Raider Week

[iknowftbll]

Defense looking solid but they’re going to need help from the offense at some point.

 

[Duffman]

Nothing says new and improved Offense like 1 first down and 13 yards passing. If not for Lindsay’s big run we’d have 0 first downs and less than 25 yards of Offense.

 

[iknowftbll]

That first half was disgusting. That offense was every bit as bad as the 2017 unit.

It can be a completely different game in the second half though. It’s only 12-0 despite the Raiders coming in and playing a great first half. Broncos need to make the second half a totally different game.

 

[nflbronco]

Umm

 

[SpiritOf77]

Not much was said last week because of the win, but Demaryius Thomas did all he could to blow that first quarter last week, and today, he's done much of the same ..

Never has this team had such a marquee player play down to the moment ...

6' 3" and plays like he's 5' 7"

 

[Duffman]

Looks like DT is hurt, you hate to see someone hurt could be a blessing in disguise

 

[iknowftbll]

And we’re finally on the board. Took way too long.

 

[iknowftbll]

And now the defense disappears.

 

[DJ Fieri]

God dammit we got the bad Case Keenum.

It's possible he turned back into a pumpkin.

 

[iknowftbll]

maybe not a catch but was definitely pass interference by the defense.

 

[iknowftbll]

That’s a TD. We’ve gotten boned three times now in this one.

 

[iknowftbll]

That game was uglier than last week!

Lots to say but I’m saving it for tomorrow.

 

[megalodon30]

Very cool note. Phil keeps playing like this, kid will be ROY.

 

[CEH]

Carr 29-32
Not good
Mahomes mightntear us a new one

 

[iknowftbll]

Carr 29-32
Not good
Mahomes mightntear us a new one

Yeah that was hard to watch. Made me think of JDR back in 2014 when he had an insanely talented defense and ran some of the worst schemes ever. This game plan...I don’t know what it was. 29/32 is horrid and with as much space to work as we have it is no wonder Carr was able to hit on such a high completion rate.

Still, the defense allowed 19 points, just 7 in the second half. The defense came through when it needed to.

The offense also came through when it needed to. They also got hosed a few times, but again I am going to hold off until tomorrow to talk about that. The Raiders are not a good defense and that performance by the O in the first half was horrid.

It all came together and the right team won this game. There are always positives to take away from winning but perhaps the biggest one for now is resiliency. This team has it, previous versions of the Broncos did not. The last time the Broncos fielded a team this resilient was 2015.

 

[SpiritOf77]

Shaq's block on that extra point proves to be huge

 

[SpiritOf77]

I thought Musgrave adjusted well .. Even with the plays that completely deflated momentum - Case's INT and #88's drop with eighteen seconds left - they bounced back ..

Tim Patrick's catch and run, Shaq's block are two example of guys stepping up and changing the game when we needed a pick up and after deflating turns ..

Sanders and Lindsay are big time players .. Third and long is not a guaranteed punt anymore ... heck, the past few years, we may as well have punted on 3rd and 4 ..

Carr completing all those passes with ease reminded me of that Ray Rhodes / Rich Gannon MNF nightmare .... I can't remember too many time when such huge sections of the field were so wide open ... On the other hand, those 3rd and 4th down stops proved to be huge ....

It seems as if our CBs were playing too soft and everytime I looked, they seemed to be 10-12 yards off the LOS before the snap .. at some point, when a QB is something like 28 for 30, I'd think you should get up in Cooper and Bryant's face and throw a wrench into that quick, timed stuff ...

But to hand the Raiders such a heartbreaking loss is great ... the Raiders played well for the most part and still lose - good stuff ...

 

[CaptainStubing]

I watched some of this game. Seemed pretty sloppy for both teams. Carr did look better though.

 

[Mingo]

One thing I noticed was how far off the Broncos pass defense was playing - it was like prevent defense the entire game. Wade Phillips had the guys paying up in your face - big difference.

DT continues with the drops.

Phillip Lindsay - maybe be rookie of the year if he continues with 100 from the LOS in every game.

Case Keenum - sometimes plays awful - sometimes plays well - always plays fearless - and gets better under game and situation pressure.

 

[iknowftbll]

There is so much to say about the Broncos 20-19 win over the Raiders yesterday. I think I'll try to break it down by offense, defense and special teams.


Offense: We'll start with the good. Putting up 20 in half a game is solid. Perhaps just as impressive is the fact the Broncos didn't need to be perfect to do it. Take the game winning drive for example. With 1:58 and needing a FG to win, the Broncos embarked on what has got to be one of the ugliest game winning drives in recent memory. They made some mistakes but they stayed with it until they broke through. As I watched I had a sense they could pull it off or the Raiders could put a stop to it and seal the win for themselves. This alone is a huge improvement over last year's team where I would have had zero confidence in the offense to drive within FG range. I am really excited by the potential this ground game has shown in the first two weeks. The team rushed for 168 yards yesterday, outstanding production. Keenum is clearly still adjusting and while he does I am glad to see we have something that can be a strength for this offense. Oh, and how about the gutsy QB sneak on 4th and goal?


