Bleacher Report - Articles by Chaz Mattson

Brett Favre Proving that the Elway and Montana Principles Do Hold True

Chaz Mattson — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 01:52:03 -0500

Considering all the great quarterbacks in NFL history, without a doubt, Brett Favre has proven that he is among the best.

He sits along the legends of the NFL lore in John Elway, Joe Montana, Dan Marino, Roger Staubach, Terry Bradshaw, Peyton Manning, and Tom Brady.

Say what you will, Cheesehead Nation, you never wanted to see a No. 4 FAVRE jersey come into the frozen tundra in any other color scheme but the Packers' gold and green.

Unfortunately you, the franchise owners, and the front office let it happen. It was during that time period that a few key ideologies, theories, and principals about how to handle such situations became the center of great debate nationwide on sports talk shows.

The questions surrounding Brett Favre had to do with his offseason attitude and questions about his desire. On the Packers' front, it was complicated to say the least; but it had more to do with building for the future than the present.

Certainly, since Favre beat the Packers twice this season with the arch rival Minnesota Vikings and his new team appears primed and ready to make a deep playoff run...one which will in all likelihood have them playing in the NFC Championship and possibly in the Super Bowl.

The whole debacle and fallout between the Packers and Favre is not unique in and of itself. However, it did cover a lot of ground. With that, it’s really time to get a clear pulse on the dynamic of what happened between Favre and the Packers.

At the end of the day, any way you slice and dice the data, the Packers and their fans only have themselves to blame for letting Brett Favre go. Moreover, and most damaging, they instigated it with not allowing him back to camp and with the eventual trade.

It's an emotional issue but one that is worth looking at on a deeper level.

So by now it’s fair to ask what exactly is the Elway Principle and how does it apply to Brett Favre?

Explaining the Elway Principle

In a sense the Elway Principle is the explanation of a dynamic that does exist and is unique to professional football.

The Elway Principal is simply this: A franchise quarterback is retained by the franchise for the greater good of the team and the player with the ultimate goal of a Super Bowl Championship in mind.

In the case of John Elway, it took the intervention of owner Pat Bowlen to keep a trade of Elway from Denver to Washington from happening.

Dan Reeves was later fired in part because of his decision to seek a new quarterback. Reeves drafted Tommy Maddox out of UCLA as Elway’s possible replacement in the early 1990s.

The Elway Principle is somewhat sympathetic on both sides.

Don’t misunderstand it however. It’s not entirely empathetic.

When applying the rule to Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers, the direct comparison can and should be made between John Elway and the Denver Broncos because there are parallels that exist in how each franchise handled their business.

In the Broncos' case they knew they had a franchise quarterback who was heading into the sunset of his career.

By 1990, John Elway had played in three Super Bowls while his team suffered blowouts in each of the big games. Denver became one of the best teams in the NFL during that time period, but could not win the big game.

Something very unique happened to the Broncos franchise at that time, a time when free agency played a major role in the NFL.

Both Elway and the Broncos stuck with one another through challenging setbacks and time periods. Elway and the Broncos showed noticeable signs of falling into mediocrity and there was the trade that never was and never should have even been a discussion.

The Broncos could have given up on Elway in the early 1990s when Dan Reeves had a personal rift with Elway and Mike Shanahan over play calling. In many ways, Dan was reaching a burnout point over the shortcomings of his Broncos teams in the Super Bowls.

The loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XXIV was devastating and forced major changes on a team that went to the Super Bowl three out of four seasons but lost to the 49ers 55-10 in the big game.

The Broncos, however, became yesterday’s news as they went 0-3 in the big dance while the Buffalo Bills hit their stride and reached four consecutive Super Bowls from the AFC.

The Bills' fate was no better, as they went 0-4 in those games, as the NFC was dominating football at the time with the emergence of the retooled Dallas Cowboys.

Broncos’ owner Pat Bowlen ensured that despite these hardships, John Elway stayed in Denver and never landed in Washington, as Reeves was proposing at the time.

Pat Bowlen showed Dan Reeves the door after the 1992 season and eventually got his man Mike Shanahan to return to Denver and lead his football franchise in 1995.

The Broncos had been through two mediocre seasons under Wade Phillips and the first one under Mike Shanahan. Then the Broncos had a devastating playoff loss to Jacksonville in 1996 after the team filled so many high expectations.

It was one loss that still stings the franchise, especially when you consider they could have possibly had a three-peat, something that has never been done in the Super Bowl era.

The Broncos were the clear favorite in the AFC and had a memorable blowout victory at New England, the eventual 1996 AFC Champion during the regular season.

Consider the fact that during the following season of John Elway’s career he tore a bicep tendon in a pre-season game in Mexico in 1997 against the Miami Dolphins.

That was the same season John Elway made his now-legendary helicopter leap to decisively tell his team they were going to beat Brett Favre’s Green Bay Packers team in Super Bowl XXXII.

The Pack were the defending champions and Elway on that one play began to drive the dagger through the hearts of the Green Bay faithful as he came crashing to earth for a first down.

That play and that Super Bowl matchup might not have happened if the Broncos had given up on John Elway. The key note here is that John Elway and Denver stuck it out together during Elway’s 15^th season.

In Green Bay there is a clear distinction that must be made. Brett Favre was being forced out by the Packers management and head coach who wanted to endorse the draft pick of Aaron Rodgers, who was picked four seasons previously.

So when he retired at the time, he was being forced out. Then Brett decided he had something to prove since he later felt he could still play and still wanted to play.

By that time, the concessions being made by the Packers were nil and none. They were sticking with Aaron Rodgers.

Here is the flaw of that argument: Aaron Rodgers is not Brett Favre either in athletic ability or in star talent. It’s very possible that Aaron Rodgers may never even reach the Super Bowl.

Now think about that for a moment and consider the argument thus far.

John Elway had the type of injury that could have kept him from playing the 1997 season. He could have been on the IR and not the championship platform hoisting the Super Bowl XXXII trophy above his head.

It still seems peculiar at best to think that the Green Bay Packers were ready to part with Brett Favre before he was really ready to part ways with them. It’s not like Brett Favre really ever had an Elway like injury holding him back at the time either.

So what was holding them back?

It’s a simple answer, but a complicated formula that causes blindness in business and athletics.

It’s called pride. Its best friend is ego, who, for the record, is also blind.

The Packers management did what many management groups do. They took control of the situation with their power and their money, but they failed to do what people are generally paid big dollars for: making the right decision.

The same sort of actions that got Dan Reeves fired in Denver would most likely be the fate of current Packers coach Mike McCarthy if only it was his decision alone to part ways with Brett Favre. The fact of the matter is that it was not.

Mark Murphy, President and CEO of the Packers, along with G.M. and Director of Football Operations Ted Thompson led the charge with McCarthy against Favre.

Make no mistake; this was an all-systems-go charge against their former NFL MVP and future Hall of Famer.

The Packers offered Brett Favre over $20 million to never play professional football again shortly after he was banned from the facility and team activities.

Brett Favre has made less actually playing for the Jets and the Vikings, but he did prove his point this year to the Packers twice, once at hallowed Lambeau Field.

This is the pivotal piece defining the Elway Principle.

There is no way, none whatsoever that the Broncos fans or owner were willing to part ways with John Elway. It was part of the understanding through trials and shortcomings in the playoffs that the franchise owed John time and space to work towards coming back for the next season late in his career.

There was no political maneuvering. No conspiracy. No collusive change management policy designed to oust a longtime veteran, star power and all.

Absent in Denver was the future franchise quarterback. Up until the very end of Elway’s career the Broncos had the likes of Bubby Brister and Brian Griese ready to go, but neither could be considered seriously as filling Elway’s shoes.

Even if John Elway retired and later decided to come back, the Broncos' franchise would have allowed it to happen. They would have made concessions based on his ability and leadership.

This is the thing the Broncos figured out that the Packers somehow could not.

For whatever reason the Green Bay Packers failed to recognize those attributes in Brett Favre.

The Packers drafted Aaron Rodgers in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft. It was at that time the team started looking ahead, little did the fan base actually know they were seeking a successor to actually oust Brett Favre.

Had it been sold to the fans that way then an absolute uproar would have taken place, even in the depths of the Packers' mediocrity at the time.

Brett Favre was respectable in 2005, just as he played more than respectably his last year in Green Bay, leading them to the NFC Championship in 2007.

Brett showed his mettle last season after his trade to New York in helping the Jets be one of the best teams in the AFC in 2008 until their late-season collapse.

The Jets implosion was bigger than Brett Favre, but he was partially to blame for his poor play and arm injuries that weren’t entirely disclosed or known at the time.

Then came the 2009 season, one in which Brett Favre was in Minnesota Vikings camp for only a short time before taking the reins and with them a total change in the mindset of a football franchise.

There was a great deal of fear and excitement among the Vikings fans and coaching staff.

Head Coach Brad Childress is now virtually married to that decision; to bring Brett to Minnesota even after wavering with the Vikings could have been career suicide for the coach. So far it’s been paying huge dividends on the 2009 season with the Vikings at 10-1.

Explaining the Montana Principle

This brings to mind another situation it’s called The Montana Principle, named after San Francisco legend Joe Montana who won four championships with his 49er teams and was later traded to the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Montana Principle is simply this: A franchise quarterback is traded by the franchise regardless of the ultimate goal of a Super Bowl Championship in mind. This is usually done to accommodate a youth movement or a younger backup quarterback.

Specifically, in Joe Montana’s case, Steve Young became the starter for two years before Joe was healthy enough to play again. So at that time he did have an image of being damaged goods like other star players traded late in their careers.

Looking at first piece of the definition, it may as well be called the Montana/Favre Principle for the rest of time. Both franchise quarterbacks were spurned by their former teams for whatever reason for the sake of progress and moving on. This was all done despite six Super Bowl appearances and five championships between them.

The situations are very different, however. Joe Montana was injured and traded two years later. Steve Young eventually did win a Super Bowl; it is however very possible to make the argument that Joe Montana may have won two Super Bowls.

In Favre’s case, Aaron Rogers clearly lacked playing time, but it was the front office that had to cover themselves and found that to be more paramount than winning football games and championships most immediately.

It’s possible that Brett Favre may hoist the hardware one more time at the end of this season, ultimately proving out these principals all the more. In Green Bay, it’s already proving to be a long cold winter.

Consider for a moment some of Joe Montana and Brett Favre’s career statistics.

Joe Montana was 117-47 spanning a 15-year career. The 49ers never ensconced Montana into the starting role until starter Steve DeBerg was injured midway through the 1980 season.

Montana’s first full season as a starter in 1981 saw him lead the 49ers to a 13-3 record, which thanks to Dwight Clark’s amazing catch in the NFC Championship resulted in their first Super Bowl.

San Francisco downed the Cincinnati Bengals in that game to claim their first championship.

