Thoughts on the final preseason game

[cdumler7]

So I know the 4th preseason game is about as worthless of a game as it gets but for the Broncos trying to figure out the last few roster spots there were a few things that stood out to me...

1) Osweiler has confirmed to me that for better or worse he is the future of the Broncos quarterback position for now. Obviously if Manning plays out his full contract we will have to see if the Broncos resign Osweiler or not but he has shown on the field the full command of the offense. Behind a crappy OL yesterday he looked very poised and made all the throws. He was under constant pressure yet stayed very accurate throughout. Now his final touchdown/interception ratio for the preseason doesn't look that great but considering the pressure he was under and how many rushing touchdowns we had with him on the field I am left impressed. Just think about these stats for a second...

When Osweiler was in the offense scored 7 touchdowns and 1 field goal.

He finished with a completion percentage of 59.2% with 10 drops by the receivers (only passed 49 times so a drop every 5 passes). If those are caught he is close to 80% completion percentage.
Osweiler had the longest run of the preseason for the Broncos so he not only can pass pretty well but knows how to run.

Now maybe this is me just speculating a bit but the Broncos leaving Osweiler in as long as they did was a showing that they are only planning on keeping 2 quarterbacks this year. Dysert has hardly gotten any opportunity from what I can tell. Unless they absolutely think Dysert can become a starter someday in this league I would cut him and hope he can land on the practice squad.

Looks like the Broncos are going with Isaiah Burse for special teams now. Nobody else even got a chance to return a punt. He looked decent but to me he also scares me with all the dropping issues I have been hearing from camp. I thought that is why we got rid of Holiday.

The Broncos only played 4 DT's yesterday. 2 of those 4 most likely make the team. I honestly from yesterday's game can only tell one of them in Marvin Austin. The other spot truly is a toss up in my opinion.

Anyway not much else to read into this game. Going to be some tough cuts in the secondary, defensive line, running back (Bibbs made sure if he is not making the team he is going out with a bang), and even linebacker.

 

[cdumler7]

Also one cool little stat that doesn't mean a whole lot but if nothing else shows the depth of the team especially on the defensive side of the ball. Last year our team in the preseason gave up 104 points if I remember right. This year we only gave up 37 points total. So 26 points a game compared to 9.25 points per game. And not like we were playing complete scrubs especially on offense. All but Houston I think finished in the top-10 for offense last year. Now given we didn't play starters the whole time but like I said should show the improvement on our depth on the defensive side of the ball.

 

[TDs3nOut]

Didn't see the game, but I checked out the box score. Seems to me that Burse makes the roster as the PR. Would have liked Fowler to get a shot, but I know that the coaches know better than I do. LOL Hope Bennie at least makes the practice squad.

Also looks as if Juwan Thompson locked up a spot, which I find interesting. Love the way he runs from what I've seen. Like Fowler, I have a feeling that this kid could be special.

Finally, I see that Big Vick had some tackles. I won't be at all disappointed if he makes the final 53.

 

[cdumler7]

I watched most of the game. Honestly I didn't think Burse was making the roster until the 2nd half he really turned it on and made a few plays and made some people miss. I think he makes the team but he will have me nervous and I wouldn't mind if there is a better option as a punt returner/wide receiver on the waiver wire for the Broncos to try and get them.


Thompson most likely makes this team but Bibbs definitely made sure the coaches have to actually think about the decision. I think Thompson is the better all-around prospect for this upcoming season because he blocks and catches really well but Bibbs to me is the better pure runner of the two. He showed why he had so many touchdowns in one year of college. He is just a bit too raw though for my liking right now. I trust Thompson next to Peyton a whole heck of a lot more than Bibbs.


Big Vick had a good game but the problem is so did the other 3 DT's. Unrein had a really nice sack and showed his usual hustle. Sua Fila made a couple of plays in the backfield. And Austin is for sure one of the two. The team would be crazy not to keep him. So I honestly don't think the team can go too wrong with whoever they pick. My choices right now would be Austin and Vickerson. Big Vick is still not fully recovered yet played well. I can't imagine when he gets fully healed up what he is going to bring to this defense. Plus he just fits that nasty streak that this defense likes.

 

[TDs3nOut]

I watched most of the game. Honestly I didn't think Burse was making the roster until the 2nd half he really turned it on and made a few plays and made some people miss. I think he makes the team but he will have me nervous and I wouldn't mind if there is a better option as a punt returner/wide receiver on the waiver wire for the Broncos to try and get them.


Thompson most likely makes this team but Bibbs definitely made sure the coaches have to actually think about the decision. I think Thompson is the better all-around prospect for this upcoming season because he blocks and catches really well but Bibbs to me is the better pure runner of the two. He showed why he had so many touchdowns in one year of college. He is just a bit too raw though for my liking right now. I trust Thompson next to Peyton a whole heck of a lot more than Bibbs.


Big Vick had a good game but the problem is so did the other 3 DT's. Unrein had a really nice sack and showed his usual hustle. Sua Fila made a couple of plays in the backfield. And Austin is for sure one of the two. The team would be crazy not to keep him. So I honestly don't think the team can go too wrong with whoever they pick. My choices right now would be Austin and Vickerson. Big Vick is still not fully recovered yet played well. I can't imagine when he gets fully healed up what he is going to bring to this defense. Plus he just fits that nasty streak that this defense likes.

