Actually for as bad as the loss was, I was rather encouraged about our offense.

[LoyalSoldier]

Really our offense did almost everything it could to win this one for us after having a horrible start. Only thing they could have done better is eat up some more clock near the end. Considering our offensive line is riddled with injuries and we are down to our 3rd string RB I can actually say I will be looking forward to next year. If the defense gets its act together we can be very good.

[Tned]

The Int and not being able to run the clock out hurt, but in general the offense had a very good showing.

I have felt, and said so often, that the offense with the youth and changes would take until around mid-season to gel and start putting up 30 points or so. I had hoped (way off target) that the D might be able to help keep us in the hunt while the offense gelled, but the offense is right on schedule in my book. If we can find a way into the playoffs, I don't agree with so many people that feel we would be a definite one and out.

[SBboundBRONCOS]

our D has played well the last few weeks. they stunk it up in the final few minutes but imagine how discouraging it is to see not 1 but 2 kicks returned for TDs. Grossman was doing nothing to scare us and yet we still took the reward over the risk and got burned

the offense also stalled on a lot of 3rd downs but still managed 34 points which is very very encouraging. hall played great i thought although it looked like he could have put some more effort out there and got into the endzone, like on the screen that went for 60+ yards.

this game shouldnt have been close but we played very stupidly

[broncosfanscott]

True, we still have struggles in the red zone and despite some of the drives stalling late in the game, I am quite encouraged with the way the offense is playing considering how things were going at the start of the season.

Now that our offense is getting better the defense needs to improve. They have played better over the past two weeks and hopefully with some more tweaking they will be more in sync so they will hold onto those 4th quarter leads.

[Watchthemiddle]

Just still can't put 4 quarters together on a weekly basis with consistency.

They need to put complete games together these last 4 games.

[Lonestar]

But the redzone still stinks when it gets inside the 10. Will post more on this tomorrow..

[SBboundBRONCOS]

yeah it did sadly, we clearly can not stright run it up the gut so stop trying. that toss play was working all game and we scored a TD on it with sapp.

this is the place where we are really missing walker . . . . . i mean really missing him. at one point in the game we were in the redzone and we had stokley as our #1 and martinez as #2 i felt sick when i saw that in the red zone.

it is the place you need to put in the big play makers that will go up top and steal a ball away from the defender or snatch what looks like an incomplete pass

[Lonestar]

speaking of Walker he started the game and then I did not see him the est of the game. What happened to him I do not remember hearing his name whatsoever even on him leaving it.

[SBboundBRONCOS]

i was at soldier field and i saw him on almost all 3rd downs but he wasnt even looked at and i think he was just to draw some attention away from marshall

[Broncos Mtnman]

But the redzone still stinks when it gets inside the 10. Will post more on this tomorrow..

They were 3 for 5 in the Red Zone today JR.... (3TDs / 2FGs)

As far as what you're talking about, we were 1 for 2 inside the 10.... (1TD / 1FG)

Red Zone isn't what cost us this game.

[Stargazer]

Really our offense did.

Offense scores 34 points today. 34 points. 34 points...

:salute:

[Lonestar]

They were 3 for 5 in the Red Zone today JR.... (TD's / FGs)

As far as what you're talking about, we were 1 for 2 inside the 10.... (1TD / 1FG)

Red Zone isn't what cost us this game.

Where score runs or passes like normal? I did not keep track and don't have the time or energy tonight to worry about them. It is our total lack of runing inside the 10 yard line that will keep us from being a truly great team IMO. Sooner or later they are going to take those red zone passes way from us

Goodnight..

Your correct we lost the game with a total lack of defense when we needed it. I'm not sure if it was our good defense in the first 52:46 of the game or if it was Grossman making us look like a Superbowl defense. he was pretty pathetic until the last 7 minutes of the game and then he looked all pro.

[omac]

They were 3 for 5 in the Red Zone today JR.... (3TDs / 2FGs)

As far as what you're talking about, we were 1 for 2 inside the 10.... (1TD / 1FG)

Red Zone isn't what cost us this game.

You're right, the red zone was pretty good. 2 of our 4 TDs were rushing TDs in the redzone, at the 16 and at the 5. 1 TD pass was also from the redzone, at the 14. Definitely nothing wrong with the redzone this game.

[champbronc2]

I love our offense.

I was just destroyed once we lost the coin toss though.