Montana won three more with the 49ers in 1983, 1989, and 1990. His playoff record was something to be admired with nine playoff appearances with San Francisco and two with the Kansas City Chiefs. His record with the 49ers was a brilliant 14-5 in playoff games.

At Kansas City, the Chiefs had very good teams but could not win big games and lost out on making a Super Bowl with Joe Montana. His record there was 2-2 in the playoffs. The Chiefs however were not the 49ers on or off the field.

As a passer, Joe Montana connected on 3,409 passes for 40,551 yards. His career completion record finished at 63.2 percent.

Joe Montana was essentially replaced as the starter in San Francisco due to an injury he suffered on his elbow in 1991. Joe only played one game over the 1991 and 1992 NFL seasons.

The 49ers found insurance in backup Steve Young and by the end of the 1992 season the franchise parted ways with Joe Montana.

This was a time that saw a little tension and heartbreak as the franchise could no longer keep Joe Montana on their roster due to the evolution of change in San Francisco.

Perhaps, when it comes to Brett Favre, the Packers knew more about Brett Favre’s arm than the rest of the country. That may be the reason they did not want to bring Brett Favre back after he led them to an NFC title game.

The press however had numerous reports regarding a deteriorating relationship between Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers front office.

So for Brett Favre’s part, his statistics and leadership were shown the door.

Probably one statistic speaks volumes more about Brett Favre’s dilemma in Green Bay than any other. That statistic is the measure of a quarterback’s performance itself, the quarterback rating.

In 2007, Favre’s last year in Green Bay his quarterback rating was 95.7, the third-best rating of his career. His career rating resides at 86.4.

At the peak of Favre’s career, when he won the Super Bowl in 1996, his rating was 95.8, his second-highest rating ever. The following year when the Packers lost to the Broncos in the Super Bowl, Favre’s rating was at 92.6.

What catches the eye are his ratings with the Jets and Vikings. In New York, with an injured arm, Brett the Jet had a rating of 81.0.

This season with the Vikings through 11 games, he’s sitting on a 112.1 rating, his best-ever by a mile.

But ratings don’t tell you the amazing last minute heroics and the ways in which Brett Favre is a man among men. It’s a shame, perhaps they should.

For his career Favre has thrown nearly 6,000 completions, has a 61.9 completion percentage, racked up 68,001 yards, 488 touchdowns, and 313 interceptions.

His numbers take a backseat to no one.

Perhaps the Green Bay Packers thought of Joe Montana’s situation briefly and spurned their golden boy Brett Favre in the blockbuster trade that landed him in New York for all of one season.

The sheer neglect of seeking out the best possible solution for the Green Bay Packers franchise is baffling when considering the great lengths they went to silence Brett Favre and to back the draft selection of Aaron Rodgers.

The Packers probably should have considered how the Denver Broncos handled John Elway late in his career for the betterment of their own franchise, yes even through extremely challenging times.

Certainly the past is the past, but we can learn from it.

In the case of Brett Favre, these well stated principles do hold true.

He’s still proving it game after game.

Denver Broncos Get a Giant Win On Thanksgiving

Chaz Mattson — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 14:29:34 -0500

Call it a big win.

A must have.

A must win situation.

Call it what you will, just call it what was: it was a giant win for the Denver Broncos.

Not even the likes of the FOX pre-game show prognosticators saw this one coming.

Granted the Denver Broncos have been down for a solid month, but even the professionals missed big time when it came to picking this game.

Not even Howie Long from the AFC West picked Denver. Then again he always was a Raider.

Hopefully you and yours were able to stuff enough Thanksgiving food in your faces that you were feeling rather large by the time the kickoff rolled around on the NFL Network. A feeling is sublime, as you're content in life’s emotional here and now.

The Denver Broncos played host to the New York Giants on a Thanksgiving evening in what was supposed to be the night they wrapped up the AFC West Division title.

At least that was how it appeared a month ago with the Broncos 6-0 and the struggling Chargers at 3-3. That would have happened had the Broncos not gone on a four game skid and the San Diego Chargers not gotten so hot to make the division race drastically flip-flop in less than a month.

For their part the Broncos decided before it was too late that it was high time to air out things in a player’s only meeting on Tuesday night. It was called for by their team’s new found stalwart and spiritual leader Brian Dawkins.

No one outside of the team really knows what was said or done, and no one needs too. The end result was a full team effort akin to the effort of the first six weeks of the season.

The team did struggle from time to time on offense but did start producing points on the majority of their drives. It is something that has not been seen out of the Broncos since the Mike Shanahan era.

Something else not really seen and in severe neglect since the Mike Shanahan era in Denver was the running game. In particular the zone running scheme reared its head and turned into a huge problem for the New York Giants defense.

Offensively the Broncos showed a lack of composure at times to the point of being reamed by their youthful head coach Josh McDaniels. So much so that his verbiage bomb nuked more than a few front-range households to the tune of an NFL Network full apology in real time as the recorded tirade was replayed still intact. No bleeps but plenty of blunder to go around at the NFL Network offices.

This all came about after three penalties caused a Broncos drive to stall and the team had to settle for a Matt Prater field goal.

In spite of the minor discombobulated offense, the Broncos were productive and the zone running scheme against the Giants front was lethal.

The Giants front line has been battling the injury bug and their lateral pursuit and contain did not make the trip to Denver for Thanksgiving. The Broncos used and abused this advantage in a dominating performance in a game they had to have.

Meanwhile, the Broncos' defense rose from the dead.

This happened because the offense was moving the ball, make no mistake about it. The offense and the defense are joined at the hip. When one succeeds, the other prevails; when both are bad things are terrible.

Additionally the Denver Broncos are very hard to figure out this season.

At the moment, there is only one description that fits them best.

They are a streaky football team: hot or cold, never both.

Bright Stats on the Sheet

The most important number right now is one.

The Broncos got the one victory they needed so desperately to build the rest of their season and playoff hopes on, and it is far from over for this team.

If the Broncos are able to retain the momentum they will reel off more wins and more stats to be sure and they might possibly win the division if they can play solid like they did on Thanksgiving night.

Statistics from the game bear the fact that they dominated on both sides of the ball.

Denver had 23 first downs to the Giants' 15. The Giants only attained two of their first downs rushing the ball, which shows that their bread and butter on the ground was taken away from them by Denver’s tenacious defense.

The Broncos offense racked up 373 total yards to the Giants 267. Keep in mind the Giants faced a prevent defense much of the second half of the football game.

Denver controlled the tempo and the clock at 35:30 to the Giants 24:30 in the telling statistic, time of possession.

On the ground Knowshon Moreno and Correll Buckhalter combined for 139 yards. This combination still only has one rusher over a hundred yards for the season, but provided a much needed shot in the arm. The Broncos remained committed to the run game and Moreno did eventually score one touchdown.

Kicker Matt Prater has matured a great deal this season and went 4-4 on field goals, with two extra points on the night.

The Broncos scored 26 points on the night, their fifth highest output this season, but it solidified the template they must have for their success.

The Broncos must stay on the field offensively, own the clock, score points in any way they can. The fact that the Broncos went with the zone blocking scheme was a pure concession from head coach Josh McDaniels that his version of the run game was not playing to his teams’ strengths.

The Broncos dominated the edge of the line of scrimmage and opened up endless opportunities for Moreno and Buckhalter to run downhill, something that was not seen much in the first ten games of the season.

This offensive control allowed the defense to be unpredictable and as hard hitting as they were in the first six games of this season. The Broncos took care of the ball on offense and created turnovers on defense. Both teams had one interception, but the Broncos forced three Giant fumbles, two of which were recovered by the Broncos with the third rolling out of bounds after a vicious hit by Dawkins.

Furthermore, to add to the Broncos determination came a few shining examples with Brandon Marshall hauling in a pair of spectacular one hand grabs. Kyle Orton also distributed the ball well to tight end Tony Scheffler on a few keys while Brandon Stokley and Daniel Graham hauled in one big catch each to help the team.

Defensively the Broncos kept pressure on Eli Manning all night long and turned in three sacks for a loss of 20 yards.

For the Record

The Broncos are now 7-4 and have more than a fighting chance to make the playoffs. The team will however have to stay on track if they are to secure their playoff slot.

Going to Kansas City in the past has never been automatic by any stretch for the Broncos. But, if the Broncos are indeed elite in the AFC, look for them to dominate in Kansas City in a very winnable game.

The Broncos are 1-2 in the early games this season, winning in Cincinnati and losing in Baltimore and Washington. Ironically enough the Broncos have three more early games remaining on the schedule at Kansas City, at Indianapolis, and at Philadelphia.

The Broncos are also 2-1 against the NFC East this season with the remaining game at Philadelphia two days after Christmas in the second to last game of the season.

Final Note

For the Broncos the theme really should be to win out at all cost. If Denver does win out, they will more than likely surpass San Diego again and win the division. That would guarantee them one or two home playoff games and anything is possible at that point.

The Broncos had a much better effort out of Orton on Thanksgiving, sprained ankle and all, and again appear headed in the right direction.

Yes it is late in the season; however, it is not too late for the Broncos to look at signing a veteran backup quarterback over the upcoming extended week.

Should Kyle Orton go down again he is probably done for some time. The idea of signing a Jeff Garcia makes a great deal of sense when you consider the fact that he is a gamer, not just a game manager. There is more creativity and more possibilities to bringing in a veteran of his caliber to help the Broncos solidify the position overall. Without a doubt Chris Simms has proven that he’s not ready and can’t be trusted at this juncture.

Finally they say winning cures a number of ills, in the Broncos case this could not be truer as they are sticking together as a team and grinding it out again to win games. To Coach McDaniels' credit, he’s not afraid to get in his players' grills to help them realize what’s at stake.

contact Chaz at sportsmanagement@gmail.com

Denver Broncos Lose Composure as the Playoff Picture Focuses

Chaz Mattson — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:40:48 -0500

In case there was anyone uncertain or unsure of the Denver Broncos' current downward slide, it has now reached the breaking point.

The Broncos started out by taking things one game at a time and produced a 6-0 streak. They have just as easily cast away their conference and divisional advantages on their 0-4 slide.

So, in case you were wondering, it’s officially time to panic, so by all means, please do panic.

The Denver Broncos are currently ranked No. 7 in the conference, which when translated, puts them on the outside looking into the playoff picture.

Oh mirror, mirror, tell us what you see, because it really appears to be true.

Just as easily as San Diego put the hurt on the Broncos yesterday to the pathetic tune of 32-3, did the orange and blue officially fall into the fight of their playoff lives in Week 10, following an amazing 6-0 start.

