Impressions from last night?

[MrDoc420]

Curious to hear what everybody's overall take was on our first preseason game. This is especially important for me, as the bullshit NFL.com preseason pass thing was flaking out last night and continuously timing me out. I really only got to see up until the lightning delay before I kept getting silly ass time out errors when attempting to log back in.

How did Brock look? I see Juwan Thompson had a nice game......and CJ went out with a concussion?

Also, I briefly heard that Talib got dinged and that Moore walked off after the 2nd series. Nothing serious, I'm guessing? I don't see anything this morning about injuries except the one to CJ.

What about that Norwood kid? He made a couple nice grabs, including the TD from Brock.

 

[cdumler7]

Well unfortunately with a family member going into the hospital last night I have had to watch the game a bit in reverse. I started watching late into the 3rd quarter live so then this morning I finally got to watch the first half, or at least most of it (still finishing it up), so wanted to get my first thoughts down.


So first off some of my biggest question marks coming in were 1) How would the OL look with essentially 3 new players (or at least players in new positions) against a great DL? 2) Could we get a run game going at all? 3) How would the defense gel with so many new moving parts?


In order here...


1) The OL especially the 1st unit looked much better. I understand it is preseason so most teams haven't mixed in any kind of blitzing schemes but even in the Super Bowl a 4-man rush is all they needed. Today that was not the case. Manning had a huge pocket to work in and plenty of time to throw. Ryan Clady reminded me why he was so missed last year as he just owned the left side of the line. Nobody got by him and on a few plays he just shoved his guy to the ground then worked to go help out a teammate. Please stay healthy Clady...WE NEED YOU!


2) Now the final numbers don't make it look like our 1st unit did a whole lot in the run game but I will say there were some giant holes and some nice runs especially by Ronnie Hillman! Unfortunately the refs decided they needed to get some air time. They called some ridiculous things like blocking in the back against Welker when the defensive player just pretty much ran back into him with his back towards him. Not much Welker could really do. Felt like the refs wanted to show they meant business and maybe they knew emotions were a little higher in this one so they didn't want them to get out of control.


3) Defensively this was a unit flying around the field. Ware looked like he was 25 again making his presence felt on almost every play. Loved seeing Wilson thrown to the ground just about every other play that he dropped back to pass! I don't think we hit him once in the Super Bowl. And this was all with Von Miller on the sideline. Unfortunately again this unit had some ticky tack calls against them that kept drives going for the Seahawks that should have been stopped.


Really watching the 1st units play you would have thought the Broncos would be up 21. Some untimely penalties and almost turnovers though took that away. I saw though what I wanted to see. The offense did not look "scared" as the Seahawks kept talking all off season at all. Defensively they had preached all off season of how we were going to get a lot more physical and it showed on the field. In just a couple of drives by the Seahawks I think I saw 3 or 4 Bronco players lay a hit on Russell Wilson. They were flying to the football every chance they got.

 

[cdumler7]

At least from the first units (will do the 2nd units later today as I have not had time to watch them in any kind of detail)...


I think our MLB problem is not as much of a problem as the media made it out to be. If any of you get a chance to go back and rewatch the game watch #56 Nate Irving. The guy just seemed to pop on the screen! He was in on so many plays especially in the run game. Actually very excited to see what he can do for us this year.


Ronnie Hillman--The news of him having a great camp to me is no joke. He had a couple of runs get stuffed at the line but otherwise he was finding the hole and hitting it with some speed. More importantly he had 2 hands on the ball when he did hit that hole. He also had a great blitz pick up on a key 3rd down where Seattle brought some major pressure. Just all around great game for him. He doesn't have me saying Montee who? quite yet but does make me feel better about the RB depth.


DeMarcus Ware--This guy just has me giddy (yes I just used that word because that is how exciting he looked). I know Seattle had their back up LT in the game with Okung dealing with an injury but he just dominated on almost every play. I can't wait to see what happens when they get Von Miller back.


