Denver Broncos @ Indianapolis Colts

[Draft Crazy]

The thing about Miller is the attention he draws from teams to free up others. If you don't give him that attention he becomes dominate. I'd like to say it his a sign of his unselfishness, but he doesn't get a say in how teams defend him.

 

[Mingo]

Great comment DC - Von Miller has grown up before our very eyes - and I thank D. Ware for it.

 

[cdumler7]

The Denver Broncos are 3-0 this year against teams with winning records.

The Steelers are 2-2. No one else in the league has more than 1.

 

[cdumler7]

The Denver Broncos have 312 yards rushing in the last 2 games combined. In the first 5 games of the season they had 358 yards total. Should show just how much the offense is adapting and growing.

 

[randymon]

Saw Barrett didn't practice today. Hope nothing serious.

 

[cdumler7]

Saw Barrett didn't practice today. Hope nothing serious.

From the sound of it he has a toe injury. The coaches expect him to practice tomorrow so doesn't sound like anything serious. The players that were limited or didn't practice today were Manning, Sanders, Ray, Barret, Norwood (excused for the birth of his child). Everybody else was a go.

Kubiak said today after practice that he is excited by the addition of Davis because he really wants to run some 3-TE sets with this offense. It will keep teams in their base defense to stop the run but with 3-TE's that can run routes would make it very difficult to defend.

Pagano when asked about the Broncos defense said that when watching it was like watching a scary movie.

Vernon Davis today talking about the Broncos offense said he has never been a part of something like this before and said he cannot wait because he thinks it is about to lead to something great!

 

[cdumler7]

I did forget to mention that there is actually a big chance that T.Y. Hilton does not play in the game on Sunday. He had to have an MRI on one of his feet. It came back negative but he is in a lot of pain.

 

[Mingo]

In the immortal words of some cartoon character - I can't recall by name - the Broncos are "Goin to Brutalize 'em!"

Ordinarily - you'd think a 7-0 team - coming off a big win against a Super Bowl rival - meeting a team in disarray - away from home - might not have the emotional interest in playing hard. I don't think that will be the case here. The reason for that is - the Bronco's offense - has some polishing to do and some plays to make - they should be sky high to build on what happened with the Packers in Denver. Red Zone opportunities will be important - I think you will see a very spirited effort by the Broncos on offense.

On Defense - where the guys have every reason to sit back a little and let the offense win one for a change - they will get charged up because the Colts will be in long passing situations frequently - and perhaps from a distance behind on the scoreboard - so it will be very fun football against one of the great QBs in recent years. This is where you get to have true fun playing football - that's the opportunity in front of these Broncos.

 

[cdumler7]

In the immortal words of some cartoon character - I can't recall by name - the Broncos are "Goin to Brutalize 'em!"

Ordinarily - you'd think a 7-0 team - coming off a big win against a Super Bowl rival - meeting a team in disarray - away from home - might not have the emotional interest in playing hard. I don't think that will be the case here. The reason for that is - the Bronco's offense - has some polishing to do and some plays to make - they should be sky high to build on what happened with the Packers in Denver. Red Zone opportunities will be important - I think you will see a very spirited effort by the Broncos on offense.

On Defense - where the guys have every reason to sit back a little and let the offense win one for a change - they will get charged up because the Colts will be in long passing situations frequently - and perhaps from a distance behind on the scoreboard - so it will be very fun football against one of the great QBs in recent years. This is where you get to have true fun playing football - that's the opportunity in front of these Broncos.

What I loved hearing today from Kubiak is he said that practice everybody was going full speed. He said he was very impressed after a long emotional week that the team would respond with a great practice like they had today. There is just something about this team. They know they have a special season going and don't want to let that slip.

 

[Mingo]

That's the feeling I have about this team too CD.

 

[randymon]

Yeah. They still have an ugly taste in their mouth from last yr and their going to want to rinse that out I believe. I hope I win the " guess the score " this week. That would mean they were very very pissed off at the Colts like I'm a hoping.

 

[DownSetHutch]

Everything about this game points to the Broncos smashing the Colts:

- The way the Broncos are playing in all phases of the game right now.
- Revenge for the playoff loss.
- Andrew Luck being hurt, and possibly a scratch for the game.
- The Colts coming off of a short week.
- Andrew Luck and the Colts playing like crap lately.