The AFC playoffs currently lineup right now as follows:

Division Leaders, Overall (Conference)

Indianapolis Colts, 10-0 (6-0)

Cincinnati Bengals, 7-3 (5-3, Denver Owns Tiebreaker)

San Diego Chargers, 7-3 (5-3)

New England Patriots, 7-3 (5-3, Denver Owns Tiebreaker)

Wild Card Teams

Jacksonville Jaguars, 6-4 (5-2)

Pittsburgh Steelers, 6-4 (4-3, Pittsburgh Owns Tiebreaker vs. Denver)

Bubble Teams

Denver Broncos, 6-4 (5-3)

Houston Texans, 5-4 (4-3)

Baltimore Ravens, 5-5 (5-4, Baltimore Owns Tie Breaker vs. Denver)

Miami Dolphins, 5-5 (3-3)

Given the current standings, the Broncos are reeling with no answers immediately in sight. Indy appears to be headed to home field advantage throughout the playoffs, with the rest of the AFC certainly taking shape.

The Broncos own two tiebreakers, but they are against teams that appear to be division winners in Cincinnati and New England. That essentially values those tiebreakers meaningless.

The Bengals play two division leaders in the coming weeks in Minnesota and San Diego. However, they will play creampuffs like rival Cleveland, Detroit, and Kansas City with their final game played at the New York Jets.

The Patriots have two challenging games the next two weeks at New Orleans, and at Miami. Following those two games, the Patriots will play beatable teams in hosting Carolina, at Buffalo, hosting Jacksonville, and at Houston.

The San Diego Chargers have a manageable road to the playoffs at this point. The Chargers start by hosting divisional foe Kansas City and then go on the road to Cleveland and Dallas. The Chargers return home to face the Cincinnati Bengals, travel to play at the Titans, and then host Washington in the season finale.

Jacksonville and Pittsburgh are currently in the wild-card slots.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are at San Francisco, host Houston, Miami, and Indianapolis, and then finish out at New England and Cleveland. The Jaguars could start selling out games as they come down the stretch, which could make their home field advantage much stronger.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are at the Ravens next, in a game that could put Baltimore out of the picture, or hurt the Steelers if Denver or another team starts to get hot. The Steelers host Oakland, play at the Browns, host the Packers and Ravens, and then finish out at Miami.

So what does this all mean for the Broncos?

It’s a cliché for a reason, but the Broncos control their own destiny. The best medicine in Denver is to win out, but the Broncos have three very good teams remaining on their schedule and two divisional foes that love to beat Denver when given the opportunity.

Denver is hosting a physical football team on Thanksgiving night in the New York Giants, then, after a 10-day break, go to Arrowhead to face Kansas City. The Chiefs are always a tough game for the Broncos on the road.

The Broncos then go to Indianapolis, host archrival Oakland, at Philadelphia, and then host Kansas City in the season finale.

Baring a total collapse by the Chargers and another role reversal by the Broncos, which doesn’t seem likely, Denver will only make the playoffs as a Wild Card if they get help along the way.

The Jags looks to have as many as four more losses along the way so nothing is certain in Jacksonville. Pittsburgh has virtually lost the division title, so they must have both games against the Ravens.

The Broncos could have beaten any of the remaining teams in the first six games, but they now have to win all of their remaining six games, which is a different pressure altogether.

This is the lay of the land that is known with regards to the schedule.

What is not known currently is how the Broncos will progress with the quarterback situation in disarray. Kyle Orton did not appear very mobile in the pocket and had a bad game overall, but it was still light years better than what Chris Simms did against the San Diego Chargers.

The harsh reality right now with this team is they need to get on another streak similar to the one that started the season. The problem here is they need to do it with uncertainty in the leadership ranks.

Some have criticized Brandon Marshall for holding out in the offseason and being a detriment to the team. Say what you will, but Brandon has produced this season when given the opportunity to do so.

Some say his not being at training camp discredits him as a leader on this team. Also, his sideline argument with rookie running back Knowshon Moreno in front of their divisional rivals and the NFL fanbase, squashed any composure this team may have had.

However when he got into it with rookie running back Knowshon Moreno on the sideline after Moreno all but fumbled away the division title on the goal line yesterday. What ensued was a sideline argument the likes of which has not been seen in Denver, but more than that. Any composure this team had on this season was lost in the blink of an eye in front of their divisional rivals and the NFL fan base watching.

The questions that remain have to do with Coach McDaniels' poor offensive game-planning and the heart of this football team.

It was clear the Broncos started to implode and give up against the Ravens four weeks ago. The Steelers pummeled the Broncos in a battle of wills, and in Washington, Denver had a fast start, but could not control the ball, and eventually imploded and gave up.

Yesterday against San Diego, almost as quickly as Knowshon Moreno fumbled on the goal line, the Broncos quit.

A winning NFL team that quits in games?

It’s puzzling, but ridiculous that they have to reside in Denver, even after a coaching switch. The Broncos fired Mike Shanahan in large part because his teams had a record of quitting down the stretch.

Now it’s time to be clear.

Not much has changed except the stability of the quarterback position. Currently, the Jay Cutler trade can be a lose-lose proposition. The New England offensive coordinator that was able to set a league record in points is now the headmaster in Denver without an answer.

Has Josh McDaniels lost his football team already? Can they find a quarterback to cure their ills?

These questions don’t have any clear answers, but they are real and they also signify that it is time to do something that is very real. When teams start to quit, there is only one solution.

Hit the panic switch.

The Denver Broncos Show a Real Lack of Commitment to the Run

Chaz Mattson — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:16:13 -0500

Congratulations Broncos' fans, your team went from maybe having a top-10 offense to a paltry 22nd in the NFL in total offense. The team average of points per game is down to 18.6. The Broncos total points actually lands them in the 24th slot with 167, just 10 points better than Tampa Bay.

The bright side is that the Broncos aren’t the league's worst offense, that belongs to the Cleveland Browns at 78 points. The Browns are still looking to break the century mark. What’s the over/under on ex-Brown Braylon Edwards reaching the century mark in New York before the Browns do?

Lack of Commitment to the Running Game

It’s time to talk about the Broncos' commitment to the run, which appeared to have abandoned the team in losses at Baltimore and at home against Pittsburgh. Against the Ravens the Broncos ran for 66 yards. At home against the Steelers the Broncos only gained 27 yards on the ground.

During those two games the Broncos' offense also failed to stretch the field with the passing game.

It seemed the Broncos game plan against Washington was a formula for success as they focused more on the running game, while throwing no less than four deep balls over 40 yards, two of which resulted in deep touchdown passes to Brandon Marshall.

The Broncos wound up with 120 yards on the ground and 207 yards through the air. However if you subtract out Knowshon Moreno’s longest run of the day, a 28-yard blast that got the Broncos going, he only had 69 yards on the ground.

The air attack was even worse once you take out Brandon Marshall's two big plays that went for two touchdowns and 115 yards.

That means the Broncos had less than 100 yards passing outside of those two big plays.

Given all of the above, the Denver Broncos' offense has shown a real lack of commitment, not just to the run or pass, but also to actually attacking their opponents where it hurts. The Broncos' maximum output on offense thus far on the season is three touchdowns against a very poor Cleveland Browns squad.

Possibly the most telling statistic of all is that between the Broncos' two starting running backs platoon system, only Correll Buckhalter has rushed for over 100 yards once and Knowshown Moreno has not been over the century mark yet, though he has been close on two occasions.

Opponent : Run, Pass, Touchdowns

@Bengals: 20-75, 17-243, One (B. Stokley’s 87-yard miracle)

Browns: 37-186, 19-263, Three

@Raiders: 45-215, 13-157, Two

Cowboys: 25-116, 20-243, Two

Patriots: 25-103, 35-330, Two

@Chargers: 33-101, 20-22, Two

@Ravens: 19-66, 23-152, One

Steelers: 14-27, 23-221, None

@Washington: 22-120, 14-206, Two

One thing that stands clear from these statistics is that the Broncos have not shown a real commitment outside of games against the Browns and the Raiders, two of the league's worst teams, to run the ball consistently.

Denver's Philosophy

The Broncos have had a very clear change in run philosophies this season. In the past, under Mike Shanahan, the Broncos had a furious rushing attack that utilized an amazing zone blocking scheme. The scheme allowed the Broncos offensive linemen to be undersized and more agile athletes than most of their opposition's O-line talent.

The Broncos, under Josh McDaniels, have a clear change in philosophy to their run game and the statistics and recent changes in the lineup show a clear deficiency.

Recently longtime starter Ben Hamilton was replaced in the starting lineup by Russ Hochstein who is all of 15 pounds heavier at the same height. Hamilton has had near career-ending concussion issues in the past; however this change in the lineup is at the root in the change of philosophy towards the run game.

The Broncos' current attack has essentially abandoned the zone blocking scheme entirely, which was not a big deal early on. However, due to the lack of production of late, coach McDaniels should take the old schemes under some consideration.

The underlying issue here is that the new offensive approach is similar to cramming a square peg into a round hole. The Broncos are trying to force a more physical run game, which comes at the expense of an offensive line that was originally designed to be more agile.

In the recent Broncos' losses they have been out-played up front, out-schemed, and out-coached.

That’s why it’s a little perplexing that coach McDaniels has not really implemented much of a zone run game at all to date. It seems like the strength of this team coming into this season was the offensive line and their zone blocking and pass protection abilities. It has literally become a subtraction by omission that shows up on the stat sheet and the overall production of the offense.

Coach McDaniels' new philosophy has taken the rest of the league all of seven games to catch up to it. The approach needs to breathe new life into the direction of the output of the Broncos' offense. The coach needs to get in front of the curve, not lag behind it with a sub-par rushing attack and a pass game that is afraid to utilize the entire field.

If you consider the track record on the season, the Broncos failing to produce a 100-yard rusher every game shouldn’t be the biggest surprise of the season. The bigger surprise is that the new regime has not played to any of the strengths of the past.

Given the current injury to QB Kyle Orton and the poor showing last week by backup Chris Simms, the Broncos could use a good rushing attack to protect the quarterback and make it the strength it proved to be during the first six weeks of the season.

If the Broncos want to seriously control the ball and the tempo against the San Diego Chargers in the most important game of the season, they should implement the zone blocking scheme once again.

The fact that Josh McDaniels hasn’t tapped into this sooner is as big of a shock as their 6-0 start.

Moreover, the Broncos have two new starting offensive linemen since opening day of the season. In order for the Broncos to protect the quarterback, they really need to run the ball. In order to be affective, they have to keep the Chargers off-balance.

One of the best ways to do that is implementing the zone blocking scheme.

Casual observers may have noticed that the Broncos were at their best offensively last Sunday when they lined up under center, not in the shotgun, and had the threat of a rushing attack opening up the skies to big gains.

While the Broncos were more affective on the ground than the previous games against the Ravens and the Steelers, they still failed to produce a rusher over the century mark. The Broncos need to control ball and clock against the Chargers to have any realistic chance of winning the game.

The Broncos' fast start had a lot of fans amazed and scratching their heads with the play of the defense. If the Broncos are to grow as an offensive team, they have to start producing the same sort of results on offense.

Rudimentary football says you build the systems around your talent, not your talent around your system.

Broncos' fans will learn a great deal more about their coach and their future against San Diego. The failure to control the ball on the ground, regardless of the quarterback, will say a great deal about coach McDaniels' willingness to adapt to the situation at hand.

