Week 16 Gameday: Broncos Locked in @ Raiders?

[broncosfan_101]

Teddy officially out, Lock gets the start. Gonna be objectively hilarious when he puts together a good game and gets a bunch of gomers back on his bandwagon. Can’t wait!

[AKRNA]

1 hour ago, broncosfan_101 said:

Teddy officially out, Lock gets the start. Gonna be objectively hilarious when he puts together a good game and gets a bunch of gomers back on his bandwagon. Can’t wait!

Oh man, I've been thinking that same thing. All I want to know is if Rypien has enough to be a quality backup. The book on Lock has been closed.

[grizmo78]

1 hour ago, broncosfan_101 said:

Teddy officially out, Lock gets the start. Gonna be objectively hilarious when he puts together a good game and gets a bunch of gomers back on his bandwagon. Can’t wait!

I hope he lights it up just for the sake of chaos that would ensue after

[Broncofan]

The way DEN can win:

-Limit Lock's chances for killer TO's - lean on run game, roll him out so he feels less pressure, and pray.  It helps a LOT that LV just lost their D quarterback in the secondary, S Johnathan Abram.   It's a massive downgrade for that secondary.

-Have the D get a push against the Raiders' depleted OL - since the last game, they lost G's Good & Incognito.   

-Easier job in preventing the pass chunk plays (Raiders lead the league in 20+ yard pass plays, but that was built off their 1H by a wide margin) - losing Henry Ruggs and then Darren Waller has made the Raiders O much easier to control.  Which is good, because they absolute torched us with their power run game (pre-IOL injuries) combined with their vertical pass game.

 

The way LV can win:

-Their power run game, with Josh Jacobs, can still give us problems, especially if we lose Kenny Young and Dre'mont Jones still isn't right.

-Darren Waller's return would give a massive boost, if he did come back.  Would change their O entirely.  Without him, the only reliable guy is Hunter Renfrow, and he's a pure possession guy.   Waller not only offers short & long gain threats, but also draws so much attention for everyone else to succeed.

-If the Raiders run D can contain Williams and MG3 enough to force obvious passing downs - their pass rushers Ngakoue & Crosby can really give Bolles & whoever our RT will be absolute fits.    That then increases Lock's TO potential

-As we've seen, our ST & game management are abysmal, bottom-5.   Even though it's an interim HC staff, they still enjoy an advantage here.

If Waller is out and we're TO-neutral, I think we'd actually win.    But if Waller plays, that changes the advantage.  Lose the TO battle, or get behind early - and we've seen the script here.  

The other X-factor - injuries & Covid protocol.    So far, so good, but as we saw with WFT & CLE, it can change things in a hurry.  I'd not expect any changes in the schedule or timing, though - given pushing the games back 2 days resulted in <20 percent of players returning before the 10-day max, and not much changing even with only 1 negative test needed with vaxxed players. 

We're realistically already eliminated given our abysmal 3-6 conference record, but this would seal the deal if we lost to LV.    As always, just looking for the core young guys to keep flashing and learning, no major injuries to them, and the rest is gravy. 

[AKRNA]

55 minutes ago, grizmo78 said:

I hope he lights it up just for the sake of chaos that would ensue after

Has anyone ever told you that you have a bit of an evil sense of humor?

[Nightmare]

8 minutes ago, Broncofan said:

The way DEN can win:

-Have the D get a push against the Raiders' depleted OL - since the last game, they lost G's Good & Incognito.   

-Which is good, because they absolute torched us with their power run game (pre-IOL injuries) combined with their vertical pass game.

Neither Good or Incognito played in our earlier meeting this season. Incognito hasn’t played all year and Good went down very early on (either Week 1 or 2). Add in Leatherwood and James having serious issues and our OL besides Kolton Miller has been awful this year.

I actually have no idea how the power running worked so effectively against you guys last time, as we’ve been dreadful running the ball for the majority of the year apart from that game. This is a long, long way from last year’s OL which had lots of success running against everyone (and in particular the Broncos).

The rest of it is a very fair summary, and I agree that Waller’s availability is crucial for the Raiders. We also project to be very short in the secondary, as in addition to Abram’s recent injury and Mullen already being done for the year, we’ve now got Nate Hobbs and Brandon Facyson on the COVID list. Even if this doesn’t spread further, that’s a very short secondary which Denver’s very good WRs should be able to capitalise on.

I think this is a pick ‘em game and it wouldn’t surprise me to see either team prolonging their mediocre seasons with a win.

[Broncofan]

7 minutes ago, Nightmare said:

Neither Good or Incognito played in our earlier meeting this season. Incognito hasn’t played all year and Good went down very early on (either Week 1 or 2). Add in Leatherwood and James having serious issues and our OL besides Kolton Miller has been awful this year.

I actually have no idea how the power running worked so effectively against you guys last time, as we’ve been dreadful running the ball for the majority of the year apart from that game. This is a long, long way from last year’s OL which had lots of success running against everyone (and in particular the Broncos).

The rest of it is a very fair summary, and I agree that Waller’s availability is crucial for the Raiders. We also project to be very short in the secondary, as in addition to Abram’s recent injury and Mullen already being done for the year, we’ve now got Nate Hobbs and Brandon Facyson on the COVID list. Even if this doesn’t spread further, that’s a very short secondary which Denver’s very good WRs should be able to capitalise on.

I think this is a pick ‘em game and it wouldn’t surprise me to see either team prolonging their mediocre seasons with a win.

Ah gotcha.....October seems so long ago lol.   

 Re: prolonging our season, with a 3-6 conference record, even getting to 6-6 isn't likely getting it done and we're facing LAC & KC next.  I realize you have to face LAC & IND, so it's likely we're both toast....but if the unlikely happened, having a 7-5 conference record gets you a few more favorable matchups (plus beating CLE, PIT, MIA & BAL helps you a ton in direct ties, or multi-way ties).    A W for your team gives you a clear win-out-and-you're-in scenario (as unlikely as it is for both of us).

