Denver Broncos Thread

eagle eye wrote: »

Maybe the best regular season QB but not the best ever, he has failed too many times in the playoffs to be that. Montana for me is the best ever with Brady very close.

Ah the best QB ever conversation, I'm surprised that no-one has mentioned Elway in this discussion. He doesnt have as many Rings as Montana and Terry Bradshaw, but do you judge a QB on purely that? For me (and most of these discussions are subjective) I'd list Elway as the best QB I've seen play the game. His ability to control his team's offense was up there with the best of them, he could make plays happen out of nothing and of course there was "The Drive"!! I know most of you can justify your own selections and will do. I take nothing from Montana, Manning (love them both by the way), Marino or Tim Tebow (Kidding!!).

davyjose wrote: »

You could argue that Brady is having one of his best seasons ever. Andrew Luck is by consensus one of the best QB's in the league this season. Both have mediocre stats. It's a tricky one.

And that's where stats don't always tell the whole picture. The Pats having a totally new/ green receiving corp with the highest drop rate in the league won't help any QB. So statistically, a drop from the normal stat level was expected. It's the game winning drive with seconds left that counts.

Only three QB's enter into my greatest ever debate and it's Brady, Montana and Manning. I agree with Davy, it's a discussion better suited outside of a team thread. But imo, debating/arguing over who's the greatest is like píssing into the wind - totally pointless.

tallaghtoutlaws wrote: »

Can you not even take a defeat without saying you played badly? Tebow was sacked 7 times ffs. Tebow threw an Int. He was passing all over the shop and your running game was going nowhere. But yet its a fluke?

Its funny when someone blames blown coverages for Tebow making passes Broncos fans say no it was Tebow being good but when you get spanked by Detroit you say Oh it was blown coverages and mistakes that won the game for Detroit :rolleyes: Detroit pressured your QB and because of this won the game. They kept Tebow quiet all game long and aren't you guys telling us he is winning the game for you? Well guess what happens when a D-line own him? Calling it a fluke is nonsense.

Anyways saw this today:

http://tebowing.com/post/12292404721/tebarking

:D:D:D i love the pics

Man I can't wait for this game! Really wish it was on at a respectable hour though.

GO BRONCOS!

I haven't watched the full game yet, altho I have it recorded, but from highlights, stats & what people are saying, we were fairly shocking.

Things we need to improve on: (the 5 point plan) >

1) Pass Defense, I'm not sure what's going on, I know the players we have are not totally useless, I know we have injuries but we are one of the worst in the league

2) Fumbles, this has to stop, especially if it's 6pts to the other team & especially if we are in the red-zone

3) Protection for Manning, he needs protection, build that man a wall !

4) 1st half performances, pretty dire

5) We need to get after the opposing QB (Miller, come on man, we need you)

More depressingly is if you look at our Div rivals, KC are playing well & they are at 7-0, SD put up better performances this past 2 weeks on the same opposition as us !

Having said all that I'm glad we came crashing down to earth, because now we can concentrate on the Div and then making the playoffs.

That was the kick up the hole we sorely needed. Too many were losing the run of themselves around here, there are several severe flaws with this team and a loss was needed to get our **** together. If we just win next week (dont care how we do it) and get into a bye we'll hopefully sort a lot of problems out. Simple as though, we're not doing anything this year if we're that sloppy in the big games.

Fact of the matter is though, we've **** the bed any time this team has been really tested in the manning era pretty much. Did ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING to lose on Sunday night, Manning's "off day" (only he gets called on having one on a 386 yd 3TD outing) pales into comparison next to 100 yards of penalties and 3 horrible turnovers along with a safety. We are not the Oakland Raiders ffs.

Morrisseeee wrote: »

Another win and that sets us up nicely for the bye week, 7-1.
The D had to step up & they did, fair play, they've definitely made steps in the right direction. Those interceptions, sacks will give them a great boost.

Miller's return and Woodyard back after injury has made the job of the secondary a lot easier.

Morrisseeee wrote: »

The first 3 Q's were pretty average, we kind of beat ourselves up with turnovers/mistakes and handing the opposition gifts !!

The biggest problem at the moment is mistakes on the offence. The WRs are getting beaten up and getting no protection from the refs in the last two games (I actually like CBs to be very physical but its against the rules these days). Thomas was very soft when he left Hill pull the ball out of his hands - he has to be a lot thougher than that. Hillman won't see any playing time as long as the other backs don't fumble (Anderson looked like he could be useful). And Manning has to get back to avoiding the INTs.

Morrisseeee wrote: »

Interesting to read about Manning's double sprain injuries, I'm presuming they're contributing to his interception rate atm! As regards his performance yesterday, you could argue that he had a bad day & also a brilliant day ! Rumour is he's moving to RT next week after his brilliant 'tackle' :pac:

Hopefully that is the reason and he will have recovered fully after the bye-week.