There really is nothing the Colts have going for them in this game, except the "Any Given Sunday" concept. And I don't see that rearing its ugly head, as the Broncos will come ready to play. (See point 2). I expect an Orange and Blue ass-whooping coming the Colts way on Sunday.

 

[58crash]

Manning usually bounces back after losing to teams like last year ..

 

[cdumler7]

Alright probably won't be on much longer as my daughter's day care provider has informed us that she has the flu and needs me to get her at noon here. Just wanted to share one quick interview I listened to today...

They had Mike Shanahan on for an interview on local radio and it was one of the better ones I have listened to in a long time. He had nothing but great things to say about the Broncos.

They asked him how he would attack the Broncos defense and he just said something along the lines of I'm just glad I am not a coach having to watch that film and say "how the heck do you attack that?" He said he just doesn't really see a weakness in this defense.

They asked him about the offense and he commented that when he first came to Denver they really struggled at first on the offensive side of the ball. If you remember they went 4-4 in those first 4 games. He said the OL looked terrible for that entire stretch. They then had their bye week and the OL started to gel. The wins didn't really start coming but that is when they started seeing the newly implemented ZBS start turning into something special. Then the next year they went out and pretty much dominated everybody with Terrell Davis winning MVP that season. So he said it just takes some time to get everybody working together and believing in the system. He said you are starting to see the fruits of those labors now and thinks this offense is heading for great things ahead.

He also said that this past weekend was the first time he has been invited back for a Broncos event. Said that he really enjoyed it and is wanting to be more involved with the Broncos to the point that if they make it to the Super Bowl this year he is really hoping for an invitation to come watch the game live. Said he has no ill feelings towards the Broncos or Bowlen for firing him at all. In fact said Bowlen called him up a little after firing him to explain in greater detail what had happened and the two left on decent terms that have only gotten better through the years.

 

[MileHigh64]

Alright probably won't be on much longer as my daughter's day care provider has informed us that she has the flu and needs me to get her at noon here. Just wanted to share one quick interview I listened to today...

They had Mike Shanahan on for an interview on local radio and it was one of the better ones I have listened to in a long time. He had nothing but great things to say about the Broncos.

They asked him how he would attack the Broncos defense and he just said something along the lines of I'm just glad I am not a coach having to watch that film and say "how the heck do you attack that?" He said he just doesn't really see a weakness in this defense.

They asked him about the offense and he commented that when he first came to Denver they really struggled at first on the offensive side of the ball. If you remember they went 4-4 in those first 4 games. He said the OL looked terrible for that entire stretch. They then had their bye week and the OL started to gel. The wins didn't really start coming but that is when they started seeing the newly implemented ZBS start turning into something special. Then the next year they went out and pretty much dominated everybody with Terrell Davis winning MVP that season. So he said it just takes some time to get everybody working together and believing in the system. He said you are starting to see the fruits of those labors now and thinks this offense is heading for great things ahead.

He also said that this past weekend was the first time he has been invited back for a Broncos event. Said that he really enjoyed it and is wanting to be more involved with the Broncos to the point that if they make it to the Super Bowl this year he is really hoping for an invitation to come watch the game live. Said he has no ill feelings towards the Broncos or Bowlen for firing him at all. In fact said Bowlen called him up a little after firing him to explain in greater detail what had happened and the two left on decent terms that have only gotten better through the years.

I listened to that entire interview yesterday on the drive home from work. It was really good and Coach Shanahan sounded great. I loved the fact that he also talked about how he'll always be a Bronco, after 21 years in the organization. He hosted many of the players from the '97 superbowl team at his house over the weekend. it was great to hear the thunderous applause that the Denver faithful gave him at the game as well.

I guess we're both avid listeners of 104.3 The Fan. They get me to and from work every day!

 

[cdumler7]

I listened to that entire interview yesterday on the drive home from work. It was really good and Coach Shanahan sounded great. I loved the fact that he also talked about how he'll always be a Bronco, after 21 years in the organization. He hosted many of the players from the '97 superbowl team at his house over the weekend. it was great to hear the thunderous applause that the Denver faithful gave him at the game as well.

I guess we're both avid listeners of 104.3 The Fan. They get me to and from work every day!

Haha yup seems like we both are. I wish they would get into more in depth conversation than a lot of the fluff stuff they do but I haven't found anything better at this point. I wish they would get back to in the morning calling a local radio guy from the opposing team to call in and talk about parts of their team. Loved those segments. Haven't heard them do that much this year at least in the morning show.

