Broncos Film Review - 2020 Season

[lomaxgrUK]

10 minutes ago, Broncofan said:

Man, I feel like the Forums should chip in for a case of your favorite drink for slogging through this game.

Do you know what is crazy? The game was 13-6 with 8 mins left in the 3rd and the Raiders at their own 30 yard line. 7 mins later, it's 20-6 at the end of the 3rd and they have broken the will of our Defense.

For anyone who has a subscription to the Athletic - Ted Nguyen, an awesome writer, did his analysis of some plays from the game and it gave me great joy to see his analysis was similar to my own, albeit with far better terminology and graphics.

[BullsandBroncos]

Drew Lock has completed 31.7% of his passes when under pressure this year which puts him in the same class as Trubisky and Haskins. Quite telling if you ask me. I guess benching him would make no sense besides maybe a reality check like what Elway got his rookie year. He's going to need a historic turnaround to make the FO not bring in a vet or high draft pick I think. 

[lomaxgrUK]

I only watched the 4th quarter until Booker's TD run to make it a 3 TD lead. Prior to that, with the scored at 20-6, this is a play I wanted to highlight.

 

Drew is locked onto Patrick (to the boundary) the whole way. Now, can you see how the Raiders LCB (Mullens I think) is playing this? He's sat down the entire way and doesn't turn when Patrick gets on him.
He couldn't make it any more obvious he's in zone coverage. It's your a-typical Tampa 2 defense. Drew HAS to know that if Mullens is playing a shallow zone like that, he's got help over the top. 
But, this is the PERFECT Tampa 2 call by Shurmur. Look at Fant streaking down the seam. It basically means that the FS (Harris, #25) has to find a way to stay on top of both Patrick and Fant.
Drew CLEARLY spots Harris over Patrick, hence why he doesn't pull the trigger. But WHY ON EARTH does he not go to Fant after this? It's a TD. That. Is. A. Touchdown. 
Pause the clip at 4 seconds. Harris has turned his hips entirely to Patrick. He is no longer covering Fant. This isn't a case of where we are picking out a random player on the field saying, "look he's wide open!!"
This entire play call is a Tampa 2 beater. Patrick is the #1 read, if that isn't there, look EVER SO SLIGHTLY to the left for your #2 read who is all alone for a TD.
Honestly, there have been worrying plays from Drew, but this may well top the lot. It would've been bad enough if he threw the ball to Patrick, but it's even worse that HE DIAGNOSES THE SAFETY OVER THE TOP, but still can't mentally process that he now has his TE in the seam wide open.
I despair. 

Edited November 20, 2020 by lomaxgrUK

[Joe_is_the_best]

Well, that’s not a great look. 

[AKRNA]

Great play selection and analysis. IMO it points out the obvious, Drew, mentally is a long way from being an NFL QB. Continuing to play him won't do he or the team any good. 

I wasn't a fan of the Shurmer hire, basically because I wanted a bit of consistency. That said, I don't really have a problem with him as OC, or the variation of the WCO he runs. The problem is, Drew doesn't understand it and can't implement it. 

I'd sit him for the next three weeks, give him a clipboard and have him in Shurmers hip pocket for those games. Call it recuperation, whatever. Let Rypien run the show, he at least seems to have a pretty good mental grasp of the game. Then re evaluate after three games. 

Right now, no amount of repetitions will improve Lock. Until he can play pre-snap, read defenses, audible out of bad calls, change line calls, etc. his presence on the field does no one any good, least of all him.

[grizmo78]

4 hours ago, AKRNA said:

Great play selection and analysis. IMO it points out the obvious, Drew, mentally is a long way from being an NFL QB. Continuing to play him won't do he or the team any good. 

I wasn't a fan of the Shurmer hire, basically because I wanted a bit of consistency. That said, I don't really have a problem with him as OC, or the variation of the WCO he runs. The problem is, Drew doesn't understand it and can't implement it. 

I'd sit him for the next three weeks, give him a clipboard and have him in Shurmers hip pocket for those games. Call it recuperation, whatever. Let Rypien run the show, he at least seems to have a pretty good mental grasp of the game. Then re evaluate after three games. 

Right now, no amount of repetitions will improve Lock. Until he can play pre-snap, read defenses, audible out of bad calls, change line calls, etc. his presence on the field does no one any good, least of all him.

