Jump to content

Pittsburgh @ Denver GDT--Maybe we don't suck?

broncosfan07

By broncosfan07
in Denver Broncos

Recommended Posts

Broncofan

Broncofan

Posted
Posted

Well, given we are likely to have a very iffy rookie QB in Rd1 no matter where we'd pick, so I really don't have the same desire to pick as high as possible as last year (or next year, if we aren't there yet).  Although long-term that's better for what will get us to sustained contention, letting our young players taste success in hard-fought games can only help us long-term.   So unlike last year, where beyond our absolute core, we had such little hope with the guys we were keeping, as their best play was behind them, now our best players are those who are young or who we're keeping for a while, so it's far more enjoyable to watch them fight this year.  

We've been able to win the last 2 games because we've been mistake-free and won the TO margin by 2+ - today, it was 4 (and man, crazy ones at that).   We still have a ton of issues that separate us from being realistic contenders - but you can't deny the heart and character the team, especially the younger players, are showing.  That's the main reason to be optimistic - we aren't getting great play from the aging guys who won't be here, it's been our youngest players who really continue to progress.    

The test of real contention will come when we aren't at home, and aren't getting the TO battle so much in our favor - but the heart the team displayed, even though they didn't really stop PIT's O as much as PIT's O stopped themselves (sidebar - I have to salute Parks for not just making  great play, but not giving up - looked like a sure TD with only 2 yards to go).    My only misgiving is if we stick with VJ as  result of this run, then it's a truly pyrrhic victory.  As long as that doesn't happen, then knowing we don't have a similar talent at QB for our long-term future there in Rd1, as long as it doesn't somehow save VJ's job, well, it's easy to take the positive, and enjoy the kids' playing their heart out.

Problems:

-Pass O was still really stagnant for much of the game.    Sutton's going to be far better next year, but he's adjusting to the X position and drawing more attention.    Keenum didn't turn it over, which is always a plus, but those sustained drives and ability to keep up when the opposition gets ahead by more than 1 score with our O alone, still isn't there - huge props to our D for getting the ball back, but we need stuff like that for our O to keep up, straight up we're nowhere close to any of the higher-powered (or even medium-high powered O's).

-Pass rush wasn't getting there a lot of the time, which with a rookie RT playing there in his 1st game , was surprising (not the rest of the unit, they are a really good pass blocking unit).   

-Pass D still has major issues, and man, just when you see progress, Roby put up another dud.  SMH.   Oh well, at least it makes it easy to stay on the path to let him walk. 

-We absolutely got worn out by ToP in the first 3Q's - frankly, if it wasn't for the TO's, I don't think we'd have even been close by mid-3Q.  But that's also a plus for the heart the D showed by hanging in there.


Of course with a W, many game balls:

-Lindsay (duh) - limited touches, but so explosive.  Ideally he would have 6-7 more touches, but gameflow and ToP really worked against that.

-Yiadom (played really well today, that was the most encouraging of all)

-Shelby Harris (lost in the JuJu 97 yard TD was the incredible play Harris made, he was again disruptive - the main extension prioirity on D).

-The TE's, they were the biggest mismatch and they took advantage & Sanders

-Simmons & Parks for their difference-making plays.

Now with us having improbably won the last 2 games, we get a very winnable road game - @CIN, with an ailing Dalton and a questionable AJ Green.  It will be weird to be a road favorite, but the team has earned it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
germ-x

germ-x

Posted
Posted
9 minutes ago, thebestever6 said:

This team went from having a great chance for a top 10 pick to realistically having a shot to make the playoffs.  The schedule gets a lot easier.

No doubt.  They’ve given every SB contender they’ve faced all they can handle and then laid eggs against some bad ones.

I am not crossing my fingers, but on paper Denver should come out at 9-7 and easily could’ve/should’ve been 10-6 at worst.  

This team has some momentum now.  Harris played with his hair on fire today, so did Wolfe, that stop he had on the screen in the 1st half isn’t a play that’s made when a team has given up.

I don’t know the reason, but this team is still putting forth the effort to be a playoff team and at one point they were almost mathematically out of the equation.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites
germ-x

germ-x

Posted
Posted
5 minutes ago, Broncofan said:

Well, given we are likely to have a very iffy rookie QB in Rd1 no matter where we'd pick, so I really don't have the same desire to pick as high as possible as last year (or next year, if we aren't there yet).  Although long-term that's better for what will get us to sustained contention, letting our young players taste success in hard-fought games can only help us long-term.   So unlike last year, where beyond our absolute core, we had such little hope with the guys we have, our best players are those we're keeping for a while, so it's far more enjoyable to watch them fight this year.  

