First down a big deal for Bronco
First down a big deal for Broncos
Denver found out in Week 1 the down is vital to moving the ball
By Jeff Legwold
The Denver Post
POSTED: 09/16/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT
Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton, left: "I've always been from the school you have to win first down more than you have to win third down." (Joe Amon, The Denver Post)
First impressions, first editions, first in line and first-and-10: They all can be the start of something good. Or they can be the first step toward the tough lessons of experience.
The Broncos found plenty of trouble on first down in their season opener at Jacksonville.
"You always hear third down being talked about as such a critical down, but if you're having issues on third down, you can trace a lot of those to first down," Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton said. "I've always been from the school you have to win first down more than you have to win third down."
The Broncos had a 28-yard completion from Orton to tight end Daniel Graham and a 10-yard run by Knowshon Moreno on back-to-back first-down plays to open Sunday's game against the Jaguars. But the remainder of the Broncos' 24-17 loss was largely a struggle.
A struggle on first down often leads to a struggle on second down. When an offense must pass its way out of trouble, the defense knows it. When the defense knows what's coming, or at least knows the likelihood of what's coming, it can be open season on your quarterback.
"If you put yourself in a good position with a good first-down play, (the defense) can't really predict what's coming because you can still do so many things," Broncos running back Correll Buckhalter said.
"They're certainly not pinning their ears back and coming after you if you're in good shape," Orton said. "They have to play everything because you can still run everything. It keeps you out of that pure passing situation where they just try to get after you, just attacking."
Sunday, the Broncos threw five incomplete passes on first down, had a run for minus-1 yard and three runs for no gain. That means they faced one second-and-11 situation in the game to go with eight second-and-10s.
That's a difficult way to live for an offense, and it amped up the pressure on Orton and a Denver offensive line that included three players making their first NFL starts.
Of those nine second-down situations, the Broncos passed the ball on seven. Of the two running plays they had on second-and-10, the first came from the Jaguars' 1-yard line and the second was an Orton scramble in the fourth quarter as he was forced to evade the Jaguars' pass rush.
"If you can stay in phase, have second-and-5s, second-and-4s, you're in good shape," Orton said. "You keep the pass alive. And you keep the chances to throw the ball down the field too.
"It's tough to take a shot on second-and-10, and then you're sitting there third-and-10 and you've almost wasted a series.
"At second-and-4 you can take a shot for a big play and still come back and run a play to get the first down if it doesn't work out."
Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who will play against the Broncos this weekend in Denver, said a quality first-down play is nice to have, but not a requirement for success.
"If you don't execute on first down, that's OK," Hasselbeck said. "It's kind of like the game. If you don't play well in the first quarter, it doesn't matter. But even if you do, it's not like you got money in the bank."
"If a team is good on first down," Orton said, "they're a good running football team. No negative runs and I don't think the quarterback sits back there and holds the ball — the ball comes out quickly, he gets completions — and they're probably a pretty good screen team as well. It all works together."
Jeff Legwold: 303-954-2359 or jlegwold@denverpost.com
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