TheReverend
10-16-2013, 10:33 AM
The Gameplan
Raise your hand if you predicted a 2 point game into half. No? Well, neither did the Broncos. The defense came prepared to play to protect a lead and work clock with a big mix of zone (further, as a HEAVY man coverage team, this also functions as an opportunity to evaluate players’ zone coverage skills in a live setting, exhibition elements on a bigger stage) coverages. Truth be told, this issue wasn’t that big of a deal, you make adjustments and go execute, but compounding the problem lay the primary issue with the defense: injuries and suspension.
Wesley Woodyard may have become our defensive MVP. Controversial with Miller’s dominance rushing the passer, but looking at what Wesley has done statistically as a starter under Del Rio is nothing shy of remarkable and near godlike when you consider his intangibles. Further, with Miller out, we managed to at least adequately fill the void with Nate Irving on base downs and Shaun Phillips rushing in the nickel. With Wesley out, all hell broke loose. That sounds like an exaggeration until you see the facts: we played defense with ONE linebacker more often than not. Danny Trevathan rang in a whopping 73 defensive snaps in all the dime looks (Dime: 6 defensive backs). To provide some context, that’s more than EVERY OTHER linebacker on the team COMBINED (Lenon-38, Irving-30, Robinson-3).
The lack of Wesley was most apparent over the middle where the Denver Broncos were eviscerated by the slant. Blackman alone racked up approximately half of his production on this one pass pattern. By design, a corner can only hope to get an early slant break and, GENERALLY, the linebacker should be there to lower the boom and break up the pass with the big hit. Trevathan continues to play admirably, but we simply had no presence over the middle without Wesley.
With Miller gone, Wolfe has been forced to rush the passer more from the outside when he’s more of an inline penetrator on a 3-technique than a dip-your-shoulder-and-beat-him-outside defensive end. With Ayers also out, Wolfe was placed into assuming this less effective role on a full-time basis notching 58-snaps at defensive end. Too many to provide fresh pass-rush and in the wrong spot to be optimally effective.
Champ returned straight to his LCB as explained several weeks ago, and after missing over a month of football, produced a mixed bag as expected getting tested often–several pass breakups and more completions. I expect this performance to improve dramatically from here out, and if there’s one valuable takeaway from this game concerning Bailey, he’s healthy and a true warrior amassing more playing time than ANY other defensive back.
Let’s test Duke for color-blindness. No chance he hit more Jaguars than Broncos.
Rest at: http://patrickturley.org/the-reckoning-of-irsay/
Raise your hand if you predicted a 2 point game into half. No? Well, neither did the Broncos. The defense came prepared to play to protect a lead and work clock with a big mix of zone (further, as a HEAVY man coverage team, this also functions as an opportunity to evaluate players’ zone coverage skills in a live setting, exhibition elements on a bigger stage) coverages. Truth be told, this issue wasn’t that big of a deal, you make adjustments and go execute, but compounding the problem lay the primary issue with the defense: injuries and suspension.
Wesley Woodyard may have become our defensive MVP. Controversial with Miller’s dominance rushing the passer, but looking at what Wesley has done statistically as a starter under Del Rio is nothing shy of remarkable and near godlike when you consider his intangibles. Further, with Miller out, we managed to at least adequately fill the void with Nate Irving on base downs and Shaun Phillips rushing in the nickel. With Wesley out, all hell broke loose. That sounds like an exaggeration until you see the facts: we played defense with ONE linebacker more often than not. Danny Trevathan rang in a whopping 73 defensive snaps in all the dime looks (Dime: 6 defensive backs). To provide some context, that’s more than EVERY OTHER linebacker on the team COMBINED (Lenon-38, Irving-30, Robinson-3).
The lack of Wesley was most apparent over the middle where the Denver Broncos were eviscerated by the slant. Blackman alone racked up approximately half of his production on this one pass pattern. By design, a corner can only hope to get an early slant break and, GENERALLY, the linebacker should be there to lower the boom and break up the pass with the big hit. Trevathan continues to play admirably, but we simply had no presence over the middle without Wesley.
With Miller gone, Wolfe has been forced to rush the passer more from the outside when he’s more of an inline penetrator on a 3-technique than a dip-your-shoulder-and-beat-him-outside defensive end. With Ayers also out, Wolfe was placed into assuming this less effective role on a full-time basis notching 58-snaps at defensive end. Too many to provide fresh pass-rush and in the wrong spot to be optimally effective.
Champ returned straight to his LCB as explained several weeks ago, and after missing over a month of football, produced a mixed bag as expected getting tested often–several pass breakups and more completions. I expect this performance to improve dramatically from here out, and if there’s one valuable takeaway from this game concerning Bailey, he’s healthy and a true warrior amassing more playing time than ANY other defensive back.
Let’s test Duke for color-blindness. No chance he hit more Jaguars than Broncos.
Rest at: http://patrickturley.org/the-reckoning-of-irsay/