Broncos D is key to Victory Over the Chiefs

McCoy's Offensive is Vanilla 101.

So it’s down to one game, win you’re in lose you’re out. The Broncos Fans should rejoice at the opportunity to even be in a position to earn a playoff spot. No one predicted they’d get this far and certainly no one including me thought after they started with a 1-4  record that they would be in this position. Therefore this season is a total bonus and a gift far too many fans don't seemed to really appreciate. Win or lose this Broncos team has been one of the biggest group of overachievers in franchise history.

The Broncos Defense has been one of the worst in the NFL since 2005 and at the start of season the only significant change to the D was going to be that Elvis Dumervil would be coming back from injury and Von Miller would be starting at LB. So John Fox took a group that was basically the same team as last year and turned them into a better overall unit. During the winning streak the Broncos were hustling, tackling, covering, creating turnovers and pass rushing as well as any D in the league. In the last 2 games that’s not been the case and that’ll have to change even if they’re playing a terrible Chiefs offensive team.

There’s no question that the Broncos got creamed by the Bills last week in all 3 phases of the game, O, D and Special Teams. But the collapse of the D was the most glaring. I just kept waiting for the Broncos to get out of the 3 man fronts and put pressure on Ryan Fitzpatrick but it never happened. It was a mirror of the Patriots game the week before where Fox did the same and went into a zone D playing way to deep and allowing big passing plays to start short or down the middle of the field. Granted the Broncos had an injury to Brian Dawkins, 2 Rookies were forced into service in the backfield and Miller was playing with only one hand but they gave way to much respect to the Patriots and Bills Receivers.

Fox seemed to forget what helped win games and that was playing an aggressive D by blitzing and putting pressure on QB’s. It didn’t matter if they lined up in 3 or 4 man fronts they were not getting any QB pressure whatsoever. The other noticeable and ugly part of the game that’s eluded the Broncos D the last 2 games is good tackling by the front 7. Mays and Woodyard hustled and tackled very well during the win streak but in the last 2 weeks they’ve all but disappeared. They and the rest of the team let the Bills run wild with a back up RB playing against them. Since the Broncos DL is really the biggest weakness of the D all season the LB’s and DB’s must tackle at the point of attack again if they hope to stop the Chiefs. I just pray that Fox pulls out all the stops this week and gambles on D because this team can’t win if he doesn’t. 

You could say the same about the Broncos O in the last 2 weeks as well. The conservative approach by Mike McCoy via Fox on O has been an utter disaster the last 2 games. Fox is playing the kind of small ball that only Dan Reeves could be proud of. The only problem is Tebow doesn’t have the experience or skills yet to bring a team from behind like Elway could in the passing game.

At some point he has to let Tebow have some chances to throw on first down early in the game. The run on 1st, run on 2nd and pass on 3rd and long then punt it away on 4th didn’t work against the Pats or the Bills and it won’t against the Chiefs either. There has to be some balance in their strategy because the Broncos are not really fooling anyone and if the running game gets stopped early the Broncos should attempt to air it out.

No one can deny that Tebow had a horrible game last week but the truth is he was put in 3rd and long way to many times and since he as an average to a below average set of Receivers who can’t consistently get separation and have often dropped balls he isn’t going to succeed if he isn’t allowed to have more passing attempts.

That’s the key here… Everyone says Tebow can’t be a passing QB in the NFL but he hasn’t had many attempts to do so and when he has the opposing D’s know it and brought the heat on him. Waiting until the team is down by 2 or 3 TD’s then letting him air it out isn’t going to win many games with this group of WR’s so McCoy must let him throw on 1st and 2nd down in this do or die game.

I know the media has focus on the Kyle Orton angle this week but I think it’s irrelevant to how the game will be played out. Orton isn’t going to be the deciding factor in this one, it’ll be the Broncos D controlling the game, the Broncos O playing with same balance and minimizing turnovers and playing the game to win it not to lose it by Fox that’ll be the difference.

This is a one the Broncos can and should win and I believe they will but if they don’t they have no business being in the playoffs. No matter what the outcome it’s been an amazing season and as a Fan the games on Sunday were fun and exciting to watch again. Next year looks to be much better too. 

Denver Broncos "Opportunistic" D = W's

Wesley Woodyard forces Barber to fumble the game away.

3 days later the first thing that comes to my mind after the Chicago Bears game was how many people call this win just dumb luck. The other comments by Non-Broncos Fans and the NFL Pundits were that Marion Barber LOST the game for the Bears. This just isn’t true at all, while Tebow continues to draw all the media attention the Broncos D has been quietly under the radar playing some of the finest defensive games I’ve seen for 6 years. They WON the game Barber didn’t LOSE it.

