Wow! Someone hated the Seattle game.

[Dean]

I was far from entirely pleased with the game last Saturday but the Bleacher Report is taking criticism to the level of an art form.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/241907-sleeping-in-seattle-mcdaniels-hits-snooze-button-while-orton-improves/show_full

.

The "Quit" is Back?

Preseason is a difficult time to get a feel for the character and emotional make-up of a team and its players. But if Saturday’s performance by the Broncos in Seattle is any indication, this season could end up being a bad dream.

The Broncos played an uninspired, soft, and mistake-prone game; marred by questionable coaching decisions, and a starting QB that went from improved to lost in a self-induced Seattle fog.

The most worrying aspect of the game was the let down the team had after turnovers and other questionable player and coaching mistakes on both sides of the ball.

Bronco fans know all too well, the tendency that past teams had to quit or let up on a game when faced with adversity. Unfortunately, that trait seems to have remained, despite hopes that the problem would leave with Mike Shanahan.

It hasn’t, and after the team "gave up" on Seattle’s final drive of the first half, the second half was so bad that it doesn’t even warrant comment or attention (yes, it was that bad).

The First Half – Hope Turns to Hopeless

The Denver defense opened up the game letting Seattle convert on two third-downs during the first drive; which ended with a third-and-34 yard pass play from Matt Hasselbeck to Deion Butler. The pass was thrown perfectly, but Andre Goodman had a chance to make the play and couldn't find the ball in the air.

McDaniels' defense was uninspired on the drive and soft in coverage. It seemed content letting Seattle throw the ball to wide open receivers underneath.

There was simply no passion.

Unfortunately for the Broncos, they had to continue playing the second half, and those looking for a collapse weren’t disappointed.

The second half low-lights included:

•Scheffler’s fumble leading to a Seattle field goal.
•Spencer Larsen forgetting to block a rusher, which resulted in a partially blocked 15-yard punt.
•A Seattle touchdown on 4th-and-1 where the defense again had trouble covering receivers on key downs.
•McDaniels failed to challenge an obvious bobble of a TD reception. The pass was incomplete, and it wasn’t even close.
•A fumbled punt by McKinley lead to another Seattle field goal.
•An injury to Chris Simms on a late and low hit.
•Four sacks of Brandstater by Seattle.
The slide was steady, it was tangible, and it was complete by the time the game mercifully ended.

It is only preseason, and I know you can’t take game results too seriously, but the quit in the team and lackluster job by the coaching staff are areas of concern.

Orton is improving, and if he works on his game these next two weeks, he may be productive enough in the first three games of the season (the easiest and must win games) before facing the real beasts on the schedule.

[Superchop 7]

Pretty much what I saw.

Accurate.

[MOtorboat]

Pretty much what I saw.

Accurate.

Because I'm putting a lot of stock into someone's opinion, when their opinion is that we might as well not even play this season...:rolleyes:

Seriously, at some point, reality has to kick in, right?

[Dean]

Here is the rest of the article.


The glass is half full because…

•Orton was accurate on his throws for the most part, and the offense moved with relative ease.
•The receivers catch most of what is thrown at them and display good moves after the catch.
•The offensive line continues to give Orton good protection.
•The Bronco defense continues to put pressure on the quarterback with three sacks.
•Coverage underneath by the linebackers was improved, although they did miss some key assignments.
•The run defense was solid, although Seattle didn’t really commit much to it.
•Prater hit his only field goal-try, which he needed badly to help his confidence.
The glass is half empty because…

