Broncos strengths that no one is talking about, + a weakness too!

[Hawgdriver]

Sorry I've been out of pocket so much, busy with the new job. But now I've got something I have to share, so enjoy...

I've noticed that Jay and the offensive line are actually doing well, overall, so far this year. The obvious is that Jay is having a 65% comp/~90 QB rating year. What's not so obvious is that Jay is not killing drives by getting sacked. There are only four QBs in the league with more passing attempts that have fewer yards lost to sacks: Brady, Peyton, Brees, and Garcia. That speaks well of Jay's off-season work on footwork and conditioning his "mental hourglass". He seems cool and aware on the field, and it's a testament to his work and the protection of his line. It's that kind of confidence that can infect the whole offense. However, it is troubling that he has fumbled the ball four times this year--even though only one was lost. Most elite quarterbacks have fumbled once or twice at this point in the season. That brings his 15 game total to 9 fumbles, 2 lost.

Besides giving Jay a chance to deliver the ball through the air, the offensive line is still doing what it has been known for: running the ball well. Even though Denver backs aren't putting up gaudy numbers, and the Denver rushing attack is only ranked 11th overall in yards per game in the league, they are putting up 4.7 yards a carry, which is good for a passenger seat in AP's 6.0 series BMW.

A weakness that isn't getting much attention is the turnover metric. Denver has thrown 10 picks, one by Ramsey and the rest by Jay. They have lost the ball by fumble another 10 times: Jay (1), BMarsh (1), Martinez (1), Scheffler (1), S. Young (1), Brian Clark (3), other ST/Def (2). Clark is gone, so that helps. It's reassuring that our running backs have not lost a single fumble on rushing plays--but I don't expect that to last. On defense, there are few bright spots, but one of them is Elvis Dumervil. He has forced three fumbles, tops on the team (DJ Williams, 2). Denver has 6 fumbles recovered, near the bottom in the league. Although Elvis has been doing his part, in order for Denver to step it up, they have to generate more turnovers on defense, or improve their atrocious 4.7 ypc run defense. I wouldn't advocate more risks in the secondary; they've been doing great. It's up to guys like Crowder and Thomas to provide a spark and make some big plays. Hey, they can't run it down yer throat if they don't have the ball...

I'm sure there are more crucial areas to point out about the team's performance, but these are a couple of areas I haven't heard much about. I would be curious if someone else has done a work-up on special teams. I have a feeling that it's still and area of concern. Any takers?

[Lonestar]

well thought out post good job.

I do not think our OLINE is that special with Jay running/rolling out for alot of his long throws, I think pass protection has to get better and probably will when these guys have more time working with each other.

They will never be a big running powerhouse inside the ten.. the is until they get bigger.. That may never happen so not going to lose sleep over it.

We got so really good long runs lately and last night I believe our run success was do to hanesworth being out, more than great blocking.

Jay has does well in spite of having to hurry alot of his throws. Impressed with him and improvement he has made since last year. We were humming a long and then had one series that we stunk in towards the end of the game.. I'd blame that on young team and lack of focus..

[omac]

Very nice research and post, Hawgdriver! :salute:


There are only four QBs in the league with more passing attempts that have fewer yards lost to sacks: Brady, Peyton, Brees, and Garcia.

I didn't know about that, although, watching other QBs in the league, I did see he was better than most at that. Those 4 are some very heady veterans; this shows a lot of QB maturity for such a new player, specially with some of the transitions in the team brought about from injuries.

The offensive line is doing a much better job at pass protection, but Cutler's making them look better by getting rid of the ball pretty fast. Some of those really quick reads have led to interceptions, but it's probably helped him learn to survey the defense quicker. At the rate he's learning, it wouldn't be too far-fetched to believe he'd be able to read defenses almost as well as Peyton or Brady in the far future.

The sportscasters mentioned that Jay has the 4th (or 5th?) best 3rd down completion percentage in the league; QBs ahead of him are Brady, Manning, and Roethlisburger, so that's very impressive.


Denver has thrown 10 picks, one by Ramsey and the rest by Jay. They have lost the ball by fumble another 10 times: Jay (1), BMarsh (1), Martinez (1), Scheffler (1), S. Young (1), Brian Clark (3), other ST/Def (2).

That statement's pretty telling; that's a whole lot of young players entrusted with Shanny's complex system. They should get better at lessening the turnovers the more they play.

I can't remember who (credit to him), but a poster here mentioned that we weren't scoring enough OUTSIDE of the redzone, or in other words, big plays, like a long pass or a long run. That seems to be a big part of the Broncos success against the Titans. The long TDs to Marshall and Stokley, as well as the big TD run by Hall. That shows the offense taking much more chances.

[omac]

They will never be a big running powerhouse inside the ten.. the is until they get bigger.. That may never happen so not going to lose sleep over it.

It would be nice for them to be able to physically force themselves into the endzone, but if not, I'll take the short passing TDs too. The Steelers are a pretty good running team, but they're rushing TDs have been much, much less than they're passing TDs, at least for most of the season. Not sure if it's caught up yet, but I doubt it.


We got so really good long runs lately and last night I believe our run success was do to hanesworth being out, more than great blocking.

That is a huge factor, but considering we're not playing with our best linemen and best RB, that should even things out more.


Jay has does well in spite of having to hurry alot of his throws. Impressed with him and improvement he has made since last year. We were humming a long and then had one series that we stunk in towards the end of the game.. I'd blame that on young team and lack of focus..

I also think part of the reason is their change of mentality in trying to preserve a lead. They got the lead taking some risks with some big pass plays; later, they weren't passing as much, trying to kill some clock, playing much more conservative, and that will mess with an offense's rythm. Hard to just turn things on and off when you want to. I still think it was the right thing to do, even if it messed with their rythm.

[Lonestar]

It would be nice for them to be able to physically force themselves into the endzone, but if not, I'll take the short passing TDs too. The Steelers are a pretty good running team, but they're rushing TDs have been much, much less than they're passing TDs, at least for most of the season. Not sure if it's caught up yet, but I doubt it.



That is a huge factor, but considering we're not playing with our best linemen and best RB, that should even things out more.



I also think part of the reason is their change of mentality in trying to preserve a lead. They got the lead taking some risks with some big pass plays; later, they weren't passing as much, trying to kill some clock, playing much more conservative, and that will mess with an offense's rythm. Hard to just turn things on and off when you want to. I still think it was the right thing to do, even if it messed with their rythm.


I'm not so sure that it was not the lack of focus by a pretty young team they see the end of the tunnel and relaxed. Then the other team bit them..

No killer instinct like NE seems to have..

[omac]

I'm not so sure that it was not the lack of focus by a pretty young team they see the end of the tunnel and relaxed. Then the other team bit them..

No killer instinct like NE seems to have..

I guess here's where we differ in opinion. I didn't see the team relax; I saw a team that started playing much more conservatively, trying to run out the clock more, and that got them off rythm with the passing game. NE, besides being a great passing team, has the luxury of knowing that their defense is very stout, so even if they had to go 3 and out, and even if they didn't have a big lead, they'd know that the defense would take care of business. That's why they're so fearless on offense. Ours is a gambling defense that could get burned big on any given play.