Lonestar
08-23-2009, 01:32 PM
By Gray Caldwell
DenverBroncos.com
SEATTLE -- Leave it to the preseason to make a positive outing out of a 27-13 loss.
But when the results don't count, it's a lot easier to look at chunks of the game and come out the other end excited about the prospects. That was the case Saturday night in Seattle.
"I think we came out on fire," said Jabar Gaffney, who led the team with five catches for 55 yards. "We came out, moved the ball up and down the field and the defense stopped them. Then we got to the second half and started playing sloppy. We've got to play four quarters."
But for the first half against the Seahawks, when the first unit was on the field, Denver gave a taste of what the team can do on both sides of the ball.
The offense got off to a quick start, driving down the field for a 12-play, 78-yard drive that took up close to six minutes on the game clock. It was a similar beginning to last week's game at San Francisco, but this drive culminated with a three-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Orton to Brandon Stokley.
After the team's second drive, Orton was 9-for-11, Matt Prater drilled a 53-yard field goal and the Broncos had 10 points and the lead. After a Seattle punt, the offense went three-and-out. The defense stepped up, however, forcing a three-and-out from the Seahawks as well.
Then Orton went to work again, leading the team down the field from its own 13-yard line to the Seattle one, knocking on the goal line. By that time he was 17-for-20 passing.
"I think really the first two preseason games, if we haven't hurt ourselves, we've moved the ball upfield, which is great to see," Orton said. "Really it's kind of easy on us -- do your own job, and the offense moves. When we get away from that and people start trying to do other things or trying to do too much, that's when we've run into problems."
Unfortunately one of those times came at the end of the drive with the ball on the Seattle 1-yard line, with time winding down in the first half. On second down, Orton almost found Gaffney in the back of the end zone, but the pass was just high enough that the veteran couldn't bring it down. It was a play that fans might have recognized from many 11-on-11 drills during training camp.
"Kyle made a great throw, I've just got to come down with it and get points," Gaffney said.
After another incompletion aimed at Gaffney on third down, the offense stayed on the field and went for it on fourth down. Orton took the snap in the shotgun and quickly felt pressure from the defense. He rolled out to his left, and since a sack would have given the other team the ball, he essentially shotput it up with his left hand "to see if something could happen," he said.
Something did happen -- Ken Lucas intercepted the ball in the end zone and Seattle took over on its own 20 after the touchback.
"Questionable whether he should do that or not on fourth down in the second quarter, but again if you get sacked they've got the ball there anyway," Head Coach Josh McDaniels said.
Eddie Royal, who was one of five Broncos to average 11 or more yards per reception Saturday night, said he was happy with the way the first unit offense moved the ball all night. He would've liked to end the 14-play drive on a good note, but exhibition games are when teams can take risks they wouldn't necessarily take in the regular season.
"We took a shot, we missed, but like I said, it's the preseason, and that's the time to test things out," he said.
From there, the Seahawks took control of the game, scoring 20 of the game's final 23 points to come away with the 14-point victory.
The Denver defense had its moments, however, especially in the first half. It was a fast start for the group, though it took until after the first drive. Matt Hasselbeck marched his team down on the opening drive and gave the Seahawks and early 7-0 lead. That woke up the group, and it kicked into gear.
The defense forced three punts from the Seattle offense in the first half, including two three-and-outs.
Hasselbeck led the Seahawks down the field again in the two-minute drill just before halftime, however, capping off the drive with a touchdown that gave Seattle the lead for the rest of the game.
Still, the defense again demonstrated the potential the team's 3-4 defense has to cause some havoc this season. The group came up with three sacks, three tackles for loss and four passes defensed. The stat missing once again was turnovers, but it's something that McDaniels said he hopes will come in time.
"That's something we've talked about a ton, and maybe we haven't talked enough about it, or maybe we've talked too much about it, I don't know," McDaniels said. "Down three (in the turnover battle) in both games now, that's certainly something we want to fix, and we'll address it as soon as we possibly can on Tuesday (when the team is back at practice) and try to fix that."
But McDaniels said he was impressed with the unit's run defense. He explained that Seattle is a team known for its cut-back ability in the running game, and a tendency to bounce runs outside for big gains. The Seahawks' leading rusher Saturday night was backup quarterback Seneca Wallace, who had 20 yards. The three other rushers picked up 18, 17 and 17, averaging 2.6, 2.1 and 2.8 yards per carry, respectively.
"We did some good things in the running game," Wesley Woodyard said. "We made some mistakes and we did some good things out there. But the biggest thing is, it's the preseason. We've still got two more games to correct the errors and get ready for that first week."
That was the theme again Saturday night -- continue to make strides so the team will be ready when the games really count.
Most players felt the team did that, and McDaniels said the list of good and bad is "probably about where it should be."
But one thing still missing from the check list is a win.
"We'd always like to win the game, for sure, but we're going to play our butt off next week and try to get a win," McDaniels said. "Wins come when you play well, coach well and don't make a lot of mistakes -- it's that simple.
