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Week 1 GDT: LA Chargers @ Denver Broncos

broncosfan07

By broncosfan07
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jsthomp2007

jsthomp2007

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, Counselor said:

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

Seriously - with CJ, JC, and Henderson in the backfield, does it make Booker expendable (I'd hate to see it, because he is young and showed flashes last year)?  If you need another back you could always pick up Ridley (he is the guy I want on short yardage and goal line anyway)  But, in order to receive you have to give, and the Giants really need RB and we need a RT...wonder if something could be had there? 

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iLikeDefense

iLikeDefense

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I really didn't think McCoy was too blame for the sudden change in the 4th. Sure the play calling changed a bit but it was aggressive at times when Siemian hit Virgil on that seam route. McCoy also got a lot of the bad rep in SD for losing those games. To be honest, Rivers isn't innocent from all those melt downs. It comes to turnovers. JC coughed up that ball and the Siemian to fowler pass was a fluke play. If neither of those things happen the score is probably more lopsided.

McCoy as a head coach was underwhelming not due to play calling but due to his staff, being a leader and he was frankly super unlucky.

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thebestever6

thebestever6

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Posted

I just think it's so telling all the average qbs with good oline play looked great Smith, Bradford, Siemian.

It really brings up the question does a good oline make a qb or vise versa.

Heck even look at Dalton he loses his plug and play left tackle since he entered the league, and a top 5 guard and throws 4 ints and has his worst game ever.

Russel Wilson terrible line play and looks bad. I'm sure we can go on and on. 

I think the chargers have the best bookends we will face all year potentially.

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broncos67

broncos67

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, jsthomp2007 said:

Seriously - with CJ, JC, and Henderson in the backfield, does it make Booker expendable (I'd hate to see it, because he is young and showed flashes last year)?  If you need another back you could always pick up Ridley (he is the guy I want on short yardage and goal line anyway)  But, in order to receive you have to give, and the Giants really need RB and we need a RT...wonder if something could be had there? 

Not even a remote chance. Charles is around for one year if he makes it that long.

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Broncofan

Broncofan

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The G-men have one of the worst OL's around.  They aren't trading one to us who would help - he'd be starting on their team if they could.

If they want a RB, they can just get Matt Jones off the WW.   The same reasoning that makes RB's so replaceable is why they get so little in return.   We just picked one off the WW at no cost trade-wise, doubt someone else is going to value our RB's enough to think differently.   Guys like Ridley, Matt Jones, etc. - not earth-changing talents, but serviceable options - are on the street waiting for a call.  Teams don't have to spend to get fill-ins.  Frankly, Elway's best move in the draft was getting any kind of return on Bibbs - a free gift.   But that was when teams were wanting to commit to a guy and develop him - now they'd be coming in late, off the street - not the same set of circumstances. 

Plus, CJ and JC are no locks to play 16 games - a big reason why we signed Jonathan Williams, no doubt.   DeAngelo Henderson may have a bright future, but he's likely nowhere near ready to help in pass protection, and just as prone to the rookie hiccups this year.   The chances we could lose both CJ and JC at some point in time this year are not negligible..I'd actually think it's better than 50-50 that happens, given their mileage and history.

As for acquiring O-linemen, teams are trading 5th rounders for guys who can't even start (Schofield, although he's cheap and young...but only cheap for 1 year, so really puzzling).  That's how bare the OL market is right now.   The time to address the market is early in FA, the pickings are going to be mega slim now with injuries decimating team depth across the league.

As @BroncoBruin mentioned last night - we've invested an entire offseason with Watson as the starting RT - we'd lose all the chemistry with Leary, and the cohesion in run blocking.   We probably just need to assign more help to him, and live with it this year.   If he improves, great.   If not, well at least we can walk away after 1 year,  no lost 2018 $. 

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champ11

champ11

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1 minute ago, iLikeDefense said:

I would like to see Siemian getting rid of the ball and not taking bad sacks. I did think he moved around the pocket better and is still poised for the most part. If he could just throw it away or just take a 5 yard sack rather than a 10+ sack, I am fine with that.

Yeah, our tackles got killed right before that missed FG....but Siemian could have done a lot better there. 

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Scoundrel

Scoundrel

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52 minutes ago, Broncofan said:

The G-men have one of the worst OL's around.  They aren't trading one to us who would help - he'd be starting on their team if they could.

If they want a RB, they can just get Matt Jones off the WW.   The same reasoning that makes RB's so replaceable is why they get so little in return.   We just picked one off the WW at no cost trade-wise, doubt someone else is going to value our RB's enough to think differently.   Guys like Ridley, Matt Jones, etc. - not earth-changing talents, but serviceable options - are on the street waiting for a call.  Teams don't have to spend to get fill-ins.  Frankly, Elway's best move in the draft was getting any kind of return on Bibbs - a free gift.   But that was when teams were wanting to commit to a guy and develop him - now they'd be coming in late, off the street - not the same set of circumstances. 

Plus, CJ and JC are no locks to play 16 games - a big reason why we signed Jonathan Williams, no doubt.   DeAngelo Henderson may have a bright future, but he's likely nowhere near ready to help in pass protection, and just as prone to the rookie hiccups this year.   The chances we could lose both CJ and JC at some point in time this year are not negligible..I'd actually think it's better than 50-50 that happens, given their mileage and history.

As for acquiring O-linemen, teams are trading 5th rounders for guys who can't even start (Schofield, although he's cheap and young...but only cheap for 1 year, so really puzzling).  That's how bare the OL market is right now.   The time to address the market is early in FA, the pickings are going to be mega slim now with injuries decimating team depth across the league.

As @BroncoBruin mentioned last night - we've invested an entire offseason with Watson as the starting RT - we'd lose all the chemistry with Leary, and the cohesion in run blocking.   We probably just need to assign more help to him, and live with it this year.   If he improves, great.   If not, well at least we can walk away after 1 year,  no lost 2018 $. 

Do you mean Sambrailo? You keep saying Schofield was traded...

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thebestever6

thebestever6

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8 hours ago, Broncofan said:

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. 

excellent analysis extremely well done.

 

Right now going forward rt is our biggest issue.

And for as good as the oline is supposed to be at run blocking you have to close games out when they know you're running the ball.

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champ11

champ11

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Posted
15 minutes ago, Broncofan said:

Up until 3 am...need coffee.  Yes Ty.  Already trying to erase him from the memory books lol. 

Yeah I was up till 2 recording the pod. My co-host ended up being kinda drunk but we still delivered that heat lol 

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