Week 1 GDT: LA Chargers @ Denver Broncos

[paul-mac]

Was more impressed with Mike McCoy than Joe Woods personally. I thought the offense had some really impressive stuff 

[BroncoBruin]

Just now, thebestever6 said:

The team gets an A for the performance tonight.

 

The coaches an F .

If the coaches learn from this we're in great shape.

McCoy called a mostly excellent game. Yeah he turtled late but the circumstances that made it close had nothing to do with him. 

[Broncofan]

14 minutes ago, elliot878 said:

This team and coaching staff better have learned a lesson.  They completely mailed it in midway through the 3rd quarter.  The play calling was too lax and so were the players.  Show me a team without a killer instinct, especially against a division rival, and I'll show you a team that has no business in the playoffs.

 

11 minutes ago, broncos67 said:

Agreed 10000%. That's a lesson for all 3 coaches, especially in this division. I'm thrilled with how the team played for 75% of the game. Next time, I'd rather see that effort for 100%

FWIW, this is exactly what got McCoy canned in SD.   They literally lost 4 games last  year and 2-3 games a year where they had games in the bag with 1-2 more plays and backed off the gas, only to lose in the last 2-3 minutes.   It was excruciating to watch on our end.  Hopefully McCoy & co. learned their lesson here for sure.   It was a good sign to see them go for the seam buster after we were down to a 3-point lead.   Hopefully the old dog can learn new tricks.

[BroncoBruin]

I'm so puzzled by that Benjamin TD. Why is Roby shading over the top of old man Gates? That's absurd.

This game was a microcosm for Roby's career.

[paul-mac]

Check out the game thread in NFL general. Some Chargers fan is having a meltdown saying the better team lost and that the Chargers looked like the best team in the NFL this week 

[BroncoBruin]

Just now, paul-mac said:

Check out the game thread in NFL general. Some Chargers fan is having a meltdown saying the better team lost and that the Chargers looked like the best team in the NFL this week 

Seriously? They got their butts whooped for three quarters and took advantage of fluke after fluke to make it close. 

Those posters are clueless.

[Broncofan]

11 minutes ago, paul-mac said:

Check out the game thread in NFL general. Some Chargers fan is having a meltdown saying the better team lost and that the Chargers looked like the best 4Q team in the NFL this week 

FIFT.

Now it makes sense to me.  

[BroncoBruin]

Watson's footwork in pass pro is some of the worst I've ever seen. Watch those short choppy steps. When a rusher gets a good jump, it's over. He has no ability to recover whatsoever.

[1234567]

Takeaways from tonight:

Our defense played much better than I anticipated with all the injuries/distractions. Gotsis was everywhere tonight which is a good sign. I worry about our depth right now but this D could be mean by mid season when we get everyone back. 

Offense also looked better than I was expecting although our O-line is definitely still cause for concern. I worry that D-coordinators are gonna have a field day with them after they get ahold of a few weeks of game footage to study. 

Great coaching right up until we went into clock killing mode. Don't know how many times that has to not work before coaches abandon the philosophy. Apparently at least one more. 

[Broncofan]

OK thoughts before I go to bed:

The Good

1.  DT & Sanders - their scorecard won't show it, but they came up with huge plays when we needed it.  Sanders just missed 2 TD's, and DT had 1 brutal drop, but DT came up with 4 key catches beating their best CB for big 1st downs, and Sanders run-after-catch on 2nd and 18 was huge (Barbre & Bolles pancakes were awesome to watch).

2.  TE's & Fowler - they showed up, and we needed them.  Glad to see the seam buster used 2-3x.  Really allowed us to get a...

3.  Run game - we actually had a run game.   While we had serious issues in pass pro, once Garcia exited, we had a much more cohesive run game.  CJ was healthy, and he was effective.   I don't know if he can hold up 16 games, and given the mileage, how long it lasts, but use him while we have him, guys.

4.  Special Teams - Olivo, he really upgraded the unit.  FULL marks there.   Latimer was a beast in ST, he made 4 big plays that helped the field position game.  McKenzie's a burner, just make sure to keep the ball safe inside your 20, lol.