I've toed the line of play him, don't play him for a bit now. I agree he needs reps and practice to get better but most importantly, those need to be successful/productive reps. It doesn't help for him to go out there and develop bad habits. He's injured right now and whether he can technically go or not isnt important. Controversial i know, but I wish we would actually pull a Warner/Leinart situation and give Lock a smaller bit of the playbook to study, specific things to look for in the defense and ease him back in that way. Progressively adding to his plate and putting him in a position to master concepts through that progression is his best chance at success. 

While Shurmer hasn't been amazing, and definitely has faults of not tailoring his offense to maximize Lock's strengths, we have seen through Lomax's reviews that there are plenty of opportunities of free receivers coming open. If Lock could hit those more consistently it would open up our whole offense, including our running game. I didn't watch the all-22 but as Lomax alluded to, it seems the Raiders had 8-9 man boxes and forced Lock to beat them. That's not a situation you want to run under unless lock correctly identifies a numbers game on a certain side which he obviously can't do (yet?). 

I think it's fair to say we're all most disappointed because thus far he has been our closest option of a franchise quarterback based on raw throwing talent and leadership qualities. Unfortunately, despite 4 years of starting in the SEC and 1.5 years with NFL coaching, his nfl IQ isn't there and needs serious attention. Needless to say, we're all rooting for him, but increasingly pessimistic about him proving us wrong.

Edited November 20, 2020 by grizmo78

[AKRNA]

So, @lomaxgrUK, just wondering about an overall impression from Anderson's debut. 

[lomaxgrUK]

1 hour ago, AKRNA said:

So, @lomaxgrUK, just wondering about an overall impression from Anderson's debut. 

Played ok. Had a couple of mental blips, especially vs disguised blitzes on 3rd and long, but he was better than I expected.

Dotson will get his place back, but I think he's an upgrade on Wilkinson.

[AKRNA]

37 minutes ago, lomaxgrUK said:

Played ok. Had a couple of mental blips, especially vs disguised blitzes on 3rd and long, but he was better than I expected.

Dotson will get his place back, but I think he's an upgrade on Wilkinson.

Thanks, that's kinda the impression I had but I only watched a little over a quarter.

[BullsandBroncos]

23 hours ago, AKRNA said:

Thanks, that's kinda the impression I had but I only watched a little over a quarter.

Yeah same. If they put Wilkinson in for Dotson, I will fly to Denver and scissor kick Munchak in the face.

[Joe_is_the_best]

To me, Lock was much more comfortable in the pocket & was actually stepping up. Interested to see what shows up on the all-22.

[lomaxgrUK]

some 1st quarter notes

- 1st play of the game, Chubb shows explosion I don't think I have seen from him all year. He times the snap count and he gets such a clean win inside that he's able to still contain when Tua moves to the left. Shame he misses the tackle, but that is so promising.
Dolphins have two deep, outside stop and go routes. Tua picks the wrong one - Grant is quicker than Parker, but the former doesn't separate really and it would've taken a perfect throw to complete.
Bouye, however, bites hard on Parker's stop and go, and is in a pretty significant trail position. 

 

- Starting DTs in our Nickel are Jones and Walker again. No double teams by the Dolphins on an inside shotgun run. Interior OL go straight to the 2nd level. Johnson beats his 2nd level block well, forces the run to bump, and Reed/Jones are there to mop up for a 3 yard gain
- In our 'big' Dime package on 3rd and 7 we bring in Holder (#33). Interesting. Clearly we don't fancy Ojemudia inside and also Duke Dawson has been dropped from that role given his poor performance vs the Raiders.
Below is our 3rd down pass rush. Clear emphasis on forcing Tua to step up rather than sideways. Again, Chubb gets a great rush with his favoured 'one arm' to the chest. Pause at 2 seconds and look at Chubb's leverage - perfect. Low, and one arm extended. How many of you know that your reach is longer with one arm outstretched rather than two? Well, those inches matter in the NFL and that is why pass rushers use one arm when getting into the chest of the OL.
Good play by Jones to keep his eyes in the backfield to mop up, forcing an errant throw by Tua. 

