Broncos Mtnman
10-30-2007, 08:37 PM
Two plays and about 40 seconds kept the Broncos from a victory over the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football.
Take away those two "bombs," and the "Iron Man" of the NFL manages to gain a meager 160 yards on 19 completions, netting the Packers a less-than-impressive 6 points on two Mason Crosby field goals.
But alas, the Broncos can't take those two plays away, and so a game that should have been a low scoring victory, turned into another "coulda-shoulda" affair that leaves the Broncos with more questions than answers as they enter the remainder of a schedule that has them playing 6 of their last 9 games on the road.
Questions like....
* Why do the Broncos have two playbooks? You know, one for getting into the Red Zone and another once they get there?
"It's been our thing all year - running up and down the field, no problem moving the ball, but penalties and turnovers in the red zone," said Jay Cutler after the game.
Talk about stating the obvious.
Yet, why does this happen every week? Heck, why has it been happening for nearly two seasons now? Has Shanny made a mistake with Heimerdinger and Dennison?
Last week, the Broncos went 3 for 3 in the Red Zone. All three TDs were passing plays. I don't understand why Shanny keeps trying to play smash mouth offense when we aren't equipped for that type of play. If the strongest weapon we have in the Red Zone is the pass, then pass for Pete's sake.
Shanny's QB keeper on 3rd and 1 on the 4 yard line with no timeouts at the end of regulation was basically a decision to play for the tie. I just don't understand the reasoning behind that play.
Through the first six games, the Broncos had scored 11 offensive TDs. ONLY THREE OF THEM CAME RUSHING!!
If passing is the strength of the offense in the Red Zone, why doesn't Shanny design a zillion different pass plays to score instead of playing Marty Ball without an LT in the backfield?
* What happened to Mike "The Mastermind" Shanahan and his playcalling?" Is it just me, or does Shanny seem to be turning into Marty Schottenheimer?
I covered this a little bit in the previous answer (and Mark Kiszla's editorial today agrees with me.. lol), but does it seem that Shanny (or Dinger or Denni) have become too conservative?
In yesterday's game, two plays come to mind.
First, was the aforementioned play near the end of the regulation. The other one was Shanny's decision on fourth and 6 on the Packers 37. At worse, it's a 54 yard FG attempt. At best, it's Packers ball at the 44 with over 8 minutes to play.
* Is the pass defense showing itself to be a fraud?
In the first several weeks of the season, the "bright" spot of the defense was supposedly the passing game. There were those (myself included) who felt this stat was a bit skewed due to the terrible run defense.
Over the past two games, the run defense seemed to improve. And sadly, the passing defense paid the price. Perhaps our "shut down" passing game has been the farce everyone thought it was.
I'm not saying that "Old Man Favre" and his two pass plays are evidence that the passing defense is falling apart. But, I would say that 700+ passing yards over the past two games might be.
This week's 4 downs....
Most Glaring Weaknesses
1st - Inconsistent pass rush. I don't know why the Broncos made the decision to change what worked last week in this department. Benching Moss for Rice being one of the biggest questions I would have. With "Senior Citizen Favre" in the backfield, there's no excuse for not doing everything (including blitzes) in the playbook to put pressure on him. The defense had ZERO sacks, and the only pass play for a loss was on a busted play where Favre did the QB slide.
2nd - Dre Bly. I only have one thing to say about him. If you're going to talk the walk, you need to walk the talk. His pregame "smack" about his "something special" for Brett Favre looked just as weak as his play on the field. I remember when Bly got booed in camp for getting burned on several pass plays by our offense. His explanation was that no one would make a living from beating him.
Apparently, they can....
3rd - Red Zone offense. As I mentioned above, Shanny's playcalling has alot to do with this, but the lone turnover (a fumble when Kuper knocked the ball from Cutler's hands on the 1 yard line) costs the Broncos a sure FG and a very probably TD.
4th - Coaches game plan. On both sides of the ball (offense and defense), the Broncos coaching staff showed no imagination. In addition, what was with the NUMEROUS episodes of having either too few or too many players on the field? That type of stuff is usually an indication that the coaching staff has failed to prepare the team. Clock management was also pathetic.
The Good Things
1st - Jay Cutler. His consecutive games with an INT came to an end. He continues to demonstrate the ability to lead the team. Hopefully, Shanny will begin to let him do just that.
2nd - Selvin Young. He demonstrated the ability to be a starter, and was only one holding call from having a huge game.
3rd - The Killer B's. Both Brandons had a great game.
4th - Tony Scheffler. Man, it's sure good to have him back. He's clearly one of Jay's favorite targets, and he caught the only TD of the game.
By the way, honorable mention should go to the defense. Yes, I said the defense. As I mentioned above, if you take out those two pass plays, the defense held the Packers quite well. Despite the poor gameplanning and questionable personnel decisions, the defense nearly did enough to help the Broncos win the game.
So, the Broncos are now 3-4. Can they turn it around? It doesn't look good, but as the old saying goes, "that's why they play the games."