•Orton has tunnel vision. He makes his reads at the line of scrimmage and leaves the defense very little guess work.
•Orton puts no effort into his play action, selling fakes, or looking defenders off where he’s going with the ball. The defense takes full advantage of this, and is usually right on top of the receivers when they do catch the ball.
•Orton makes too many mental mistakes in clock management and the red-zone. He is far from comfortable out there, and it shows.
•The offensive line is struggling to open holes for the running game.
•The running backs do not consistently run hard and are tackled too easily; especially Jordan and Buckhalter.
•The offensive play calling is predictable and does not feature the tight ends nearly enough.
•No pass plays are thrown over 10 yards. To call this passing game dink-and-dunk is an insult to Mouse Davis.
•The defense struggles to get off the field on third and fourth downs.
•Pass coverage is as soft as a baby’s bottom. Very few plays are defended aggressively.
•Special teams struggled in finding someone to field punts and kick-offs. Most of the kicks were either bobbled or not fair caught when they should have been.
•Injuries became a factor with Simms, Smith, and Thomas all leaving the game, although Thomas later returned.
No Minerals in Mile High

Over the years, the Broncos have not fared well when faced with adversity in game situations. Turnovers or major mistakes seemed to deflate the team’s enthusiasm in the past, and lead to sloppier play. I put that on the coaching staff as much as I do the players.

This game could have been a major step in building confidence at the halfway point of preseason, but instead, it ended up a major disappointment, as play deteriorated after the Orton give-away on the goal line.

McDaniels’ play-calling is painful to watch. He throws a lot of "trips" and four-receiver sets out to confuse the defense, but where the ball is going is usually easy to forecast. Defenses have already figured out the Broncos' simple offense.

In the game, Knowshown Moreno wasn’t in the line-up, and that's probably an indicator that McDaniels doesn’t trust the three backs he has fighting for playing time. But with more passes than runs (23 vs. 11), the offensive line will have a hard time getting in sync. When they do attempt running plays, they are slow developing, and most of the time out of the delay/draw/counter shotgun formation, which has yet to work.

McDaniels is also struggling with his overall game management.

Plays are coming in later than they should, substitutions are late, and reviews of plays for possible challenges are not being handled properly. I’m not saying he is the second-coming of Herm Edwards, but he has two more games to improve and get the feel for managing the game from the head coaches’ position.

This team is on the precipice; they could be very good or they could be very bad. The resilience that good teams display was absent in this game, and with a difficult schedule this year, the Broncos are going to have to learn to deal with and overcome adversity. The Head Coach and his staff need to set the tone, and lead by example by game-managing better on all levels.

Orton improved from last week, but seemed to go backwards after the interception. I’m sure he wishes he could have it back, but that isn’t reality.

On the other side, Hasselbeck continually looked defenders off receivers and kept the defense guessing where the ball was going on each throw. I hope Orton reviews the defensive tapes of the game and watches how a good veteran does the little things well: ball handling, play fakes, progressions, reads, and handling adversity. Nobody talks about Hasselbeck as being strong-armed, or mobile, but he’s always a winner when he’s healthy, and Orton could learn a few things by studying him.

Cutler comes to town this weekend, and the comparisons are unavoidable. But Orton needs to show his mental toughness, and work hard on his weaknesses. He needs to come out strong, or I'm afraid his confidence going into the season will be shot.

Orton is not exhibiting the toughness he had in the Windy City. Even though it is only preseason, the whole team and coaching staff needs to grow a pair and toughen up, or this could be a long season for Bronco fans.

Copyright © 2009 Bleacher Report, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

[MOtorboat]

Here is the rest of the article.

Shocking...leaving shit out because of bias...

Thanks for the thread.

[Dean]

Shocking...leaving shit out because of bias...

Thanks for the thread.

The article was too long to enter in one post. Get over yourself.:coffee:

[MOtorboat]

The article was too long to enter in one post. Get over yourself.:coffee:

So it took you 30 minutes to post the second half, huh...

P.S. Doesn't have anything to do with me.

[Dean]

So it took you 30 minutes to post the second half, huh...

P.S. Doesn't have anything to do with me.

Yep, I do have a life to live. It sometimes gets in the way of my posting. The original had the link. Anyone could go to the site and look for themselves.

[frauschieze]

Knock the personal BS off.

