Denver Broncos @ Oakland Raidas

[cdumler7]

Kubiak speaking yesterday said that he expects Wolfe to get a huge work load this Sunday. He expects him to play over 50% of the snaps so there is no easing this guy back into the lineup. It sounds like they are very impressed with the shape he showed back up in after 4-weeks away and think that he is that ready to be that starter once again.

 

[Malibu]

Kubiak speaking yesterday said that he expects Wolfe to get a huge work load this Sunday. He expects him to play over 50% of the snaps so there is no easing this guy back into the lineup. It sounds like they are very impressed with the shape he showed back up in after 4-weeks away and think that he is that ready to be that starter once again.

Really liking the depth of this defense.

 

[cdumler7]

Really liking the depth of this defense.

That is honestly why I was a bit surprised that Kubiak talked about Wolfe playing so much. I figured they would ease him in a little more while he gets into full football shape. They must really like what they are seeing out of him. He is one of those guys that I think if he just let the rage take over would just destroy opponents. The guy has that look in his eye of Crazy. I am excited to see him in this defense as I do think Del Rio maybe misused Wolfe as much as any other player on the team.

 

[Broncos6482]

I know we have talked about this a little but I do have to say that Elway's ability to find FA's that succeed greatly with the Broncos is looking just pretty darn good. Not only did we have 4 of them that Elway got in 2014 make the Pro Bowl but they are showing up even bigger this year. Ware won DPOM while Ward and Talib DPOW. Sanders right now also has the most receptions on 3rd down in the league and is looking just as dangerous as he did last year.

When you then factor in bringing in Antonio Smith, Darian Stewart, Vance Walker, Evan Mathis, and Ryan Harris this year I would say the guy continues to just hit home runs when it comes to finding even bargain price players who come in and play at Pro Bowl levels for us.

Elway's drafting has been hit or miss, but his free agency game is on point.

 

[cdumler7]

Elway's drafting has been hit or miss, but his free agency game is on point.

It is true. I would say that 2nd and 3rd round area is where he has struggled the most. Right now 1st round pick players have all contributed this year. We have Von Miller, Sly Williams, Bradley Roby, and even Shane Ray who have done well so far. So I like that he nails the pick that he should. Then the late round finds are pretty impressive in my opinion. We have Matt Paradis, Trevathan, Malik Jackson, and Virgil Green all getting quality playing time. UDFA is another place he has done well with Anderson, Harris, Thompson, Shaq Barrett, and Bennie Fowler. When you throw in then taking some guys from other teams that were late round or undrafted like Brandon Marshall and Darian Stewart I would say Manning has done decent beyond just FA.

Those 2nd and 3rd round misses though have been killer. I mean when you think of this team with a guy like Eddie Lacy or Jarvis Landry the next year with our 2nd round picks. Every team has those draft busts though.

 

[CEH]

Beat Oakland this week and Denver is 3 up basically 4 up on chiefs and raiders after 5 games

 

[SpringStein]

Elway's drafting has been hit or miss, but his free agency game is on point.

I give JE all the credit in the world for "recruiting" Manning. And that signing has been the one that has enabled many of the others. In other words, with Manning and fact that he has made us an annually winning team, that has set the table to get many of the FAs we have.

 

[cdumler7]

I can't remember who it was but somebody had asked for the grades on the OL. Well here they are. Overall for the season going left to right are

Ryan Harris -8.2, Evan Mathis +3.7, Matt Paradis -1.5, Louis Vasquez -1.7, and Michael Schofield -.1.

Here is the promising thing in this though. Matt Paradis has greatly improved and posted I think his best game this past week having a +1.7 grade against Minnesota which is saying something because they have some decent DT's. Vasquez has actually done well pass blocking but it is his run blocking so far that has really stunk it up but has improved.

Another note on this that in 3 games Ty Sambrailo had a -10.6 grade. He was equally doing bad in pass and run blocking. It is why I probably wouldn't mind the OL staying what it is even when he is healthy and having him be the true swing tackle.

