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GDT Week 2: OAK @ DEN


Broncofan

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Just now, germ-x said:

Why would you run in bounds when the sideline was wide open?  Keenum is better than Siemian, but he’s definitely questionable.

Yeah, that cost us 40 secs when Sutton went in motion, too.  It worked out, but that and DT's drop would have been HUGE might-have-beens.

Still, huge drive and huge comeback.

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2 minutes ago, Broncofan said:

Yeah, that cost us 40 secs when Sutton went in motion, too.  It worked out, but that and DT's drop would have been HUGE might-have-beens.

Still, huge drive and huge comeback.

No doubt.  Huge win either way if something Ravens crazy doesn’t happen.

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Just now, 1234567 said:

Hate to be a Debbie downer, but it's pretty apparent that as long as VJ is the head coach of this team, we're not going anywhere. These wins are simply delaying the inevitable. 

Meh, we get 16 games a year. This team isn't going to bottom out so just enjoy the wins as they come. 

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Just now, 1234567 said:

Hate to be a Debbie downer, but it's pretty apparent that as long as VJ is the head coach of this team, we're not going anywhere. These wins are simply delaying the inevitable. 

I’m not saying VJ is good, but when your offense throws for 18 yards in the first half this is what a game looks like.  Honestly that’s a game you should lose 9.9x out of 10. 

I am by no means saying Denver didn’t get out coached in areas.  But the 4th and 1 call on the goal line I wouldn’t have made, further I wouldn’t have called a QB draw with that call even if I went for it.  It ended up working out.  

This is a game that I think you could easily argue coaching won or lost.  

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Well, quick thoughts, since it's a W, start off with the bad, then the good.

THE BAD

1.  Keenum 1H - it was just ugly.  The Raiders didn't even bring much pressure, but Keenum was just awful in the 1H.

2.  2nd/3rd CB - we got schooled anytime they picked on them with Coop.  We can't let their best receiver match up so easily against our weaker CB's.  We definitely aren't even close to the no-fly zone.  More disturbingly, Roby didn't flash at all (a nice tackle on 3rd down vs. Bryant, but you're supposed to do that).

3.  TE pass coverage - OAK just went away from it in the 2H trying to use up clock with the power run, and Cooper abusing our secondary, but Cook pretty much had his shots all 1H.  Only 4/49, but that's more because of OAK being up 12-0 and trying to kill clock in the 2H.   Definitely still an area we have to be better at.  

4.  OL & key penalties - we defintely weren't as clean against a pretty awful SEA D.   Some huge penalties that we overcame - but highlight that we're probably nowhere near as good as our record, or our Week 1 performance o O (picks aside), hinted at.   Todd Davis' 1H hold (covering TE) took away a huge strip-sack early by Von, too.   Against better teams, we won't get away with those.

5.  Lack of pass coverage adjustments - what bothered me this week was how often Cooper got isolated against our weakest DB's, and how we seemingly had no adjustments or different looks.  I look forward to @lomaxgrUK's All-22 in TWO weeks (remember he's on vacation this week) - I was too focused on the game action to see if there were a lot of different looks, but it really looked we simply went to off-zone (the last 3rd down stop being a notable exception) as our base, which allowed Carr to pick us apart.

6.  DT's 2 drops - he's out there all the time, plays hurt, and makes incredible catches - but he's also losing that step, and those critical drops mar what otherwise has been a stellar career for us.   He's no longer peak DT - but he's got the experience, box-out ability and knowledge to be our leading WR with Stewart. But he just can't drop big balls like that last one (or the other).   Potential drive-game killers (same with the penalties, but that's always DT's Achilles).  Man.

7.  Competition - I think we can see from this week that the W vs. SEA reflects also how bad that team is - because this OAK team, which is clearly less talented overall, gave us everything we could handle.   It's great to be 2-0, but a sober analysis shows we have a ton of cracks on the ship.   Still, better to be a 2-0 team with those cracks than a 1-1 team. 

 

THE GOOD

1.  Lindsay - I still worry he won't hold up to 15 carries a game - but gameflow dictated we needed to go hurry-up and up-tempo, so I get the need.  He really is the Tarik Cohen type difference maker Elway was trying to get last year in the draft.   Ironic the UDFA well is where it hit again.

2.  Freeman - it was very limited use, but he showed well in his usage.  His critical 3rd down conversion where he left Bruce Irvin in the dust was a thing of beauty.   Ideally we use him 15+ carries and Lindsay for more COP (and then save most of his touches in space).  Wasn't his fault he didn't score on 3rd and goal for TD #2 - the OL didn't hold up then...hopefully though we don't see more Marcus Allen attempts.  He's best as the hammer, that 1st TD was textbook.