I don't trust our ST/DEF like I had in previous years.

I full heartedly trust our offense though.

Had we not been so bad in 3rd down conv. we would have killed the Bears. That was uncharacteristic of us, as we are great on 3rd down so I saw that as a fluke.

Our offense is great.

[Skinny]

Yeah the offense played well. There's alot of pressure on that side of the ball to keep this team in the playoff hunt and playing on the road in those conditions is no easy task. For Denver to continue to be in games and come away with a victory, their going to have to keep scoring alot of points. I would have thought 34 points against Chicago would have been enough ... but the offense can only do so much ...

[omac]

Scenarios (stupid ones) run through my head, like, what if we just allowed the Bears to score the tie-ing TD earlier, so that our offense would have a chance to close out the game with a FG in the waning seconds. I have very little doubt that the Broncos could score a winning TD or a FG if the offense had a chance to do so.

[Retired_Member_001]

They were 3 for 5 in the Red Zone today JR.... (3TDs / 2FGs)

As far as what you're talking about, we were 1 for 2 inside the 10.... (1TD / 1FG)

Red Zone isn't what cost us this game.

It isn't what cost us the game directly, but we could have won the game if we did better in the red zone. The game could have been 14-3 Broncos instead of 6-3 Broncos in the first Quarter.

[underrated29]

THEY ARE WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE! and we let them off the hook....

I hate saying this (no disrespect to browns fans) but we are looking exactly like the browns. They are scoring 30+ points, but there d is not stopping anything either...The only difference is i think our d has the potential to be better, we just arent doing it-and we are hurt.

Still we let the bears get a way with this one. We had them, if only we didnt go conservative on our last offensive session and try to kill the clock with obvious runs and go 3 and out. we had the momentum on our side if we would have just kept playing aggressivley like we were, we almost certainly would have ended up with a td,fg, or chewed up the clock driving down.


i hate conservative. It is 100% guranteed to lose you your game.

[SBboundBRONCOS]

our D allowed what like 16 points ST gave up the other 21 with the 2 returns and the blocked punt that set up an easy TD for any team. they played very well

I dont care who you are if you give up 21 points in ST play you will lose that game 99.99% of the time.

[Lonestar]

THEY ARE WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE! and we let them off the hook....

I hate saying this (no disrespect to browns fans) but we are looking exactly like the browns. They are scoring 30+ points, but there d is not stopping anything either...The only difference is i think our d has the potential to be better, we just arent doing it-and we are hurt.

Still we let the bears get a way with this one. We had them, if only we didnt go conservative on our last offensive session and try to kill the clock with obvious runs and go 3 and out. we had the momentum on our side if we would have just kept playing aggressivley like we were, we almost certainly would have ended up with a td,fg, or chewed up the clock driving down.


i hate conservative. It is 100% guranteed to lose you your game.

I agree when you play prevent defense also all it does is prevent us from stopping them, almost never stops them from scoring just lets them chew up the clock....

[Grover]

Well, it was a combination of things that lost us the game last night, not just us being in a "prevent" defense. I'm not totally convinced that's what we played the last drive anyways.

It seemed to me that the Bears were more poised and wanted it more than we did. Our team reminded me of the Chargers last year playing New England in the playoffs - bonehead mistakes lost them the game and it did the same for us yesterday. Dre Bly's inteference call, and a defensive line holding penalty. Then we had our offense not being able to get a first down to take more time off the clock.

We need to be able to close out games. It just seemed like with five minutes left all our guys wanted to hit the locker room and their guys wanted to play a football game.

[TXBRONC]

It isn't what cost us the game directly, but we could have won the game if we did better in the red zone. The game could have been 14-3 Broncos instead of 6-3 Broncos in the first Quarter.

It didn't even indirectly cost Denver the game. Three special teams plays gave the Bears 21 of their 37 points.

[TXBRONC]

Really our offense did almost everything it could to win this one for us after having a horrible start. Only thing they could have done better is eat up some more clock near the end. Considering our offensive line is riddled with injuries and we are down to our 3rd string RB I can actually say I will be looking forward to next year. If the defense gets its act together we can be very good.


Two weeks in a row the offense has scored 30 plus points.

[Lonestar]

It didn't even indirectly cost Denver the game. Three special teams plays gave the Bears 21 of their 37 points.

now TX that is not precisely true..

