The Chiefs Wrecker was Decker

Eric Decker had a career day in Kansas City.

The Chiefs game was a very important one for the Broncos for 3 reasons. The first was that if they could beat the Chiefs for the second time they would have the inside track to the AFC West Title and take a 2 game lead over them with 4 games remaining. The second was that if they won they’d maintain a 1 game lead over the Patriots for the all important position of home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

But the most important reason for winning had to be rehabilitating Peyton Manning and his confidence. After coming off a lack luster performance the week before against the Patriots Manning needed to regain his composure and win a big game on the road against a divisional opponent.

The game didn’t start out well for him; the 2 interceptions in the 1^st half gave the Chiefs an early 21 to 7 lead. The devastating 108 yard kickoff return by the Chiefs Knile Davis, then the follow up drive by Alex Smith for another TD after the second Manning  INT had the Chiefs Fans at Arrowhead Stadium in full roar. It could have been the turning point of the entire season for him and the Broncos and gave momentum to the Chiefs if the lead held up in the second half.

But Manning was not going to give up that easy. He came back with an impressive drive late in the 2 Quarter when he threw what turned out to be the 1^st TD pass to Eric Decker who would later catch 3 more in the 2^nd half. The Broncos were able to go into half time only down by 7.

As Manning and the Broncos Offense have proven all season they own the 3^rd Quarter. Manning threw 2 TD’s to Decker in the 3^rd and only took 44 seconds off the clock in the 4^th to give Decker his career high 4^th TD catch. The 21 consecutive points were enough for the Broncos to hold onto the victory despite a valiant effort by the Chiefs.

It was Decker’s day to be sure but Knowshon Moreno made some key plays and Montee Ball rebounded from the big fumble last week to run for 117 yards. Demaryius Thomas didn’t record a TD but racked a 106 yards.

Thankfully the biggest news was Manning had his redemption and the Broncos jumped back into the top spot as the best team in the AFC but it wasn’t easy especially on Defense.

The Broncos secondary didn’t play well even with the return of Champ Bailey at Left Corner. He was actually benched on the final drive of the game. RCB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was out with a shoulder injury. Corners Chris Carter Jr., Quentin Jammer and backup Kayvon Webster who had a bum ankle didn’t cover well, and neither did Free Safety Mike Adams. You have to wonder how the game may have turned out had the Chiefs Receivers not dropped so many passes. The 2 big drops by Donnie Avery were killers but Dwayne Bowe and TE Anthony Fasano both dropped catchable balls too. Going forward you have to wonder if the Broncos can improve on this part of their Defense because at the moment it’s their Achilles Heel.

The Defense Line was without Derek Wolfe and when the Broncos went after Alex Smith with a 4 man front they didn’t touch him. Even when they blitzed they still didn’t get Smith for a single sack and Smith’s scrambles kept drives alive. The D did keep Jamaal Charles to 91 yards but those yards were ones that continued drives and moved the chains.      

The Defense, mainly the Secondary, must improve in the next several weeks as playoff time approaches. If they play well and Manning plays his A Game late in the December and January cold in Denver they’ll be unstoppable.

Broncos Comeback One for the Ages

This ranks as one of the all-time choke jobs.

I thought when Eric Decker did his little somersault and then soon after when Peyton Manning threw the pick six it was all over. The Decker blunder is headed for the bloopers Hall of Shame. I admit it, I couldn't stop rewinding the play and laughing at him. Thankfully he redeemed himself with the nice catch and TD run in the second half.

The meltdown by Philip Rivers was epic. The 5 turnovers in the second half were unbelievable. I just wonder how Rivers and the Chargers can recover from this devastating loss.

I'm trying to remember any game recently where a comeback was so swift and so completely mind numbingly catastrophic. It's been a long time and it’s about time a game like this went in the Broncos favor.

What a game! The Broncos D rose up; Manning rose up and pulled the Bolts down from the sky like dead ducks.

Wow! I still haven't caught my breath. It just does not get any better than this. Hopefully this win gives the Broncos some strong momentum going into the second half of the season.

GO BRONCOS!!!

Manning Cruises Over the 49ers

With great protection Manning didn't break a sweat against the 49ers.

This was Peyton Manning’s best preseason showing to date with the Broncos. Manning scored against the first team D for the 49ers and made it look easy. Eric Decker had a nice game and should have had 3 TD’s catches instead of 2. I hope Decker can minimize the drops when they count. All of the first string WR’s, TE’s and backups had drops yesterday, too many drops. Last year, the drops by Decker and Thomas were so numerous and costly. Decker must catch the ones like he dropped for that sure TD.

During the Manning series’ the Broncos OL did an excellent job in pass protection. Manning only got hit big once. They did a good job for Willis McGahee too. At 30 years old he can still run down hill with as much power as any RB in the league if he gets an opening. If McGahee can stay on the field all season the combination of his running and Manning’s passing should produce big yards and scores.

The Broncos first team D played well against the 49ers first team offense. I was very impressed how they shut down their running game. The pass rush was not as good, especially with the backups in. As a whole they didn’t get the kind of consistent pass pressure they’re going to need against better passing teams. Too many missed tackles by all 3 lines of Defense in this one too and the backup Safeties and Corners for the Broncos need a lot of work. I have real concerns about the Broncos D going into the regular season, the DB’s must improve their cover and tackling skills. The DL must improve their pass pressure in the 3-4, the 4-3 and even in the 5-2 which they lined up in several times in the game but didn’t achieve much.

It’ll be interesting to see which DB’s and DLinemen the Broncos stay with come the final cut down day. The only true standouts on D whose starting jobs are secure IMO are Miller, Dumervil and Champ at this point.