Edited December 22, 2021 by Broncofan

[Nightmare]

19 minutes ago, Broncofan said:

Ah gotcha.....October seems so long ago lol.    Re: prolonging our season, with a 3-6 conference record, even getting to 6-6 isn't likely getting it done and we're facing LAC & KC next.  I realize you have to face LAC & IND, so it's likely we're both toast....but if the unlikely happened, having a 7-5 conference record gets you a few more favorable matchups (plus beating CLE, PIT, MIA & BAL helps you a ton in direct ties, or multi-way ties).    A W for your team gives you a clear win-out-and-you're-in scenario (as unlikely as it is for both of us).

Yeah, I think the chances of either of us winning out (even factoring in someone winning this game) must be incredibly low.

I suppose there’s still a glimmer of hope for both, but it almost has the feeling of the last two Week 17 matchups between the teams where nothing was on the line other than pride & draft position. Sunday might even come down to a last second 2-point attempt to win it yet again…

[grizmo78]

2 hours ago, AKRNA said:

Has anyone ever told you that you have a bit of an evil sense of humor?

My partner, all the time haha. Why she won’t let me play with her D&D group  

[broncos_fan _from _uk]

Legit question. What happens if Lock balls out the last three weeks? I don’t think that he will, but what if he shows that when he gets actual practice reps he can progress and play ball?

I don’t think that he will, but would those who call his 5 games his rookie season the fluke and not the covid season with no offseason, a new OC, shortened practices, and restrictions on meetings be willing to consider an alternative? 
 

I doubt it. Too many people have internalized their opinion of Lock and tied it to their self perception as a fan to ever admit they were wrong. 
 

I guess the good news is this is most likely a hypothetical lol

[Broncofan]

13 minutes ago, broncos_fan _from _uk said:

Legit question. What happens if Lock balls out the last three weeks? I don’t think that he will, but what if he shows that when he gets actual practice reps he can progress and play ball?

I don’t think that he will, but would those who call his 5 games his rookie season the fluke and not the covid season with no offseason, a new OC, shortened practices, and restrictions on meetings be willing to consider an alternative? 
 

I doubt it. Too many people have internalized their opinion of Lock and tied it to their self perception as a fan to ever admit they were wrong. 
 

I guess the good news is this is most likely a hypothetical lol

Different FO - but remember Tebow won a playoff game and he got ditched as fast as Peyton could sign on the dotted line.    If A-Rod or Wilson become truly available to DEN I don’t think Paton even blinks.   And yes I agree it’s likely a very hypothetical scenario being proposed lol. 

[AKRNA]

2 hours ago, broncos_fan _from _uk said:

Legit question. What happens if Lock balls out the last three weeks? I don’t think that he will, but what if he shows that when he gets actual practice reps he can progress and play ball?

I don’t think that he will, but would those who call his 5 games his rookie season the fluke and not the covid season with no offseason, a new OC, shortened practices, and restrictions on meetings be willing to consider an alternative? 
 

I doubt it. Too many people have internalized their opinion of Lock and tied it to their self perception as a fan to ever admit they were wrong. 
 

I guess the good news is this is most likely a hypothetical lol

What an awful question. C'mon, it's Christmas!

So, 1) if he can increase his completion 10% to around 65%    2)If he can cut his TO's per game to around .3 from his present 1.5

3) If he actually shows an understanding of the game    4) If he actually shows consistency moving the chains,

Aw, you're right, not a chance in hell. I get it, it's a Christmas joke, not a question.

 

[French Fan]

6 hours ago, broncos_fan _from _uk said:

Legit question. What happens if Lock balls out the last three weeks? I don’t think that he will, but what if he shows that when he gets actual practice reps he can progress and play ball?

I don’t think that he will, but would those who call his 5 games his rookie season the fluke and not the covid season with no offseason, a new OC, shortened practices, and restrictions on meetings be willing to consider an alternative? 
 

I doubt it. Too many people have internalized their opinion of Lock and tied it to their self perception as a fan to ever admit they were wrong. 
 

I guess the good news is this is most likely a hypothetical lol

Shurmur and Fangio will send him to the slaughterhouse to confirm that Teddy "3 yds for 7" Bridgewater was the best.
Just the fact that Fangio says TB is our QB makes me nauseous.
I even suspect that at half time Rypien will take his place because we did not win 100 yds while Teddy was worse last week !!

[thebestever6]

6 hours ago, broncos_fan _from _uk said:

Legit question. What happens if Lock balls out the last three weeks? I don’t think that he will, but what if he shows that when he gets actual practice reps he can progress and play ball?

I don’t think that he will, but would those who call his 5 games his rookie season the fluke and not the covid season with no offseason, a new OC, shortened practices, and restrictions on meetings be willing to consider an alternative? 
 

I doubt it. Too many people have internalized their opinion of Lock and tied it to their self perception as a fan to ever admit they were wrong. 
 

I guess the good news is this is most likely a hypothetical lol

I'd imagine it would just increase Locks tradability in the off-season maybe lessons a blow for a qb. There's no way they'd hand him the job next year after trading a 6th for Teddy that virtually wasted a year of Locks development if he did ball out.

 

[bMiller031]

Last week was devastating and I think we see the effects this week.  24-16 LV.  Hoping for good health and continued development of the young core.

 

PS - Chubb getting Pro Bowl alternate is peak stupidity (almost as dumb as Simmons not making the roster outright). A little surprised Jerry Jeudy didn’t make it… his past status on Kiper’s 2020 big board should’ve made him a shoe-in!