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| 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!!!
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