"Hopefully we'll make more progress next week."
http://www.denverbroncos.com/page.php?id=334&storyID=9255
DenverBroncos.com
SEATTLE -- Leave it to the preseason to make a positive outing out of a 27-13 loss.
But when the results don't count, it's a lot easier to look at chunks of the game and come out the other end excited about the prospects. That was the case Saturday night in Seattle.
"I think we came out on fire," said Jabar Gaffney, who led the team with five catches for 55 yards. "We came out, moved the ball up and down the field and the defense stopped them. Then we got to the second half and started playing sloppy. We've got to play four quarters."
But for the first half against the Seahawks, when the first unit was on the field, Denver gave a taste of what the team can do on both sides of the ball.
The offense got off to a quick start, driving down the field for a 12-play, 78-yard drive that took up close to six minutes on the game clock. It was a similar beginning to last week's game at San Francisco, but this drive culminated with a three-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Orton to Brandon Stokley.
After the team's second drive, Orton was 9-for-11, Matt Prater drilled a 53-yard field goal and the Broncos had 10 points and the lead. After a Seattle punt, the offense went three-and-out. The defense stepped up, however, forcing a three-and-out from the Seahawks as well.
Then Orton went to work again, leading the team down the field from its own 13-yard line to the Seattle one, knocking on the goal line. By that time he was 17-for-20 passing.
"I think really the first two preseason games, if we haven't hurt ourselves, we've moved the ball upfield, which is great to see," Orton said. "Really it's kind of easy on us -- do your own job, and the offense moves. When we get away from that and people start trying to do other things or trying to do too much, that's when we've run into problems."
Unfortunately one of those times came at the end of the drive with the ball on the Seattle 1-yard line, with time winding down in the first half. On second down, Orton almost found Gaffney in the back of the end zone, but the pass was just high enough that the veteran couldn't bring it down. It was a play that fans might have recognized from many 11-on-11 drills during training camp.
"Kyle made a great throw, I've just got to come down with it and get points," Gaffney said.
After another incompletion aimed at Gaffney on third down, the offense stayed on the field and went for it on fourth down. Orton took the snap in the shotgun and quickly felt pressure from the defense. He rolled out to his left, and since a sack would have given the other team the ball, he essentially shotput it up with his left hand "to see if something could happen," he said.
Something did happen -- Ken Lucas intercepted the ball in the end zone and Seattle took over on its own 20 after the touchback.
"Questionable whether he should do that or not on fourth down in the second quarter, but again if you get sacked they've got the ball there anyway," Head Coach Josh McDaniels said.
Eddie Royal, who was one of five Broncos to average 11 or more yards per reception Saturday night, said he was happy with the way the first unit offense moved the ball all night. He would've liked to end the 14-play drive on a good note, but exhibition games are when teams can take risks they wouldn't necessarily take in the regular season.
"We took a shot, we missed, but like I said, it's the preseason, and that's the time to test things out," he said.
From there, the Seahawks took control of the game, scoring 20 of the game's final 23 points to come away with the 14-point victory.
The Denver defense had its moments, however, especially in the first half. It was a fast start for the group, though it took until after the first drive. Matt Hasselbeck marched his team down on the opening drive and gave the Seahawks and early 7-0 lead. That woke up the group, and it kicked into gear.
The defense forced three punts from the Seattle offense in the first half, including two three-and-outs.
Hasselbeck led the Seahawks down the field again in the two-minute drill just before halftime, however, capping off the drive with a touchdown that gave Seattle the lead for the rest of the game.
Still, the defense again demonstrated the potential the team's 3-4 defense has to cause some havoc this season. The group came up with three sacks, three tackles for loss and four passes defensed. The stat missing once again was turnovers, but it's something that McDaniels said he hopes will come in time.
"That's something we've talked about a ton, and maybe we haven't talked enough about it, or maybe we've talked too much about it, I don't know," McDaniels said. "Down three (in the turnover battle) in both games now, that's certainly something we want to fix, and we'll address it as soon as we possibly can on Tuesday (when the team is back at practice) and try to fix that."
But McDaniels said he was impressed with the unit's run defense. He explained that Seattle is a team known for its cut-back ability in the running game, and a tendency to bounce runs outside for big gains. The Seahawks' leading rusher Saturday night was backup quarterback Seneca Wallace, who had 20 yards. The three other rushers picked up 18, 17 and 17, averaging 2.6, 2.1 and 2.8 yards per carry, respectively.
"We did some good things in the running game," Wesley Woodyard said. "We made some mistakes and we did some good things out there. But the biggest thing is, it's the preseason. We've still got two more games to correct the errors and get ready for that first week."
That was the theme again Saturday night -- continue to make strides so the team will be ready when the games really count.
Most players felt the team did that, and McDaniels said the list of good and bad is "probably about where it should be."
But one thing still missing from the check list is a win.
"We'd always like to win the game, for sure, but we're going to play our butt off next week and try to get a win," McDaniels said. "Wins come when you play well, coach well and don't make a lot of mistakes -- it's that simple.
"Hopefully we'll make more progress next week."
http://www.denverbroncos.com/page.php?id=334&storyID=9255