What some seem to forget is that while Barber did run the ball out of bounds it was because DJ Williams forced him out of bounds. Now… should Barber of hit the deck a second sooner on that play? Yes, but if you look at the replay he was running full speed trying to run straight up the field near the sidelines and DJ pushed him out. So DJ’s hustle play forced Barber out of bounds, Barber really was in a bad position to be sure but it was a snap play and a snap decision he had to make. DJ, who should be considered one of players of the game, had 9 tackles (led the team) and 2 sacks. But the Barber hustle play alone helped to extend the game. 

What about the fumble in OT? Again…some would say that Barber fumbled the ball but what I would say was Wesley Woodyard made an outstanding defensive play by stripping Barber and causing a turnover.

If this were any other team in the league or any other defense in the league without a guy named Tim Tebow at QB maybe this would be how many might describe what happened in the 4th Q and OT. In my opinion this is what you call playing “Opportunistic” Defense. Good defensive teams create turnovers, good field position and momentum shifts. This is exactly what happened in the Bears game and has manifested itself many times during this current winning streak.

One of the important factors that can’t be overlooked was just how much Von Miller contributed to the game even though he played it with a cast on one hand. How can your teammates not get motivated when they see you flying around the field with one hand disabled and still making tackles and sacks? Miller had 4 tackles and 1 sack and his presence on the field for the Broncos D is directly and equally in proportion to Tebow leading the charge for the O.

The Broncos turnaround is 2 fold. Tebow’s passion and never say die attitude and the Broncos D playing a full 60 minutes of solid football. Tebow’s heroics are well documented but much of the success lies in a Defense that has been an amazing group of overachievers.

This week the Broncos D is going to be the difference again between winning and losing against the Tom Brady aerial show. The Broncos should easily shut down the Patriots running game. So it’s my hope that Fox gambles at every opportunity to get pressure on Brady. If he has to send 6 or 7 guys to get to him on every obvious passing play he must. He’ll have more success doing that than trying to play a conservative zone coverage game against Brady. The only way the Broncos can win this game is by bringing pressure early and often and making Brady earn every passing yard by hurrying him, knocking him down or better yet sacking him as many times as possible.

If Champ and company can keep the clamps on Wesley Welker and Rob Gronkoski, the front 7 get pressure on Brady and keep the game close the Broncos have an excellent chance of winning this game. I don’t see the Broncos O winning a shoot out no matter how horrible the Patriots D is, because Brady wins those every time.   

The best chance the Broncos have to beat the Patriots is by continuing the same formula that has brought them this far. A turnover free time consuming conservative grind it out smash mouth O and a very aggressive “Opportunistic” D will bring it home for the Broncos. I know no one outside of Denver is giving the Broncos a snowball’s chance in hell of winning this one but I see another great game and a W in the win column. You heard it here first. GO BRONCOS!!!

Broncos Fans Celebrate the Day!!

For almost a month and a half, the Broncos have been winning. Some of the games were not a thing of beauty at the time, but are still wins. During that time we’ve been subjected to the ‘so called’ experts and NFL Pundits on the internet, in print, on radio and TV and worst of all, many Broncos Fans. To many Fans had all but given up on the team at game 6 of the NFL Season. It seemed as if everyone had totally dismissed the idea of winning…. not so much with Tebow’s game on the field, but because of a personal hate and grudge for what he is as a man.

Some of these Fans were ready to throw in the towel and do what’s been done for the last 5 years…. look to next year’s draft or for next year’s QB. This year it started after game 5 of the NFL season, with 11, yes 11 games yet to be played.

I guess I’m different. When Tebow started his first game against the Fins I was just a fan, being in the moment, watching a game hoping my team would win one. I didn’t have the TV remote in one hand and my iPhone in the other checking the latest college QB’s statistics from the day before or trying to figure where the Broncos draft position would be if we lost to them.

The height of the insanity came when I saw a post made by a fan on a Bronco’s message board. First and foremost, I have to say this person is one of the best contributors on the board. He’s an intelligent, even handed guy who’s as die-hard as they get. But even he had been driven to think more of next year than the present one. And with his post that calculated what the Broncos losing percentage would be as it related to next year’s draft, I was at a loss for words. I’m sorry, but that just goes beyond anything I could possibly imagine going into week 6 of an NFL Season.

In the beginning I had my doubts about Tebow too. Today (And that’s what really matters) the guy is a real live Clark Kent. As Kent, I’m not sure he’ll ever be a Superman, which is fine with me as long as he continues to improve and more importantly helps the team win. If he succeeds at this feat, I don’t care what he does off the field.

I think the doubters and haters would much rather have a Dark Knight than a Clark Kent. A cerebral Batman type QB that’s a genius on the field and off. Tebow isn’t that complicated, his life is orderly and simple. He puts all of his love and faith in God first, and then loves his family second. His final priority is to be completely devoted to being the best team football player he can be.

