Hawgdriver
11-20-2007, 12:13 PM
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?
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?