Anyway for a 1st preseason game the 1st units on both sides looked sharper than I expected at this point. They looked very controlled (big reason why we didn't get any personal foul calls for fights after plays) and dominated running, passing, stopping the run, stopping the pass. Just have to learn to keep the striped guys on the field to hold on to their handkerchief.

 

[cdumler7]

Alright so just finished watching the 2nd half--


Forgot to answer some of your questions...First and foremost sounds like no serious injuries! Anderson had concussion like symptoms but sounds like it was a mild concussion at worst. Talib and Moore were just more precautionary in taking them out of the game. They didn't even make the injury report at the end of the game.


Now for the 2nd unit...


I thought this game was a big time statement game for Osweiler. Let me get the bad out of the way first. His interception was a bad throw. Kind of threw up a lob pass type thing allowing the defender who had been beat catch back up and get the pick. He also on a couple of plays panicked when he didn't quite need to.


Now to the good...His throws looked very crisp and most of them were right on the money. His receivers didn't help him out much today. He had a nice 20 yard pass to Fowler that was right on the money and nobody hitting Fowler yet he just dropped it. He also had a deep pass that was going to be a tough catch but the receiver completely lost sight of the ball and watched as it just fell right beside him. Osweiler's numbers don't really show how good of a game he had. His touchdown pass was a thing of beauty and really the pass of the game. He also had a couple of nice runs (this guy is more athletic than I realized). The biggest thing though that I saw that I hadn't seen in him is he did very well of escaping pressure and getting himself some more time. More importantly though while dancing around in the pocket he always kept his eyes down field looking for the pass. His OL was not always pretty but he didn't let that bother him and just looked very calm in the pocket.


Jordan Norwood is really making a name for himself. He had a nice punt return (if we keep 6 receivers the 6th one has to be a special teams person) and some very nice catches. Right now I can't see how he isn't in the lead for that final receiver spot if we do keep 6. I'm hoping this game showed that we are no longer having Welker as an actual punt return option (other than deep fair catch type punts).


Also have to say Juwann Thompson unless something happens has the 4th RB spot just about wrapped up. I know that it is way too early to be making such a claim but he just looked so much better than any of the other RB's. The kid has way more speed than I thought and just lowers the hurt on anybody who gets in his way. Also looks like he really understands this offense and where he needs to go.


None of the other rookies really stood out to me in this game. Latimer had a very quiet game. Roby was picked on quite a bit although he did force a fumble. Barrow didn't really jump off the page either. The OL players are hard to really grade at this point.


All in all for a preseason game I was left liking what I saw. Obviously can't read too much into it but we played very physical. Ran the ball well and the defense was aggressive. All the things the team said they were emphasizing this off season they showcased in this game.

 

[TDs3nOut]

I only saw the first quarter, which was consistent with what cd describes above. Definitely some "phantom" penalties that hurt us. I thought that Hillman, Ware, D Thomas, and, of course, Manning looked particularly sharp.

I was happy to see that we seemed to match the physicality of Seattle much better in the portion of the game I saw than we did in either of our meetings last year. I think that can only help when we go their place in Week 3.

 

[WalkerBoh]

The flags were annoying..... Hopefully this is preseason for the refs too, and we were seeing rookies/2nd string refs in this game

I don't really pay too close attention to preseason games, but the initial outing by our 1st unit looked great. I could definitely see the difference in physicality. Looks like we made some wise additions this offseason. Also liked the fact we kept Seattle out of the end zone for the most part. I have an even bigger feeling that this team could turn into that buzzsaw I was hoping for

Osweiler looked better than last year so far. Still has some greenhorn in him, but I think once he gets more game experience he'll shake that off. Give him DT, JT, and company, and he'd look even better. The first time since he was drafted that I felt any confidence in him.

