Recap: Broncos vs Lions

I had to wait a day to write the Broncos recap after their 44 to 7 loss to the Lions due to the embarrassment and frustration I felt after watching that game. I think Mike Shannahan said it best. "If you play at the level we did, you get embarrassed. I've been embarrassed a couple of times this year. Now, we find out what we're made of."
The Broncos seem to have lost their identity. They use to play physical football, inflicting their will upon the other team by running the ball and dominating the time of possession. This is simply not the Broncos we are used to seeing. There were a few good things and I still think we can play competitive football down the stretch if we fix some of the small things.

Defense

The defensive line has been absolutely horrible, especially the two down tackles. They are getting blown off the ball and man-handled. I have heard a lot of Broncos fans call for the head of Jim Bates, the Broncos new defensive coordinator. While I can agree that we are not good on defense, I do not believe it is his totally his fault. Clearly we have to give the man a chance to implement his system and the players necessary to run it. I do not blame the system, it works in the NFL and Bates has proven that with multiple teams. However, we do not have the personnel to run it effectively and it shows on the field. We are not physical and we give ground on almost every single running play which opens up running lanes. The majority of Denver's problems stem from its weakness upfront. On the Lions first drive 7 of the 11 plays (64%) were rushing plays. Detroit went from their own 11 to Den 24 by running the ball, only 14 yards came via the pass. This was the story all game long. The defensive line was being knocked off the ball into the linebackers lanes. Bates system depends on the LBs scraping and getting into the assigned position. This is very difficult when you have to get around your own players as well as opposing offensive lineman.

I'm not giving the linebackers a clean bill of health either, they have not played up to expectations. DJ Williams is still adjusting to his new MLB role and he still needs to learn to be more physical, especially inside. I do feel however that he will be a good player. DJ Williams led the team with 9 tackles and was excellent against Jones when they tried to get him on the seam. Nate Webster and Ian Gold continue to overrun plays and have been less than spectacular on pass plays. Webster and Gold only had 4 tackles between the two of them versus Detroit. That is just terrible when you face 29 run plays. They need to step up and make plays.

Our secondary was without one of its best players (Lynch) and continued to struggle. However it is due to the defenses inability to stop the run that causes problems in the secondary. We are forced to bring a safety in the box leaving only a single safety for deep help. Teams have noticed this and have been running deep patterns with both their outside receivers forcing the safety to choose. The other receiver is singled up in man to man with no help over the top (see the Green Bay game - twice). We still have two of the best corners in the league, but our problems against the run have seriously reduced their play making ability. If we are going to leave one safety deep then we need to address that position in the draft. We need a safety who can cover more field and play the ball effectively. We did a great job against their best WR, Roy Williams, limiting him to just 3 catches for 44 yards. However the underneath routes and Detroit's ability to get WRs in space was a problem for the nickle and dime corners all game long. Champ Bailey had a solid game with 5 tackles. The issue in my mind still stems from the inability to stop the run and not our secondary performance overall. However we need to improve our tackling in the open field.

Offense

Our running game was not good, period. We got behind early and were forced to play catch up, however we were still not able to get the offense moving through the run game even when the game was in striking distance. We did not control the tempo of the game or play patented Broncos football (run to setup the pass on play action). We need to get outside on screens and stretch plays to keep the defense off balance when they stack the box or bring the blitz. Henry had only 31 yards on 9 carries, most of which came on a long 22 yard run.

After Cutler got hurt we were unable to keep to defense honest and we struggled. The patch work offensive line was dominated by the two down tackles. Our offensive line needs to play more physical, they don't have that fire we are use to seeing from Denver O-lines. They got penetration on running plays forcing the RB to make the first man miss behind the line of scrimmage. On pass plays they collapsed the interior pocket and made it very difficult for the QB. We could have overcame this issue by getting the QB out of the pocket, but Ramsey is not exactly what you would call a mobile QB. His presence in the game led to two defensive touchdowns, one fumble for a TD on the 1 yard line and an intercepted screen pass by Shaun Rodgers for a TD. Mistakes that you simply can not have if you want to win football games in the NFL.

Even when Ramsey (29/46 262 yds 1TD) did find the open man, the WRs continued to drop very catchable balls. I'm looking at you Brandon Marshall, Tony Scheffler, and Daniel "DG" Graham. The WRs and TEs have to make plays. It is that simple. No excuses. They didn't help out Ramsey at all. Marshall (9 catches for 96 yds) is our best WR (excluding the injured Walker) and he has to step up. Scheffler and DG are excellent receiving threats that need to be a serious part of the game plan going forward, especially with Walker out. Stokley is probably our most solid WR and is the go to guy in 3rd and 4th down situations. He had the only TD of the game. Sigh. The Broncos offense is the strongest part of this team and it needs to take the pressure off of the defense. Set the tempo physically and man up!

Special Teams
In my opinion we are playing A LOT better on special teams. Andre Hall played very well on kick-off returns, and he got plenty. We have improved quite a bit from the first 3 games of the season. This was probably the best part of our game on Sunday, which is very sad. We need to continue to get better and improve in this facet of the game.

Going Forward
Personally I would like to see the Broncos start to play with some passion, some enthusiasm, and some heart. They need to play like a team with nothing to lose, because quite frankly they have nothing to lose. Play with some intensity and start playing physical Broncos football. I don't mind losing games, but it makes me sick when we lose games because we are not playing hard-nose physical football. Clean up the little things and start bringing the wood! The rest will follow. This is where we see what type of fortitude we have, we simply need to come together and find our identity. It's not about the individual talent, it's how that individual talent plays together. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)