Official Game Day Thread: 2021: Week 3 Jets vs Broncos

[beastlyskronk]

There's no misdirection plays, no QB draw when they spread the defense in a wide set, no creativity in the red zone. It's run up the middle or just generic short routes. Not saying everything needs to be razzle dazzle but some creativity from Shurmur would help.

There have been misdirection plays especially against the Jets. They ran the motion sweep draw like 5 times, they ran counter a handful, numerous playaction passes. They even went back to the play they got a TD on with Patrick vs the Giants, only this time it was with Fant and Williams wouldn’t let Teddy keep the ball which resulted in an awkward exchange that took too long and left Williams with no momentum to make a play. There have been a lot of wheel routes across the formation out of playaction.

Shurmur was terrible calling plays last year, this season has been a different story. Sure, there’s some hiccups but that’s going to happen especially when you have some young players playing a lot of snaps this early in the season.

I agree that we won’t continue to win settling for FGs instead of TDs, but I disagree that we’re going to continue settling for FGs. The execution will continue to improve as everyone gets more reps in the system. The run blocking probably won’t drastically improve unless we make some personnel changes, but Shurmur has done a good job mixing up his runs and adjusting to what works. We couldn’t run up the middle on the Giants, we came out in the second half and started hitting the edges and had more success which softened them up for an inside zone that Gordon took all the way. The counter runs we ran against the Jets are the compliment to the inside zone, it looks the same with the TE coming across for a wham block and then Teddy switches it as they get closer to the mesh point, if the defense thinks it’s inside zone they get gashed, if we run inside zone and they think it’s going to be counter they get gashed and even if they guess right, as long as we execute they get gashed. That’s the complimentary play calling that we didn’t have last year. There’s been complimentary plays being called in the passing game too, all those wheel routes by the TEs off the playaction are all set up by the bootlegs that we run and Bridgewater dumps it off to the TE in the flat. Instead of only running deep over, there’s also a deep curl off the same look. It all sounds simple, but that’s because Shurmur is doing a good job of influencing the defense with his play calling and Bridgewater is executing the plays at a very efficient rate.

It may not be Andy Reid, Sean McVay, Kyle Shannahan creative, but it’s a lot more creative than what we’ve been seeing here the last few years. And at the end of the day creative play calling is really just complimentary plays that are successful. No one is creative when they don’t execute, then it becomes the OC getting “too cute”. Handing the ball to Noah Fant is creative, but it wasn’t successful for us so it looked dumb, but Tommy Tremble just scored off a similar play so it gets judged as creative for Tremble whereas it was “too cute” for Fant.

[LordTrychon]

Vic Fangio even said that the red zone issue is a problem.

Teddy said there's room for improvement.

But I guess they're just negative and complaining too.

https://www.nfl.com/news/broncos-lt-...dy-bridgewater

I mean... if they said things like 'I want to be happy with this team but can't' or 'we fail to put them away' after a 26 pt margin of victory, then maybe.

Personally, I don't think you're super negative... I think you're very skeptical of the team given the talent we've faced, and that's perfectly acceptable. Just wanted to point out maybe why you get that response and Teddy and Vic don't.

That said, I did want to look into this a bit further.

Yes, our red zone production can be improved. There will always be areas to improve, and I like having coaches and players that can admit it and identify them and work on them.

NYJ had the 2nd best Red Zone Defense in the league entering the game. Granted, not against Offensive juggernauts (CAR and NE), but still. We still scored more than either of the other teams they faced.

It seemed pretty obvious we were willing to play safe and simple for much of the second half as the game was well in hand. Sure, we all want to put our foot on the throat of our opponents and leave no doubt, but there's something to say about not playing risky or showing all your cards when you don't have to. I don't know enough about Fangio or Shurmer yet to comment intelligently on their tendencies for such things, so I won't pretend to know what they are thinking.

I do know that on our last FG Redzone trip, we ran it three times with Damarea Crockett. (Edit: Even after a false start on Teddy was called, and it was 3rd an 8?)

I also know that our basic offensive rating is middle of the pack (something we all would have been pretty happy with 8 months ago, I think)... 12th in points, and 14th in yards... what this hides is how efficient we are playing.

We are 1st in the league in length of drive in time, 2nd in the league in length of drive in # of plays, 7th in Yds/drive, and 9th in Pts/drive.

Having long time-clock eating drives is part of our goals for our offense. It's a very good way to help contain high-powered, fast striking offensive opponents (something we all agree we have to be prepared for). We're doing that very well. It could be improved... it always can be improved.

I think we would be a bit more aggressive in some of these situations if we didn't already have strong leads or if we weren't in control of the game. But our overall point totals will never match the likes of the Chiefs or whomever, because we don't want to get into fast-strike contests. They can't score as many against us if they're getting the ball fewer times.

That all said... super excited that we're now headed into the meat of our schedule.

I'm prepared for the national media to start to doubt the Ravens when we beat them, rather than to give us credit.

Everyone's threshold for what they want to see to believe in what we're doing is a bit different, and not everybody is going to see it the same way. I think a lot of the teams that we thought were going to be difficult going into this season are going to be struggling more than we expected, and if we continue to win, the national media will still take some time to get on board... and I'm ok with that. I kinda like being a dark-horse/underdog.

[sra84]

Maybe you can elaborate with some specifics on what they are doing wrong? I recall Denver's top 2 RB's both scored a T.D. The ball was thrown to seven different receivers, The Defense was Outstanding. They managed the game as expected, and will continue to surprise the unsuspecting. Go Broncos. Bring on the Dirty Birds.