 

[MileHigh64]

Haha yup seems like we both are. I wish they would get into more in depth conversation than a lot of the fluff stuff they do but I haven't found anything better at this point. I wish they would get back to in the morning calling a local radio guy from the opposing team to call in and talk about parts of their team. Loved those segments. Haven't heard them do that much this year at least in the morning show.

Yeah, I'm not as big of a fan of the morning show but I listen because it's mostly all Broncos talk and they occasionally get some good interviews on the show. I've been listening to this station all the way back to when they were only on AM radio with Irv and Joe. Prior to boards like we have at the Hoop, it was the only way to get up to date news and opinions.

 

[cdumler7]

Yeah, I'm not as big of a fan of the morning show but I listen because it's mostly all Broncos talk and they occasionally get some good interviews on the show. I've been listening to this station all the way back to when they were only on AM radio with Irv and Joe. Prior to boards like we have at the Hoop, it was the only way to get up to date news and opinions.

Yeah I have actually come around to really enjoying Big Al in the afternoon. Still can't stand D-Mac all that much but Big Al has gone from just being a big personality to really giving some great insight to the game. I like the morning show right now as Owen Daniels has done a very good job of bringing a good inside look and especially with his connection to the Broncos and Kubiak both.

 

[MileHigh64]

Yeah I have actually come around to really enjoying Big Al in the afternoon. Still can't stand D-Mac all that much but Big Al has gone from just being a big personality to really giving some great insight to the game. I like the morning show right now as Owen Daniels has done a very good job of bringing a good inside look and especially with his connection to the Broncos and Kubiak both.

Guessing you meant Joel Dreesen. Good point. I really like him on the show.

 

[cdumler7]

So this is a little later in the week than usual but got the chance to watch a few of the Indy games. Here are some observations...

1) Their run game is about as simple as it gets. They run a power system right up the middle with Frank Gore. I think I have watched 3 games so far and only seen them run outside once or twice. They just don't have that outside threat. So our boys up the middle if they can do what they have done all year long we should get the Colts into some very good 3rd down and long situations.

2) Luck is seriously always looking for the big play first. His eyes always go deep right after the ball is snapped. He is not reading defenses very well. He is just trying to do too much. When they have done their best it has been more the crosses over the middle within 10 yards of the LOS. The first half of the NE game is a great example of this that they moved the ball very well when just trying to get yards and let his playmakers make a play.

3) Luck is hurt. I saw him on quite a few occasions really work to protect his ribs especially right after he threw it. Because of this his mechanics are all over the place leading to his inaccuracies. I think this is why he functions so much better in the hurry up system this year because he doesn't have time to think about the pain his body is in and just goes out and plays.

4) They do not have a very good OL. They have moments of looking competent but then they will have entire series where they just don't look like they know what they are doing. Power blocking wise they don't have the punch to really run it with consistency.

5) Defensively they are actually better than the numbers suggest in my opinion. With how often the offense is turning the ball over the defense is being put in a ton of terrible situations. I'm not saying they are even close to our league of defensive ability but I would say they are in that 11-15 range for defensive ability.

6) They are much better against the run than last year. They are giving up more yards this year compared to last year but they have also found themselves down by 2 touchdowns in many of the games this year. They are actually giving up less yards per carry than last year. Again they are not a top tier rush defense but they are middle of the pack in my opinion. We should still have a chance for some good yards especially up the middle. I would say they are strongest on the edges.

7) Chris Harris was right that Luck will give them some chances for some big plays. He is one that is not afraid to chuck it up and hope that his receiver comes down with it. I think we have a 2 interception type game for our defense.

8) Special Teams--this is actually a huge strength for them in my opinion. McAfee is just down right impressive. I would say overall they have a better Special Teams unit than us. This means we have to win the other two parts of the team especially with this being a road game.

9) We cannot let up. Luck has been terrible this year but there is one area where he has thrived. That is when his team is down by 2 touchdowns. He has been able to make games more interesting than they should be. I think he has a QB Rating of 112 in this type of situation. Most QB's this is when their QB rating goes down as teams know they have to pass. So again have to stay aggressive and keep him uncomfortable.

10) Finally Indy is not afraid to do the trick play. I know everybody wants to talk about the terrible play against NE but they have done more than that this year. In fact they tried an onside kick against NE earlier in the game and honestly I thought from the replay that Indy actually recovered it. They have nothing to lose in this one by trying some of these things so watch for the fake punt to happen in this game.