5.  Von & Barrett - they weren't dominant, but Von was a force, especially in run support - he broke up a ton of plays with his penetration when we did stop the run.  Really impressive all around game without the flashy sacks.  He was doubled and tripled the whole time, so not unexpected.   Barrett provided decent support, which was nice given how early he was in returning from injury.

6.  Creative O play calling (for most of 3Q's anyways) - loved the play action, loved the seam buster for the TE's, and loved hitting DT deep, middle and short.  Sanders had his chances, getting covered by a TE for that missed TE was a beauty in play design, too bad it didn't connect (but we still scored a TD, so all good).  For about 2.5 Q's, we were unpredictable, novel, and Chargers D had to respect both the run and pass.  We converted 3rd downs creatively, and we killed the clock.  I think we ended up with 36+ mins of time of possession, keeping our D fresh (and not get pounded in the run game).  That's a recipe for success - if we do it for 4 Q's, McCoy (more on that later).

7.   Stewart at SS / Simmons at FS - Simmons made a mistake on the Allen TD, but otherwise he had a really strong game at FS.  He made a couple of great open field tackles on MGIII.  Stewart filled in the SS role at an elite level - 4x MGIII broke through for 4-5 yards, but Stewart knifed in and didn't miss - otherwise a big gain was there (part of the run game weakness I'll touch on later - our safety play really masked it tonight).   And he was an enforcer over the middle.  Honestly, our No Fly Zone looked even faster with Simmons.  Our weakness vs. TE was nowhere to be seen - that can't be a coincidence with how badly TE's torched us.  A great start here.

 

The Bad

7. Pass protection - Watson was abused, Bolles a little better, but man, we need help here.  Bolles is a rookie, so there's room to learn - but as I alluded to in-game, the issue is if both are struggling, it's impossible to design help to both sides for plays.   If we are behind, we are in trouble.    Staying ahead masked the issue for the 2Q/3Q, but in the 4Q, really was apparent.   Hopefully this gets better, and I really think keeping Barbre as the LG starter will help Bolles a LOT more here.   Stop using Garcia in a rotation!

8. Run D (not as bad as feared though) - it could have been worse, and Gotsis made 2-3 stops, so there's progress.  Jarrett made 1-2 so that's good.   Harris was OK.  And Wolfe wasn't hurt badly (that was scary).  But a huge reason why we didn't get abused in the run game was game script - once we had the 21-7 then 24-7 lead, Chargers weren't nearly as committed to the run game.  Which is hopefully what we do - get a lead, and force the air game, where we are strongest.   We will find out a LOT more about just how vulnerable we are vs. the run game next week vs. DAL and their elite OL and Ezekiel Elliott.

9.  Conservative Play Calling - make no mistake, this is what got McCoy fired in San Diego.  Watching it on our team was painful.  We had them in the 3Q and we let off the gas.  I hope we never see that again.  It's worrisome only because this is a recurring theme with McCoy - hopefully VJ &  Musgrave can keep this in check.   Going to the seam buster and try and win the game instead of being even more conservative and relying on the D was a good sign.

10. JC usage as short yardage back - JC's still a great pass blocker, and he's shifty, but he's also no longer the home run threat - his 5th gear isn't there.  It was apparent on the runs, he's fast, but not elite fast.  So knowing that, using him as a short-yard back was neat 1x, but using him at the GL, not surprised it didn't work the more we tried.   The fumble was unexpected - and given we were supposed to limit his touches, could reflect the need to keep him fresh by keeping his touches in space.   

11.  Todd Davis - I know he made the 4th down stop, but that was because the Chargers telegraphed the play.  Corey Nelson, if you're our next option, let's see more of you, at the very least, for pass coverage.   Davis was a complete liability once again in pass coverage situations.   