Last week he showed great resolve to do the two things the Broncos failed to do against Pittsburgh and Baltimore, but the team still lost out on the road.

This week, he must find ways to make the Broncos rushing attack dominate the tempo of the football game. Failure to adapt may possibly bring about a failure to win the division, and possibly even making the playoffs.

This is a serious issue, and if the Broncos fail, they will have to point the fingers at themselves, starting at the top.

Contact Chaz at sportsmanagement@gmail.com

Broncos Losses, Kyle Orton Injury Put QB Controversy on the Radar in Denver

Chaz Mattson — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:39:45 -0500

The current state of the Denver Broncos is somewhat reminiscent to the famous scene in the movie Young Frankenstein. Strange things start to occur while Igor and Dr. Frankenstein are working late at night digging a grave.

“It could be worse,” says a loony looking Igor, played by the late Marty Feldman.

“How?” says Dr. Frankenstein, played by Gene Wilder.

“It could be raining.”

Then, in a flash of lightning with a booming thunder and a torrential rain, the joke hits the audience and puts them in stitches.

Now this movie line wasn’t talking about football, but it could easily be applied to the likes of the New England Patriots blowing a 17-point lead Sunday night against the Indianapolis Colts. It could also just as easily be applied to the current downward trend in Denver that took the team's amazing 6-0 start and quickly turned south to a mediocre 6-3.

Something strange happened to the Denver Broncos during their bye week, which coincidentally fell on Halloween weekend. Perhaps it was raining.

Either way, since the Broncos blew up the Chargers in San Diego, their season has taken on water of torrential proportions.

The Denver Broncos now find themselves fighting for their playoff lives. If they don’t wake up soon, they will fall victim to the San Diego Chargers and their fast start will go for naught.

A last-ditch effort to win the division and control the fate of the Chargers and the Broncos comes this Sunday in Denver.

It's mind boggling to think the Broncos had a 3.5-game lead after beating down the Chargers in San Diego on Oct. 19. That lead has now entirely evaporated following two big wins by the Chargers against the Giants and the Eagles. Meanwhile, the Broncos posted two tough losses to the Ravens and Steelers and one unsettling loss to a dismal Washington squad.

The Recap

It seemed to start with a cloud of dust and a hearty “Hi-Ho, Silver!” and the Denver Broncos were off and running and throwing the deep ball. The same two elements that seemed to be lacking in their two previous losses showed up in Washington D.C. on Sunday.

Knowshon Moreno got the game going with a 29-yard jaunt and the Broncos were immediately in business. On the following third down play Kyle Orton went top shelf 40 yards to Brandon Marshall and the Broncos had the early 7-0 lead.

Almost as quickly as the Broncos scored did the Washington natives show that they came to play ball as well. They responded with a 78-yard drive that ended with a short two yard pass from Jason Campbell to big tight end Todd Yoder to even the score 7-7.

Broncos running back Correll Buckhalter was hit from behind by Lorenzo Alexander on the subsequent drive and fumbled. The one thing that is certainly a constant in the Broncos three losses are the turnovers and the Broncos turned it over twice to Washington’s zero on Sunday.

The Broncos defense held the Washington attack at bay following the turnover and Denver went back on offense.

Coach McDaniels chose to go on the quick strike again as he hit Brandon Marshall deep again on a ball that traveled 45 yards through the air for a 75-yard touchdown and a Broncos 14-7 lead.

Orton later had Eddie Royal wide open deep down field and the Broncos could have scored a third touchdown on a deep ball if not for overshooting an outstretched Royal.

Then, at the 6:39 mark of the second quarter, came the worst blunder of the Josh McDaniels era in Denver.

Say what you will about how poor special teams play was under Mike Shanahan’s watch, his teams never allowed a punter to look like John Elway. That is exactly what happened to Denver when Washington punter Hunter Smith hit Mike Sellers off of a fake field goal that went for a touchdown.

The real embarrassment off of this play was that Washington showed their hand on the fake prior to coach Jim Zorn calling a timeout to set up the play correctly. Denver sadly enough failed to make any adjustments in preparation for a fake. The only response to come from McDaniels was that the Broncos had not seen the play before.

The play put the score at 14-14.

This play in particular might signal that it’s time for a new special teams coach. The Broncos have been riddled with poor play on special teams and certainly that play cost the Broncos this game at least in part.

On Orton’s last drive of the day, he led the Broncos to a field goal and their last points on the day and a 17-14 edge at the half.

Orton was injured on third down and it appears it is an injury that will have the Broncos looking at their future starter sooner than later.

The second half the Broncos defense played valiantly in the third quarter to help the offense find a way to win. The reality, however, was that backup Chris Simms was not ready to play mentally, and that fact alone ensconced the Broncos' fate.

Washington subsequently wore down the Broncos defense by the fourth quarter and scored 17 points in the quarter to beat the Broncos going away, 27-17.

Quarterback Issues on the Radar

The real issue now is it comes with an underlying quarterback controversy brewing in Denver with Orton literally falling victim to what appears to be a very bad sprained ankle. Orton’s left leg was caught under the weight of a tackle and with it took some of the stability the organization was used to at the position.

The pure nature of the sort of injury suffered by Orton leads to easy speculation that he could be out anywhere between 6-8 weeks at minimum and the rest of the season a strong possibility. These sorts of injuries make an already immobile quarterback a duck on water for all too eager defenses to finish off for the rest of the season. In other words, it's pure speculation on an early front but Orton may be done for the season and possibly as the starting quarterback in Denver.

Simms clearly showed he was not ready to play, going 3-of-13 for 13 yards and an interception. That leads to this thought: It might be time to start Tom Brandstater again this season. It would absolutely set off a sort of quarterback controversy, but face the facts. Simms, a highly paid backup, was not ready to play when all his team probably needed was one drive for a touchdown. If the Broncos get that touchdown early enough it might be a different outcome.

Going into the most important game of the season, it’s a simple question to consider. Would you rather have a quarterback that throws a good ball with a little inexperience or a backup who’s shown he’s not ready to play and isn’t throwing the ball incredibly well?

You have to feel for McDaniels, since he went the distance to get Orton and for a time that bet was paying off huge dividends on the Broncos' tumultuous offseason. Now the Broncos' season comes down to this. He must make the right decision here or the Broncos are in trouble in their most important game of the year.

Having looked at film on Simms and fellow backup Brandstater, it would seem that Brandstater, for all of his inexperience, is the more capable quarterback to help the Broncos franchise move forward. The situation, however, opens up the floodgates to trades and free agent signings to right the ship sooner than later. This is obviously a situation where anything is possible moving forward.

Earth to Jake Plummer: Come in, Major Tom!

So stay tuned.

The Final Note on the Washington Namesake

For nearly a century, the Washington football franchise has made its living off of the backs of a race of people that are nearly extinct in North America. Regardless of the origins of the team name, which there are exhaustive stories and excuses alike made to endorse the name, it needs to change.

That said, today an “official” decision was passed down today regarding the namesake, and Washington will not be forced to change the name of their franchise.

The irony is this: Neither Dan Snider, the previous ownership, nor any of the judges handling this case are part Native American in any form.

With the era that our country is currently under, it’s no longer a time to live in ignorance or under predatory capitalism, under both of which this clearly falls.

If the Washington franchise is so bold to claim to be the torch on the hill for an overrun race of people, they should put their money where their namesake is and sponsor tribal rights issues and scholarship programs.

For the better part of a century the football team has had the opportunity to do so and they have failed miserably.

The reality is there are no other sports franchises named after the color of a persons skin and their likeness emblazoned on a team logo. This is racism; apparently the Supreme Court does not consider racism an atrocity on humanity. In multicultural America it is an issue whether they admit it or not. It is racism, and let’s be clear; there are no mild forms of racism, just racism.

So this is something that the NFL should now address as a league. It has been a league that is quick to respond to detrimental actions from its players.

In this case, it should crack down on this ownership group for leaving a black eye on the league. It's bad public relations for this charade to continue, and the team should change its name immediately.

Broncos Identity Hurt and Left Soul Searching

Chaz Mattson — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:27:15 -0500

The Denver Broncos are now officially facing adversity for the first time during the 2009 season.

For a moment pause and think about how they got here, but please don’t hit the panic button yet.

Many people didn’t exactly pick them to be 6-2 at this point in the season, yet they some how mustered a 6-0 start with the leagues best scoring defense. With the last two losses the Broncos ranking slipped from first to third with the Colts and Patriots currently on top.

So now the bottom has fallen out of the stellar team success for now; and in one word, it keeps recurring under Kyle Orton’s watch.

Turnovers!

Orton has gone from replacing the boy wonder in Jay Cutler, to creating a wonder of his own by not turning the ball over in six games.

In the two subsequent games since the 6-0 start he and the Broncos have now more than made up for all of it.

This is now officially the thing that is keeping Kyle Orton and the Denver Broncos from being considered among the elite teams for at least the time being.

While there are areas of the team that need work, it really is time for the Broncos organization to take time out to consider what sort of team they want to become.

Most of the pieces for the Broncos success are already in place. So don’t be fooled, even after the most recent two losses these Denver Broncos are built to win now, but they have to get back on track soon, and with a vengeance.

The pieces that need tinkering became self evident against the Steelers and the Ravens.

The Broncos need a running game, they need a more sophisticated passing attack, and they need to quit putting their defense in bad spots.

Consider the fact that the turnovers the last two games have given the opposition more than enough points to help them win. Additionally, if the Broncos could have all of those plays back their defense would still lead the league in points against by a long shot.

There were moments last night where the defense gave up too much too fast to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the reality is these things happen when your offense isn’t scoring and is turning the ball over.

The primary criticism of the Broncos offense at this point is that they have to get determined to move the ball consistently.

Denver needs to at the very least have the ability to move the ball on the ground as needed. It's not like they haven't don it, they did do it this season against the Raiders with two rushers near 100 yards apiece against a good defensive front seven.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a power running game that helped them take control of last nights game when it mattered most. That power run game opened up the skies for the Broncos All-Pro defensive backfield to be lit up as the team had to worry about the run and the pass. That power run and precision passing took a tight ball game and turned it into a blowout complements of the Steelers defense and Kyle Orton’s poor showing.

It’s rare that a 28-10 blowout can be called a tight ball game, but this one was, minus the Broncos turnovers it's as tight a game as you can ask for.

The only thing that kept this a tight game was the Broncos defense.

Now that really is what the Broncos organization should be pondering at this juncture. The defense is pulling the load, but how can the Broncos assure themselves that the offense will week in and week out?

Yes it has opened up the door to the Josh McDaniels haters and the Jay Cutler fans to have more of their war of words.

That’s not what this is about, things are what they are at this point; it should be about moving forward.

The Broncos must address the offense more intently than they have since the season began.

For now the Broncos must capitalize on the things done well with what they have available.

For the future, the question is what type of a football team do the Denver Broncos want to be?