We've been able to win the last 2 games because we've been mistake-free and won the TO margin by 2+ - today, it was 4 (and man, crazy ones at that).   We still have a ton of issues that separate us from being realistic contenders - but you can't deny the heart and character the team, especially the younger players, are showing.  That's the main reason to be optimistic - we aren't getting great play from the aging guys who won't be here, it's been our youngest players who really continue to progress.    

The test of real contention will come when we aren't at home, and aren't getting the TO battle so much in our favor - but the heart the team displayed, even though they didn't really stop PIT's O as much as PIT's O stopped themselves (although I salute Parks for not just making  great play, but not giving up - looked like a sure TD with only 2 yards to go).     

Why does everyone have to be so pessimistic?  Denver’s given every SB contender a run for their money.  I get one game can be luck, but when it’s multiple games it tells you Denver isn’t as far off as you’d like to believe.

No, they aren’t contenders and probably miss the playoffs, but this team still has a lot of the pieces in place to compete with the top teams in the AFC.  Keenum wasn’t even good today, hasn’t been all year.  He just protected the football and managed the game.  If Denver has a real QB they’d be in the mix to represent the AFC.

People like to act like only complete teams win the SB, this is so far off.  Every single team in the NFL has a severe weakness.  The ones with a real shot at winning it don’t have that weakness at QB.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Broncofan

Broncofan

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, germ-x said:

Why does everyone have to be so pessimistic?  Denver’s given every SB contender a run for their money.  I get one game can be luck, but when it’s multiple games it tells you Denver isn’t as far off as you’d like to believe.

No, they aren’t contenders and probably miss the playoffs, but this team still has a lot of the pieces in place to compete with the top teams in the AFC.  Keenum wasn’t even good today, hasn’t been all year.  He just protected the football and managed the game.  If Denver has a real QB they’d be in the mix to represent the AFC.

People like to act like only complete teams win the SB, this is so far off.  Every single team in the NFL has a severe weakness.  The ones with a real shot at winning it don’t have that weakness at QB.

Simple Q - Why not quote the entire post?  I’d suggest if you do it doesn’t seem nearly as negative as you think it is.   If the post was so negative why only quote a part of it?  Your own decision kinda points to the answer.  

You’ve pointed out the weaknesses we still have - I don’t have any problem with having real long term hope even with those issues, in that post alone, the reference to this hope comes out 3x - so long as we change HC and find our QBOTF.    

As I ended the last post - the team’s earned long term optimism, it just always comes with a balanced view on what we have left to address.   If you notice each GTD wrap up, when we lose I start with the positive and end with the negative, and when we win, I flip it around.  Balance...

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
AKRNA

AKRNA

Posted
Posted

So, 2-0 after the bye against quality competition. Like @lomaxgrUK mentioned last week, this is the brand of football we were promised. It's fun to see.

We've really become a good 2nd half team due I think to increased physicality in the trenches on both sides of the LOS. Our front 7 defensive rotations must really be wearing teams down. Same with the OL. In the 2nd half those little 2-4 yard runs in the first half are becoming 7+. 

There's no quit in this team at all and I think Von's post game presser says it all; "on to Cincinnatti" . 

Hey @BroncoBruin, weren't you the one who said early this year that you just wanted us to be competitive and improve during the year? I agreed when you said it and I'm quite pleased we're doing it. It's been a long time since we did much in the 2nd half of the season. This years starting to show promise.

Anyway, this team might just be turning a corner. If we continue to play like this our final regular season game might mean something. In the meantime, we're playing the role of spoiler very well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
AKRNA

AKRNA

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Broncofan said:

Simple Q - Why not quote the entire post?  I’d suggest if you do it doesn’t seem nearly as negative as you think it is.   If the post was so negative why only quote a part of it?  Your own decision kinda points to the answer.  

You’ve pointed out the weaknesses we still have - I don’t have any problem with having real long term hope even with those issues, in that post alone, the reference to this hope comes out 3x - so long as we change HC and find our QBOTF.    

As I ended the last post - the team’s earned long term optimism, it just always comes with a balanced view on what we have left to address.   If you notice each GTD wrap up, when we lose I start with the positive and end with the negative, and when we win, I flip it around.  Balance...

 

If we keep playing like this you can forget any talk of a HC change. VJ is still learning on the job but if our recent play is any indication he's taking his lessons seriously.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
thebestever6

thebestever6

Posted
Posted
42 minutes ago, AKRNA said:

If we keep playing like this you can forget any talk of a HC change. VJ is still learning on the job but if our recent play is any indication he's taking his lessons seriously.

It's too close to say . I mean Vj has to coach his butt off the last month pf the year to keep it. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...