The Broncos have made their fans proud, at least for this week. They went into a hostile environment and pulled out a very solid victory against division rival Kansas City. While the Broncos historically have not played very well at Arrowhead, this past Sunday they played some of their best football of the season, especially defensively. That does not mean as much as it has in past seasons, but it is good to see the improvement.
The first half wasn't exactly a barn-burner. Despite numerous early mistakes, 6 penalties in the 1st quarter and a blocked punt for a safety, the Broncos were still in the game with an 8 to 6 Kansas City lead at the end of two. It was the opportunistic defense that opened it up in the 3rd quarter with 14 points coming off forced turnovers. Huard was injured in the 3rd quarter after Elvis Dumervil dropped the hammer on a hard sack and forced a fumble. Nate Webster scooped up the lose ball and brought it 20 yards for 6. The defense didn't give up any big plays and stiffened up in the red zone not allowing a single Kansas City touchdown. The Broncos put the game out of reach by driving 57 yards for a touchdown in the 4th quarter. Baily intercepted a Brodie Croyle pass in the middle of the 4th quarter to finish it off.
Defense
Overall we played a very good defensive game. However it is difficult to assess whether our defense looked good due to significantly improved play or because the Kansas City offense is so pitiful, especially without Larry Johnson. So while we did play well, let's keep in mind we still have a long ways to go defensively. The Broncos held KC to only 67 yards rushing for a 3 yard average. This is the actual number of total rushing yards, I know it is hard to believe with this Broncos rush defense. We continued to stack 8 in the box to stop the run, only this time it actually worked. Kansas City passed for 217 yards on 23 completions, but attempted 45 passes completing just over 50%. The secondary's coverage was quite good and allowed a very low 4.8 yards per pass.
What a difference a week makes. The D-Line played much better. They held the line of attack and did get some pressure on the QB. Elvis Dumervil is an animal, all he does is make plays. He leads the Broncos in sacks and plays hard on every single play. Teams have started keying on him in pass protection and he still continues to get pressure. His outside speed rush beat LT Terry and crushed Huard for a sack and a fumble. That play created 7 Broncos points and 2 TD within 9 seconds, after the first half saw only 13 combined total points. For KC struggling offense, this put the game almost out of reach. Rookie DE Tim Crowder also played well with 3 tackles and 2 sacks. Jim Bates must have seen the error of his ways and placed Crowder back in the rotation at DE. Bates had been playing Crowder out of place as a DT in passing situations, a position he has never played and does not fit. The other D Lineman didn't light up the highlight reel but did consistently play their role and that is all that is required in our defensive scheme.
The linebackers put on a clinic against the Chiefs. They played extremely well as a group. DJ Williams played well again with 7 tackles and was all over the field. He has a nose for the ball and was flying around. Ian Gold finally awoke from his slumber and started to play like we are use to seeing. Gold was chasing down players from the back-side and providing good pass coverage. He had 6 tackles and a sack on a linebacker blitz. Nate Webster also played well, finishing the game with 5 tackles and a 20 yard fumble recovery for a TD. The linebackers are finally attacking the ball inside-out and maintaining their lane integrity and gap responsibility.
When the Broncos can stop the run our secondary is nearly impenetrable. Our starting CB tandem Bly and Bailey both had interceptions in addition to the 5 tackles for Bly and 3 tackles for Bailey. Dre' Bly was matched up against Tony Gonzalez quite a bit during the game and played well against KC. John Lynch did not play, missing his 3rd game this year. Jim Bates made some personnel adjustments at the safety position after having issues there during the first half of the year. Foxworth, who typically plays the nickel corner, played the free safety position replacing Lynch. Foxworth dropped an interception early in the game and had 3 tackles, playing an overall solid game. As good as those 3 were, the best player in the secondary was Hamza Abdullah the 3rd year player out of Washington State. He started at strong safety replacing Nick Ferguson, a change that I feel was long over due. Ferguson had not been playing well in pass coverage and is simply too old (32 years) and slow to play safety in the NFL anymore. Abdullah was all over the field making hits and flying to the ball. He lead the team with 8 total tackles, all solo. He typically played in the box as the 8th man and played very well against the run. Abdullah should start at the strong safety position for the rest of the year. Even the nickel and dime corners played well. Karl Paymah, the nickel corner, had an interception and 3 tackles.
For once I'm really proud of how the defense played against the Chiefs. They played well against the run with 8 in the box and created opportunities on defense (3 INT, 4 Sacks, 1 Fumble, 1 TD). Most importantly they started to bring the wood, they were hitting people and setting the tone physically.
Offense
The offense came out strong by scoring a field goal on our first drive and was able to move the ball against a strong Kansas City defense. Cutler showed a lot of toughness by fighting through his leg injury and playing the entire game. He didn't light it up, but was productive we he needed to be. Cutler passed 29 times and had 17 completions for 192 yards and rushed for 21 yards. He made an early mistake by throwing a pick that resulted in a Kansas City field goal. When he is behind center our offense is potent and well balanced.
