Chargers
at Broncos: Breakdown and Breakdown
Before the week 6 bye the Broncos welcomed a reeling San
Diego squad to John Denver Memorial Field Sponsored Quite Generously by Invesco
at Mile High Stadium.� The Broncos, adding
to their reputation as one of the league�s more gracious hosts over the last 8
games (2-6), catered to their guests, giving them a 38-point victory and center
Tom Nalen�s bicep as a fond reminder of their visit.� Some fans that remained during the blowout chanted for the
Colorado Rockies hoping they would light up the scoreboard a little more than
their previously beloved football team.
Broncos
Offense
Their drive results for the afternoon against the Chargers
show a roll call of futility � punt, fumble, punt, field goal, interception,
punt, and turnover on downs for their final 3
drives.� And this excludes the
fumbled kickoff that San Diego returned for a touchdown to take a 14-point
lead.
For the afternoon Mike Shanahan�s genius enhanced schemes
guided the Broncos into the red zone three times � sort of.�
-
The first trip didn�t result in any plays actually being run
from inside the 20 when wideout Brandon Marshall dulled the shine of a 26 yard
pass play to the Chargers� 9 by fumbling.�
San Diego then drove the ball 83 yards over the next 7 minutes, adding a
FG to steal a 17-0 lead from the jaws of (possibly) a one touchdown game.� WE ARE�MARSHALL!!!
-
The Broncos last red zone trip started at the Chargers� 22
yard line thanks to a blocked punt so reaching the red zone didn�t require the return
of John Elway or even Craig Morton.� Down
by 31 points at the time and becoming skilled at failure, the Broncos completed
a 2-yard pass on 4th and 4, giving the ball back to the visitors.
-
Sandwiched in between, not long before half time, Jason Elam
knocked in a chip shot FG for Denver�s only somewhat successful venture inside
the 20.� Settling for 3-pointers in the
red zone has been an issue this year overall for the Broncs� offense as they�ve
only scored TD�s on 7 out of 16 trips, 21st in the NFL.
In this game field position contributed significantly to the
pummeling.�
-
Denver started 7 of 9 drives at or inside their own 25 yard
line.�
-
Field position has been a problem for the entire season as
their average start position is around their own 25 yard line.� For comparison, the Steelers begin their
drives at almost the 33 yard line.
Since the Den/SD game was essentially over 5 minutes into
the 3rd quarter when San Diego extended their lead to 27-3, judging
anyone�s performance from this game is difficult based on the adverse
circumstances.�
-
In a closer game Denver would have totaled more than 20
carries.� Everyone�s Baby Daddy Travis
Henry finished with 16 for 65 yards, with 10 for 48 before the game was out of
hand.
-
Jay Cutler is still being coddled by Shanahan through the
play calling.� 25 of Cutler�s 36 pass
attempts were within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage.� Taking more chances seems appropriate when you�re trailing by at least 2 TD�s for
over 3 quarters, doesn�t it Shanarat?
-
Conversely only 4 throws exceeded 20 yards with two being
completed, one of those resulting in the Marshall fumble.
-
Javon Walker missed this game thanks to a bad knee, typical
of this talented injury-waiting-to-happen.�
The Chargers were allowed to focus solely on Marshall as the deep threat
which may have contributed to the sissyfication of the game plan and any
in-game adjustments.� Walker is expected to play against the
Steelers.� Ike Taylor should remember
him from last year.�
-
-
Brandon Stokley, known most recently for his great play at
slot receiver in Indy, replaced Javon Walker.�
Stokley did not play in the slot this day, caught one pass, and was
injured, leaving the stage set for�
-
Glenn Martinez, who escaped to the U.S. and found his way
onto the Broncos� roster, was allowed to run around underneath, catching 6 for
70.� Cutler and Martinez actually
clicked, combining for 5 first downs with 4 coming on third down.
-
Daniel Graham gets paid the most amongst Denver�s TE crew,
but Tony Scheffler pulled in 2 passes for 18 and 19 yards respectively.� This again may have been a result of the
game situation�the Chargers totally ignoring a 3rd string white guy
running down the field.� As a group
Denver�s tight ends have 15 catches and 1 TD over the first 5 games.
-
Third down conversions didn�t contribute to the loss to the
Chargers as the Broncos converted 6 of 13, a respectable 46%.� For the season the Broncos rank 7th
in the league on third downs.� Not bad
for a team that barely garnered two wins.
-
When faced with 3rd and 5 or more, Denver
operated exclusively from the shotgun.
