Random Thoughts

[Broncofan]

5 minutes ago, BroncoBruin said:

I knew that Pats front 7 was a mess but figured coaching + secondary would compensate enough. They were 2010s Saints bad all around.

The Pats' O-line looked fine to me, when KC got a lead they turned their EDGEs loose and Houston did what elite players do. Brady had one of his worst games ever, was just off all night. That said, they'll be dropping 40+ on teams by October.

Yeah the OL wasn't awful (they weren't great though, but not an awful unit, at least until KC knew they weren't running)..bigger issue was that James White left a ton of yards on field in 1H.  And that 4th down call they got pushed back with Gillislee getting stuffed.   I think we will see more Burkhead and Lewis next week when coaches look at game film.  But that front 7 without Hightower, that's a major problem with NE.    

Having said that, Brady was still throwing 60 yard dimes and they'll figure out how to get Gronk/Cooks more involved (Berry really stymied Gronk until he went out).   Their O will be better...but their D is another story.  They are certainly more vulnerable than last year's squad, a lot due to injury already.  Edelman and Hightower both really gave NE a unique skillset they can't replace nearly as easily.

Edited September 8, 2017 by Broncofan

[broncosfan07]

https://www.uninterrupted.com/watch/0l2I0dtu/the-process-with-calais-campbell

Sucks that we came so close to Campbell.

[Broncofan]

26 minutes ago, broncosfan07 said:

https://www.uninterrupted.com/watch/0l2I0dtu/the-process-with-calais-campbell

Sucks that we came so close to Campbell.

Hindsight is 20-20, but we were basically 2M short on Campbell a year, with only 2 years guaranteed.  It's too bad we didn't make an earlier decision on Ward that saved the 4.5M, we could have gone bargain basement at NT, not used the Peko money, and then we'd have Campbell in the fold.  I can't fault Elway at the time for sticking to 13M, but if we knew now what we did then (that the NT market would just explode and we weren't keeping Ward), well, missed opportunity.   I certainly can't fault Campbell for taking the $ - at age 31, this is the last big deal he could bank on.

I really do worry about our run D being completely unaddressed (sorry, Peko & Zach Kerr aren't enough).   And we didn't address ILB even though only Marshall is returning next year.   Hope I'm wrong, but if we don't make the playoffs (and we are no lock at all), lack of run D improvements will likely be our 2017 epitath. 

Edited September 8, 2017 by Broncofan

[iLikeDefense]

Losing Edelman really hurt the Pats, dude is a feisty competitor and is willing to put his body through hell to make clutch catches. He's definitely Brady's go to guy and you can tell Brady was sort of feeling out who his dependable receiver was going to be since Gronk was pretty much shut down. Amendola just isn't Edelman, it showed when he had that drop when he got lit up by Houston and then he was knocked out of the game. I do think Brady looked underwhelming at times but I think he'll get in a groove sooner than later. I would love to see a PM/Favre like drop off just because I hate the Pats.

 

As for the Chiefs, I really like Hunt and Hill (drafted both in all my fantasy leagues lol). They are dangerous on the field. They don't even need Alex Smith to stretch the defense but when he is able to, it just opens up so much for them. I think this game will be Alex Smith's best game of the year imo. Pats D had way too much miscommunication and that front 7 looked are garb out there.

[Broncofan]

10 minutes ago, iLikeDefense said:

Losing Edelman really hurt the Pats, dude is a feisty competitor and is willing to put his body through hell to make clutch catches. He's definitely Brady's go to guy and you can tell Brady was sort of feeling out who his dependable receiver was going to be since Gronk was pretty much shut down. Amendola just isn't Edelman, it showed when he had that drop when he got lit up by Houston and then he was knocked out of the game. I do think Brady looked underwhelming at times but I think he'll get in a groove sooner than later. I would love to see a PM/Favre like drop off just because I hate the Pats.

 

As for the Chiefs, I really like Hunt and Hill (drafted both in all my fantasy leagues lol). They are dangerous on the field. They don't even need Alex Smith to stretch the defense but when he is able to, it just opens up so much for them. I think this game will be Alex Smith's best game of the year imo. Pats D had way too much miscommunication and that front 7 looked are garb out there.