It’s clear the game plan has moved away from the running game of old.

It’s a time for the Broncos to pause and reflect and do a little soul searching.

Josh McDaniels came to Denver from New England, with that he brought part of that same philosophy on offense. The Patriots use the pass to set up the run. The Broncos have failed to set up the run for success the last two weeks. That's not the type of team this was historically and that's not part of the New England template for getting the job done.

The Broncos have to dissect all of the short comings of the offense the last two games. It’s a time for learning and a time of reflection.

The Broncos must make a commitment to get back on track.

It would seem for a conservative offensive approach, the run game is the perfect complement. Certainly some of the current approach could be related to personnel decisions, but the Broncos have to control the ball and the tempo. That is when the opposition is on it’s heels and not dictating.

So it’s about decision making at this point. The Broncos do need to advance the ball. Certainly Kyle Orton needs to be able to stretch the field on a regular basis as well.

It would seem however the best method for Kyle Orton to have more success deeper and in the short game is through the run game. It’s something the Broncos haven’t fully committed to as of late and it appears to have clearly hurt them.

For the future the Broncos may need to consider help at the quarterback position, along the offensive line, and even in the backfield

For now the Broncos identity and ego have taken a hit on offense.

It's a talented team looking for answers.

It seems like they can find the answers they seek in the run game and in solving a myriad of breakdowns that lead to the two game skid.

Mandatory Reading for MNF: Steelers vs. Broncos by the Numbers

Chaz Mattson — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:52:56 -0500

Hopefully you've already read about the rich history between the Broncos, and the Steelers in the slide show I recently put together. Here are some even more convincing proofs of how tight, significant, and dynamic this match-up really is.

Regular Season

The Denver Broncos lead the all-time series with the Pittsburgh Steelers at 16-9-1.

All-time regular season the Broncos have scored 448 points (22.4 points per game) to the Steelers 407 (20.35 points per game).

At home the Broncos are 7-2-1 against the Steelers in Denver.

The Broncos have only lost to the Steelers four times since 1983, putting the record during that stretch at 11-4.

The Broncos are 3-1 versus the Steelers since John Elway retired.

Post-season

The Broncos, and Steelers have played each other twice in the same season four times (1977, '78, '89, and '97). Each of those seasons wound up with a decisive game in the playoffs.

The Broncos swept the Steelers in 1977, and 1989, and went to the Super Bowl, but lost both of those seasons.

The Steelers swept the Broncos in 1978, and won their third Super Bowl.

The two teams split in 1997 when Denver won their first Super Bowl.

All-time post season, the Broncos have scored 126 points (21 points per game) to the Steelers 156 points (26 points per game).

It should be a very close, very good football game with both teams looking forward to their own probable playoff run.

The only question left to answer is, "Are you ready for some football?"

The Denver Broncos Vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers: Anecdotes from a Rich Rivalry

Chaz Mattson — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:27:35 -0500

It's an interesting history, and in many ways these two franchises have paralleled each other throughout. The overall record in the match-up between the Denver Broncos and the Pittsburgh Steelers currently belongs to the orange and blue. This is a rags-to-riches story for both franchises however, and one of the NFL's richer and less glorified rivalries.

Begin Slideshow

The Denver Broncos Vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers: Anecdotes From A Rich History

Chaz Mattson — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:02:38 -0500

It's an interesting history and in many ways the history of these two franchise over a period of time have lived similarly in parallel. The overall record in the match-up between the Denver Broncos and the Pittsburgh Steelers currently belongs to the orange and blue. This is a rags to riches story of both franchises however and one of the NFL's richer and less glorified rivalries.

Begin Slideshow

Ravens Out-Hustle, Out-Scheme Streaky Broncos

Chaz Mattson — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:36:34 -0500

Defense-defense was the theme of the day in the game between the 6-0 Denver Broncos and the 3-3 Baltimore Ravens. So just for good measure, any way you say it or spell it, you knew it would be prevalent in Sunday’s NFL contest.

D-Fence!

So now knowing that, the first huge mistake of the Josh McDaniels era in the regular season is that the Broncos did not choose to defer until the second half. Instead the Broncos chose to get the opening kickoff and go on offense. They then promptly went three and out with a very poor first series and suddenly the battle of field position was predictably a bigger issue than the credit being given to it.

Knowing that field position was going to be an issue in this game going into it, why the Broncos chose to go on offense immediately left a few fans a little baffled at the decision.

So maybe you’re surprised, maybe you’re not, but trust this.

The game was much closer than the final score indicated, but the team with the better scheme, mental preparedness, and coaching won this game on Sunday.

This could have been a statement game for the Broncos, instead the Ravens made the statement and the Broncos organization has to digest a few painful lessons that came out of this game Sunday.

The Denver Broncos now have to address how to better complement their short pass game by taking deeper shots down field.

The Broncos also learned that they should make a commitment to the run game when it is working, especially against a physical football team.

Finally, the Broncos should have learned that if they don’t address what they learned on Sunday they should expect their defense to eventually not be able to cover the shortfalls of the offense.

The Ravens Showed Up Ready to Play

Credit the Baltimore Ravens for coming ready to play on Sunday against the Broncos. From the very first snap to the end, the Baltimore Ravens showed they wanted to desperately win their seventh game of the season against the Denver Broncos.

After the opening kickoff the Broncos went on offense and the Ravens sent a message from their defense along with two outside linebackers blitzing from their 3-4 set. Raven backer Jared Johnson was locked on Brandon Marshall and failed to deliver the ball to him or even look for the safety valve. The Broncos tried a couple of small screens and that was that on offense until they got their first drive going in the second half.

The Baltimore defense was punishing in more than one way and ready for the Broncos short passing game. Herein lies the fault of the Broncos offensive attack and it will come under future attack as well. Without the implementation of a deep passing game, defenses like the Ravens can easily and more readily rally from zone coverage to snuff out any short and mid-range plays. This was the case on Sunday.

From the start the Ravens had an intensity that was missing on the Broncos offensive side of the ball, and eventually over time, the Broncos defense couldn’t match their production.

While both teams were coming off of byes it looked like the Broncos offense was still on vacation or in serious need of another one. That sort of effort coming from an undefeated team was pathetic; it showed a group of guys believing more in the press clippings about them than the need to work harder to get the job done right.

The Ravens were also able to inflict pain and punishment on the Broncos in forcing the only turnover of the game. Near the end of the first quarter Knowshon Moreno nullified all the good that was starting to be produced in the ground game. On a 2nd-and-9, Kyle Orton made a horrible choice on a double pump to Knowshon Moreno. This gave the play less time to develop and less time for Moreno to control the ball. Moreno briefly had the ball in his hands with two feet on the ground as his shoulders turned up field; almost as quickly he was lit up like an early holiday greeting and immediately fumbled the ball. The Ravens All-Pro safety Ed Reed showed his metal on the hit that dislodged the ball from the Broncos rookie running back. The turnover led to an early 3-0 lead for the Ravens but credit the Broncos defense for being tough in the early going and holding the Ravens to only six points in the first half.

Couple the bad field position and the only turnover of the game against the Broncos with poor punting from new arrival, veteran punter Mitch Berger, the Ravens won the battle of field position almost by default alone.

Broncos Offensive Line

The Broncos have a very athletic offensive line, but it came under fire on Sunday and a big injury occurred early at right tackle when Ryan Harris went down. It appears that the injury could be a broken big toe and possibly affecting two of his toes. On the afternoon the Broncos offensive line had problems mitigating the pass rush of the Ravens especially versus a strong front four and a 3-4 blitz scheme. This is something that has to be corrected immediately if the Broncos are to have success on offense the rest of this season.

Certainly it’s not a time to panic but a time to give a full evaluation across the board. When one of the stronger offensive lines in football has problems the whole game plan needs some further review. The Broncos should have had greater anticipation about the Ravens defensive attack and due to the lack of a crisp game plan and proper adjustments along the way the offensive line was made to look as poor as they have been in some time.

Kyle Orton’s Poor Performance

Kyle Orton entered Sunday’s contest with nearly a 64% completion percentage, nine touchdowns, and one interception. Orton saw his completion percentage fall only two points while his game average in yardage was nearly 110 yards under par.

What this statistic really reinforces is that if the team does not address mixing up the play calling more the overall production will go down.

Essentially if you complete 62% of your passes but aren’t moving the ball consistently or causing headaches for the defense then this statistic is irrelevant.

The one time the Broncos really did challenge the Ravens was on their first scoring drive of the second half when they opened up the offense and wound up with a touchdown.

The overall lack of production from the Broncos clearly stemmed from the lack of a consistent attack to put pressure on a Baltimore defense that was dictating the outcome of the game.

Sure the Broncos had 17 first downs to Baltimore’s 16 however the game is about consistency and dictating play. The Broncos earned the majority of first downs in an inconsistent manner rendering the output useless.

Again, the Ravens were able to control the game because they were not being challenged enough on defense to stop the Broncos offense.

Poor Special Teams Play

With the opening kickoff of the second half Ravens cornerback turned kick returner Lardarius Webb went 95 yards after hitting the seam just right and went untouched for a touchdown. That play put the Ravens in control of the football game with the score 13-0.

Conversely, Eddie Royal returned two punts for two yards and six kickoffs for an average of 18 yards a return.

To add more salt to the wound, the Broncos constantly lost the battle of field position in the kicking game. Newly aquired punter Mitch Berger could only muster a 36.3 net and an average of 38.4 yards on eight punts.

In a nutshell it was the sort of effort that just isn't going to get the job done.

Broncos Defense Worn Down by Ravens

Don’t misconstrue this point as a problem with the Broncos defense, overall the Broncos still have their MOJO cranking on defense. The problem here is the failure of the offense to cover the defense. The utter failure to control the tempo on offense and the clock led to the eventual demise of the Broncos defense.

It would be wrong to pin the loss on the Broncos defense entirely. There is one issue that this team wound up losing down the stretch of the football game. The Broncos defense began to lose some composure in a mild form as they were eventually losing the battle against the Ravens rushing attack late in the game.

The Ravens were more intense on defense than the Broncos were when it came to shutting down the opposition. This is also a key mental note to make as the team will not be afforded those sorts of opportunities to bounce back from down the stretch.

Overall, the Broncos held the Ravens in check with a short field, but they needed to find better ways to disrupt the deeper penetration by Joe Flacco and company.

The Final Summary: Denver’s Schemes Failed Where Baltimore’s Did Not

It all goes back to a good offense being a team’s best defense. On Sunday the Broncos offense and their play calling were poor at best.

The most important point here, however, is that the offense needs to mix up the play calling more. The offensive scheme should have been more robust and daring in finding a willingness to go deeper with some of the pass routes. Additionally, the Broncos started to have some good spurts of running the ball but failed to keep the momentum going. This all happened because the Broncos were forcing short passes when they weren’t really open inside the Ravens short zone coverage. Additionally the routes the Broncos chose to use had to struggle for first down yardage.

