Week 4: Time to sink the Bucs.

[cdumler7]

As great as this last win was always another game on the horizon. This could really be a big week for the Broncos with a win and the Raiders and Chiefs both playing very tough road games against AFC North opponents.

So now just scouting the enemy:

Jameis Winston--I have watched all 3 games now that they have played this year. There are moments this kid looks like the next super star of the league and then he does something stupid like throw into triple coverage. He also loves throwing up jump balls which is a bit understandable considering the WR core he has is built for winning jump balls. But that always comes with the idea that Corners will have some chances at some picks every game. He doesn't have WR's that will run away from people so he has to take some more chances. He is a big play big risk style of QB.

WR's--They do have a great 1-2 punch at the WR position. They are big and strong. The great thing is we have Corners that have handled those type of WR's just fine. In fact Talib might be one of the best going against those types of WR's.

OL--They do have a pretty good OL. They are much better at pass blocking than run blocking though. They really did not do a great job of getting push in the run game and now with Martin out that run game took a huge hit. Like I said though pass blocking is pretty impressive. Winston tries to be Aaron Rodgers a lot and dance in the pocket and these guys held their own while Winston just danced around. Our pass rush has a good chance to get to the QB this week for sure with how long he holds onto the ball but maybe our toughest pass blocking OL that we have faced so far.

RB--Charles Sims will be the RB for this game with Martin out. He did pretty well this past week but I don't look at him as a consistent threat week in and week out.

Defense

DL--Very good run defending group. They have a lot of size and power up front to keep the OL from pushing them down the field. You cannot run up the middle against this team. The edges though are more vulnerable. Usually the best way to counter a big DL is to get them moving from side to side so I look for a lot more zone stretch type runs this week. Pass rush wise not a great group. They don't have the speed to get to the QB in a hurry and I just don't see them as a group that is great at getting pressure. And when they blitz I haven't seen anything exotic that makes me think they will confuse our OL.

Linebackers--Decent group but nothing that jumps off the page.

Secondary--Not a very good group. Honestly kind of shocked me a bit as Grimes is a pretty good Corner and Verner has been very good in his career and they have the rookie Hargreaves who I thought would be pretty darn good. But yet so far they have been one of the worst groups in the NFL. They are not forcing turnovers with only 1 interception through 3 games and have given up 7 touchdowns so far this year. I see a lot of miscommunication happening with that group and it is just made worse by the pass rush not getting home.

Honestly so far this year they have statistically been one of the worst defenses in football. I didn't see them being that when watching the first 3 games but they have a lot of just big plays given up because of mental mistakes being made. So a group that can be taken advantage of.

Also just a quick note. They have a terrible special teams unit. That 2nd round kicker they got this year has not been good at all. He can be rattled pretty easily.

All in all we have a very good chance. Winston though is the type of QB that can just have an outstanding week out of nowhere and win a game that might shock some people. So definitely can't take them lightly especially with this game being played in Tampa. We have never been a good team against Florida teams.

 

[cdumler7]

Just some cool stats of the day to add to this thread...

Peyton Manning through 3 games last year...
755 yards/5 TD's/3 Interceptions

Siemain through 3 games this year
756 yards/5 TD's/3 Interceptions


Another great stat of the day is that of no coach has won more games since Gary Kubiak took over as Head Coach of the Broncos. He is 18-4 as our Head Coach. Somebody reminded me today that there were many who thought Elway was making a huge mistake by firing Fox (who could be fired any day by Chicago) and bringing in Kubiak.

Over the last 5 years Kubiak has won at least 1 playoff game with 4 different QB's. So showing he can get it done with more than just a HOF QB.

 

[Draft Crazy]

Yeah the CB play has really been a surprise to me.

Verner has been one of the more underrated players in the league. Hargraves will be very good and had a great PS but still learning bumps will make him a bit up and down.

Grimes has gotten beat a decent amount, doesn't help when you don't have much of a pass rush either.

 

[Mingo]

Jamis Winston is the kind of QB the Broncos have trouble with - hard to bring down - makes plays on the fly. Still Wade Phillips will give him a graduate school education for him this week. I'm expecting TOs for the defense.

On offense - I think Siemian has to go deep often enough to keep the defense honest. If the defense blitzes and Siemian gets Sanders or DT with a one on one - sling it off to them.

I'm beginning to think Booker is going to push CJ during this season. He is also getting better each week. I like Booker as a receiver - even better then CJ - who is good in his own right.