 

The Mystifying

12.  Roby - the life of the 3rd best CB - you're going to get picked on.   The 2 penalties and the Benjamin TD were all on him.  The last DPI was just him anticipating the jump too soon, but the Benjamin TD and the DPI on Allen were just boneheaded mistakes.   That's the life on the CB spotlight - your mistakes get magnified 10x.  The thing is, his breakup on Tyrell Williams with 3 mins left saved a FG, and that pick was a thing of beauty.  If only he can be more consistent...but as @BroncoBruin alluded to, this is a great microcosm of his career so far.

 

The GREAT

#13.  Siemian - he made the 2 key jumps we wanted to see - more aggression downfield and better anticipation in the RZ / tight window throws.  His throws weren't just safe, he made risky throws by seeing the window and throwing that beat faster.   He pushed the ball where he needed to.  The ONLY mistakes were 2-fold - his terrible decision in the 1Q that should have been a pick-6 (dropped), and the fact he puts himself wide open for big hits when scrambling.   That's a huge risk, because right now he's head and shoulders ahead of our other QB's, and frankly, if he can play like this for 16+ games, he's our QBOTF.   

In the end, we can't count on everything above, but overall when your good/great points outweigh the bad/mystifying (and mystifying isn't all bad) by a 2-1 job, and you get a W, it's all good.  Mission Accomplished. 

[Scoundrel]

If we don't replace Watson some how we are in a lot of trouble. Go trade for someone please.

[Broncofan]

4 minutes ago, Counselor said:

If we don't replace Watson some how we are in a lot of trouble. Go trade for someone please.

I don't mind because we got a 5th round pick, but without that deal I would have kept Schofield over Turner, because I think T will be a revolving door. 

If Leary can be OK at RG (given he's in the concussion protocol now), worst-case we might have to consider whether Barbre can play RT, and McGovern at the other G.   I hate it because I think Bolles absolutely needs an experienced G to work in tandem for pass protection, but I have ZERO confidence Donald Stephenson will be any better.   I think he could be a LOT worse.   I'm torn because Bolles was way better in pass pro the more he played with Barbre.  His holding penalties/sacks/hurries in the 1H were with Garcia (surprise, surprise), IIRC.

Watson is a run game road grader, but yeah, his pass pro work was brutal.   1-year stopgap for sure.   Wish we had used our 3rd rounder on a developmental guy like Antonio Garcia, hindsight being 20-20.

[BroncoBruin]

I will need to rewatch but losing Leary seemed to really hurt the offense as a whole. Really hope he can go against his old team next week.

[BroncoBruin]

Guys I think they have no choice but to roll with Watson and help with an RB/TE. Whatever miniscule gains you may get in pass pro will be negated by a downgrade in the running game and a loss of chemistry (Watson has been the first team RT all summer).

Next week will be more telling anyway. If he can't hold his own against average talent, we've got problems.

[Broncofan]

47 minutes ago, BroncoBruin said:

Guys I think they have no choice but to roll with Watson and help with an RB/TE. Whatever miniscule gains you may get in pass pro will be negated by a downgrade in the running game and a loss of chemistry (Watson has been the first team RT all summer).

Next week will be more telling anyway. If he can't hold his own against average talent, we've got problems.

Yeah it's a sunk cost.   And the reality is that Barbre coming in to LG *really* made a difference for Bolles at LT.   Bolles' whiff on Bosa and the holding penalty and first sack that he gave up in the 1Q/early 2Q were all with Garcia as his LG on the 1st/3rd drives.   Bolles still got beat 2-3 more times but it wasn't an every-down occurrence once Barbre came in.  I don't think it's a coincidence.  Hopefully this becomes REALLY obvious when the film review gets done by the coaches.  

So even if Watson doesn't play great, it's not clear Barbre can A) play RT and more importantly  B) his play at LG is likely just as important for pass protection improvement with Bolles.   Plus as you said and we should recognize we had a functional run game.  Which then made play action possible, the short pass game effective (the DB's weren't jumping routes) and the seam busters available.   Refreshing to see after last year's ineptitude.   

My biggest fear with our T pass pro weakness though is we will get Siemian hurt if we can't improve there.  Siemian, Von (duh), Wolfe, DT, Marshall & Stewart are guys we cannot afford to lose.