proof in my opinion that the offense bears more of the blame than the defense is the fact that even with 4 turnovers in the first half, the defense held the Jaguars to only 10 points.
This week's highs and lows....
HIGHS :2thumbs:
1 - Michael Pittman. I have to start with "guns" as one of the highs in this game. Starting for the first time as a Denver Bronco, the 33-year-old Pittman became the first Broncos running back to break the 100 yard barrier this season (totaling 109 yards on 20 carries). After today, I think it's likely that we will see him as the starter until Torain takes it over in a few weeks.
2 - Brandon Stokley. Until he was knocked out of the game after taking a hit to the head, Stokley was money on 3rd downs, and caught his second touchdown of the season on the first drive of the game. The outcome of this game could have been different had he been able to play the whole game.
3 - Offensive line. Besides their usual shut out on the opposition in the area of sacks, they finally found their run-blocking mojo, providing running lanes that allowed Pittman to break the 100 yard mark for rushing yards by a Broncos running back.
4 - Red Zone efficiency. The Broncos would go 2 of 3 in the red zone (the only failure being Marshall's fumble), both of them for touchdowns.
5 - Glen Martinez. For a guy that was cut just before the season started, he is making it hard for the Broncos to ever think of cutting him again. He was only one tackle away from going the distance on two punt returns. With the Broncos looking for a way to keep Eddie Royal from playing special teams, it looks like Martinez could be the answer.
LOWS :2thumbsdown:
1 - Defense. I almost listed this in the "HIGHS" section because of the way they held the Jaguars to 10 points in the first half, but poor tackling, numerous big plays, lack of a pass rush without the blitz, and allowing the Jaguars to kill the last 5+ minutes to end the game, show me that last week's game was an exception, not the rule. David Garrard looked like Peyton Manning in today's game, going 25/34 for 276 yards and a touchdown and ZERO interceptions. That equals a 106.99 passer rating against the league's worst pass defense.
2 - Jay Cutler. The September Offensive Player of the Month played alot like he did in the Kansas City game (not surprisingly, with the same result), often throwing into double coverage. The absence of Royal and Sheffler was an obvious contributor to this problem, but Jay was just a couple of tipped passes from a multiple interception performance. The Broncos are likely to face alot of 2-deep zone defenses (Tampa played it last week and the Jaguars did it today), so Jay has to learn how to take what they give you and not zero in on Marshall every time he gets into trouble.
He also lacked touch on his passes when necessary. The most obvious instance of this came on a wide open pass for a sure touchdown to Nate Jackson that would have pulled the Broncos within 3 points of the Jaguars early in the third quarter. He overthrew the pass.
Jay had a fumble and an interception, was off-target more than on, and made numerous poor decisions. Clearly not one of his better days.
3 - Brett Kern. In the rarified air of Invesco Field at Mile High, Kern managed a horrible 39.5 average on 5 punts. There was pressure from the Jaguars on nearly every punt, but Kern simply isn't getting it done. I'm still trying to figure out what Shanahan saw in him over Sam Paulescu, but the battle for field position is being lost with his low, short punts.
4 - Dre Bly. He was being burned all day long. His one or two plays near the end of the game were lost in the frequent pass plays made on his side of the field. One play would have been for 69 yards if not for a holding call on the Jaguars offense. This team has Champ Bailey shutting down half of the field and pass completions are still made thanks to Bly's poor coverage.
5 - Turnovers. As I mentioned in my opening comments, the Broncos offense turned the ball over 4 times (1 interception, 2 fumbles and a failed 4th down conversion) in the first half. If the team just made field goals on those possessions, that's 12 lost points. In the two losses the Broncos have suffered this year, the Broncos offense have turned the ball over 7 times (not including the failed 4th down play), while they have only 4 in their 4 wins. This young team needs to learn to hold the ball.
6 - Brandon Marshall. While his 98 yards sounds impressive, he would suffer from his third fumble of this early season. Every one of them have resulted in a turnover. And while his yards after the catch are one of his strengths, he needs to know when to try to get them and when to go down. One play today netted a loss of 9 yards after he scrambled from sideline to sideline in an attempt to make something out of nothing, and his fumble was also from his attempt to get additional yards.
Protect the ball, and know when to go down.
7 - Bob Slowick. I have to question the late response to a defensive plan that simply wasn't working after half-time. The Broncos played alot of zone in the first half, and it worked for the most part. But when the Jaguars made offensive adjustments in the second half, the result was a 80 yard, three play drive for a touchdown, and a 79 yard drive of 9 plays for another touchdown. Both were a result of Slowick not making any changes in the defensive attack. After the second score, the defense seemed to get more aggressive with blitzing, but it was too little-too late.
As we have seen all season so far (except for last week's game), as the offense goes, so goes the Broncos. This was true two weeks ago in Kansas City, and it was true today.
And it all happened in the first half.
BMM
After an impressive opening drive of 80 yards that would see Jay Cutler go 7 of 7 for 67 yards and a touchdown, the offense would give the ball to Jaguars on the next 4 drives, thanks to three turnovers and a failed attempt at 4th and 1. The Jaguars would a turn these opportunities into the only points they would score in the first half.