In essence that is not the way to attack a team like the Ravens. Because the Ravens are so intense on defense you have to make a commitment to out physical them and out smart them in the pass game. The way the Ravens played is the way they always play; there was nothing new under the sun there. The Broncos needed to be creative in how they schemed for this game and they fell very short of their goal. Very good defenses like the Ravens will force the other teams’ hand. Unless there is an adequate response the team is in trouble on offense.

The reason the Ravens offense had success was because they weren’t afraid to challenge the defense of the Broncos. That was the clear difference in the football game. The Ravens offense decided to get physical in the running game and stretch the Broncos secondary. The Denver Broncos failed on offense because they failed to execute in a similar fashion to the way the Baltimore Ravens did on offense.

Six Reasons to Believe in the Denver Broncos' Amazing Run

Chaz Mattson — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:50:07 -0400

The Reality Check

Oh, how have the Denver Broncos utterly shocked a nation of fans and football media?

Let us count the ways.

From the get go, whether you are or aren’t a fan of the Denver Broncos you’re reading this article. Why that’s happening probably has something to do with what the team accomplished in the first six weeks of the 2009 season.

The fact of the matter is this team is a force to be reckoned with the rest of the 2009 football season.

In effect, these aren’t your daddy’s Broncos, and they aren’t what most would expect from the Denver Broncos at this stage in time under this new regime.

Still a record of 6-0 is a great start and somewhat impressive in any NFL season for any team.

To match the six wins the Broncos attained before the bye week, here are six reasons why you can virtually bank on Denver continuing on their special run.

This direct thought is the reasoning behind what can still be considered an early season projection that will most likely land the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game. This team is almost destined to land the number one seed in the AFC playoffs for the Lombardi Trophy.

It’s intriguing. Every year there are teams that surprise everyone in every sport. So stop, take a minute, and evaluate the data and the factual arguments that support the amazing run of this 2009 Denver Broncos team, one which appears to be heading deep into the post season.

1. The Broncos Have the League's Best Scoring Defense

Much like a quarterback within the grasp of Elvis Dumervil, there is simply no escaping it. The Denver Broncos have the best scoring defense in the NFL.

There is a reason the old saying, “Defense wins championships” was coined. It really has to do with a sense of Las Vegas type odds and a general philosophy. If you are capable of shutting down your opponent in any sport, you are winning half of the battle right then and there.

In football, if that becomes a team’s advantage, it is huge.

Defense can create opportunity where there appeared to be none.

That is exactly how the Denver Broncos' new 3-4 defense has been working to accomplish its goals, game in and game out.

Consider the fact that through six weeks of the season the Denver Broncos have only given up 66 points for an average of 11 points per game.

Looking at Sunday’s most recent NFL games, Jay Cutler’s new team the Chicago Bears, who are known for their defense, gave up 45 points on the road in Cincinnati against the Bengals.

Yes, the same Bengals that were said to not be very good and easily discredited after the Broncos won on the Immaculate Deflection play to start the season with a win. Those same Bengals are currently 5-2 and tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers for first place in the AFC North division.

The point is, even good defenses get scored on. The fact that the number of points the Broncos have given up is under the century mark at this juncture is nothing short of stellar.

Look a little deeper though at the talent level that is assembled by the Broncos on defense and you quickly see it’s not entirely a group of no-name players.

It might however be a group of veterans who have never completely been given their personal due in their own right. Sure the likes of Champ Bailey and Brian Dawkins are career Pro Bowlers and have reached one Super Bowl and a number of conference championship games.

The fact remains, the talent on this Broncos defensive team is greater than meets the eye.

The Broncos have something this season they did not have last season—a stable defensive backfield with depth, experience, and players.

One of the primary criticisms of the Broncos defensive backfield last season was that they tackled poorly, showed their inexperience, failed to create turnovers, and had a lack of chemistry, especially once Champ Bailey went down with an injury at New England.

This season’s defensive backfield has Brian Dawkins and Champ Bailey, along with the best part of the Miami Dolphins defensive backfield the previous few seasons in Andre Goodman and Renaldo Hill.

Combined the starters have 42 years of NFL experience in the defensive backfield and none of them appear to have lost much.

Philadelphia believed Brian Dawkins had lost a step and some have said he may have, however his play on the field hasn’t shown any sign of letting up or being a step behind. Brian Dawkins' fire is intense and reminds old Broncos fans of former linebacker and current ESPN personality Tom Jackson, who was a fiery competitor in his own right.

In the linebacking corps is Elvis Dumervil who converted to an outside linebacker from being a defensive end, and it seems to have boosted an already promising career.

Additionally, D.J. Williams has 46 tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery at his new position on the inside of the Broncos attacking 3-4.

Cleveland cast-off Andra Davis has 38 tackles on the inside along with one sack.

The Broncos' front three of Kenny Peterson, Ron Fields, and rookie Ryan McBean have done an exceptional job of gap control and funneling the play to the linebacking crew.

Additionally while the group has not logged a sack, they have played a key role in the Broncos being tied for the league lead in sacks with a total of 21 heading into the bye.

2. This Team Is Healthy and Very Well Coached

Without a doubt, for a team to win a number of games and have a chance of getting deep into the playoffs they have to stay healthy.

For the most part the Broncos have done that up through their bye week. It seems the most important injury happened to Brian Dawkins against San Diego where it appeared he may have had a slight hamstring pull in the first half.

Dawkins eventually returned and helped to lock it down on defense while leading the Broncos to the victory in a hotly contested football game.

If the Broncos can stay healthy expect them to play in the AFC Championship Game.

Just as important as staying healthy, the Broncos are a well coached football team. From the schemes being run on both sides of the ball, this football team very much reminds people of the New England Patriots.

With Josh McDaniels formerly under Bill Belichick’s tutelage it’s obvious the Broncos organization's approach to the game is now radically different than it has been in the past.

Perhaps the greatest of all the moves Josh McDaniels made in coming to the Denver Broncos was in landing the coaching staff he now has in place. Moreover, Josh puts the trust in his coaches to get the job done right.

From the start the focus was on changing the culture, and it is different because of the coaching.

Josh in his own right has been hard on Kyle Orton when he has needed to be, but he has also celebrated the successes and a mutual respect has been forged because of it. Orton’s growth is obvious, his play is probably the most noticeable of any player, and he has proven the system is working for him.

There are more however. Where is the criticism of the defensive line and the Broncos front seven now? The fact is there isn’t any.

Defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, defensive line coach Wayne Nunnely, linebackers coach Don Martindale, and defensive backs coach Ed Donatell have revamped the defense and forged a nucleolus of high expectations.

The depths to which the Broncos defense fell last season aren’t even viewable on the radar now.

Champ Bailey recently made some comments that said how important coaching is at the NFL level because the talent level is so close. Sometimes it’s just weird how things work out.

Right now it seems like a perfect storm in Denver much in the way one is brewing in New Orleans.

It’s not that the Broncos had poor defenders last season on the whole. There were talented guys there that remain on the roster now. Perhaps the Broncos defense wasn’t running the right scheme for the talent base a year ago.

These Broncos have made a relatively smooth transition to an attacking 3-4 scheme. Right now it’s showing in the stat sheet, but it also shows up on film.

The Denver Broncos are fundamentally sound, where they aren’t second guessing the gap coverage like they were a year ago or even the pass coverages for that matter.

3. The Broncos Are Winning the Turnover Battle

On the statistical side, the Denver Broncos are causing forced errors from the opposition, and they are taking care of the football.

Currently the top team in the NFL is the Green Bay Packers at a plus-10 in the turnover battle. The Denver Broncos aren’t far behind at a plus-7 that basically is working out to one key turnover per game.

Looking back at each game, those turnovers are playing a vital role in beating teams and setting the tone on defense.

The Broncos took Oakland out of the game when Brian Dawkins recovered a fumble deep in Broncos territory, ending the Raiders' hopes of getting back in that game.

Last week in San Diego, the Broncos D-line forced a Phillip Rivers fumble that iced the game for the Broncos.

When they aren’t getting the turnovers, they are shutting teams down at key moments throughout the game and keeping them out of the end zone.

Think about the work the Broncos did in keeping the Bengals drives between the 20’s.

Think about Tony Romo throwing at Champ Bailey all day with little success that resulted in a pick near the end zone and last second knockdowns by the Broncos cover corner.

Then think about how poor Tom Brady looked against the Broncos defense at times and the fact that Randy Moss was a non factor in the game.

Because of the differential, the Broncos have allowed themselves the opportunity to have late game winning drives against Dallas and New England while being able to put the Chargers out of their misery.

The bottom line is these turnovers are making a difference. If the Broncos are going to start dominating teams they should create more of these sorts of opportunities for themselves.

4. The Challenging Schedule Now Favors the Broncos

If you want to know how good these Broncos are and you are still not convinced, there are three games remaining on their schedule that will be the true barometer on how close this team can be to winning the AFC.

Sunday the Broncos will play in Baltimore, a place where the franchise has traditionally had a number of problems against both the Colts and the Ravens.

The Baltimore Ravens will be starving for a win as they are also coming off a bye week to face a Broncos team that wants to send a deliberate message to the rest of the NFL.

Following the game against the Ravens, the Broncos play a home game against the reigning world champion Pittsburgh Steelers. The Broncos have always historically matched up well with the Steelers.

An historical average score between the two franchises gives Pittsburgh a slight edge at around a 24-22 margin.

Should the Broncos lose both those games, they have a great deal more work to do to raise the bar to a championship level. However if they win those two games the only other obstacle in the AFC would be the Indianapolis Colts.

Denver will visit the Colts on December 13 in a game that could determine which team has the home field advantage throughout the AFC Playoffs.

Outside of those games you can virtually bank on the Broncos at least splitting five of their next 10 games. The Broncos will win at Washington, at Philadelphia, against Kansas City twice, and versus the San Diego Chargers in Denver in a tough rematch.

5. The Broncos Have Attitude and Something to Prove

It’s been said attitude is everything. Think about it. Perhaps at some point in time you worked for a losing organization or a loser of a boss. How well did that go over?

Sometimes you can only scratch your head as to how they got their position in the first place. Now contrast that with working for a young upstart and putting it all on the line where success is the only acceptable answer.

The offseason brought a slew of questions about the Broncos organization and the hiring of Josh McDaniels as the new leader, supplanting future Hall of Fame coach Mike Shanahan. To say the least there were a lot of unanswered questions about the direction of the franchise.

There were also holdover questions from last season about the defensive talent and what it would take to put this team back into a good place.

Things seemed to be going in the right direction when Brian Dawkins was signed; in fact fans started dreaming of the Super Bowl.

Just moments following the press conference to introduce Dawkins, the Jay Cutler debacle started to unfold. Now it’s looking like everything the Broncos did in handling the Jay Cutler ordeal seems to be the right moves now.

Additionally this team is not hindered by the loss of Cutler. In some areas it was a surprisingly welcomed change of pace.