Here's hoping that the Broncos can make that happen.
Take away those two "bombs," and the "Iron Man" of the NFL manages to gain a meager 160 yards on 19 completions, netting the Packers a less-than-impressive 6 points on two Mason Crosby field goals.
But alas, the Broncos can't take those two plays away, and so a game that should have been a low scoring victory, turned into another "coulda-shoulda" affair that leaves the Broncos with more questions than answers as they enter the remainder of a schedule that has them playing 6 of their last 9 games on the road.
Questions like....
* Why do the Broncos have two playbooks? You know, one for getting into the Red Zone and another once they get there?
"It's been our thing all year - running up and down the field, no problem moving the ball, but penalties and turnovers in the red zone," said Jay Cutler after the game.
Talk about stating the obvious.
Yet, why does this happen every week? Heck, why has it been happening for nearly two seasons now? Has Shanny made a mistake with Heimerdinger and Dennison?
Last week, the Broncos went 3 for 3 in the Red Zone. All three TDs were passing plays. I don't understand why Shanny keeps trying to play smash mouth offense when we aren't equipped for that type of play. If the strongest weapon we have in the Red Zone is the pass, then pass for Pete's sake.
Shanny's QB keeper on 3rd and 1 on the 4 yard line with no timeouts at the end of regulation was basically a decision to play for the tie. I just don't understand the reasoning behind that play.
Through the first six games, the Broncos had scored 11 offensive TDs. ONLY THREE OF THEM CAME RUSHING!!
If passing is the strength of the offense in the Red Zone, why doesn't Shanny design a zillion different pass plays to score instead of playing Marty Ball without an LT in the backfield?
* What happened to Mike "The Mastermind" Shanahan and his playcalling?" Is it just me, or does Shanny seem to be turning into Marty Schottenheimer?
I covered this a little bit in the previous answer (and Mark Kiszla's editorial today agrees with me.. lol), but does it seem that Shanny (or Dinger or Denni) have become too conservative?
In yesterday's game, two plays come to mind.
First, was the aforementioned play near the end of the regulation. The other one was Shanny's decision on fourth and 6 on the Packers 37. At worse, it's a 54 yard FG attempt. At best, it's Packers ball at the 44 with over 8 minutes to play.
* Is the pass defense showing itself to be a fraud?
In the first several weeks of the season, the "bright" spot of the defense was supposedly the passing game. There were those (myself included) who felt this stat was a bit skewed due to the terrible run defense.
Over the past two games, the run defense seemed to improve. And sadly, the passing defense paid the price. Perhaps our "shut down" passing game has been the farce everyone thought it was.
I'm not saying that "Old Man Favre" and his two pass plays are evidence that the passing defense is falling apart. But, I would say that 700+ passing yards over the past two games might be.
This week's 4 downs....
Most Glaring Weaknesses
1st - Inconsistent pass rush. I don't know why the Broncos made the decision to change what worked last week in this department. Benching Moss for Rice being one of the biggest questions I would have. With "Senior Citizen Favre" in the backfield, there's no excuse for not doing everything (including blitzes) in the playbook to put pressure on him. The defense had ZERO sacks, and the only pass play for a loss was on a busted play where Favre did the QB slide.
2nd - Dre Bly. I only have one thing to say about him. If you're going to talk the walk, you need to walk the talk. His pregame "smack" about his "something special" for Brett Favre looked just as weak as his play on the field. I remember when Bly got booed in camp for getting burned on several pass plays by our offense. His explanation was that no one would make a living from beating him.
Apparently, they can....
3rd - Red Zone offense. As I mentioned above, Shanny's playcalling has alot to do with this, but the lone turnover (a fumble when Kuper knocked the ball from Cutler's hands on the 1 yard line) costs the Broncos a sure FG and a very probably TD.
4th - Coaches game plan. On both sides of the ball (offense and defense), the Broncos coaching staff showed no imagination. In addition, what was with the NUMEROUS episodes of having either too few or too many players on the field? That type of stuff is usually an indication that the coaching staff has failed to prepare the team. Clock management was also pathetic.
The Good Things
1st - Jay Cutler. His consecutive games with an INT came to an end. He continues to demonstrate the ability to lead the team. Hopefully, Shanny will begin to let him do just that.
2nd - Selvin Young. He demonstrated the ability to be a starter, and was only one holding call from having a huge game.
3rd - The Killer B's. Both Brandons had a great game.
4th - Tony Scheffler. Man, it's sure good to have him back. He's clearly one of Jay's favorite targets, and he caught the only TD of the game.
By the way, honorable mention should go to the defense. Yes, I said the defense. As I mentioned above, if you take out those two pass plays, the defense held the Packers quite well. Despite the poor gameplanning and questionable personnel decisions, the defense nearly did enough to help the Broncos win the game.
So, the Broncos are now 3-4. Can they turn it around? It doesn't look good, but as the old saying goes, "that's why they play the games."
Here's hoping that the Broncos can make that happen.