[Lonestar]

Well, it was a combination of things that lost us the game last night, not just us being in a "prevent" defense. I'm not totally convinced that's what we played the last drive anyways.

It seemed to me that the Bears were more poised and wanted it more than we did. Our team reminded me of the Chargers last year playing New England in the playoffs - bonehead mistakes lost them the game and it did the same for us yesterday. Dre Bly's inteference call, and a defensive line holding penalty. Then we had our offense not being able to get a first down to take more time off the clock.

We need to be able to close out games. It just seemed like with five minutes left all our guys wanted to hit the locker room and their guys wanted to play a football game.

Chicago was in the SB last year they have the experience on the team to make a difference.

[BigBroncLove]

Well there was a lot of good and bad out of the offense IMO. Going 0/8 on third down conversions through the first half was not very good IMO. Protection was obviously poor through the firt half, and Cutlers numbers showed it. Players weren't getting as open as you would prefer (can you imagine if they had Vasher?) through the first half especially. The only shinning point was our running gmae through the first half and that was surprising given the front 7 of the Bears. Obviously red zone production still needs to be worked on. We arn't finishing a lot of drives in this area, though they have improved a great deal over the earlier part of the season

However there were many many positives. Things did come together, which shows the character of this team against what is still a great Defense. I love the big play capablity of our offense. Our running game, even with a #3 back was still steller. Schefflers involvement is expanding and I think his role in the offense is extremely important in opening things up more for MArshall and Stokley. I hoped to see a bigger impact by Walker but his presenc on the field commands attention which allows the other WR's more opportunities. Cutler continues to impress time and time again, and we are scoring points mroe consistently which is what any team needs to be able to do against top tier teams like the Colts or PAts (not saying were even close to doing that yet, but you have to be able to put a lot of points on the board to compete with those two).

The defense is another matter, but overall I was pleased with the offense. I do think they could have done some things better but I do believe the BEars (who are now finally becomign healthy again) Defense is one of the leagues best. They are consistent against the run and the pass and we were able to use both effectively against them. Its not all rosy but its nothing to dissapoint us either. The O did a great job :beer:

[TXBRONC]

now TX that is not precisely true..

Now Jr yes it is.

[Lonestar]

Now Jr yes it is.

please show me the 21 points that the ST scored..

I did not see them in the play by play..

[BigBroncLove]

please show me the 21 points that the ST scored..

I did not see them in the play by play..

Well the 21 points TX was talking about were the Punt return TD HEster scored, the Kick return TD Hester scored, and the blocked punt which gave the Bears the ball near the 17 yard line which allowed them to score a quick seven with relative ease. The ST for the Bears (or the lack of ST on the Broncos, I think it was a mix of both personally) was the only reason the Bears stood a chance in the 4th IMO.

[LoyalSoldier]

please show me the 21 points that the ST scored..

I did not see them in the play by play..

Um......

Devin Hester Kick off return TD!

Devin Hester Punt Return TD!

Blocked punt setting up the bears in the red zone.

[Lonestar]

Um......

Devin Hester Kick off return TD!
Devin Hester Punt Return TD!
Blocked punt setting up the bears in the red zone.

Um...... that is two TD and a defensive failure.. 14 points that the ST scored and 23 for the defense. 14+23=37

[Reidman]

Actually I didn't consider that a bad loss...

It hurts that we dropped in the division but that was one of the more
entertaining games I've watched in a long time. I honestly did not mind that loss...

Now if we could just teach Sauerbrun to kick away, that would be awesome...

And Underrated, I know what you're trying to say but I wish we were like the Browns right now...they are 7-4...;)

[Stargazer]

But the redzone still stinks when it gets inside the 10.

It would be nice if Shanny doesn't develop a damn brain fart, as he has inside the 20 all season, to run straight up the middle on every 1st down inside the 20. He calls the exact same play over and over and over on 1st down. And no, changing the play from a run up the middle on 1st down to a simple off-tackle run on 1st down is not the answer. The stupidity of the playcalling on 1st down inside the red zone, especially inside the 10 baffles me.