 

 

- 1st and 10 for us on our first possession. The run is supposed to go in the A gap between Cush and Risner. It's not there because Cush is being controlled at the LOS by Davis. Risner actually pancakes his guy. You can tell by the way Dotson is walling off at the 2nd level that it's going to the left. 
Ultimately, it can't go left because of Cush being controlled and then when Phil cuts it back the DB is there because of Jeudy's awful block (don't like that effort on the 1st play of the game)

- We try the deep shot to Jeudy on the outside vs Cover 1 on 2nd down. No dice. Not much separation, and the throw is way too long
- 3rd and 10 is the Lock INT. You can tell by the bunched alignment alignment to the left that we are anticipating man coverage. The idea is that the man cover DBs get lost in the traffic vs the bunch alignment, and you will get 'levels' concepts, i.e 3 routes will go to 3 different levels of the Defense.
Problem is, it's zone coverage. Despite all the fuddy duddy stuff presnap, Dolphins send 4 and it's Cover 3. Our playcall is a bad matchup vs Cover 3 (7 in deep zone) and you're relying on the levels depth being perfect to fit in the wholes in the zone. They aren't. The only option here for Drew is to either buy time and playing backyard ball, or, the percentage play which is to dump it down to your (wide open) RB.
The throw Drew makes is appalling. It isn't there at all. He's off balance, moving away from the destination of the throw. Just dump it down and live to fight another day. Pass pro is decent. Drew has a hole to step up into, but he drifts left. Cush - go find some work young fella.

 

- What an absolute joke of a call against Bouye for holding that saw a Simmons INT brought back. Unacceptable officiating
- Sly Williams in for Walker in our Nickel on early downs
- Chubb goes inside again on 1st down, but it's a run this time and he loses contain. Easy 7 yards, good form tackle by Callahan in space
- This is excellent from Sly. Splits the double team and forces the RB to bounce it. Would have liked to see Jewell play it more aggressively. He was far too easy to block on this play

 

- The TD throw from Tua to Parker is perfect. Back shoulder fade right at the touchline. Pretty much impossible to stop

- 1st down Broncos. Don't like this cut from Gordon at all. Dotson has peeled really well to the 2nd level. Glasgow buries his man, but Gordon jump cuts from the right B gap to the left A gap where there is an unblocked DB. There is a definite crease if he stays in the right B gap. Just hit the hole hard - stop the messing around

- Anyone care to explain what Tim Patrick is doing here??? I sure hope he got chewed out for that. He just stopped for absolutely no reason ... Great pass pro. Ogbah wins the hand duel with Bolles, but Garrett doesn't panic and manages to keep himself in front of Ogbah for more than long enough. Ogbah has been one of the best in the league this year - can't wait to watch this one play out

- 3rd and 9, another poor protection call. A common theme this year. Risneris blocking nobody, yet Gordon is having to come across the face of the QB to pick up someone. Clearly, that is a problem. 5 rushers, 5 Lineman. 1 man each. How many times are we going to get undone by this sort of thing? 
Jeudy is wide *** open on the middle tier crosser. You could argue that Drew should try stepping up vertically, but the LB just smashes into Gordon right up the gut, and the chances are Drew is getting smacked if he tries going vertical. 
Perfect playcall, ruined by OL protection call (again).

- 2nd and 6 for the Dolphins on their 30 yard line. Not seen us do this before during this season. It's a 5 - 1 alignment basically. We bring Bassey in for Johnson vs 11 personnel (3 WR, 1 TE, 1 RB). We are heavy up front, but light on the back end. 
It's play action and Bouye gets smoked by Parker on the crosser. Tua puts too much on it and it is incomplete.
- 3rd and 6 it's Jewell who comes out this time. Fins go trips to the right (3 WRs), TE and RB to the left. We are in man coverage so there is a matchup within the trips that Tua should like. We bring in Holder again, who's lined up over one of the trips WRs, which means a Safety on a WR for the Fins. I mentioned before - trips means a levels concept from the Offense, and they are hoping for traffic for the man coverage.
Instead, it's a coverage bust by us. Holder switches off his guy to cover the crosser but Bouye doesn't come off the same guy. It leaves a wideeeee open Parker on the corner route. 
I really don't know why Tua doesn't throw the ball. He looks as if he's looking at Parker; it must be the crossers underneath he was looking at. Big time miss from him, lucky escape for us.
Not much of a rush from us, given we sent 5. Phins punt it

 

- 1st and 10 PA bootleg from us. The Phins come out in a 4-4 alignment vs our 3 TE, 1 WR, 1 RB look. The play is dead before it begins. The Phins have too many men in the box for the PA to work. The WILB just sits on the play side of the formation and waits for Lock to roll back to him, and there is nobody there to block him because it's a naked bootleg. Fumagali is supposed to be coming under the play action, but he has to stop and block the DT who got between Glasgow and Dotson. Incomplete.
- Sometimes Drew needs to work lo-hi instead of hi-lo with his reads. I get the deep shot vs Cover 1 is a play most QBs like to take a shot. The Safety can't help so it's always 1v1. But it's tight coverage against their best CB, and you have a wide open Fant on the same side of the field for an easy 5 yards, minimum.  Just take the 5 yards man.
Really good anchor from Cush on this. Awesome rep.