Interesting remarks. Totally agree that it would be crazy not to keep Austin. The choice between Unrein and Vickerson might come down to money. I think that both are good players, so I can live with either choice.

Hope you are right that Bibbs is a better runner than Thompson if we keep the former at the latter's expense. I admittedly have a propensity to try and spot our next diamond in the rough and I developed an affection for Juwan. Won't be surprised if he becomes a good NFL RB, though I realize it is also probable that he never takes the field in a regular season game. After all, I suspect there is good reason that I'm not on the scouting department's payroll.

 

[cdumler7]

Interesting remarks. Totally agree that it would be crazy not to keep Austin. The choice between Unrein and Vickerson might come down to money. I think that both are good players, so I can live with either choice.

Hope you are right that Bibbs is a better runner than Thompson if we keep the former at the latter's expense. I admittedly have a propensity to try and spot our next diamond in the rough and I developed an affection for Juwan. Won't be surprised if he becomes a good NFL RB, though I realize it is also probable that he never takes the field in a regular season game. After all, I suspect there is good reason that I'm not on the scouting department's payroll.

Yeah I was all for Juwan Thompson and still am. I like what he brings to the team as an all-around RB. He also has experience in college running in a very similar type offense as that of the Broncos so he has that leg up of not needing to feel completely overwhelmed learning an NFL type offense.

The thing with Bibbs is I think he has shown great progress over the last few weeks. Thompson in week 1 averaged 9.8 yards per carry. Since then though he has only averaged 3.2 yards. Bibbs on the other hand has averaged 4.4 yards per carry in the last 3 games of the preseason. So to me Bibbs has shown that as the game has slowed down he has done a lot better job finding that hole. He also has 3 touchdowns to 0 for Thompson. He has a nose for the end zone.

At this point I do hope Thompson is the choice just because he fits the offense all-around a lot better. I just feel completely at ease having him step in and play next to Peyton where Bibbs I am just not sure how he would do blocking wise. I'm hoping though Bibbs can make it onto our practice squad and get a year to develop and then show what he can do next year. I think he is one that I could see making the roster and doing well.

I honestly after this preseason feel a whole heck of a lot better about our RB position than when it first started. We are young at the position but every single one of them showed the ability to make guys miss.

The money side of the issue with Unrein and Vickerson really isn't that big of a difference so I don't think money will be a deciding factor. Vickerson if cut saves us $1.77 million while Unrein saves us $1.43 million. A little difference but not enough in my opinion to make the coaches have to really factor that in.

The guy I could see getting cut that would be a huge cap saving is that of Prater. I know McManus didn't do the greatest showing yesterday missing 2 field goals, but with Prater even a small mistake away from missing a season and having a big cap number for a kicker I could see the team if McManus does decent in the first 4-games holding onto the spot and letting Prater walk. Now obviously if he doesn't then Prater cannot get back here soon enough but I for one actually do like this McManus. I think he just needed to calm down a bit and with a little more time could be that next big leg in Denver.

 

[TDs3nOut]

Yeah I was all for Juwan Thompson and still am. I like what he brings to the team as an all-around RB. He also has experience in college running in a very similar type offense as that of the Broncos so he has that leg up of not needing to feel completely overwhelmed learning an NFL type offense.

The thing with Bibbs is I think he has shown great progress over the last few weeks. Thompson in week 1 averaged 9.8 yards per carry. Since then though he has only averaged 3.2 yards. Bibbs on the other hand has averaged 4.4 yards per carry in the last 3 games of the preseason. So to me Bibbs has shown that as the game has slowed down he has done a lot better job finding that hole. He also has 3 touchdowns to 0 for Thompson. He has a nose for the end zone.

At this point I do hope Thompson is the choice just because he fits the offense all-around a lot better. I just feel completely at ease having him step in and play next to Peyton where Bibbs I am just not sure how he would do blocking wise. I'm hoping though Bibbs can make it onto our practice squad and get a year to develop and then show what he can do next year. I think he is one that I could see making the roster and doing well.

I honestly after this preseason feel a whole heck of a lot better about our RB position than when it first started. We are young at the position but every single one of them showed the ability to make guys miss.

The money side of the issue with Unrein and Vickerson really isn't that big of a difference so I don't think money will be a deciding factor. Vickerson if cut saves us $1.77 million while Unrein saves us $1.43 million. A little difference but not enough in my opinion to make the coaches have to really factor that in.

The guy I could see getting cut that would be a huge cap saving is that of Prater. I know McManus didn't do the greatest showing yesterday missing 2 field goals, but with Prater even a small mistake away from missing a season and having a big cap number for a kicker I could see the team if McManus does decent in the first 4-games holding onto the spot and letting Prater walk. Now obviously if he doesn't then Prater cannot get back here soon enough but I for one actually do like this McManus. I think he just needed to calm down a bit and with a little more time could be that next big leg in Denver.

Not too persuaded by preseason stats, but perhaps you are right that Bibbs has come on to show that he is more deserving of a roster spot than Thompson. I know that I would have liked to get a look at what Juan is capable of running with the starters against opposing starting Ds.

I'm surprised that the cap savings on Vick is so little. Maybe, given their respective health, age, and salaries, Unrein is the smarter choice.

I have developed a lot of confidence in Prater. Only several years ago, I thought that he and Colquitt were among our top players gaah. Perhaps it's time to change kickers, though. Who cares, until a guy misses a key kick or makes a big one, right?