 

[randymon]

Well...as some of you know, I am not a big fan of the O line grading system and as I posted before ( it wasn't popular either ) and having listened to hall of fame and other ex highly reputable O- lineman speak about it who say it's flawed and pretty much based solely on final stats more so than individual play. If I thought the grading system was reliable I would say Denver's line deserved bad scores up to this point, as a whole. Manning has been sacked more than in past and run gm is close if not,dead last. If Denver rushes for a buck 50 vs Raiders, I bet every lineman gets a positive rating regardless if he contributed to any gains. Now I could be wrong here ( odds are I am ) but I am willing to bet ( and I know Cd will research it hopefully ) that all the Rams lineman graded out positive in last game even though Gurley got almost all his yds in 4th qtr and the offense as a whole were terrible for the most part of the first three qtrs of game. Give it a shot Cd and make me eat my words....again Seriously, I would like to see results just for the L of it

 

[cdumler7]

Well...as some of you know, I am not a big fan of the O line grading system and as I posted before ( it wasn't popular either ) and having listened to hall of fame and other ex highly reputable O- lineman speak about it who say it's flawed and pretty much based solely on final stats more so than individual play. If I thought the grading system was reliable I would say Denver's line deserved bad scores up to this point, as a whole. Manning has been sacked more than in past and run gm is close if not,dead last. If Denver rushes for a buck 50 vs Raiders, I bet every lineman gets a positive rating regardless if he contributed to any gains. Now I could be wrong here ( odds are I am ) but I am willing to bet ( and I know Cd will research it hopefully ) that all the Rams lineman graded out positive in last game even though Gurley got almost all his yds in 4th qtr and the offense as a whole were terrible for the most part of the first three qtrs of game. Give it a shot Cd and make me eat my words....again Seriously, I would like to see results just for the L of it

Well I don't have PFF this year. I tried to get it but they keep telling me I already have an account but every time I try to sign in they tell me I need to pay for this year. So not sure what is going on there. What I have found about the Rams this last week though OL wise is I do know that Jamon Brown for them at the Guard position posted the 2nd worst OG grade of the week. I also know the Rams did not have a single OL player finish among the top 6 starters. They all received a lower grade that +1.4. So at best good chance they received a very average grade for the work they did.

 

[iknowftbll]

It makes a big difference on fumble recoveries when you have a team swarm to the ball. It's more luck if you have only 1 or two guys that are in position to make recovery vs 6 of them. When you even or strengthen the odds, it's majority usually wins. Good teams do that.

I didn't get a chance to reply but this is essentially what I was going to say. The aggressive mindset makes a difference because it's very nature puts people in a position to recover the fumble. Unlike last year's defense, this group expects the ball to come out and the difference couldn't be more obvious.

 

[randymon]

Well I don't have PFF this year. I tried to get it but they keep telling me I already have an account but every time I try to sign in they tell me I need to pay for this year. So not sure what is going on there. What I have found about the Rams this last week though OL wise is I do know that Jamon Brown for them at the Guard position posted the 2nd worst OG grade of the week. I also know the Rams did not have a single OL player finish among the top 6 starters. They all received a lower grade that +1.4. So at best good chance they received a very average grade for the work they did.

Just read an article about grading your offensive lineman by " Coach Daily ". Not really sure who exactly wrote it (,actual coach named Daily or if it was like daily newspaper or what not ) but this guy was extremely thorough. Actually, unbelievably thorough. If the NFL uses this same protocol in their evaluations then I say " UNCLE ! No stone unturned in his system. Very impressive. Great read.

 

[cdumler7]

Cool story about Derek Wolfe over these last 4 weeks. There is a reason the team feels comfortable with the idea of playing Wolfe for even more than half the game. He has kept himself in ridiculous shape. Heck even game shape from the sound of it. Our DL coach decided to test him out on their first practice of the week and put him through the ringer and they could not get him to wear down.

Wolfe says he credits all of this because he would work out twice a day plus then on actual game days when the team would play his training group would actually put him through a simulated game. He had some ex-NFL players come in and help him out acting like real OL players and they had a shot clock to simulate the time in between plays, half times, all those things to make it as much like a real game as possible. Some of the guys who helped him out to simulate this are Chris Kuper and I can't remember his first name but the old DL of ours Bannan. Anyway all this to say he has shown up in great shape ready to go and actually be a huge contributor.