[Stargazer]

Um...... that is two TD and a defensive failure.. 14 points that the ST scored and 23 for the defense. 14+23=37

Defensive failure. The Bronco motto this season...:tsk:

[BigBroncLove]

Um...... that is two TD and a defensive failure.. 14 points that the ST scored and 23 for the defense. 14+23=37

No one said there weren't defensive breakdowns but when ST contribute to field position by erasing all but 17 yards to work with, they contribute to the score. Just like a WR recieving yards to march an offense into the red zone, when a unit and any unit helps get your offense in the red zone they play a dramatic role in however that drive ended. When Brandon Marshall grabs a long pass that takes you from your own 40 (approximately where the playy could of ended up had it been a good kick) to their 17 yard line we all pat him on the back and say he did a good job. I think its equally fair to say the ST's blocked punt had an equal contribution to the Bears TD and should be scrutinized as such. Did the D also breakdown and allow the Bears to score, of course, but personally I feel you have marginalized the mistakes of the special teams in a great many threads, including the TD off the blocked punt, and I don't understand why.

You seem equal to the task of laying blame (And rightfully so IMO) on the defense who was totally unable to stop a below average (no Benson and Grossman in equals below average unit IMO) Chicago offensive unit from scoring 14 points at the end of the game. So why not equally discuss and criticize the Broncos ST who, in your eyes, contributed the same number of points (I believe its closer to 21 personally). You've said in another thread that the Bronco offense "gave" the Bears a score when Bell fumbled at the 30 and Ogunleye returned it to the 16, how come the ST unit didn't "give" this score for the exact same thing? I feel the ST played the biggest role in the 7 yard TD.

Underrated, I also competely agree with yoru ocmments on the conservative play of the Offense when they got the ball back after the TD. AS you said it was obviously to run the clock out, which isn't a bad tactic, but only when you have a big bowling ball power RB IMO who can pound those yards in when you know their D will be expecting it. Not whn you have a third string undersized player in Andre Hall IMO. Don't get me wrong, Hall impressed me, but he isn't a player you expect to break through the point of attack against a big sturdy front 7 like the Bears have IMO. Hes a speed man with great balance and a low center of gravity but he isn't going to break piles like Mike Anderson or Travis Henry. I question the conservative play calling for that series when retaining the ball and sustaining the drive is foremost IMO (one because you odn't want to give them good field advantage, and tow obviously the mroe downs the more likely you take tons of time off the clock). Its good when you have the personel IMO, but while Hall had a good game, he didn't seem to be the short yardage player for such a situation IMO (which is also why we had so few third down conversions IMO).

[TXBRONC]

No one said there weren't defensive breakdowns but when ST contribute to field position by erasing all but 17 yards to work with, they contribute to the score. Just like a WR recieving yards to march an offense into the red zone, when a unit and any unit helps get your offense in the red zone they play a dramatic role in however that drive ended. When Brandon Marshall grabs a long pass that takes you from your own 40 (approximately where the playy could of ended up had it been a good kick) to their 17 yard line we all pat him on the back and say he did a good job. I think its equally fair to say the ST's blocked punt had an equal contribution to the Bears TD and should be scrutinized as such. Did the D also breakdown and allow the Bears to score, of course, but personally I feel you have marginalized the mistakes of the special teams in a great many threads, including the TD off the blocked punt, and I don't understand why.

You seem equal to the task of laying blame (And rightfully so IMO) on the defense who was totally unable to stop a below average (no Benson and Grossman in equals below average unit IMO) Chicago offensive unit from scoring 14 points at the end of the game. So why not equally discuss and criticize the Broncos ST who, in your eyes, contributed the same number of points (I believe its closer to 21 personally). You've said in another thread that the Bronco offense "gave" the Bears a score when Bell fumbled at the 30 and Ogunleye returned it to the 16, how come the ST unit didn't "give" this score for the exact same thing? I feel the ST played the biggest role in the 7 yard TD.

Underrated, I also competely agree with yoru ocmments on the conservative play of the Offense when they got the ball back after the TD. AS you said it was obviously to run the clock out, which isn't a bad tactic, but only when you have a big bowling ball power RB IMO who can pound those yards in when you know their D will be expecting it. Not whn you have a third string undersized player in Andre Hall IMO. Don't get me wrong, Hall impressed me, but he isn't a player you expect to break through the point of attack against a big sturdy front 7 like the Bears have IMO. Hes a speed man with great balance and a low center of gravity but he isn't going to break piles like Mike Anderson or Travis Henry. I question the conservative play calling for that series when retaining the ball and sustaining the drive is foremost IMO (one because you odn't want to give them good field advantage, and tow obviously the mroe downs the more likely you take tons of time off the clock). Its good when you have the personel IMO, but while Hall had a good game, he didn't seem to be the short yardage player for such a situation IMO (which is also why we had so few third down conversions IMO).