3.  The run blocking - you can't have Lindsay and Freeman being singled out without recognizing the OL has been awesome in the run game both weeks.  Not as clean in pass pro this week in the 2H (the 1H was on Keenum though most of all, make no mistake), which is concerning given the OAK pass rush isn't that good, but man, you cannot take away that run-game wise, we beat their DL.  Again, OAK was a bottom 5 D, much like SEA looks to be this year, but you can only beat the guys in front of you.   We've got more work to do in pass pro, and starting now (well maybe starting now, as BAL's D with CJ Mosley is top 10, without him we may have caught a huge break), the real test begins.  But for a 2nd straight week, the OL gets huge praise in run blocking (last week, it was on both sides).

4.  Musgrave's 2H uptempo call - the uptempo strategy is risky, because it ends up tiring out our D if we don't drive - but it totally changed the way the game went.   OAK's D really tired out as time went on.   I loved that we adjusted to what Gruden did (and I will again tip my cap for Gruden's strength - he planned a master strategy to go short-area, quick-motion game to negate our pass rush, and then tried to use the power run game to wear us out - and was literally one first down away from executing it to perfection.  Again, though, he didn't have an answer for our 2H adjustments, and I do think that's a theme that we'll see from Gruden as he gets used to modern-day calling - the 2H adjustments are where being more old-school is harder to adapt to).

5.  Roby - it's bad that Roby was probably our top 1H performer lol.  But he gave us exactly what we needed. Won the field position game, and WAIT FOR IT...ZERO 15-yard penalties (yes, going there lol).

5.  Resilience - it's one thing we showed very little of last year.   And given how the 1H went just like games last year, it would have been very easy for us to pack it in like last year.  The 1st 3Q drive scoring and taking 6 mins was a great boost - but OAK going back up 19-7 right after that, and only 20 mins left in the game, well, we've folded under similar circumstances, even against teams with similar or lesser talent.    So we should still celebrate the character this team showed - it's something that's good for our long-term future, given the kids we have on the team.   


Overall, we will gladly take the W - but man, it sure showed all the concerns we had about our pass D,  and the impressive O showing vs. SEA minus the TO's being somewhat of a mirage, except for Lindsay.   Still, it's a W....and I guess that means I live one more week.   I'll enjoy this one, and I'll put a Week 3 GD thread on Tues/Wed before I go off to a family wedding for next weekend.  For now, sit back, and enjoy a W over our fierce division rival.   

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30 minutes ago, 1234567 said:

Hate to be a Debbie downer, but it's pretty apparent that as long as VJ is the head coach of this team, we're not going anywhere. These wins are simply delaying the inevitable. 

The 2018 schedule is set up for us to get to a fast start.   The schedule after Week 5 gets downright ugly.  But a 3-2 or even 4-1 start was always the most likely - even with us at a 7-9 or 8-8 season.   

The good news is that unlike 2017, we have real youth to look forward to on O as our future pieces.  Last year, it was built on this hope that Siemian was the man, and we were living off CJ's warrior legs and JC's reputation in the run game, and hoping somehow Isiaih McKenzie was a weapon (he wasn't), and our motley crew of TE's could even be average (they weren't).

Now, it's pretty clear Keenum is a flawed QB - but he's still miles ahead of Siemian.  And Lindsay/Freeman give us 4 years of uber-cheap RB production we haven't seen in forever.   And while Sutton's drop on the bomb, and very unlucky scrape of the sideline chalk before 2nd foot came down (at least that's what they saw lol), keep him clean on the scoresheet impact-wise, it's clear he has way more talent than any of our WR's drafted since DT have.   Doesn't mean it will all work out, but man, we have hope.   That's all I can really ask for (other than drafting Josh Rosen at 1.5, but I'll hope Chad Kelly has some future if Keenum isn't any better than what we've seen, no use crying over it now, at least not until the season's done lol).

All of which to say - VJ is replaceable.  He's not as important to our future as our drafting and player development.  And on that front, for the first time in 3-4 years, we look like we're getting impact guys early on.  OC Musgrave, the kids on O, and overall we're making progress.   We deserved our 5-11 record this past year.   Even though I only think we're a 7-9/8-8 team this year (I saw the 2-0 start in that record) - we're headed the right way.  So yeah, as @BroncoBruin said...enjoy the W when you can.  Unlike last year, more L's don't get us to a Holy Grail QB, and there are some truly awful teams that are going to be vying for Nick Bosa/Ed Oliver, the 2 generational talents.  We won't be one of those teams, so just take heart that at least our future is looking brighter...and we pulled a character W.  VJ's time is coming...just not anytime soon.  But it's likely coming this year.

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