 

[SpringStein]

When I read that article, I wondered if he paid those two guys to work out with him. Hopefully he at least paid for a dinner at Elway's Steakhouse.

 

[cdumler7]

When I read that article, I wondered if he paid those two guys to work out with him. Hopefully he at least paid for a dinner at Elway's Steakhouse.

I would bet he did. A lot of these guys will pay guys to come train with them to help them stay a bit more motivated. Although since they are both ex-Broncos it wouldn't surprise me either that they just wanted to help the Broncos out. I'm loving how many ex-Broncos showed back up this past off season to watch the team and speak to the players. Haven't heard of this many ex-Broncos coming to practices but I think that is a testament to Kubiak and Elway.

 

[randymon]

Cool story about Derek Wolfe over these last 4 weeks. There is a reason the team feels comfortable with the idea of playing Wolfe for even more than half the game. He has kept himself in ridiculous shape. Heck even game shape from the sound of it. Our DL coach decided to test him out on their first practice of the week and put him through the ringer and they could not get him to wear down.

Wolfe says he credits all of this because he would work out twice a day plus then on actual game days when the team would play his training group would actually put him through a simulated game. He had some ex-NFL players come in and help him out acting like real OL players and they had a shot clock to simulate the time in between plays, half times, all those things to make it as much like a real game as possible. Some of the guys who helped him out to simulate this are Chris Kuper and I can't remember his first name but the old DL of ours Bannan. Anyway all this to say he has shown up in great shape ready to go and actually be a huge contributor.

On Bannan.... I want to say Mark or Mike ,maybe Rick? I definitely remember him though.

 

[cdumler7]

On Bannan.... I want to say Mark or Mike ,maybe Rick? I definitely remember him though.

I looked it up and Justin Bannan was his name. Man I was way off on it. I had I think John for some reason.

 

[iknowftbll]

I would bet he did. A lot of these guys will pay guys to come train with them to help them stay a bit more motivated. Although since they are both ex-Broncos it wouldn't surprise me either that they just wanted to help the Broncos out. I'm loving how many ex-Broncos showed back up this past off season to watch the team and speak to the players. Haven't heard of this many ex-Broncos coming to practices but I think that is a testament to Kubiak and Elway.

Even Jake Plummer weighed in on Kubiak, stating he was really disappointed when Kubiak left for Houston. I've often argued that Kubiak's departure was the beginning of the end. The post-Elway Broncos were a pretty respectable organization with Shanahan and Kubiak. Then Kubiak left for Houston and the Broncos drafted Cutler. Plummer was flat in 2006, as was the whole offense. That team finished 9-7 and out of the playoffs. The Broncos offense wasn't worth a shit until Manning arrived. Plummer's recent comments about Kubiak sort of confirmed my thoughts.

 

[cdumler7]

Even Jake Plummer weighed in on Kubiak, stating he was really disappointed when Kubiak left for Houston. I've often argued that Kubiak's departure was the beginning of the end. The post-Elway Broncos were a pretty respectable organization with Shanahan and Kubiak. Then Kubiak left for Houston and the Broncos drafted Cutler. Plummer was flat in 2006, as was the whole offense. That team finished 9-7 and out of the playoffs. The Broncos offense wasn't worth a shit until Manning arrived. Plummer's recent comments about Kubiak sort of confirmed my thoughts.

Bronco radio has had a lot of Kubiak's former players on and many of them have spoke that they really liked Kubiak as a coach. They would talk about how Shanahan was a great offensive mind but he was not always the easiest person to talk to where Kubiak is a players' coach.

I read an article earlier about his coaching style and how much the players are responding but now can't seem to find it. I'll post it later if I find it.

 

[randymon]

I looked it up and Justin Bannan was his name. Man I was way off on it. I had I think John for some reason.

Man me too Cd. I even went thru whole alphabet.