- Really good anticipation throw by Drew on 3rd and 9. Phins send 5, and we get 1v1 across the board (Fant chips the LE for Dotson). Bolles and Risner don't feel the T / E stunt, and Ogbah ends up coming free right down broadway. Drew stands in and throws a 23 yard laser down the middle to Hamler who hasn't separated, to be honest. The key here is WHEN Drew releases the ball. The ball is coming out before Hamler even slows for his release. That is awesome. Basically, that throw is unstoppable in 1v1 coverage. Great stuff.

 

 

[bMiller031]

4 hours ago, lomaxgrUK said:

Phil cuts it back the DB is there because of Jeudy's awful block (don't like that effort on the 1st play of the game)

Is this a worrying trend w/ Jeudy?  Or a just a few sparse outliers?

[lomaxgrUK]

9 hours ago, bMiller031 said:

Is this a worrying trend w/ Jeudy?  Or a just a few sparse outliers?

It's certainly not the first example. Tim Patrick is honestly one of the best blocking WRs in the NFL. I don't talk about it enough. Jerry should learn a thing or two.

Nick Saban WRs aren't normally low effort blockers, so maybe I am overthinking it.

[lomaxgrUK]

Some more 1st quarter notes

- 2nd and 8 Broncos on their own 42, 6.30 mins left in the 1st. It's that first Lindsay burst for a 1st down. This is certainly a new wrinkle. It's Cush who comes on the pull and gets straight to the 2nd level. It's a very well executed play. Great second level block by Fant (put some respect on his name @French Fan), Glasgow and Risner wall off the back side pursuit, Dotson cuts off the playside DE and Cush recognises he can get to the DB. 
Good vision by Phil in the hole to read Fant's block and go outside rather than inside. 

 

- ...... and two penalties later, we are in 1st and 20
- This isn't a good decision by Phil. It's a designed inside run, despite the fact it's a toss play. Cush is definitely being controlled again by Davis inside. That said, Phil has to hit that up in the middle. Both the left and right A gap offer some positive yards. The bounce outside is a really bad decision and it goes for a loss

 

- Like the WR screen call for 6, but should have done this on 1st down
- 3rd and 14 on the Dolphins 40, it's a QB scramble for a 1st. I really liked this play live, because Drew goes VERTICAL with his scramble, not sideways. Now, Drew probably could have settled down once he stepped up, but he was decisive and he went for it. It's awful from #33 of the Dolphins. He's in QB spy and he still doesn't make the play after he just runs straight into Melvin Gordon.

- We haven't ran the ball well at all this year from under Center but we do here. Great execution by Glasgow and Dotson, as the latter peels to the 2nd level from the initial double team. Fumagali, who lines up like a FB, gets a great kick out block and Hamilton is banging too at the 2nd level. Gordon gets straight in there, no messing. Awesome run
 

- Then, we go play action with a very similar looking alignment. Van Noy gets caught looking in the backfield, and a simple dump off to Vannett goes right down to the 1.
- Key block on the TD run is Glasgow. His man is aligned to the left of him, but Glasgow has to wall him off from the middle of the formation. Glasgow flips his hips excellently to prevent his man from being able to cover the A gap. Lovely

 

- Dolphins 1st and 10 from our base 3-4, we drop Reed and Chubb but blitz Jewell. It's great design. Agim and D Williams run wide and BOTH draw double teams, leaving a widddde open hole for Jewell to blitz through. The RB makes contact but Jewell gets through it for the pressure. Incomplete pass to Grant, good coverage by Bouye
- Sack on 2nd down. It's the 2nd time we have brought Bassey on a blitz in early downs. Reed tries to give Bassey a free lane by rushing inside but the RT reads it. However, the RG doesn't feel Reed coming inside at all so when the RT passes Reed on, he's free to go get Tua. 
Chubb will be gutted that he slipped, as he had the LT on skates again with that 'one handed lean stab' (that is my name for it now)

 

- 3rd and 18 is just a dump off. Punt