The best player on offense was not Jay Cutler, it was the undrafted rookie Selvin Young. This kid is good. Period. He has great vision, explosive speed, and tremendous acceleration. He has the ability to turn a typical 4 yard gain into a 30 yard burst up-field. His ablity to gain ground on the run opened up the Broncos offense and allowed it to get into a rhythm. Young ended the day with 20 rushes for 109 yards 1TD and 3 catches for 20 yards. His 5.5 yards per rush put the Broncos into a lot of 2nd and 3rd in short situation. He was even good in pass protection. Young reminds me of a mix between Maurice Jones-Drew and Brian Westbrook. He is the real deal if he can hold on to the ball.
The offensive line did a good job of opening up holes and protecting Cutler in most passing situations. The Chiefs played with 7 men in the box most of the game and the O-line, with the assistance of Selvin Young, made them pay. The Broncos have to be licking their chops anytime a defense decides to play 7 against the run. We played hard-nose Broncos football and ran at the defense. This helped to open up opportunities for the play action pass.
Shanahan made the necessary adjustments and started utilizing his best offensive play-makers. We played a lot of singleback double tight 2 WR sets. This put our best playmakers on the field with Young, Marshall, Stokley, Graham, and Scheffler. The Broncos would often split out Scheffler and get the mismatch with the linebacker in coverage. This package got the TEs some quality looks. Daniel "DG" Graham had 2 catches for 20 yards and TD. Tony Scheffler had 3 catches for 20 yards. Brandon Marshall rebounded nicely from his drop fest in Detroit. He hauled in 6 balls for 85 yards and continued to get the majority of the looks from Cutler. He is still a young player, but he continues to get better.
Special Teams
With the exception of the blocked punt for a safety, the Broncos special teams have improved each week. They have started to swarm and hit on kick-off return and punt return coverage. The special team player of the game was Andre Hall, the back up running back. He had 4 kick-off returns for 103 yards, a 25.8 yard average. Hall also had 2 special team tackles. We need to get stronger on punt protection and Glenn Martinez was not good in the punt return game.
Going Forward
The Broncos are now 2nd in the AFC West with 7 games remaining. I still feel that the we can play competitive football down the stretch. According to Football Outsiders, a site that analyzes football statistics, the Denver Broncos have had the most difficult schedule of any NFL team over first 8 weeks of the season. The Broncos have the 24th most difficult schedule over the next 8 games, including KC. If the Broncos continue to improve, they have a decent chance of winning 5 or 6 games down the stretch. We just need to take it one game at a time and play solid football. At the end of 16, we could be in a good position for a possible playoff berth. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
The first half wasn't exactly a barn-burner. Despite numerous early mistakes, 6 penalties in the 1st quarter and a blocked punt for a safety, the Broncos were still in the game with an 8 to 6 Kansas City lead at the end of two. It was the opportunistic defense that opened it up in the 3rd quarter with 14 points coming off forced turnovers. Huard was injured in the 3rd quarter after Elvis Dumervil dropped the hammer on a hard sack and forced a fumble. Nate Webster scooped up the lose ball and brought it 20 yards for 6. The defense didn't give up any big plays and stiffened up in the red zone not allowing a single Kansas City touchdown. The Broncos put the game out of reach by driving 57 yards for a touchdown in the 4th quarter. Baily intercepted a Brodie Croyle pass in the middle of the 4th quarter to finish it off.
Defense
Overall we played a very good defensive game. However it is difficult to assess whether our defense looked good due to significantly improved play or because the Kansas City offense is so pitiful, especially without Larry Johnson. So while we did play well, let's keep in mind we still have a long ways to go defensively. The Broncos held KC to only 67 yards rushing for a 3 yard average. This is the actual number of total rushing yards, I know it is hard to believe with this Broncos rush defense. We continued to stack 8 in the box to stop the run, only this time it actually worked. Kansas City passed for 217 yards on 23 completions, but attempted 45 passes completing just over 50%. The secondary's coverage was quite good and allowed a very low 4.8 yards per pass.
What a difference a week makes. The D-Line played much better. They held the line of attack and did get some pressure on the QB. Elvis Dumervil is an animal, all he does is make plays. He leads the Broncos in sacks and plays hard on every single play. Teams have started keying on him in pass protection and he still continues to get pressure. His outside speed rush beat LT Terry and crushed Huard for a sack and a fumble. That play created 7 Broncos points and 2 TD within 9 seconds, after the first half saw only 13 combined total points. For KC struggling offense, this put the game almost out of reach. Rookie DE Tim Crowder also played well with 3 tackles and 2 sacks. Jim Bates must have seen the error of his ways and placed Crowder back in the rotation at DE. Bates had been playing Crowder out of place as a DT in passing situations, a position he has never played and does not fit. The other D Lineman didn't light up the highlight reel but did consistently play their role and that is all that is required in our defensive scheme.