Personally I think those are qualities to be admired, not hated. We’ve been subjected to a whole league full of thugs that have committed every terrible vice known to man and call it acceptable. But we somehow can’t seem to accept Tebow? He wears his faith on his sleeve and he comes from a very successful Florida program. That alone sets him up to burned at the stake by a bunch of wolves who hate the idea of a goody two-shoes succeeding at anything, let alone a QB of an NFL team, especially ‘their’ team.

Winning supersedes all ills and winning breed’s confidence. Winning, no matter how so many Broncos Fans would like to apologize for it or say it’s a fluke…is still winning. The wins in week 6 and 8, no matter how ugly they were, will only matter because they bring the Broncos one game closer to winning the AFC West and a playoff berth.

It’s too bad more Fans can’t get used to the idea of winning and having Tebow as their QB of the future. I’m having the time of my life right now. I can’t wait to see the Bear’s game. If the Broncos make the playoffs, win or lose, it’ll go down in Bronco’s lore as one of the greatest seasons ever in my book because so many had written them off, and many of them…. are so called Bronco’s fans.

Turnaround on Defense Starts With Good Tackling

I can’t remember in awhile maybe since the 2005 season a better group of tacklers than this current Broncos team, at least in the last 4 games. I hope it continues because since that season the Broncos have been one of the worst tackling teams in the NFL. Recently the Ravens, Steelers and the Eagles D’s (maybe not this year, but in the not too distant past) to name a few have had great players that could tackle. Good D no matter what the scheme always starts with good tackling.

On the 2005 team for the Broncos Al Wilson and DJ Williams were both great tackling LB’s. As I remember Keith Burns was still on the team and although he wasn’t a starting LB on special teams he made his presence felt. Champ Bailey was 6 years younger then, was a fierce tackler and even though John Lynch was in the twilight of his career he could still bring the wood. The DL a long and terrible deficiency for the Broncos even on the 05 team doesn’t have any real standouts. Some might say Trevor Pryce could be but wasn’t nearly as effective as he was early in his career.

If you go back in time Randy Gradishar was arguably the best tackler of all-time. I’ve said since his retirement he should have gone in on the first ballot and been the 1st Broncos player in the Hall of Fame but that’s another rant.

Karl Mecklenberg is another guy while in his prime didn’t miss many. Say what you will about him but Bill Romanoski was one of the greatest overachievers of all time and was a hell of tackler for the Broncos. John Moberly had some good years too. Steve Atwater and Dennis Smith may have been the biggest hitters of all-time in the backfield for the Broncos along with Champ.

Getting back to today and I know I’m not telling you something you don’t already know. Von Miller is the most exciting player we’ve had on D in years. This guy knows how to tackle and doesn’t miss if he’s in range and when he gets there he brings speed, power and thump.

I’m also sure you’d all agree in large part he has to be considered the reason for the turnaround on D. What he lacks in coverage skills and sometimes not staying home in the running game (which he’ll get better at) he more than makes up for with his tackling, pass rushing ability and fierce determination. It’s amazing how one guy with his intensity level help’s inspire the other players on D with lesser talent to play at a higher level than they might not normally attain.

In the Chargers game last week the tackling and the pass rush was suburb by the whole team. A few running plays got away from them but almost every time a Charger players either run or caught a ball the first guy usually made the tackle and Rivers of course got knocked around too. It’s amazing how Miller gets a lot of attention right now but I didn’t know until I looked at the box score that DJ lead the team with 10 tackles. DJ finally realizes he’s got some good backup in Miller and has stepped up his game. Even MLB Mays has been tackling well and had some big stops. I almost forgot to mention Wesley Woodyard he leads the team in tackles.

It just refreshing to see a Broncos box score were 3 LB’s lead the team in tackles. It means that most of the running plays and the short passing game plays are being effectively stopped. It’s certainly better than seeing Champ or Brian Dawkins lead the stat sheet.  

Dumervil’s recovery can’t go unmentioned too he’s come back strong. Even Carter and Goodman tackled in the Chargers game. Bunkley has contributed too. Dawkins although long in the tooth can bring it too once in a while.

How many games have we watched over the last 5 years where on one play the Broncos would have 2 or sometimes 3 whiffs before a tackle was finally made?

Von Miller doesn’t miss, he knows how to make a text book tackle and thankfully it’s spread to the rest of the team. It’ll be interesting to see if Adrian Peterson starts for the Vikings this week; if he does it’ll be a good test to see if our D can shut down the best RB in the game. One thing is certain, offensive wins games but defense wins championships. Is this team capable of it? I don’t know but the Broncos are going to be a fun team to watch the last 1/3 of the season.