Hightower is just so irreplaceable on that 2017 roster.  They lost Sheard to FA, Ninkuvich to retirement, and then their rookie Rivers hits IR.  Matt Patricia is an excellent DC so I have no doubt they will get their act together but yeah, that's not nearly a dominant front 7 as 2016's unit.   Before we get too comfortable though, if we lose Marshall, we could look just as bad if not worse than their LB corps did last night.   

Hunt is legit, but that TD catch and long run in 4Q were the byproduct of horrific D - he's not a burner, just a very complete back with good vision and balance, and great decisiveness/initial burst.  Hill's play actually impressed me most of all, because his speed is just so hard to account for.  It wasn't just the bomb, he was a pain in their secondary all game long until he left with leg cramps.  Last year he was a byproduct of getting force fed, last night he got open by finding the soft spot about 3-4x, something I didn't see last year.   

Losing Berry really hurts that D however.   Peters is their only secondary playmaker, and Berry really helped mask their ILB deficiencies with his in-the-box excellence and wide cover radius.  That will be a very vulnerable D down the middle.   Now, a team with their front 4 can hide this to some extent by getting to the QB quickly enough, but teams with great OL or talented skill players have a very clear area to attack.  We'll see how they adjust with Berry out.

Edited September 8, 2017 by Broncofan

[iLikeDefense]

27 minutes ago, Broncofan said:

Hightower is just so irreplaceable on that 2017 roster.  They lost Sheard to FA, Ninkuvich to retirement, and then their rookie Rivers hits IR.  Matt Patricia is an excellent DC so I have no doubt they will get their act together but yeah, that's not nearly a dominant front 7 as 2016's unit.   Before we get too comfortable though, if we lose Marshall, we could look just as bad if not worse than their LB corps did last night.   

Hunt is legit, but that TD catch and long run in 4Q were the byproduct of horrific D - he's not a burner, just a very complete back with good vision and balance, and great decisiveness/initial burst.  Hill's play actually impressed me most of all, because his speed is just so hard to account for.  It wasn't just the bomb, he was a pain in their secondary all game long until he left with leg cramps.  Last year he was a byproduct of getting force fed, last night he got open by finding the soft spot about 3-4x, something I didn't see last year.   

Losing Berry really hurts that D however.   Peters is their only secondary playmaker, and Berry really helped mask their ILB deficiencies with his in-the-box excellence and wide cover radius.  That will be a very vulnerable D down the middle.   Now, a team with their front 4 can hide this to some extent by getting to the QB quickly enough, but teams with great OL or talented skill players have a very clear area to attack.  We'll see how they adjust with Berry out.

Is hightower out? Oh man, he's their anchor on D. I always thought Sheard played such an important role on their team and Ninkovich was clutch *** hell. So I totally get what you are saying and agree with it.

Hill looks very dangerous if he's improved as a route runner and wideout in general. This what we need Henderson to be in a few years!! Hunt just looks smooth as a rookie and Andy Reid will hide his deficiencies. I'm surprised West didn't see as much burn, I'm sure Andy doesn't want to risk this rookie to injury over being overworked.

So sad to see Berry injured. He's the only Chief I like besides DJ. I could see them being more aggressive upfront to compensate for the back end. They may get burned a few times but they may get more pressures and sacks/turnovers too.

 

[Broncofan]

13 minutes ago, iLikeDefense said:

Is hightower out? Oh man, he's their anchor on D. I always thought Sheard played such an important role on their team and Ninkovich was clutch *** hell. So I totally get what you are saying and agree with it.

Hill looks very dangerous if he's improved as a route runner and wideout in general. This what we need Henderson to be in a few years!! Hunt just looks smooth as a rookie and Andy Reid will hide his deficiencies. I'm surprised West didn't see as much burn, I'm sure Andy doesn't want to risk this rookie to injury over being overworked.

So sad to see Berry injured. He's the only Chief I like besides DJ. I could see them being more aggressive upfront to compensate for the back end. They may get burned a few times but they may get more pressures and sacks/turnovers too.