Fact is the special teams did contribute with blocked punt. For heaven sake give a pathetic offense like Bears the advantage of playing in side the red zone via blocked punt even they have better than 50-50 chance of scoring. No matter Jr says the Bears special teams contributed 21 points to their score.

[eessydo]

Um...... that is two TD and a defensive failure.. 14 points that the ST scored and 23 for the defense. 14+23=37

You still harping away on this JR. blocked punt turned into a quick 7 due to a massive field position shift. That is an ST failure.

I am not sure why you keep insisting that it was a massive defensive failure when everyone else and their mother sees the absolute collapse of our ST as the primary means of our loss.

Where I come from they would call you thick in the head.

[Lonestar]

No one said there weren't defensive breakdowns but when ST contribute to field position by erasing all but 17 yards to work with, they contribute to the score. Just like a WR recieving yards to march an offense into the red zone, when a unit and any unit helps get your offense in the red zone they play a dramatic role in however that drive ended. When Brandon Marshall grabs a long pass that takes you from your own 40 (approximately where the playy could of ended up had it been a good kick) to their 17 yard line we all pat him on the back and say he did a good job. I think its equally fair to say the ST's blocked punt had an equal contribution to the Bears TD and should be scrutinized as such. Did the D also breakdown and allow the Bears to score, of course, but personally I feel you have marginalized the mistakes of the special teams in a great many threads, including the TD off the blocked punt, and I don't understand why.

You seem equal to the task of laying blame (And rightfully so IMO) on the defense who was totally unable to stop a below average (no Benson and Grossman in equals below average unit IMO) Chicago offensive unit from scoring 14 points at the end of the game. So why not equally discuss and criticize the Broncos ST who, in your eyes, contributed the same number of points (I believe its closer to 21 personally). You've said in another thread that the Bronco offense "gave" the Bears a score when Bell fumbled at the 30 and Ogunleye returned it to the 16, how come the ST unit didn't "give" this score for the exact same thing? I feel the ST played the biggest role in the 7 yard TD.

Underrated, I also competely agree with yoru ocmments on the conservative play of the Offense when they got the ball back after the TD. AS you said it was obviously to run the clock out, which isn't a bad tactic, but only when you have a big bowling ball power RB IMO who can pound those yards in when you know their D will be expecting it. Not whn you have a third string undersized player in Andre Hall IMO. Don't get me wrong, Hall impressed me, but he isn't a player you expect to break through the point of attack against a big sturdy front 7 like the Bears have IMO. Hes a speed man with great balance and a low center of gravity but he isn't going to break piles like Mike Anderson or Travis Henry. I question the conservative play calling for that series when retaining the ball and sustaining the drive is foremost IMO (one because you odn't want to give them good field advantage, and tow obviously the mroe downs the more likely you take tons of time off the clock). Its good when you have the personel IMO, but while Hall had a good game, he didn't seem to be the short yardage player for such a situation IMO (which is also why we had so few third down conversions IMO).

You make valid points but the fact it we owned DA bears all day .. Period for them to have 155 total yards until the 7:14 minute mark left in the game is damned good for our defense or a damned same for their offense. Or perhaps a combination of both.

But we also got a freebie inside the 20 on one of their fumbles so I guess if one can give ST teams the responsibility then that fumble should not count either..

I'm not letting ST off the hook just laying the actual points score on where they should be. Had they immediately come in and kicked FG without another play or scored on it as recovery and return perhaps you could blame it all of the ST play. But they took another 3-4 plays against our Defense albeit with a short field.

The defense did not stop them again all day and they ran off 17 straight points. Sorry unless the ST player actually score they do not count no matter what the apologists want to say.. We gave them 138 yards and 3 scores and 17 points from that point on..

[underrated29]

speaking of the blocked punt, did anyone else totally see this coming? As soon as i saw thier guy line up off of ours i thought crap he is going to block this...Then like 5 seconds went buy and i thought oh yes we see it and are going to fake it and throw it to the open man.....boy i was wrong!

tell me, did anyone else think on the last punt when they dropped all the guys back and left 5 on the line to rush the punter that we had something special in mind when we called the timeout?