-
Judging Denver�s O-line play in this game became dicey once
things quickly slipped out of control.�
On the positive side they only allowed one sack to Merriman and Company
and gave Henry enough room to gain over 4 yards per carry in the first half.� But the lopsided score allowed San Diego to
sit back in extra defensive back sets, daring Cutler to make big plays.� Instead he took quick drops and settled for
passes in the short zones.� Shanahan�s
bread and butter, zone blocking, loses its effectiveness when the score takes
away the run game.
-
As mentioned earlier center Tom Nalen was lost for the
season with a torn bicep.� Big advantage
Steelers, whether it�s Hampton or Hoke on the nose.
-
It is not known if Travis Henry impregnated anyone during or
after the game to add to his total of 9 children to 9 women in 4 different
states.� He holds the highest score for active
athletes in my fantasy illegitimate children league.
-
The Mile High Misfits gain enough yardage to rank 5th
in the league.� Their major issue is
that drives stall when Cutler fails in the red zone and they come away with 3�s
instead of 6�s.� Their 15 points per
game slots them at 27th in the league.
Broncos
Defense
Champ Bailey gets all of the press for being one of the top
one-on-one corners in the NFL.� The
Chargers played it smart, ignored Bailey, and took the Broncos front 7 to the
glue factory like the rest of the league.�
Why bother passing against this undersized bunch of patsies?� Their high point came against the pathetic Bills
in week 1, allowing 112 yards.� Since
then opponents have torn the turf for totals of 200, 186, 226 and finally 214
to Tomlinson and Turner.
-
The ever popular microcosm of Denver�s 2007 defensive season
occurred immediately after Elam brought them within two TD�s with only 1:15
remaining in the first half.� San Diego
ran Tomlinson twice up the middle appearing content to run out the clock.� Michael Turner entered the game and promptly
took the next carry off the right side for 49 yards to Denver�s 17 setting the
Chargers up for a gift wrapped field goal as the first half ended.
-
Denver also had trouble handling screens and check
downs.� Granted, the Chargers have the
two best receivers in the NFL (Gates, Tomlinson) in these situations.� L.T. benefited on this day turning short
tosses into gains of 36 and 29 yards.
-
For the game Denver allowed 8 plays to gain over 20 yards, 3
of those went for 40+.
-
Safety John Lynch sees a lot of endorsement paychecks but he
misses receivers. �He�s not helping the
run defense + he stinks in the deep middle = spend the fall and winter with
your wife and kids.
-
Rivers was allowed to step into his throws thanks to
absolutely no pressure from the front 7.�
Zero sacks for the game and less than a handful of hurries.� For the year the Broncos have recorded only
9 sacks placing them tied for 20th overall.
-
In accordance with their Mile High hospitality policy they
chose not to play take away either, putting them at -3 in turnovers for the
game and -5 for the year so far.
-
In probably the only defense you can make for this crew,
Bailey injured his quad in the 2nd quarter.� Yeah, that�s why they lost by more than 5
touchdowns.
-
Denver complements the worst run defense with the number 1
pass defense, but that�s determined by yardage allowed.� Opposing quarterbacks have a rating of 96.2
which puts them at 5th worst overall.� That screams for patience in the passing game�and to stick with
running the ball versus the blue and orange sieve.
Special
Teams
Not to be forgotten, the last third of the three keys to a
team�s success got in the act in week 5, fumbling a kickoff after the Chargers
first score.� Brandon Siler took the
ball out of the air and into the end zone for a quick 14-point Charger lead.
-
The Broncos did block a punt in the game which will probably
be the only highlight their editors can put on the team film at the end of
�07.� Of course the offense could do
nothing with the ball at San Diego�s 22 yard line.
-
The return teams did nothing to help field position.� They haven�t yet this year, ranking 20th
and 26th on kickoff and punt returns, respectively.
-
While San Diego did little damage in the return game Denver
is open to such miscues as their kickoff coverage unit sits at 22nd
and against punt returns they�re 31st and have allowed a TD.� Sound familiar?
Intangibles
-
The Orange Mush doesn�t appear to have the tackling ability,
size, strength, and most importantly the heart to play with upper echelon
teams.� They get down, they seem to hang
their heads and quit, and the fans show their disapproval.� This could turn into a Steeler Nation home
game.
-
Denver is 2 field goals away from being winless.
-
The Broncos can�t play this bad again (can they?) and their
season is on the brink against the Steelers.�
Expect their best effort of 2007�at least in the first half.
-
Every important piece of a football team points to a Steeler
win which is troublesome.� It�s tough to
accept the obvious sometimes.
Score
Steelers 26 Broncos 13