I went back and watched the first half of last night's game again to break things down a bit. Here's a few tidbits:
Ty Warren was doubled on most of the first team snaps. Meanwhile, Kevin Vickerson lived in the Bears backfield. He was getting penetration on both run and pass plays. It looks like his man was on roller skates for most of the first two series.
There's a reason that all of the linebackers looked good in this game. The Jack Del Rio defensive scheme is in full effect. The defensive lineman are maintaining gap control, collapsing the pocket, and taking up double teams. As a result, the linebackers were running free all night long. The Bears offensive line rarely got to the second level. Great job by all of the Dlineman. The tackling was solid, and players swarming to the ball again.
Derek Wolfe was solid on the inside. His first sack came on a stunt where he didn't get any penetration, but held contain in the middle and caught the QB as he was flushed out of the pocket.
Joel Dreeson was on Franklin's hip during the first series and did a great job of blocking. The Broncos ran exclusively on the right side behind those two with the first teamers.
Orlando Franklin played RG during the second series.
Chris Clark may have looked good during camp, but he looked awful in the game.
Ayers played like a man who wants his starting job back. He looked significantly quicker than he did last season and was playing with some fire.
Other than 1 play with about a minute left in the first quarter, it looked like we finally have a real FB again in Gronkowski.
Tony Hills needs another season on the practice squad.
The Broncos went very vanilla on defense, rushing four most of the time. The Bears aren't going anywhere until they get some offensive lineman.
I always like to go back and rewatch games in the preseason. I don't think that the Bears are much of a test with thier current offensive line and Peppers, Forte, and Urlacher out. The Broncos did exactly what they should have with that team. They dominated them in every phase of the game. Next week will be a good test for our offensive line, not so much for the defensive line again.





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