Kyle Orton has found the perfect match for his talents, and the Broncos have found a perfect match in the locker room. Orton has not put up the numbers that would blow away Dan Fouts' place in history anytime soon, but he has been very consistent and has avoided interceptions.

Certainly Kyle probably should have about six INT’s on his resume at this point, but he has been fortunate to limit that number to one, which most believe really shouldn’t count since it came on a Hail Mary at the end of the first half against the Patriots.

These Broncos see only one acceptable answer and much of that has come directly from the way Josh McDaniels has handled the approach to this football team.

Truly this is a football team working hard at its craft. Perhaps the igniter to the whole equation is that when guys look around their locker room they see talent and experience. When they saw the media attention locally and nationally they saw disrespect.

The end result here is that these Denver Broncos have a fiery attitude sparked by Brian Dawkins, but they have much to prove and they are enjoying that portion of the ride.

If you think the Broncos didn’t enjoy beating the Cowboys, Patriots, and Chargers in succession, think again.

This team has a championship swagger about them.

6. The Broncos Are Undefeated

Considering the fact that the 1972 Miami Dolphins are the only NFL franchise to go undefeated in the Super Bowl era, fans shouldn’t necessarily expect this group to go undefeated.

The fact that the team is 6-0 at a third of the way through the 2009 season says a great deal about this team’s ability to win. They have a goal for each game to find a way to win and they are meeting their goal.

More importantly when teams are undefeated they find ways to stay in ball games and find ways to win. That is the greater and more important test of their character. It’s sort of like solving a puzzle on the fly, and the Denver Broncos are doing incredibly well in this area so far.

So like them or hate them, the Denver Broncos are undefeated and worthy of every team's respect at this point.

The Conclusion

The real conclusion won’t be known until the postseason starts and ends. The Broncos appear to be headed on the way to being one of the top two seeds in the AFC. Should they win the homefield advantage, history has shown that teams with the advantage wind up in the Super Bowl more often than not.

At the end of the day this Broncos team is showing the signs of a team that will be playing for an AFC Championship and possibly a Lombardi Trophy into the late winter months.

Contact Chaz at sportsmanagement@gmail.com

NFL Source Says Mike Shanahan Turned Down Washington Job Recently

Chaz Mattson — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 03:28:21 -0400

Take it for what it's worth.

An NFL source has confirmed that Mike Shanahan was contacted by the Washington franchise about their head coaching position prior to their recent game in Kansas City.

According to the source Mike Shanahan did have an invite to join the club prior to the game in Kansas City. Washington management was abruptly turned down by Coach Shanahan. The former Broncos Head Coach and GM apparently did not want to join the club with unresolved head coaching issues in Washington and the franchise in a current state of turmoil.

There has been a great deal of speculation about these issues since Coach Shanahan was let go by the Broncos at the end of the 2008 season. This is the first actual confirmation that the coach had been contacted with some formality about a new position in the NFL.

Additionally it appears with the current state of affairs in Washington they are hindering their chances of landing the type of coach they would want to help turn their troubled franchise around.

Denver Broncos Bye Week Pt II: Stats, Pluses, Minuses, and the Outlook

Chaz Mattson — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:07:37 -0400

Statistically Speaking

Certainly the talk of this early 2009 season has been the strength of the Broncos defense. Even after facing a San Diego team that scored more than any other team on the Broncos, the orange and blue still has the first rated scoring defense. The team has only yielded 11 points per game, an astounding number through six games and against good offensive threats like Cincinnati, Dallas, New England, and San Diego.

The Broncos defense is also rated second in total yards allowed, yielding 262.5 yards per game, which certainly is saying something. The Broncos are also tied for first with the Minnesota Vikings in total sacks with 21. Who would have thought that coming into this season?

The Broncos have also forced ten fumbles and recovered six of them on defense while getting six interceptions. That works out to two turnovers per game in the Broncos favor.

The Broncos have also one other amazing stat keeping them in ball games. That being the best thing that Kyle Orton has done thus far. Through six games Kyle Orton has only thrown one interception, which came at the end of the first half against the Patriots to wide receiver turned defensive back Randy Moss.

Think about that, one interception through six games, an amazing statistic for a starting quarterback to have. Now that is not to say Orton hasn’t thrown a few ball that should have been picked off, oh contraire he has put the ball in danger a number of times. Yet somehow, Kyle has been fortunate and careful and has made taking care of the ball a somewhat conscious venture.

Orton is also ranked seventh in total yards and eleventh in average yards per game. Not great, but serviceable. Kyle is also tied with Matt Ryan of Atlanta for tenth in touchdown passes with a total of nine through six games. Matt Schaub of Houston has fourteen for his first place ranking, but his team is struggling to make a playoff run.

Things in the Broncos Favor (Pluses)

Certainly the statistics prove out how good the Broncos defense is playing and how few turnovers the team is committing on the offensive side of the ball. Underneath the surface however are a handful of things that are lending strong thought to the fact that this team can be even better than what’s been seen so far.

To this date in the season the Denver Broncos coaching, execution, attitude, and health of the team are standing paramount to their streak of success. Now all of these attributes don’t entirely make the stat sheet in it of themselves, however they are making their impact on this team and in turn making this team very dangerous indeed.

Coaching perhaps was viewed in a poor light by some, or overlooked by others coming into the 2009 NFL season.

Yet the Broncos through all the turmoil and media frenzy in the off season have occupied the minds of football fans for the first six weeks of the season. Many may have been tempted to think that this defense was not going anywhere, and others probably thought how are they doing so well without Jay Cutler?

This team is filled with surprising responses for the mainstream talking heads and they owe a great debt of gratitude to their coaching staff.

Consider the fact that this staff released over half of the previous regime, integrated new ideas and terminology, and traded a franchise quarterback with a calm cool demeanor to bring on Kyle Orton as the new leader on offense. It’s amazing. Moreover, the Broncos coaches went the distance to ensure that this was going to be a physical football team.

Without a doubt, the Broncos greatest offseason acquisition was future football Hall of Famer Brian Dawkins who not only is a physical presence, but calls upon his teammates to be that way as well.

He is like a coach on the field but more importantly his mere presence has influenced an entire team to take it higher and to literally sell out and make the sacrifices for the sake of the team. That is something that can’t entirely be coached, it has to be lived out on the field and in that is one of the greatest teaching tools for this team to use as a template for being a more physical football team.

With the character the coaching staff insisted on in its players, the amazing and improbable has started to take shape with a vengeance.

In all phases of the game it’s about execution while being cerebral on the field. It’s a forgone conclusion before it happens. This team knows what it’s doing on the field; they have purpose and humility within their swagger to get the job done right.

They believe in themselves on a much deeper level than most teams. Couple that belief with intent to prove others wrong, its fuel enough to last an entire season. Historically speaking that is the point in time when teams become dangerous and take things from their opponents and wind up in a special place at the end of the season.

That is exactly why this team is dangerous.

The Broncos execute, but it’s also the way in which they execute. It is with an attitude where failure is not an option. It might not be a new attitude in Dove Valley, but the blade of supremacy has been sharpened and has new dimensions for the Broncos organization. When they do fail they bounce right back like a prize fighter who will see it through to his opponents TKO.

Take, for instance, the end of the Dallas or New England games when they had to have it, they got it from Brandon Marshall probably the last guy to buy in to the new regime. Just two months ago the talk was that Marshall wanted out of Denver and now he’s realizing his contributions matter to this team and yet the Broncos are focused on rounding out the arsenal.

The Broncos are a very fast team on defense and that is posing problems for teams while they control the ball on offense.

Think about last year's Pittsburgh team and the ways in which the Steelers defense flew to the ball out of their similar 3-4 schemes. That is what the coaches’ saw in the Broncos talent and a large part of why they switched things up defensively.

The attitude to fly around the ball and trust the coaching staff to scheme in such a way to slow down the opposition and take away their best offensive threats is what has kept this team at the top.

Finally, the Broncos have their lucky stars to thank. It seems the most banged up member of the team has been their heart and soul, Brian Dawkins. He broke a finger in the preseason and had to play with a cast, and then he tweaked or pulled an apparent hamstring against San Diego on Monday night.

In true superhero fashion he later returned to the game to help finish off the Chargers. Make no mistake, the Broncos really need Brian Dawkins healthy, and so far he has at least been there to answer the call. Additionally the team has been healthy on both sides of the ball to remain dynamic in their attack on teams.

Things Needing Work (Minuses)

This teams current Achilles' heal is not getting early leads and not finding a way to build big leads to take the opposition out of the game early. If the Broncos focus on locking things down, they can potentially kill two birds with one stone by getting on teams early and improving their scoring offense.

Currently the New Orleans Saints are averaging 38.4 points on offense while the Broncos are at 22.2 points per game. With both teams undefeated at this point what stands out is that the Saints have been dominating on offense while Denver has dominated on defense. If the Broncos can elevate their offensive output and not squander red zone opportunities, turning them into touchdowns not field goals the Broncos can become the dominating team in the NFL.

The Broncos have been fortunate in not turning the ball over a great deal as well; however they need to be prepared to execute in case they do.

The Broncos run game still could use some help as well. The Broncos are currently sixth overall with nearly 800 yards rushing with only three touchdowns. As physical as this team has been, they need to be more physical and successful in the rush game to create the right balance against the opposition.

Failure in this area will probably lead to predictability and more defenses attacking the Broncos pass routes creating turnovers and more sacks.

Remaining Season Outlook

Obviously the outlook for this team is bright for the remainder of the 2009 NFL season. They should make the playoffs as a division winner and will in all likelihood get there as one of the top two seeds in the AFC giving them a first round bye and at least one home playoff game.

So what will propel this team into the number one playoff seed in the AFC?

Stay tuned for Monday’s article.

Contact Chaz at sportsmanagement@gmail.com

Broncos Bye Week Pt. I: Breaking down the Controversial Offseason

Chaz Mattson — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:21:20 -0400

A Wave of Shocking Change

It needs to be said and has been said on some levels, but here is the full explanation about the Denver Broncos' play to this point. In the offseason there was much criticism of the Broncos' front office. It started prior to the Broncos' last regular season game in San Diego and was solidified with the demoralizing loss to the Chargers. The Denver Broncos were heading in a new direction.

Mike Shanahan thought he was going to lunch with his friend and owner Pat Bowlen when he was shown the door. To Mr. Bowlen’s credit, he had to make a very hard business decision that involved a good friend with whom he had shared two NFL Championships.

That is not easy to do, but given some of the recent history that had been built with fruitless results, it seemed as though it was the time to make the move.

The dismissal of Shanahan alone was enough to ignite whatever else happened in the offseason. Little did Broncos Country know the rest of the team roster was about to be set ablaze.

The new coach was introduced at Dove Valley and almost as quickly as he landed in Denver was his selection being second guessed by all credible writers in the Denver media market. It seemed like there were at least two or three other candidates that were interviewed and at least a few of the older school coaches that could have been or even would have made more sense at the time.

