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View Full Version : Champ Bailey won't be on a 'pitch count' for Broncos



Denver Native (Carol)
01-18-2014, 04:27 PM
Champ Bailey struggled through a nightmare 2013, battling a foot injury that cost him the majority of the season.

When the Denver Broncos cornerback finally returned after two earlier failed recovery attempts, he was used in a limited role.

With starting cornerback Chris Harris out after tearing his ACL, Bailey said Friday he expects to have a larger role when the Broncos take on the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.

"(The pitch count) doesn't exist this week," Bailey told USA Today's Lindsay Jones. "Whatever it takes."

rest - http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000314719/article/champ-bailey-wont-be-on-a-pitch-count-for-broncos

Joel
01-18-2014, 05:25 PM
Awesome, but I wish he wouldn't announce it. That said, the quotes—particularly their sourcing to Lindsay Jones' USAToday article—suggest NFL.com just picked up and regurgitated that (fair use?) Champ doesn't say the pitch count (which, IIRC, came from the coaches, naturally) was off: He said he'll do whatever they ask and whatever it takes, as we've come to expect he will.

broncophan
01-18-2014, 11:13 PM
Am concerned that the pats will throw champs way a lot....I hope champ has enough left in the tank.

Joel
01-19-2014, 01:25 AM
Am concerned that the pats will throw champs way a lot....I hope champ has enough left in the tank.
It'll either be very good or very bad if they choose to pass a lot; my money's on very good, because the only concern with Champ is downfield speed and endurance, neither of which Amendola has in greater supply. Amendola's Combine 40 time was 4.58; Champs was 4.28: Just how much speed do people think he's lost? ;) That leaves it down to "Does Champ Bailey know more about coverage and routes than Danny Amendola does?" and I hope the answer's obvious.

I'm more concerned about stopping the run to MAKE them pass, and how well our LBs can cover Vereen and our lesser DBs Thompkins and Dobson. That, and whether our very good full strength WR corps can get open against "bump and bump" from their very good and full strength secondary. Belichick knows Moreno had a career day last time, too, and has surely planned for it.

zbeg
01-19-2014, 02:14 AM
It'll either be very good or very bad if they choose to pass a lot; my money's on very good, because the only concern with Champ is downfield speed and endurance, neither of which Amendola has in greater supply. Amendola's Combine 40 time was 4.58; Champs was 4.28: Just how much speed do people think he's lost? ;) That leaves it down to "Does Champ Bailey know more about coverage and routes than Danny Amendola does?" and I hope the answer's obvious.

A thousand times this. "Champ has lost a step." Okay, while that's probably true, he was one of the fastest defensive backs in NFL history. Losing a step doesn't make him slow - it makes him not as blazing fast. That's still plenty good enough to be a very effective corner when you still have flawless technique, fluid hips, and obsessive film study.



I'm more concerned about stopping the run to MAKE them pass, and how well our LBs can cover Vereen and our lesser DBs Thompkins and Dobson. That, and whether our very good full strength WR corps can get open against "bump and bump" from their very good and full strength secondary. Belichick knows Moreno had a career day last time, too, and has surely planned for it.

Talib hasn't been nearly as good as he was before his hip injury FWIW and is clearly not 100%. Brandon Spikes was their best run-stopping linebacker, and the Broncos still ran for over 200 yards on the Patriots when Spikes was in the game. Now that he's out, it hasn't gotten any better for them. Jamie Collins has been better than Spikes in coverage, but he's a much worse run defender. I'm not sure what the gameplan is supposed to be to stop Moreno and Denver's passing game.

Joel
01-19-2014, 02:35 AM
A thousand times this. "Champ has lost a step." Okay, while that's probably true, he was one of the fastest defensive backs in NFL history. Losing a step doesn't make him slow - it makes him not as blazing fast. That's still plenty good enough to be a very effective corner when you still have flawless technique, fluid hips, and obsessive film study.

Talib hasn't been nearly as good as he was before his hip injury FWIW and is clearly not 100%. Brandon Spikes was their best run-stopping linebacker, and the Broncos still ran for over 200 yards on the Patriots when Spikes was in the game. Now that he's out, it hasn't gotten any better for them. Jamie Collins has been better than Spikes in coverage, but he's a much worse run defender. I'm not sure what the gameplan is supposed to be to stop Moreno and Denver's passing game.
My guess (which is all it is) is Belichick focuses on stopping what would've beaten if Manning had had even a decent day OR we hadn't lost Vickerson AND DRC OR Ball doesn't fumble, then relies on a secondary that's much healthier than then to jam our WRs and harry them down the field (because they inexplicably have trouble fighting through that) and gives Manning lots of exotic pass rushes even when he only rushes 4-5 guys.

Again, that's just my guess, and a lot depends on us stopping their run first so they can't do what SD did to us and so many others in the regular season. I forget who it was that said it this week, but playoff football is just like any other football; it's just tougher opponents for bigger stakes. Both teams must stop the run to make their opponent one-dimensional, then stop the pass, too; both teams must stay balanced to score points so their opponent can't MAKE them one-dimensional by forcing them to play catchup.

If we shut down the run and cover Vereen, I like our chances, but we MUST hold onto the ball (another constant) and if we can't run Manning can't let Belichick fool him into foolishness.

zbeg
01-19-2014, 02:41 AM
My guess (which is all it is) is Belichick focuses on stopping what would've beaten if Manning had had even a decent day OR we hadn't lost Vickerson AND DRC OR Ball doesn't fumble, then relies on a secondary that's much healthier than then to jam our WRs and harry them down the field (because they inexplicably have trouble fighting through that) and gives Manning lots of exotic pass rushes even when he only rushes 4-5 guys.

Again, that's just my guess, and a lot depends on us stopping their run first so they can't do what SD did to us and so many others in the regular season. I forget who it was that said it this week, but playoff football is just like any other football; it's just tougher opponents for bigger stakes. Both teams must stop the run to make their opponent one-dimensional, then stop the pass, too; both teams must stay balanced to score points so their opponent can't MAKE them one-dimensional by forcing them to play catchup.

If we shut down the run and cover Vereen, I like our chances, but we MUST hold onto the ball (another constant) and if we can't run Manning can't let Belichick fool him into foolishness.

When I look at this matchup, I see a lot of mismatches in Denver's favor. If the Patriots had any other coach, I'd feel extremely good about the prospects of winning this game handily. Then again, if they had any other coach, they wouldn't be in the AFCCG to begin with.

As Robert Mays said, "I don't see how the Patriots can win this game, but I can easily imagine them doing it."