I'm looking forward for Latimer to get more returns - he is not only fast - he is big enough to have defenders fall off of him - and he cuts decisively.

This Oline is twice as good as last year's and they still have a high ceiling to get better.

 

[cdumler7]

Jamis Winston is the kind of QB the Broncos have trouble with - hard to bring down - makes plays on the fly. Still Wade Phillips will give him a graduate school education for him this week. I'm expecting TOs for the defense.

On offense - I think Siemian has to go deep often enough to keep the defense honest. If the defense blitzes and Siemian gets Sanders or DT with a one on one - sling it off to them.

I'm beginning to think Booker is going to push CJ during this season. He is also getting better each week. I like Booker as a receiver - even better then CJ - who is good in his own right.

I'm looking forward for Latimer to get more returns - he is not only fast - he is big enough to have defenders fall off of him - and he cuts decisively.

This Oline is twice as good as last year's and they still have a high ceiling to get better.

With Latimer something I love that he does is he gets moving up field the second he catches the football. We saw the last couple of years some guys pause for a second to want to plan out their route but by the time they actually get going they are getting tackled at the 10 yard line. So at least with Latimer we know he will get up field in a hurry and I do think he does a good job of holding onto the football in traffic.

Honestly at this point I don't think it matters too much what type of QB we play. It matters a bit more what type of WR's we play. The quick shifty guys are the ones that give our Corners some trouble. This year though I will say our team looks much better early on handling running the zone that helps to counter some of that. We really didn't have the zone defense until after the Steelers game the first time but looks like they spent a lot of the off season even mastering it all the more. WE know they can play man coverage but adding even being one of the best teams at playing zone coverage makes us all the more dangerous. So while Winston might cause some troubles with his legs to me we line up really well with the WR core of the Bucs. Harris has shown that even though he is small he doesn't mind mixing it up with the bigger guys and like I said Talib might be the best physical WR coverage guy in the league. Roby doesn't mind getting physical either and we know our Safeties love to hit.

 

[Draft Crazy]

Latimer's opening return he paused and I thought Andre Caldwell!!!

Then he corrected it.

Mingo- Part of the reason I wanted Booker so bad was A. He fit the scheme but also B. He is a great receiver out of the backfield, something I feel we really lacked in recent years at RB. And given our O and our D situation I think it is very important we have a RB who can block and catch out of backfield.

 

[cdumler7]

Latimer's opening return he paused and I thought Andre Caldwell!!!

Then he corrected it.

Mingo- Part of the reason I wanted Booker so bad was A. He fit the scheme but also B. He is a great receiver out of the backfield, something I feel we really lacked in recent years at RB. And given our O and our D situation I think it is very important we have a RB who can block and catch out of backfield.

I've been impressed with his correction after just one fumble of knowing to keep 2 hands on the ball when running through traffic. Needs to keep that up but yeah I could see this getting closer to a 60-40 split between Anderson and Booker if he keeps it up. Needs to get better in pass protection but that could be said of every rookie RB in the league.

 

[Mingo]

Latimer's opening return he paused and I thought Andre Caldwell!!!

Then he corrected it.

Mingo- Part of the reason I wanted Booker so bad was A. He fit the scheme but also B. He is a great receiver out of the backfield, something I feel we really lacked in recent years at RB. And given our O and our D situation I think it is very important we have a RB who can block and catch out of backfield.

You were correct on dat one dog!

 

[iknowftbll]

Great breakdown, CD. I can't really add anything other than to repeat this won't be an easy win at all. The Bucs can be scored on, but like you said, Winston is the type of QB that can have a career day out of nowhere any given week.

 

[randymon]

I expect Denver to really get run game going in this one. Cincy D dictated what Denver offense had to adjust to and they made it work. This wknd I think the run game will open up some key passing plays. Not the long balls so much but key stick movers. Looking to see CJ/Booker/Jano dominate, Huerman shines, and great special team play. Winston does worry me though.

 

[iknowftbll]

I expect Denver to really get run game going in this one. Cincy D dictated what Denver offense had to adjust to and they made it work. This wknd I think the run game will open up some key passing plays. Not the long balls so much but key stick movers. Looking to see CJ/Booker/Jano dominate, Huerman shines, and great special team play. Winston does worry me though.

You could be right. Now that there is film on the Broncos slinging it around the Bucs are going to have to think twice before going all in to stop the run the way the Bengals did. But even before Siemian's "breakout game" (I think it's safe to call it that) Kubiak has opened all three games with a pass-heavy attack. If they do that again this week the Bucs may instantly have to back off and play the pass, and that can open up some opportunities for the law firm of CJ-Booker-Janovich and Associates.