The linebackers put on a clinic against the Chiefs. They played extremely well as a group. DJ Williams played well again with 7 tackles and was all over the field. He has a nose for the ball and was flying around. Ian Gold finally awoke from his slumber and started to play like we are use to seeing. Gold was chasing down players from the back-side and providing good pass coverage. He had 6 tackles and a sack on a linebacker blitz. Nate Webster also played well, finishing the game with 5 tackles and a 20 yard fumble recovery for a TD. The linebackers are finally attacking the ball inside-out and maintaining their lane integrity and gap responsibility.
When the Broncos can stop the run our secondary is nearly impenetrable. Our starting CB tandem Bly and Bailey both had interceptions in addition to the 5 tackles for Bly and 3 tackles for Bailey. Dre' Bly was matched up against Tony Gonzalez quite a bit during the game and played well against KC. John Lynch did not play, missing his 3rd game this year. Jim Bates made some personnel adjustments at the safety position after having issues there during the first half of the year. Foxworth, who typically plays the nickel corner, played the free safety position replacing Lynch. Foxworth dropped an interception early in the game and had 3 tackles, playing an overall solid game. As good as those 3 were, the best player in the secondary was Hamza Abdullah the 3rd year player out of Washington State. He started at strong safety replacing Nick Ferguson, a change that I feel was long over due. Ferguson had not been playing well in pass coverage and is simply too old (32 years) and slow to play safety in the NFL anymore. Abdullah was all over the field making hits and flying to the ball. He lead the team with 8 total tackles, all solo. He typically played in the box as the 8th man and played very well against the run. Abdullah should start at the strong safety position for the rest of the year. Even the nickel and dime corners played well. Karl Paymah, the nickel corner, had an interception and 3 tackles.
For once I'm really proud of how the defense played against the Chiefs. They played well against the run with 8 in the box and created opportunities on defense (3 INT, 4 Sacks, 1 Fumble, 1 TD). Most importantly they started to bring the wood, they were hitting people and setting the tone physically.
Offense
The offense came out strong by scoring a field goal on our first drive and was able to move the ball against a strong Kansas City defense. Cutler showed a lot of toughness by fighting through his leg injury and playing the entire game. He didn't light it up, but was productive we he needed to be. Cutler passed 29 times and had 17 completions for 192 yards and rushed for 21 yards. He made an early mistake by throwing a pick that resulted in a Kansas City field goal. When he is behind center our offense is potent and well balanced.
The best player on offense was not Jay Cutler, it was the undrafted rookie Selvin Young. This kid is good. Period. He has great vision, explosive speed, and tremendous acceleration. He has the ability to turn a typical 4 yard gain into a 30 yard burst up-field. His ablity to gain ground on the run opened up the Broncos offense and allowed it to get into a rhythm. Young ended the day with 20 rushes for 109 yards 1TD and 3 catches for 20 yards. His 5.5 yards per rush put the Broncos into a lot of 2nd and 3rd in short situation. He was even good in pass protection. Young reminds me of a mix between Maurice Jones-Drew and Brian Westbrook. He is the real deal if he can hold on to the ball.
The offensive line did a good job of opening up holes and protecting Cutler in most passing situations. The Chiefs played with 7 men in the box most of the game and the O-line, with the assistance of Selvin Young, made them pay. The Broncos have to be licking their chops anytime a defense decides to play 7 against the run. We played hard-nose Broncos football and ran at the defense. This helped to open up opportunities for the play action pass.
Shanahan made the necessary adjustments and started utilizing his best offensive play-makers. We played a lot of singleback double tight 2 WR sets. This put our best playmakers on the field with Young, Marshall, Stokley, Graham, and Scheffler. The Broncos would often split out Scheffler and get the mismatch with the linebacker in coverage. This package got the TEs some quality looks. Daniel "DG" Graham had 2 catches for 20 yards and TD. Tony Scheffler had 3 catches for 20 yards. Brandon Marshall rebounded nicely from his drop fest in Detroit. He hauled in 6 balls for 85 yards and continued to get the majority of the looks from Cutler. He is still a young player, but he continues to get better.
Special Teams
With the exception of the blocked punt for a safety, the Broncos special teams have improved each week. They have started to swarm and hit on kick-off return and punt return coverage. The special team player of the game was Andre Hall, the back up running back. He had 4 kick-off returns for 103 yards, a 25.8 yard average. Hall also had 2 special team tackles. We need to get stronger on punt protection and Glenn Martinez was not good in the punt return game.
Going Forward
The Broncos are now 2nd in the AFC West with 7 games remaining. I still feel that the we can play competitive football down the stretch. According to Football Outsiders, a site that analyzes football statistics, the Denver Broncos have had the most difficult schedule of any NFL team over first 8 weeks of the season. The Broncos have the 24th most difficult schedule over the next 8 games, including KC. If the Broncos continue to improve, they have a decent chance of winning 5 or 6 games down the stretch. We just need to take it one game at a time and play solid football. At the end of 16, we could be in a good position for a possible playoff berth. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
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