I thought FOR SURE that shanny saw that called the TO and said ok guys if they drop all but 5 back to either A) throw it to an open man off the line. or B) use our 10 guys to block their 5 guys and todd run like mad for 7 yards.

Maybe i am just to aggressive, but that seemed like a no brainer to me.

[TXBRONC]

speaking of the blocked punt, did anyone else totally see this coming? As soon as i saw thier guy line up off of ours i thought crap he is going to block this...Then like 5 seconds went buy and i thought oh yes we see it and are going to fake it and throw it to the open man.....boy i was wrong!

tell me, did anyone else think on the last punt when they dropped all the guys back and left 5 on the line to rush the punter that we had something special in mind when we called the timeout?

I thought FOR SURE that shanny saw that called the TO and said ok guys if they drop all but 5 back to either A) throw it to an open man off the line. or B) use our 10 guys to block their 5 guys and todd run like mad for 7 yards.

Maybe i am just to aggressive, but that seemed like a no brainer to me.

Regardless of the distance you still be asking a punter to make an accurate throw so I don't think it was a no brainer.

[underrated29]

how about the run. 10 blockers on 5 guys- that should be enough to allow him to run 7 yards...I think even elam might be able to run that far with so many blockers.:laugh:

[TXBRONC]

how about the run. 10 blockers on 5 guys- that should be enough to allow him to run 7 yards...I think even Elam might be able to run that far with so many blockers.:laugh:

It still probably come down to measurement. :D

[BigBroncLove]

You make valid points but the fact it we owned DA bears all day .. Period for them to have 155 total yards until the 7:14 minute mark left in the game is damned good for our defense or a damned same for their offense. Or perhaps a combination of both.

But we also got a freebie inside the 20 on one of their fumbles so I guess if one can give ST teams the responsibility then that fumble should not count either..

I'm not letting ST off the hook just laying the actual points score on where they should be. Had they immediately come in and kicked FG without another play or scored on it as recovery and return perhaps you could blame it all of the ST play. But they took another 3-4 plays against our Defense albeit with a short field.

The defense did not stop them again all day and they ran off 17 straight points. Sorry unless the ST player actually score they do not count no matter what the apologists want to say.. We gave them 138 yards and 3 scores and 17 points from that point on..

Well we will certienly have to agree to disagree on this subject. I feel the weight of the issue lies on ST's shoulders but the defense certianly shares their fair share of blame. I think ST contributed more so then the defense on the score in question. To say under no circumstances can you allow.

You saying the "defense did not stop them all day" is a little off IMO. Whenever we put 7 on the board, the Bears got the ball right back with an opportunity to score. The reason we were up 14 poitns means the Defense did make stops. They certienly didn't play an above average game IMO, but certienly not their worst performance which have been pretty horrendous. The Bears contributed with dropped passes and the fact Benson left the game with an injury but the D did contribute to the game. The Offense was obviously what was winning us the game, but the D was a mixed bag of good and bad but was stopping the bears regularly enough when it was needed. Especially throughout the first half when the Broncos didn't seem able to sustain a drive with a third down in it (we went 0/9 on third down conversions until we started doing some things, by what was it :confused: the fourth drive?). They obviously helped give the game away at the end but they did contribute. After all they forced a fumble on the bears drive before the block and handed the Broncos offense the ball near the 50.

Infact besides the first few drives (the ones that featured Benson which still says something about our D despite the run D improvement) the Broncos stopped the Bears from scoring for the majority of the game. When the Bell fumble put the Bears on the 16 the D and penalties drove the Bears toward the edge of Goulds range. Paymah intercepted the Bears at the end of the first quarter to hand the ball immediately back to the offense. They forced two fumbles and recovered both. They forced 6 punts, 4 of them in 5 plays or less. They crumbled at the end but they did do things some things right. So did the offense but IMO no one put the Broncos team in a position to lose more so then ST, and though the defense allowed a TD, ST created the situation to allow one. I feel, and I think the majority of other posters here seem to be in agreement (t least the ones chiming in at the moment), think the ST had a major role in the score and bears the responsibility for the weight of the issue.

[Lonestar]

Well we will certienly have to agree to disagree on this subject. I feel the weight of the issue lies on ST's shoulders but the defense certianly shares their fair share of blame. I think ST contributed more so then the defense on the score in question. To say under no circumstances can you allow.