Morrisseeee wrote: »

Ball will be well happy with his contribution yesterday, a nice TD for him. Interesting to see if Anderson gets more game time in the coming weeks.

I think Ball will improve with playing time - the key for him is not to fumble or he will be in the dog-house with Hillman.

Morrisseeee wrote: »

Amazingly Moreno was our top receiver ! Also noted that when Ramirez/Beadles get out into open field and start blocking, we got 2 big TD's, fair play to them.

Moreno is in his contract year and is playing for his NFL future - so far he is doing okay - but his durability is still a question mark.

Morrisseeee wrote: »

Our next sequence of games are our most important, especially the Div games, we need to win those.

The KC games will be a biggies - I would be happy to go 2-2 over the next four providing we won both games against the Chiefs

Morrisseeee wrote: »

/oh and thanks Shanahan for all the memories

I hope he turns things around in Washington - it would be a shame if he got the sack.

Morrisseeee wrote: »

Yeah, not sure what the story is with Thomas, he seems very soft atm, is he nursing an injury or more worryingly just not interested in fighting for the ball !

There is no indications of an injury - and he has been playing well up to the last couple of games. The broncos WRs have been beaten up (against the rules in my opinion) over the past couple of weeks and it seems to be affecting Thomas. He will have to thoughen up or he will be picked on every game from now on. Also - he is in his cotnract year and if he doesn't turn it around he will lose out on a bumper contract in the new year.

Morrisseeee wrote: »

Pity about Hillman, he was just getting into a groove, I kinda blame the management for the fumble tho, he shouldn't be given the ball in that situation and then I thought they should have challenged it, but unfortunately he's in the dog-house.

If you are a RB your no.1 priority is protection of the ball - no matter where and how you have to run. If he cannot keep hold of the ball he will not be on the field. Hillman has lost two crucial fumbles including the one that cost the Broncos the game against the Colts. Hillman also fumbled twice in pre-season.

Morrisseeee wrote: »

Ball is progressing, Anderson looks interesting and I think Moreno is having a great year. Just looking at his stats, he's 11th on yardage (not bad for a team that airs it out & has 3 other RB's itching to come on). He's no. 1 on TD's ! He has a 4.2 avg, but this is consistent with other top RB's.

Moreno is playing though - and unlike last season - is protecting the ball. However, he is nothing more than decent - although in this Broncos offence, decent is more than adequate. The queston mark over Moreno is durability. He has been injury prone. This is why the other RBs have to step up and outplay Moreno.

Morrisseeee wrote: »

If we manage to beat SD away, which won't be easy, I'm confident about our chances against KC at home, it'll probably play out like the Redskins game, where they don't have too much of an aerial threat.

I actually expect the broncos to beat SD. However, the Chiefs have shown that they have a strong defence and it will be interesting to see how good they are when facing the Broncos. they have yet to face a team with a high octane offence like the Broncos.

I expect the Chiefs to try and do what the Colts and Redskins tried - beat up the WRs - go one-on-one in the secondary and try and pressure Manning. The Broncos showed in the second-half on Sunday that they can pick up chunks of yardage by throwing picks on the DBs using the TEs and WRs and hitting the WRs on crossing routes. They key will be the broncos WRs getting off the LOS quickly and Manning hitting the crossing routes fast before the blitzers can get into the groove.

The Broncos defence actually is suited to combatting the KC offence which is based on a strong ground game. I don't expect KC to score that many points - the game will be decided by how effectively the Broncos offence can combat the defence of the Chiefs.

Morrisseeee wrote: »

The 2 games after that will be very tough, and will show us how much we are ready for the 'end-game' !

I actually expect the broncos to beat the Pats. I haven't been impressed by the Pats do far this season and I think the Broncos are much stronger all-round.

The key will be the two games against the Chiefs. If I had to predict the outcome of the next four games I would plump for a 3-1 record with the Broncos losing in KC. The Chiefs have a soft schedule and could go 15-1 this season. They can beat SD twice and the only other game of consequence (excluding the Broncos) is the one against the Colts. The broncos could go 14-2 and still be a wildcard.

While I expect 3-1 I want the Broncos to beat the Chiefs twice to create some opportunity to win the division.

Morrisseeee wrote: »

Shanahan isn't doing too much wrong, it's just RGIII isn't the player he used to be, his passing is average at best & he's taking almighty hits !

Doesn't make any difference - the buck stops with the HC and the NFL is all about the win column. And the Redskins are not knwn for being tolerant to losing HCs.

Fox is scheduled to have surgery this tuesday and will miss 4-6 weeks. Jack Del Rio will presumably take over on an interim basis. Get well soon, Coach.

