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Denver Native (Carol)
11-14-2013, 06:41 PM
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – Now one game removed from the bye week and Head Coach John Fox’s surgery, Executive Vice President of Football Operations John Elway sat down with Chris Hall of Broncos TV to talk about the state of the team as they prepare to play the undefeated Chiefs in the Week 11 edition of the Elway Access Podcast presented by US Bank Flex Perks.

Interim Head Coach/Defense Coordinator Jack Del Rio now has one game under his belt in his new role – a 28-20 win in San Diego. Elway said that he knew that Del Rio was the “perfect fit” to take over as the interim head coach in Fox’s absence.

“I had confidence in Jack that we weren’t going to miss a beat,” Elway said. “I think he knows what John’s about and to be able to take the reins from what John has started here, I think that was an easy transition for Jack.”

That transition has been aided by what Elway described as a good and mature locker room that has shown the ability to remain focused through adversity.

rest - http://www.denverbroncos.com/news-and-blogs/article-1/Elway-Talks-Chiefs-Matchup/86d0da73-9724-4d58-8b34-4ba766153f86

Joel
11-15-2013, 08:35 AM
“The Chiefs lead the league in sacks right now,” Elway said. “We know that they are a formidable pass rushing football team. And I think we’ll pull it in, we’ll do that realizing that we can’t afford to get Peyton hit. Number one, just because you never want your quarterback getting hit and when he is getting hit that means the ball is going to have to come out quicker and you don’t take full advantage of the passing game.”
Elway reportedly lets the coaches call their own game, but does communicate with them and isn't unaware of their plans. Don't be surprised if we see a lot less Julius Thomas and more of other TEs Sunday; we're not likely to add any big name linemen or see a huge improvement from Clark at this point, so TE blocking is pretty much our sole remaining option, and Thomas' sole big weakness. ALL our other TEs block MUCH better, and both Dreesen and Tamme are good receivers, so it's natural for them to see more time as our hobbled QB faces the top pass rush, where a strong running game against a weak run D would help immensely.

Another note: As long as refs keep letting DBs play "bump and bump" coverage on our receivers, the quick hits and hot reads won't be very quick and Manning will have to hold the ball correspondingly longer.

Ravage!!!
11-15-2013, 11:55 AM
:lol: You take persistence to a whole new level.

But I won't be surprised. In fact, I not only welcome it, but encourage that.

However, if we want to run the ball more, don't be surprised that we keep Thomas in there. They can't cover Thomas with a beefy LB. If we want to keep the safeties back, and possibly another DB on the field, we keep Thomas in so that their smaller (faster) package is matched up with our run game. The RUN game is whats going ot keep the pass rush off Manning.

artie_dale
11-15-2013, 12:11 PM
As far as the DB's go, I wouldn't be surprised if the Refs, knowing how huge this game is, will probably back off throughout the game and let them play more physical. If they don't make the calls early in the game, they probably won't make those calls throughout the game.

But, our DB's have been physical at times too so whatever the Refs do, I just hope they do it consistently.

Joel
11-15-2013, 01:11 PM
:lol: You take persistence to a whole new level.

But I won't be surprised. In fact, I not only welcome it, but encourage that.

However, if we want to run the ball more, don't be surprised that we keep Thomas in there. They can't cover Thomas with a beefy LB. If we want to keep the safeties back, and possibly another DB on the field, we keep Thomas in so that their smaller (faster) package is matched up with our run game. The RUN game is whats going ot keep the pass rush off Manning.
So Elway suggesting more TEs doesn't mean he hates Denver and wants us to lose? :tongue:

If Thomas starts blocking, by all means leave him out there. Even if he doesn't, he'd still be good misdirection for 1st and 10 runs, yes, but I contend Dreesen and Tamme do that far better on ANY play because they're both block AND catch well: Teams can't assume anything when they're on the field. There's a reason they'll play pass when they see Orange Julius; his poor blocking reduces the potential penalty for guessing wrong, even though Thomas did have a good block for Moreno Sunday. Green had a nice catch, but it was just the 12th of his 3 year CAREER; when he's on the field, teams will expect him to block.

It's not just "pull Thomas so Dreesen can block," else we'd be talking more about Green. I was actually mildly disappointed last year that Tamme was getting so many passes Dreesen got correspondingly less (but then, that's the story of his career: He was a good receiver in Houston, too, but had to split time with Pro Bowl TE Owen Daniels.) Those guys are TIGHT ENDS, not fast tackles or big receivers.

That's not just a quip; I think it was the Denver Post that had an article after Thomas let Indy force a PFM pick that said he was as resistant as a non-recruit can be when his college coach told him to play TE: He wanted to be a receiver, for very good reason. He only played a year of college ball before the draft, and basketball's not a full contact sport, so it's natural he has to learn blocking.

I'd still prefer to rotate Welker and Orange Julius on the right, where guys who can cover one can't tackle the other, and vice versa, with Dreesen/Tamme rotating on the left to help Clark. Clark probably won't get ANY help from anyone else, because neither Beadles nor Ramirez are strong enough to block Poe one on one (hopefully Franklin does well enough Vasquez can take Poe,) and Beadles has to worry about DeVito as well as two-time Pro Bowler Derrick Johnson at ILB. Clark will either face Hali alone, or get TE help; just that simple.

I just hope Franklin can handle Houston and Tyson Jackson so we don't have to think about putting Green over there; I really would prefer a legit receiving threat like Tamme—just not at the expense of our run game and Mannings health. Two things that happened in three of our last four games and we can't afford Sunday: Moreno rushing for <50 yds and TD drives off blindside strip-sacks.

DeVito and Jackson don't look like great DEs, even by 3-4 standards, but their NT is solid and they have THREE Pro Bowlers starting at LB: That front seven's the real deal, but built for speed (apart from Poe) that makes it surprisingly vulnerable to smash mouth running (though less so against the stretch plays we like.) We need to run off tackle at their ends (especially on the right) and push them back so Manning doesn't have to do much. Hopefully Moreno has the kind of great day he did throughout the first month, or Ball/Anderson have a breakout game (ideally, both.)

Joel
11-15-2013, 01:15 PM
As far as the DB's go, I wouldn't be surprised if the Refs, knowing how huge this game is, will probably back off throughout the game and let them play more physical. If they don't make the calls early in the game, they probably won't make those calls throughout the game.

But, our DB's have been physical at times too so whatever the Refs do, I just hope they do it consistently.
I'm sure they'll do that for KC, but even if they do it consistently (which they haven't yet) that still favors KC, because shutting down ALL passing makes it Charles vs. Moreno. Our run D's actually better than theirs, but I'm not sure it's THAT much better. But I'd rather find out than watch Hali pick Clark up and use him to club PFM to death.