 

Hightower has a grade I MCL - so they dodged a bullet.  Out 2 weeks usually, they're talking about him playing week 2 with 10 days rest, but that's iffy given it's on the dome turf @ NO.  Still, that's a huge relief for them - he's completely irreplaceable on that D.  

Re: Henderson, he's not as fast as Hill.  Henderson has great YAC ability as a returner or in open field, but Hill is world-class fast.  And as we've covered in-depth, Henderson really has a hard time in digesting a playbook, and terrible at route running.  It's like the baseball analogy of the speedster who can't steal 1st base.   Getting the ball into his hands is just not there, glad he's on IR, it was going to be a wasted year on the roster anyways.   I know that was Elway's thinking...but man, it's a stretch.   We have time, regardless, though, given he's a rookie.

Edited September 8, 2017 by Broncofan

[iLikeDefense]

1 hour ago, Broncofan said:

Hightower has a grade I MCL - so they dodged a bullet.  Out 2 weeks usually, they're talking about him playing week 2 with 10 days rest, but that's iffy given it's on the dome turf @ NO.  Still, that's a huge relief for them - he's completely irreplaceable on that D.  

Re: Henderson, he's not as fast as Hill.  Henderson has great YAC ability as a returner or in open field, but Hill is world-class fast.  And as we've covered in-depth, Henderson really has a hard time in digesting a playbook, and terrible at route running.  It's like the baseball analogy of the speedster who can't steal 1st base.   Getting the ball into his hands is just not there, glad he's on IR, it was going to be a wasted year on the roster anyways.   I know that was Elway's thinking...but man, it's a stretch.   We have time, regardless, though, given he's a rookie.

Yeah they did dodge a bullet, I feel like every year he's injured but it's nothing season ending. Dude is a beast.

Well no one is as fast as Hill or at least not many WR's are. I mean we all know why he dropped in the draft, had it never happened, he may have been a day 1 or 2 pick. If Henderson can be electric with the ball in his hands that's great because that is what we need. I didn't mean he needs to be what Hill is, because like you said Hill has jets while Henderson may have that elite YAC ability something Denver needs.

[AnAngryAmerican]

I think it was more Isiah McKenzie who was drafted with the hope he become a Tyreek Hill-like player, not Carlos Henderson. 

[Broncofan]

1 hour ago, AnAngryAmerican said:

I think it was more Isiah McKenzie who was drafted with the hope he become a Tyreek Hill-like player, not Carlos Henderson. 

Yeah, McKenzie was picked with Hill i mind, but I think Elway took 2 shots to try and find that kind of player, doubling up on his swing-for-the-fences approach.  Henderson is a great YAC threat with the ball in his hands, and a polished KR, but man, he's truly sushi-level raw when it comes to actual WR skills.     Henderson could become more over time, but McKenzie's profile really looks to be limited as gadget-only.  Which for a 5th round pick is totally fine in a vacuum...but in the face of spending both a 3rd round AND 5th-round pick and the fact you tie up 2 roster spots for this instead of 1 (and in fact, Langley has PR skills, so now it's 3 roster spots at present if C-Henderson hadn't gone to IR)....well, we'll see.

Edited September 8, 2017 by Broncofan

[elliot878]

So in one league i had Kareem Hunt and Tyreek Hill on the bench... it was between Hunt and Fournette and Tyreek and Crabtree, so not that bad decision pre-hindsight.  I didn't watch the game, just checked fantasy points.  When I woke up and checked the score to see Pats lost, man, that made my day and weekend.

[Broncofan]

So we face Zeke Elliott Week 2.  Buckle up.  

[BroncoBruin]

Phenomenal performance by Oklahoma LT Orlando Brown facing the best group of edge rushers in the country. I keep thinking he'd be a perfect fit at RT for this team. 

[iLikeDefense]

I love me some Rashaad Penny!

[BroncoBruin]

52 minutes ago, iLikeDefense said:

I love me some Rashaad Penny!

I thought he was the best running back on the team last year. I really like him.