With that said the Raiders did not exactly come to town with a top flight defense so it's worth considering: why did the Broncos need such an epic comeback (trailed by 12 as late as 10 minutes into the 3rd quarter) to win? The offense did not dictate the pace in the first half. The play calling was conservative and courteous to the visitors. I've seen more this year than any other about the Broncos pronounced home field advantage in September. It was 90+ degrees yesterday. Why was the offense moving so slow and allowing that Raiders defense to catch their breath between plays? Why didn't they run it down their throats? That first half was ugly. I mean 2017 offense ugly. And against a defense that may be better than they're getting credit for but in all likelihood is going to do well to rank in the top 25. Another note: We need DT catching the ball. I love the guy and I realize drops are unfortunately a part of his game. But yesterday it rose to an epic level and we simply cannot have that out of a guy who is supposed to be a top play maker.


On offense the single biggest positive is the resiliency. This team never quit on itself and kept them in a position to win the game. This is a huge positive development over last year's team. Add in some of the setbacks (seems a lot of calls went the Raiders way yesterday) and a team less mentally tough may have given up. This team stayed with it and kept grinding. Despite a hideous first half, the offense looked as good as any in the league in the second half, doing what they needed to do to get the win.


Defense: Again the good first. Any time you hold an opponent to under 20 points in today's NFL you've had a good day. The defense shut down the Raiders for most of the first half and following the Raiders first drive of the 2nd half. They did allow some scores, but they kept scoring under control and the Raiders were never able to pull away.


As for the bad: 29/32. That should be enough to make any DC want to vomit. I don't know where Woods came up with that game plan but I hope we never see it again. It isn't hard to spot where the problem was either: DBs playing 8-10 yards off on 3rd and 2, 3. That's an easy completion every time, especially for a QB who's going to dink and dunk anyway. The Raiders have some solid talent on offense, (Cooper, Cook, Carr) and a good O-line, but that was ridiculous. Some press coverage could have halted some of those Raiders drives and maybe this game wouldn't have been as close. It was sickening to watch it happen over and over and over and over and over and over again with no adjustments from the DC. I hope the HC looks at the tape with him and says, "Let's go ahead and put this one on the shelf for good." We have the talent at CB to be able to play man against some very good WRs, and I would like to see our DC coach the defense accordingly.


Special teams: I honestly can't say anything bad here. The blocked PAT proved critical, and kick and punt coverage was solid. McManus was 2/2 again and off to a great start for 2018. The third phase for the Broncos is hands down improved over last year's unit and if this keeps up it will pay dividends as the season progresses.


Coaching: I'll give VJ a lot of credit for the gutsy call to go for it on 4th and goal. Conventional wisdom is to take the points and make it a 1 score game. I hope the OC will allow the team to be more aggressive early and not wait until they are in a hole to start playing football. The games begin in the 1st quarter, not when the team is trailing by two scores. As for DC, Woods needs to give that tape a long look. His scheme allowed Carr an obscene completion percentage and a more capable offense (like, say...the Chiefs) is going to blow circuits on the scoreboard if Woods uses that scheme against them.


Intangible positive: I often tell my kids the only thing worse than a sore loser is a sore winner and I risk violating that with this comment, but oh well. The win is awesome, but HOW it came and that it happened this way against the Raiders makes it even better. To basically control a game from the start then lose it on a FG with just 6 second remaining is gut wrenching and I hope it takes the Raiders weeks to recover.


Complete homer comment: I don't go full homer all that often so I hope you'll allow me this thought. I officially don't care how badly a Broncos O-lineman holds. I don't care if Bolles wraps up and throws a defender to the ground. I will automatically disagree with any holding penalty on the Broncos O-line. Since 2015 the league has seemingly decided the rules of holding do not apply toward the Broncos' opponents' offensive line. I get it: it's not good for ratings if every Broncos game Von Miller just destroys the opponents' offensive game plan on every snap. Still, you've got to assess SOME of those holds by Broncos opponents. Miller draws a ridiculous number of holds by TEs and O-linemen and it's pretty rare they are called. To the point that it's a clear statistical anomaly. And that's just Miller. If the officiating crew is going to allow them, fine, but make it a point to allow equally flagrant holds by the Broncos O-line. It is called so inconsistently (in a way that consistently hurts the Broncos) that I wonder why it's even a rule anymore. Either enforce it equally or scrap it.


Good win by the Broncos, overcoming mistakes, setbacks, bad officials and the Raiders all in one afternoon. It feels good to be 2-0 but I'll remain only cautiously optimistic for now.