[bronc kid]

orton needs to kick some major ass this week against the bears because i dont know how how much longer i can deal with the bad performances and crappy decisions i dont know how the raiders fans do it

if denver doesnt win im lookin for a back up team maby the bears or the titans

[MOtorboat]

orton needs to kick some major ass this week against the bears because i dont know how how much longer i can deal with the bad performances and crappy decisions i dont know how the raiders fans do it

Preseason.


if denver doesnt win im lookin for a back up team maby the bears or the titans

And we welcome you to do so.

[Watchthemiddle]

WE all hate watching preseason, but there is a reason behind it.

Some say preseason should be skipped and its all about the Owner's making more money.

If you watch ANY preseason game, all teams make mistakes and look sloppy. You could play lights out one week....and suck the next or vice versa.

Preseason is for:
Guys to make the team
Coaches to work out the kinks
Playcalling
Work on new schemes on offense and defense.
Ref's need the preseason.
Get in regular season shape to last 16+ games
See where the team needs to improve and work on it from game to game before the actual real stuff begins.
Add whatever you want

No one had high expectations of this team coming into this season, so why jump ship after week 2 of the preseason? Fickle fans.

No one likes seeing the D get moved on up and down the field. This is the time to fix it. No one likes seeing Orton throw with his left hand, but it sure was nice when he was 17-20 with 177 yards and a TD up until that point. Now is the time to fix mistakes. Mental errors. Penalties. Turnovers.

[Reidman]

WTH people....

I was at the game and while there were many mistakes committed (by both teams!) Orton and the Broncos looked vastly better than the first preseason game. Who really cares about a left-handed lob pass on 4TH down...? In a real game situation, that would have been a FG like has been stated a 1000X already...

I thought the first drive especially looked well executed and all the players looked comfortable...

The days of run and gun are over, this is what we have to get used to..

[Lonestar]

WE all hate watching preseason, but there is a reason behind it.

Some say preseason should be skipped and its all about the Owner's making more money.

If you watch ANY preseason game, all teams make mistakes and look sloppy. You could play lights out one week....and suck the next or vice versa.

Preseason is for:
Guys to make the team
Coaches to work out the kinks
Playcalling
Work on new schemes on offense and defense.
Ref's need the preseason.
Get in regular season shape to last 16+ games
See where the team needs to improve and work on it from game to game before the actual real stuff begins.
Add whatever you want

No one had high expectations of this team coming into this season, so why jump ship after week 2 of the preseason? Fickle fans.

No one likes seeing the D get moved on up and down the field. This is the time to fix it. No one likes seeing Orton throw with his left hand, but it sure was nice when he was 17-20 with 177 yards and a TD up until that point. Now is the time to fix mistakes. Mental errors. Penalties. Turnovers.



good post I have never taken much stock in preseason games especially the past 12 years or so because we had a damned good Idea who was going to make the team right after the draft.. and mike never exposed anything for opposing teams to get ready for.. A very good idea IMO..


but this year all the kinks need to work out at GAME speed for the new scheme, all the new players and for the coaching staff to make sure they are ready for the game when the first whistle blows in regular season..

several folks have complained about clock management this past game is was bad no doubt about it but that is what this is about, ironing out the kinks same goes for the potential challenge of the TD.. I'll bet that was one of the TOP priority's to fix on this weeks laundry list.. although I have to say the clock would have run out be the time the local TV crew reran that play on TV.. a little homer time there anyone? so I suspect Josh was not going to challenge it until someone upstairs saw it.. and it was about the 2nd re-run before I thought it was a INC pass..

there have been such massive changes on this team this year that NO one knows for sure who the top 22 players are on the LOS.. most have a decent guess but I'll bet there will be several changes yet..


This year has been entraining to get a glimpse of a new era in Bronco ball..

I look forward to the upcoming games just to see them try to polish it up a bit and see how long it takes to do so..