 

[cdumler7]

The flags were annoying..... Hopefully this is preseason for the refs too, and we were seeing rookies/2nd string refs in this game

I don't really pay too close attention to preseason games, but the initial outing by our 1st unit looked great. I could definitely see the difference in physicality. Looks like we made some wise additions this offseason. Also liked the fact we kept Seattle out of the end zone for the most part. I have an even bigger feeling that this team could turn into that buzzsaw I was hoping for

Osweiler looked better than last year so far. Still has some greenhorn in him, but I think once he gets more game experience he'll shake that off. Give him DT, JT, and company, and he'd look even better. The first time since he was drafted that I felt any confidence in him.

They were talking to Adam Gase the other day about Osweiler and how he was progressing. He said that he is just so much further ahead of where he was last year that he has the coaches very excited about the future with him. He said that yes he doesn't always look the best with the 2nd unit but if he was allowed to run with the 1's he would show just how much better he has gotten. Like I said above there was one pass along the sideline that his receiver just completely lost the ball. It would have been a tough catch but I think a guy like DT, JT, and Latimer in a year or so would catch that. He put it where only the receiver could catch it.

Now I'm still tempering my expectations but I was left impressed with how he composed himself. Especially to go out after an interception and the next drive take us down for a touchdown. Last year that wouldn't have happened. Same with the 1st string offense when we kept having plays negated by penalties on our touchdown drive. They didn't panic and just kept with the game plan. Last year in the Super Bowl they just didn't have that mindset. Once the first thing went wrong everybody seemed to panic.

Also forgot to give a shout out to Q. Smith and Marvin Austin. Both of those guys were bringing the heat with the 2nd unit. I don't think all the hype about them in training camp is just smoke. There is some major substance to the two of them and they should provide some much needed depth this season.

 

[WalkerBoh]

Looking over the fence, I wasn't impressed with KC's pass defense. Their secondary still stinks, and I think Manning can have a field day with them. They do seem to have some added speed though on offense/ special teams. TE Kelce seemed to have a speedy extra gear on his TD catch, and De'Anthony Thomas looked a LOT faster than McCluster. Those guys along with Charles could cause a few problems. However, I think any spark they provide for the Chiefs against the Broncos will be negated by their O-line. Ware, Miller, and company could have a feast against the Chiefs O-Line. Daniel looked the best of the QB's KC trotted out. Smith's long-term future with the Chiefs doesn't look very secure. Bray looked lost, and only threw 3 times.

 

[Uhsplit]

Good game and glad no one on either team got hurt.

 

[Broncosr0k]

Good game and glad no one on either team got hurt.

That is the most important thing. I am looking forward to the Sept. 21 game. If the broncos cannot put up a fight during the regular season in Seattle we could be in for another rough season.

 

[MrDoc420]

^^^^Very true.

Thanks for breakdown cd. Good stuff. I see NFLN is replaying this game tomorrow, so I'll get a chance to see it. I'm reading about the s-ton of flags thrown. Jeez....I hope once we get to the regular season they let these guys play. There were times last year where I was sick of ticky tack penalties. They don't need to kick it up a notch with being strict with the rules.

 

[WalkerBoh]

That is the most important thing. I am looking forward to the Sept. 21 game. If the broncos cannot put up a fight during the regular season in Seattle we could be in for another rough season.

I wouldn't call it "rough", especially since the rest of the AFC West also has to play Seattle, SF, STL, and AZ. The only "rough" thing I'd see would be not getting the #1 seed again.....

 

[Broncosr0k]

I wouldn't call it "rough", especially since the rest of the AFC West also has to play Seattle, SF, STL, and AZ. The only "rough" thing I'd see would be not getting the #1 seed again.....

I am not talking about the AFC. I don't want another 13-3 season ending in heartbreak in the postseason. Outside of Indy, SD, and NE, there is not much going on in the AFC. I am already assuming the broncos get into the playoffs. What I am not sure about is if any AFC team can compete with the tops of the NFC.

I am going to pull a Master and say the season is a waste if we flub the postseason again.