Good win against the Bolts, we were croozin until Manning took that hit from behind and then they go in for the score, we had to dig deep after that.
Very happy with how our O & D played, the O were super efficient in that sub 2-min drill, very impressive. Also impressed with how the D has stepped up, with Miller & Woodyard back in, we have shown great resilience.
From the Denver Bronco website:

Relative to opponents' averages, the numbers illustrate their impacts:
* With Woodyard and Miller healthy, opponents' average passing yardage per 60 minutes is down by 34.9 percent, and their per-pass-play average is off by 31.5 percent.

I see most analysts are talking about either the Denver O, the Chiefs O or D, but nobody's talking about our D. I think they could win the game for us, they will hassle Smith and pose a threat with interceptions, and if they can continue with their efforts against the run, then the Chiefs are going to have a hard time putting points on the board.

The one thing the Chiefs will try to do is pin us back on our 10 yard line (with Colquitt's punts) and then pressure Manning to give up an interception/turnover. This will be vital as then the Chiefs will have good field position and a chance to score.

All that remains is for Peyton to stay healthy and hopefully he and our O can pick holes in their D and our run game gets going.

Last point, and it's one to be worried about if your a KC fan:

KC has faced: Blaine Gabbert; Tony Romo; Michael Vick; Eli Manning; Ryan Fitzpatrick; Terelle Pryor; Case Keenum; Jason Campbell; and, Jeff Tuel.

In the next seven games, they will face Peyton Manning twice; Phillip Rivers twice; RGIII; Terelle Pryor; and, Andrew Luck.

To be honest I expect the Broncos to win this one comfortably.

The KC offence is poor and once Charles is held in check then they are no threat. The Broncos D is improving as Miller gets more games under his belt.

As for the Chiefs D - I don't think it is as good as people make out. Yes the front 7 get some pressure - but they haven't played anyone approaching the quality of Manning and the Broncos will use high-tempo to keep the base defence on the pitch. If the Chiefs don't constantly pressure Manning then he will shred the secondary - and I can't see them keep it up for the whole game.

I'm going for a 31-13 or a 35-10 win for the Broncos

The winning and losing of this game will be in how we run the ball. KC are surprisingly bad against the run (ranking 24th vs the run) and Knowshon tends to have his best days against the men in red. If we can establish a good ground game we reduce the opportunites for Manning to take a bad hit and only need a passable day from Manning to pull it out. Imo if Manning throws 40 passes tonight we likely lose as he'll probably throw two picks and take a sack fumble, given amount of pressure he'll be under with their pass rush and our pass protection.

Huge win. Delighted with how we handled that, one idiotic botched handoff from Montee Ball aside we made very few mistakes and even he atoned well with two TDs. Probably our best effort of the season, cannot understate how important it was that Manning got through that game untouched, it could be key for the rest of the season, especially if we can keep it up next week. Defence was excellent throughout last night, kept them very quiet for long spells and only allowed them seventeen points out of fourteen possessions. Shaun Phillips was an absolute monster again, arguably the defensive MVP this season for us and is well on pace to have the best season of his career in terms of sacks. Von was quiet though but simply having him on the pitch creates matchup issues and he wasn't likely to be at last year's standards after such a long spell out

Two road games @ NE and @ KC next before the schedule softens out and reads : TEN, SD, @HOU, @OAK. All we realistically need to do in this road trip is win one of the games, preferably at Arrowhead, as the last four games are very winnable and i'd be disappointed if we weren't to win all of them. That would leave us 14-2 and with almost certain homefield. Likewise, how KC do against San Diego next week could decide their season, as losing it would hand them another division loss and likely hand us tiebreaker even if we were to lose at Arrowhead.

Another win, a tough one, I certainly wouldn't call it comfortable tho! Overall I think it was a good team effort.
Chiefs are a good team, and Smith played better that I thought he would.
Our D played tough, a good few 3-&-outs and especially that goal-line stand, Johnson's tackle/hit was spot on.
Kudos to our O-line, they held up well.

Some things that worry me though, especially when we take on more complete teams (ok ok I'm not loosing sleep over it :pac:):

1. Our ability to run time off the clock, we did it last year, but I think this year we're more of a wham-bam-thank-you-mam kind of Offense.
2. Our run game, I was expecting/hoping Moreno to exploit their supposed weakness, but he only got an average of 2.9! Every run seemed to get smothered up. Imagine if we had Charles, he's so fast/explosive.
3. Penalties, we gave up a fair few last night, some very silly.
4. Punt return yardage, we got very little.
5. Miller still isn't 100%, seemed a little tired/fatigued in the latter stages.
6. I'm asking myself "why did Smith play ok last night?" > is it just that he is a pretty good/average QB or is it a worry for our D ? no doubt Mr Brady will give us a stern test next week.

/now to watch the Jags/Pats game, I believe they're was a 'controversial' finish, and I bet the game day thread is "buzzing" :P