While it would be easy to blame the defense for this loss for the way they allowed two quick touchdowns in the second half (along with a field goal), I feel that the points left on the field on those four drives in the first half are what actually lost it for the Broncos. For instance, when Brandon Marshall fumbled on the 5-yard-line in the second quarter, the Broncos were on the verge of going up 14-3 on the Jaguars. Instead, the Jags would take that opportunity to score 7 of their own, giving them a lead they would never surrender (a 14 point turnaround). Further proof in my opinion that the offense bears more of the blame than the defense is the fact that even with 4 turnovers in the first half, the defense held the Jaguars to only 10 points.
This week's highs and lows....
HIGHS :2thumbs:
1 - Michael Pittman. I have to start with "guns" as one of the highs in this game. Starting for the first time as a Denver Bronco, the 33-year-old Pittman became the first Broncos running back to break the 100 yard barrier this season (totaling 109 yards on 20 carries). After today, I think it's likely that we will see him as the starter until Torain takes it over in a few weeks.
2 - Brandon Stokley. Until he was knocked out of the game after taking a hit to the head, Stokley was money on 3rd downs, and caught his second touchdown of the season on the first drive of the game. The outcome of this game could have been different had he been able to play the whole game.
3 - Offensive line. Besides their usual shut out on the opposition in the area of sacks, they finally found their run-blocking mojo, providing running lanes that allowed Pittman to break the 100 yard mark for rushing yards by a Broncos running back.
4 - Red Zone efficiency. The Broncos would go 2 of 3 in the red zone (the only failure being Marshall's fumble), both of them for touchdowns.
5 - Glen Martinez. For a guy that was cut just before the season started, he is making it hard for the Broncos to ever think of cutting him again. He was only one tackle away from going the distance on two punt returns. With the Broncos looking for a way to keep Eddie Royal from playing special teams, it looks like Martinez could be the answer.
LOWS :2thumbsdown:
1 - Defense. I almost listed this in the "HIGHS" section because of the way they held the Jaguars to 10 points in the first half, but poor tackling, numerous big plays, lack of a pass rush without the blitz, and allowing the Jaguars to kill the last 5+ minutes to end the game, show me that last week's game was an exception, not the rule. David Garrard looked like Peyton Manning in today's game, going 25/34 for 276 yards and a touchdown and ZERO interceptions. That equals a 106.99 passer rating against the league's worst pass defense.
2 - Jay Cutler. The September Offensive Player of the Month played alot like he did in the Kansas City game (not surprisingly, with the same result), often throwing into double coverage. The absence of Royal and Sheffler was an obvious contributor to this problem, but Jay was just a couple of tipped passes from a multiple interception performance. The Broncos are likely to face alot of 2-deep zone defenses (Tampa played it last week and the Jaguars did it today), so Jay has to learn how to take what they give you and not zero in on Marshall every time he gets into trouble.
He also lacked touch on his passes when necessary. The most obvious instance of this came on a wide open pass for a sure touchdown to Nate Jackson that would have pulled the Broncos within 3 points of the Jaguars early in the third quarter. He overthrew the pass.
Jay had a fumble and an interception, was off-target more than on, and made numerous poor decisions. Clearly not one of his better days.
3 - Brett Kern. In the rarified air of Invesco Field at Mile High, Kern managed a horrible 39.5 average on 5 punts. There was pressure from the Jaguars on nearly every punt, but Kern simply isn't getting it done. I'm still trying to figure out what Shanahan saw in him over Sam Paulescu, but the battle for field position is being lost with his low, short punts.
4 - Dre Bly. He was being burned all day long. His one or two plays near the end of the game were lost in the frequent pass plays made on his side of the field. One play would have been for 69 yards if not for a holding call on the Jaguars offense. This team has Champ Bailey shutting down half of the field and pass completions are still made thanks to Bly's poor coverage.
5 - Turnovers. As I mentioned in my opening comments, the Broncos offense turned the ball over 4 times (1 interception, 2 fumbles and a failed 4th down conversion) in the first half. If the team just made field goals on those possessions, that's 12 lost points. In the two losses the Broncos have suffered this year, the Broncos offense have turned the ball over 7 times (not including the failed 4th down play), while they have only 4 in their 4 wins. This young team needs to learn to hold the ball.
6 - Brandon Marshall. While his 98 yards sounds impressive, he would suffer from his third fumble of this early season. Every one of them have resulted in a turnover. And while his yards after the catch are one of his strengths, he needs to know when to try to get them and when to go down. One play today netted a loss of 9 yards after he scrambled from sideline to sideline in an attempt to make something out of nothing, and his fumble was also from his attempt to get additional yards.
Protect the ball, and know when to go down.
7 - Bob Slowick. I have to question the late response to a defensive plan that simply wasn't working after half-time. The Broncos played alot of zone in the first half, and it worked for the most part. But when the Jaguars made offensive adjustments in the second half, the result was a 80 yard, three play drive for a touchdown, and a 79 yard drive of 9 plays for another touchdown. Both were a result of Slowick not making any changes in the defensive attack. After the second score, the defense seemed to get more aggressive with blitzing, but it was too little-too late.
As we have seen all season so far (except for last week's game), as the offense goes, so goes the Broncos. This was true two weeks ago in Kansas City, and it was true today.
And it all happened in the first half.
BMM