You saying the "defense did not stop them all day" is a little off IMO. Whenever we put 7 on the board, the Bears got the ball right back with an opportunity to score. The reason we were up 14 poitns means the Defense did make stops. They certienly didn't play an above average game IMO, but certienly not their worst performance which have been pretty horrendous. The Bears contributed with dropped passes and the fact Benson left the game with an injury but the D did contribute to the game. The Offense was obviously what was winning us the game, but the D was a mixed bag of good and bad but was stopping the bears regularly enough when it was needed. Especially throughout the first half when the Broncos didn't seem able to sustain a drive with a third down in it (we went 0/9 on third down conversions until we started doing some things, by what was it :confused: the fourth drive?). They obviously helped give the game away at the end but they did contribute. After all they forced a fumble on the bears drive before the block and handed the Broncos offense the ball near the 50.

Infact besides the first few drives (the ones that featured Benson which still says something about our D despite the run D improvement) the Broncos stopped the Bears from scoring for the majority of the game. When the Bell fumble put the Bears on the 16 the D and penalties drove the Bears toward the edge of Goulds range. Paymah intercepted the Bears at the end of the first quarter to hand the ball immediately back to the offense. They forced two fumbles and recovered both. They forced 6 punts, 4 of them in 5 plays or less. They crumbled at the end but they did do things some things right. So did the offense but IMO no one put the Broncos team in a position to lose more so then ST, and though the defense allowed a TD, ST created the situation to allow one. I feel, and I think the majority of other posters here seem to be in agreement (t least the ones chiming in at the moment), think the ST had a major role in the score and bears the responsibility for the weight of the issue.

You only read what you wanted to see in that comment I quote myself here and note the emphasis on AGAIN.
"The defense did not stop them again all day and they ran off 17 straight points"

I had clearly said in almost all of my previous posts that we owned DA BEARS for the first 42 minutes of the game. In fact we had the ball for almost 30 minutes of that 42.

When I stated the above quote, I was referring to from the 7:14 mark in the fourth we did not stop them again, they ran off 17 straight points..

[LoyalSoldier]

Um...... that is two TD and a defensive failure.. 14 points that the ST scored and 23 for the defense. 14+23=37

If you give a team the ball right inside the 20 it is as good as giving them 3 points and most likely 7. I don't know a single football coach I have ever had that has not said that. Even for elite defenses goal line situations generally result in TDs. I bet if you look at all the elite defenses in the NFL I can almost guarantee that a lot of the times they were scored on was because some other unit set them up in a bad situation.

[TXBRONC]

If you give a team the ball right inside the 20 it is as good as giving them 3 points and most likely 7. I don't know a single football coach I have ever had that has not said that. Even for elite defenses goal line situations generally result in TDs. I bet if you look at all the elite defenses in the NFL I can almost guarantee that a lot of the times they were scored on was because some other unit set them up in a bad situation.

If the defense had been able to hold them to three that would have been great, but like you said when your opponent is able to set up inside red zone there is very good chance you're going to give up a touchdown.

[Lonestar]

If the defense had been able to hold them to three that would have been great, but like you said when your opponent is able to set up inside red zone there is very good chance you're going to give up a touchdown.

Except of course if it is the Broncos getting it in the red zone..


Yes I know we got one this past weekend but our redzone TD's have over the season let alot to be desired.

[BigBroncLove]

You only read what you wanted to see in that comment I quote myself here and note the emphasis on AGAIN.
"The defense did not stop them again all day and they ran off 17 straight points"

I had clearly said in almost all of my previous posts that we owned DA BEARS for the first 42 minutes of the game. In fact we had the ball for almost 30 minutes of that 42.

When I stated the above quote, I was referring to from the 7:14 mark in the fourth we did not stop them again, they ran off 17 straight points..

Oops, I guess I mis-read that :lol: . I was multi-tasking and happened to thumb over that one word which changes the meaning. I agree with your sentiments on the defense giving the win away at the end, but I htink ST holds a very large portion of that as well since they contributed greatly to one of the two scores that gave Chicago the tie. As said before, we'll have to agre to disagree.

[Broncos Mtnman]

Except of course if it is the Broncos getting it in the red zone..


Yes I know we got one this past weekend but our redzone TD's have over the season let alot to be desired.

We got more than one, JR.

The Broncos were 3/5 in the Red Zone.