Personally I felt like the 9ers D and the team as a whole was overrated last year especially on D. They played in the weakest conference in the NFC last year and had an easy schedule. Since they had a 13-3 record last year their schedule will be much more difficult out of their division just like the Broncos this season. On offense last season 49ers kicked more FG’s for scores for points than TD’s last year so offensively they were ranked near the bottom.

You have to really take these preseason games with a grain of salt. I’m hopeful about the Broncos O being better under Manning but the Broncos D still needs a lot of work.

Good Preseason Tackling Beats the Bears

Jack Del Rio should help improve the Broncos D.

I just zipped through the Broncos game tonight on the DVR. The thing that most sticks out about the game was the tackling by the Broncos D. They didn't miss any that I remember seeing and that's amazing considering it was the 1st preseason game with backups and Rookies getting most of the playing time. Even on special teams they didn't miss any tackles. The Bears didn't have any big plays in the game at all.

Granted Matt Forte and Jay Cutler didn't play but the Broncos were very aggressive throughout. Most of the game they played a 4-3 D, many times they lined up 5 on the defense line.

They totally shut down the run game and were constantly putting pressure on all the Bears QB's in passing situations.

With Fox and new DC Jack Del Rio one would expect more aggressive defensive schemes but to be a successful D you have to be able to tackle consistently. So I'm certain Fox and Del Rio have to be pleased with this effort.

On offense the running game looked good. Willis McGahee, Jeremiah Johnson, Lance Ball and even Knowshon Moreno had some nice carries.

As for the Receivers Eric Decker and Matt Willis had some nice catches.

Manning's one series wasn't enough to see if his game is dead on yet. He threw some balls into good coverage that maybe he shouldn't have. The Brandon Stokley defection that got intercepted wasn't a great pass. But Manning looked comfortable in the pocket and the Broncos OL did protect very well for him and the backups.

Julius Peppers and Brian Urlacher didn't play so it's hard to tell this early if they'll be able to pass protect against stud D's.

I was impressed with Brock Osweiler's limited playing time. He does have a strong arm, mobility and threw a nice throw for TD pass. He's got the physical tools and if he gets the head for the game he could be a good QB in the NFL.

My main concern going in was how well would all of the new players on the DL and in the backfield would play. Since the Bears didn't produce anything on the ground and the pass pressure was so good by the DL and LB's the Corners and Safety's didn't really get challenged.

It was a good start for the Broncos. Now it's on the Seahawks next week, hopefully the confidence will roll over and they can improve game by game until they count.

Denver Broncos Suffer a Titanic Loss

I’m sitting here trying to find a silver lining in the Broncos immediate future and not finding one. They blew another game yesterday in Tennessee in the same redundant fashion they have over the last 5 years.

The D did a great job of keeping the game close and holding Chris Johnson in check. That’s an amazing accomplishment because for the last 2 years the Broncos have been dead last or near the bottom of the league in rush defense. Still near the end of the game when they needed stops in the 4 Q they didn’t materialize. As always it has to be said football is a team game, the OL didn’t play well in the running game and McGahee who was effective some last week couldn’t break out. The mouthy Lloyd was invisible and couldn’t get any separation and he’s supposed to be our best WR (Decker will soon take over that role) on the team.

The big moment in the game was when the Broncos had the ball inside the 5 yard line of the Titans and ran 4 unimaginative plays resulting in zero points and that was the turning point in the game. It was horrible play calling to be sure and in hindsight the FG would have been the right decision but I understand why Fox wanted to score 6. With first and ten and 4 chances to score a TD inside the 5 an average offense can usually find a way to get it into the end zone but not this team and not with this QB as the starter.

This hard headed and brutal fact says it all. Orton sucks in the red zone. You have to score TD's to win games. Maybe some of the haters on Tebow hate him because they believe he's not ready to be a starter because he isn't experienced enough but believe he can help score 6 points near the goal line.

So I 'm totally confused. How then, is Orton’s experience a bigger plus than Tebow’s when he can’t help the team put points on the board? So then the next question would be why should Orton be allowed to continue to start if can’t help the team scores TD’s? In 2 ½ seasons of football he’s been mostly ineffective, if Tebow can score why shouldn’t he be put in during those situations or better yet give him the starting job altogether?

It can’t be explained away; Orton can complete a short pass when he has 5 minutes of protection and can stand like a frozen statue in the pocket to complete maybe one or two short dump off throws between the 20’s. And most of the time he doesn’t move the ball between the 20’s, more often than not it’s a 3 and out or a 6 and out and never comes close to the opponents 20. On the far too rare occasions he does get the ball inside the 20 he rarely leads the O to a score. Since Orton is so one dimensional and predictable in the red zone and the passing game of the Broncos or the threat of a rushing TD is greatly diminished why in the hell would he continue to keep his job?

Here’s the bigger question, is a lot of bad experience better than a young player with no experience? If Tebow comes into a game and throws 3 INT’s and scores 2 TD’s on a rush or a TD pass and the Broncos win the game isn’t that the goal? Tebow may be ugly in there at times during a game and win ugly but that’s far better than playing ugly and losing ugly which is what Orton has been and will continue to do for the Broncos.

Next week it’s the Packers my friends and the Broncos will find themselves at 1-3. I’m not sure I’m even going to watch this game live because this one is going to be a slaughter of mind bending proportions. I’ll probably do what I did this week and flip between the better games playing on the Sunday ticket such as the Loins and Vikings or the Bills or Pats and that Texans/Saints game which was a hell of a ball game too and watch the Broncos on the DVR later.

It’s cool to see teams like the Bills and Loins get things turned around, I love it when underdogs win but in all honesty even though the Broncos are underdogs they don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of beating a team of the Packers caliber. As I said last week, we’re in for a long, painful and very boring season of discontent especially if Fox lets Orton keep his job.