 

[cdumler7]

I would say if we got embarrassed up in Seattle it might be a bit concerning. Still even then one bad game does not make a season. We got whooped by the Chargers at home (not really score wise per say but got beat up on both sides of the ball) then played them again in the playoffs and did the same thing right back to them. Every team has that one bad Sunday or whatever a year it seems like. Unfortunately for us last year our worst day happened to be the Super Bowl. I think we showed last night that the team has made some very smart moves this off season to remedy some of the problems of last season and really that although I do think Seattle was the best team on the field I don't think if they played that game 10 times that what happened would actually happen again.


Also like Uhsplit said the biggest thing was both teams stayed healthy. Last year losing Champ and Wolfe pretty much for the year was a huge blow to what many thought would be a top-10 defense.


Also did anybody watch the Chargers play? Looks like they looked pretty darn good on offense other than couldn't punch it in on the goal line.

 

[WalkerBoh]

I would say if we got embarrassed up in Seattle it might be a bit concerning. Still even then one bad game does not make a season. We got whooped by the Chargers at home (not really score wise per say but got beat up on both sides of the ball) then played them again in the playoffs and did the same thing right back to them. Every team has that one bad Sunday or whatever a year it seems like. Unfortunately for us last year our worst day happened to be the Super Bowl. I think we showed last night that the team has made some very smart moves this off season to remedy some of the problems of last season and really that although I do think Seattle was the best team on the field I don't think if they played that game 10 times that what happened would actually happen again.


Also like Uhsplit said the biggest thing was both teams stayed healthy. Last year losing Champ and Wolfe pretty much for the year was a huge blow to what many thought would be a top-10 defense.


Also did anybody watch the Chargers play? Looks like they looked pretty darn good on offense other than couldn't punch it in on the goal line.

Didn't see the Chargers game, but they were playing against a swiss-cheese defense.

 

[BroncoInCALI]

I watched the entire Chargers game. I came away thinking:

Yes, the Chargers look improved, but it is hard to tell because the Dallas Defense is so thin.

The Chargers have a stable of very capable backs behind Ryan Matthews, who fumbled into the endzone on a Goal Line play resulting in a turnover, otherwise the Chargers would have put more points on the board.

For the Cowboys, Brandon Weeden looked about as good as we have seen him look since coming to the NFL.

 

[TDs3nOut]

I watched the entire Chargers game. I came away thinking:

Yes, the Chargers look improved, but it is hard to tell because the Dallas Defense is so thin.

The Chargers have a stable of very capable backs behind Ryan Matthews, who fumbled into the endzone on a Goal Line play resulting in a turnover, otherwise the Chargers would have put more points on the board.

For the Cowboys, Brandon Weeden looked about as good as we have seen him look since coming to the NFL.

I wasn't thrilled that they added Donald Brown. He's pretty underrated, in my opinion. I see in the box score that the rookie Branden Oliver also had a big game.

 

[randymon]

I watched the entire Chargers game. I came away thinking:

Yes, the Chargers look improved, but it is hard to tell because the Dallas Defense is so thin.

The Chargers have a stable of very capable backs behind Ryan Matthews, who fumbled into the endzone on a Goal Line play resulting in a turnover, otherwise the Chargers would have put more points on the board.

For the Cowboys, Brandon Weeden looked about as good as we have seen him look since coming to the NFL.

I watched a bit of Dallas/SD game and I already was thinking Dallas was in trouble before game and now, with that thin D and odds Romos back doesn't make thru wks 8, I say there is very good chance Cowboys get top 5 pk in next draft. Their in for a very dismal season IMO

 

[cdumler7]

Just watched the first half of the game and was surprised how easily the Cowboys moved the ball. Made Brandon Wheeden look like a competent quarterback and that is tough to do. Offensively they looked very efficient like they were last year.

 

[Malibu]

Great stuff on here from everybody. I didnt get a chance to get to watch the game and really dont think anything matters in preseason but I do like readng everyones thoughts and opnions on the game. Good work fellow Broncos fans.