 

[Mingo]

Let's see if the Siemian roll out proceeds. I don't think it is pure strategy with the opponent - that is met up with the stretching of this young QB.

 

[Draft Crazy]

Hoping our pass rush can get to Winston early. Seems like if you let him sit back and be comfortable he will rip you apart. Rattled him and he will turn the ball over.

 

[cdumler7]

Hoping our pass rush can get to Winston early. Seems like if you let him sit back and be comfortable he will rip you apart. Rattled him and he will turn the ball over.

The nice thing for the Broncos is that he does tend when he likes to hold onto the ball to drift to the right. He feels more comfortable going that way which means his comfort zone is right into the arms of Von Miller and Derek Wolfe.

 

[cdumler7]

Just want to give a quick shout out to Shane Ray. First game starting and he was actually going against the LT that got voted to the All-Pro team last year as the best LT in the game. Not an easy game by any means yet went out and had about as much impact as you can in a 1st game starting.

 

[cdumler7]

I do think our run defense isn't as strong as last year I also don't think it is as dire as some think. Such as that 50 yard run by Jeremy Hill early in the game was from what I understand ran from a formation the Bengals had not run all season. So they obviously saw something and put into the playbook something new to try out and found early success. Essentially they were going with an extra OL player on the field and almost going something like a goal line formation. They then ran counter run plays in the hopes that our aggressive defense might get caught over pursuing. And well they got us. Good for them to see that opportunity. The nice thing with the Broncos though is they adjusted nicely. We started seeing the ILB combo of Davis and Marshall not quite take that first step towards the LOS. They would hesitate just for a second and then react. Cincinnati tried to run the same play a few times against us after that with very little success.

Another stat just to show that this run defense isn't quite what the stats show. Jeremy Hill on that first drive ran for 65 yards on only 4 carries. After that he only gained 32 yards on 13 carries. So after the first drive we held him to 2.5 yards per carry. Bernard was held to 8 yards on 5 carries. So after the 1st drive we held their 2 headed monster at RB to 40 yards on 18 carries for 2.2 yards per carry. Dalton picked up some big chunk yards and we need to clean that up a bit as this is the 3rd week in a row that QB's have hurt us badly with their legs but still just shows this run defense once they make a couple of adjustments seems to show up very well. Just have to get that 1st drive of the game cleaned up more so than worry about some of our personnel on the field.

 

[Draft Crazy]

Anyone else notice after we cut Ryan Murphy to the PS we never re-signed Kyle Peko to the PS?

Is he maybe mauling over other offers and making a decision this week? (I find that odd that he wouldn't go back to the PS of the team who guaranteed his contract by keeping him on active roster week 1).. I also find it odd that from our side we wouldn't want him back on the PS. After cutting someone off our PS after cutting Peko from the active roster and liking him enough to have him on our opening day roster..

Or did I miss something and we did re-sign him? If so it isn't updated on our roster either.

I just find it a bit odd all around.

Only other thing I can think of is another team called him after he cleared waivers to give him a workout to see if they wanted to sign him to their active roster. Since he can't workout for a team if he is on our PS.

 

[Draft Crazy]

Also with JJ Watt done for the year the Texans have brought one time super bowl champion Denver Bronco Antonio Smith back where we got him from.

 

[cdumler7]

Anyone else notice after we cut Ryan Murphy to the PS we never re-signed Kyle Peko to the PS?

Is he maybe mauling over other offers and making a decision this week? (I find that odd that he wouldn't go back to the PS of the team who guaranteed his contract by keeping him on active roster week 1).. I also find it odd that from our side we wouldn't want him back on the PS. After cutting someone off our PS after cutting Peko from the active roster and liking him enough to have him on our opening day roster..

Or did I miss something and we did re-sign him? If so it isn't updated on our roster either.

I just find it a bit odd all around.

Only other thing I can think of is another team called him after he cleared waivers to give him a workout to see if they wanted to sign him to their active roster. Since he can't workout for a team if he is on our PS.

He made it to our practice squad.

Broncos sign NT Kyle Peko to practice squad, waive S Ryan Murphy 

Also just a quick fact. Right now @SpringStein has just as many sacks this season as Khalil Mack the guy many picked to be the NFL DPOY. Way to go SpringStein.

 

[cdumler7]

This will also be the 3rd game this season where the Broncos are matched up against a #1 overall pick in the draft with Luck, Newton, and Winston. So far so good against the other 2.