There's no misdirection plays, no QB draw when they spread the defense in a wide set, no creativity in the red zone. It's run up the middle or just generic short routes. Not saying everything needs to be razzle dazzle but some creativity from Shurmur would help.

[colowoz01]

The point is that they continue to struggle in the red zone. The point is that they don't put teams away. You can get away with that against bad teams but if you don't capitalize on scoring chances, it will eventually cost you.

And I'm not talking about the defense.... it's the offense.

What is so hard to understand?

Maybe you can elaborate with some specifics on what they are doing wrong? I recall Denver's top 2 RB's both scored a T.D. The ball was thrown to seven different receivers, The Defense was Outstanding. They managed the game as expected, and will continue to surprise the unsuspecting. Go Broncos. Bring on the Dirty Birds.

[GMTD]

I want to see more red zone touchdowns and less of McManus kicking field goals.

That's all. This team has to finish more of their drives with touchdowns when they get to the red zone.

And this has been a problem for years.

It has. I blame it on a losing culture. Thankfully that is changing.

[sra84]

Vic Fangio even said that the red zone issue is a problem.

Teddy said there's room for improvement.

But I guess they're just negative and complaining too.

https://www.nfl.com/news/broncos-lt-...dy-bridgewater

[sra84]

You want Teddy to force the ball when they are in control? Points are points when the team is winning. Now if they were losing by 10-14 points, I could see the concern. It’s been a strong 3-0 start despite the competition. Smart pass plays, long drives, and strong defense.

I want to see more red zone touchdowns and less of McManus kicking field goals.

That's all. This team has to finish more of their drives with touchdowns when they get to the red zone.

And this has been a problem for years.

[sra84]

I have seen people on these forums complain all the way up to and during SB50 in 2015. It calmed down for about a week and then complaining started back up a week after winning it all.

Do not let it get to you. People will ALWAYS complain about something. You will notice it is usually the same posters over and over and over.

Make no mistake about it...we have gone from having problems teams have that are struggling to make the playoffs and now people are complaining about problems teams have who are seriously trying to make a deep playoff run.

We are way better than anywhere we been in recent years right now.

It's not complaining to point out areas that need improvement.

It's called analysis.

[sra84]

And Baltimore only scored 19 points and needed a last second FG to beat a lowly Detroit team...a 66 yard FG that bounced off the crossbar and went through to win. They're never going to win doing that against better competition, right?

Who cares about Baltimore? My concern is the Broncos.

[sra84]

Against ... 0? Maybe you missed it but there was a fumble at the goal line and it was NOT by Melvin Gordon. How many points were they supposed to score against a team that scored ZERO!?

The point is that they continue to struggle in the red zone. The point is that they don't put teams away. You can get away with that against bad teams but if you don't capitalize on scoring chances, it will eventually cost you.

And I'm not talking about the defense.... it's the offense.

What is so hard to understand?

[lvbronx]

9 second half points.... that's it....9.

Never going to win like that against better competition.

I want to be happy, I really do, but this team just won't allow it.

Whatever....3-0 and on to Baltimore.

And Baltimore only scored 19 points and needed a last second FG to beat a lowly Detroit team...a 66 yard FG that bounced off the crossbar and went through to win. They're never going to win doing that against better competition, right?

[BroncosIsLife]

Before the season I thought the Ravens were an L. Seeing them play this season I think it's definitely a toss up now that I think Denver has a good chance of coming out on top of. Lamar has been turning the ball over with regularity, we just need to score on any turnovers and control time of possession and I think Denver can win. Denver can beat the Steelers as well. The Browns will be a test (god it sickens me to say that) and depending on how Carr and his TE play, that could be a winnable game too.

I am not a 'yeah but' guy. I am sick of the team losing, so bad teams or not I will take these wins and enjoy them.

[colowoz01]

Electric atmosphere and 3 and 0, I say bring on the ravens. This is a winnable game at home, just another of many more Home games. Bronco Football is back.

Good to have depth, but injuries have effected the team once more.

[L.M.]

"What manner of man are you who catches all the passes thrown to you for 98 yards?"

"I am a receiver."

"By what name are you known?"

"There are some who call me ... Tim."

[gtown53]

[QUOTE=Broncos1963;n8371681]My thoughts:
I'm glad Denver finally gets to play a good team, next week. I don't think Baltimore is great, just good, and the Broncos can win.

It's great to see Von really play. Not just his rush but, even more, his pursuit, tackling, and run defense.

I continue to be a fan of Malik Reed. I hope they sign him.

Players that impressed: Patrick, Gordon, Bolles, Johnson, Reed, McManus.

I wanted Lock to start but Bridgewater has won me over. His choices are better than expected. His leadership is impressive. His throwing is much better than I expected, as well.

Overall: Denver impressively beat teams they should have defeated. They seem united and ready for tougher teams. The injuries stink especially to Juedy, Hamler because of their dynamic ability.

Biggest concern: interior offensive line. I'm not sure the starters or backups are good


The NFL is a "want to win" league. Any team in the NFL, under the right motivational circumstances can beat any other team in the NFL. The talent is pretty evenly dispersed.

This load of guano that says that the Broncos haven't played a decent team, is absurd. The Broncos have played, and defeated 3 NFL teams.

THAT is an achievement. And thank God the coaching staff had the wisdom to move lock, the hero to many Broncos fans, to the back of the bus where many of those "fans" hoped Bridgewater would reside.