The Broncos' front office under Pat Bowlen’s guidance became enamored with the kid who just so happened to be Bill Belichick’s protégé. There was blind trust, it seemed, in casting everything to the winds of change.

Gone was the leader of the team in Jay Cutler, a number of coaches, and about half of last year’s team. Of the seven players that played tailback for the Broncos last season, only one of them remains on the team roster, that being Peyton Hillis.

On defense, only Champ Bailey retained his same exact starting position. The only other returning starting defenders from last season’s team were given new marching orders as starters under the Broncos' new 3-4 scheme. Moving to the middle linebacker position was DJ Williams and to the outside linebacker position was Elvis Dumervil.

The Controversial Draft

While the Broncos had a controversial and successful draft, they were criticized for taking Knowshon Moreno and not a solid defensive lineman or linebacker at that position. Then the Broncos traded away one of the first rounders in next year's draft for a second rounder this season to help bring depth to the defensive backfield this year.

The Broncos also selected tight end Richard Quinn, who was projected to land in much later rounds, at the end of the second round. It seemed the Broncos were not making the wisest selections at those rounds, especially when considering that the Broncos could have picked up Brian Orakpo (DE), Brian Cushing (OLB), Larry English (DE), and Clay Mathews (OLB) to name a few.

Furthermore, the Broncos selected Alphonso Smith (DB) just one pick in front of the Bengals' selection of Rey Maualuga (MLB), who has impressed already in the young season.

For the Broncos, however, at the time, it was more about what their most pressing needs were for this season to become a success. Certainly any of those other talents mentioned could have contributed to this team, but it was about creating depth for the future and the short run while getting by with the talent on the roster at that point in time.

A Lackluster Training Camp Coupled with a Disappointing Preseason

Much of Broncos Nation and the press were holding their breath once the preseason arrived. Certainly the Broncos were now going to have a new look and feel about them on both sides of the ball.

Enter Kyle Orton as the Broncos' new quarterback and the new 3-4 defensive philosophy. Everyone knew for this team to step up, there would have to be significant improvement on defense and signs of life on offense.

A week prior to the first preseason game, Kyle Orton did not look sharp in the team scrimmage at Mile High. There was, however, some strong signs of potential in Orton and on defense.

Still, there were the off-field issues with Brandon Marshall and his agent seeking out a trade and then an eventual suspension from the team. Marshall was told to take a break from the team for the remainder of the preseason because of his actions being detrimental to the team.

It seemed all was not well with Brandon and the performance in the preseason would lead one to believe that this was a work in progress.

The Broncos played fairly well in the first preseason game at San Francisco, especially on defense. The team, however, lost against a beatable opponent, even for a preseason game.

Then the Broncos went to Seattle and laid an egg overall. Perhaps they were looking ahead to their next game.

Enter the departed Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears in a game at Mile High that may have been one of the most anticipated preseason games of all time. The Broncos' first team defense looked very good overall in the game, but Kyle Orton got a significant injury to his throwing hand index finger and it seemed the Broncos might be off to a rough start after losing that game.

As unimpressive as everything else was to this point in the preseason, the final game of the preseason perhaps was a prelude and it could not have had better timing. With the Broncos losing to Jay Cutler and the Bears in their most important preseason game, this team was in need of an even greater spark.

To his credit, Pat Bowlen stuck to his guns and never surrendered the expectations of how his teams should be performing. Additionally, the front office was more media friendly in the offseason than they possibly have been in some time.

Against Arizona, current third string quarterback Tom Brandstater impressed in his first start against the Cardinals and he gave the Broncos fans hope for the future.

Tomorrow, part two of this series will focus on breaking down the regular season thus far.

Contact Chaz at sportsmanagement@gmail.com.

Broncos-Chargers: Denver Gets Charged in Dumping of the San Diego Super-Chokers

Chaz Mattson — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:08:30 -0400

In a throwback game to celebrate the roots of the AFL, the NFL couldn’t have asked for much better to celebrate the occasion. These two cities, along with their football teams, have come a long way since their humble beginnings back in the old American Football League.

While both these teams share similar histories, their look and their viability in today’s NFL couldn’t be more polar opposites.

In the old AFL, San Diego did win one championship. Since then, they have only made Super Bowl appearances and have fallen short in delivering on old promises.

Denver won two AFL championships, only it was with the Denver Dynamite and the Colorado Crush of the Arena Football League.

The Broncos' franchise, however, has appeared in six final dances and is a two-time Super Bowl Champion that currently appears to be returning to their old championship form.

The Denver Broncos are six and “Oh My!”

Just admit it; no one had the Broncos undefeated after this stage of the season, and that includes you.

The Broncos are doing their yeomen’s work with definition, meaning, attitude, purpose, and good old fashioned hard working football to match their throwback jerseys.

The Broncos, like their vertical striped piping are on their way up while making more believers week by week!

So to think this team could be 12-0 when they face the currently 6-0 Indianapolis Colts on Dec. 13 isn’t so far fetched anymore.

Sticking to the Script

The Broncos did not start with a bowl of dust and a hearty “Hi-Ho Silver!” but they did come to play in San Diego.

The Broncos forced the Chargers to punt early on after snuffing their first drive.

Then Broncos won the battle of field position briefly as they could not muster a drive worthy of a score.

San Diego Gets Mission Focused Early

Following a punt by the Broncos the Chargers showed their shockingly brilliant powers.

Phillip Rivers connects with Malcolm Floyd for 18 yards and a first down from the six.

On 3rd-and-9 Rivers hits Floyd on a slant for 21 yards another first down against an all out blitz.

Then Rivers chest passes the ball to LaDainian Tomlinson who rambled for 25 yards and another first down.

Rivers then again hit Floyd for 13 yards and another San Diego first down.

LT then rambled from the backfield for 13 yards and yet another first down.

The Chargers were hotter than those bolts of lightning on their throwback helmets. Denver was in a bad way as well on the drive that consumed a majority of the first quarter. The Broncos also feared a loss of their spark on defense as Brian Dawkins left during the drive with a possible pulled hamstring.

As brilliant as the drive was for the powder blue SoCalers, it came to an end just as fast at the Broncos two yard line.

The Chargers had to settle for three points instead of the touchdown their offense deserved most of the drive.

Eddie Royal’s Special Treatment

On Denver radio they call him Eddie Roy~Al with Cheese .

In San Diego, they called him, but he never returned their calls because he was gone; and by the way the Chargers are still trying to reach him.

On the Denver sideline they called him by one word:

Money!

Eddie Royal is in a Denver Taco Bell commercial for a promo that gives fans the “Royal Treatment” with free tacos if the Broncos score two or more touchdowns.

This week’s promo truly is the Royal Treatment as he delivered with two touchdowns on special teams during the Monday night affair.

In one play, Eddie Royal attained what San Diego worked so hard for in their opening drive but could not, that being the end zone. Royal returned San Diego’s ensuing kickoff 93 yards for the Broncos first touchdown and a shocking first-quarter lead.

For a guy that wound up with zero catches on the night at his usual receiver position, he proved to be the game's difference maker.

Royal followed up his kick return for a touchdown with a 71-yard punt return for a touchdown later on in the second quarter.

Chargers Still Determined

Following Eddie Royals kickoff return for a touchdown San Diego started their next drive like they had the previous one.

The Chargers gashed the Broncos for big yardage going 74 yards in eight plays and cashing in this time with a touchdown to Northern Colorado phenomenon Vincent Jackson. Rivers connected near the backline with Jackson on a deep crossing route from the three yard line.

On the drive, Philip Rivers was perfectly hot, going five-for-five and picking up 63 yards to regain the lead 10-7 against Denver’s stalwart defense.

At the 1:20 mark of the second quarter the Chargers completed the hat trick of special teams’ touchdowns with a punt return for a score of their own.

Not to be outdone, Darrin Sproles returned his punt 77 yards to put the Chargers back on top before the half at 20-17 and solidifying this as an AFL throwback game.

Tony Schefflers Magic

It’s been said the Broncos throwback uniforms makes them look prime for some sort of Busker Fest where jugglers and magicians alike prove their skills before an open audience.

Tony Scheffler looked the part of the showman with his 19-yard touchdown grab from Kyle Orton while walking the tightrope on his circus catch.

The catch put Denver up by a single point at 24-23 late in the third quarter.

Denver ’s ‘For Real Defense’ Rears It’s Ugly Head

On third and three near midfield Elvis Dumervil hit Phillip Rivers and causes a fumble that eventually led to another Broncos field goal to push the margin to four points.

Denver’s defense combined with the offense to salt away the game.

The defense kept the pressure on the Chargers offense and would not allow them to get anything significant as they attained three sacks in five plays at one point.

Champ Bailey and DJ Williams put the hurt on Malcolm Floyd on a fourth and eight at the Broncos 38 yard marker.

The Broncos then went 62 yards in five plays with one more magic trick being pulled off by Tony Scheffler down to the Chargers eight.

The final part of this masterpiece was a five yard pass to Brandon Stokley for six. On a play that was reviewed and very close, the ball never crossed the goal-line plane, however, Stokley toe tapped the goal line for the touchdown.

The Broncos left feeling super charged with the final score.

Denver Broncos 34

Super Chokers 23

With the win the Broncos are three and a half games up on their nearest division rival San Diego and now own a tie breaker against them with ten games to go in the regular season.

These Broncos appear to be playoff bound!

Dissecting the "Wild Horses" Success of the Denver Broncos

Chaz Mattson — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:31:16 -0400

Let the Old Man Speak

So you like the modern game do ya there, sonny?

Well, sit on down and stay a spell so you can understand what the heck happened on Sunday when the Broncos went Wild Horses upside the Beantown Patriots. In the meantime someone should get Shannon Sharpe on the phone and see if he’s ready to call the President…again.

The Broncos version of the wildcat offense is called the Wild Horses, and was integrated seamlessly into the Broncos' game plan on Sunday’s victory against longtime foe the Boston Patriots in the AFL Legacy Game, as designated by the NFL.

In The Beginning…

In the beginning…well sort of, not really, but yes…sort of…okay, just be patient and let the meaning of all this be explained.

At its core, the wildcat offense is a scheme that is gimmicky in nature and designed to pose problems for defenses with unconventional methodologies behind its execution.

It is possible to trace the origins of the wildcat offensive scheme back to the early days of football in the United States starting somewhere in the 1920s.

In the early days of football, there was a number of what would be later known as full backfield attacks. These schemes would place up to four backs behind the line of scrimmage in nearly any backfield position imaginable in order to create controlled chaos as a way for dissecting a defense and to expose weakness.

This approach was adapted and refined by the Notre Dame's Four Horsemen offense that featured Harry Stuhldreher, Don Miller, Jim Crowley, and Elmer Layden who played for legendary coach Knute Rockne. This group was all freshmen in 1921, and got the offense going a year later as sophomores under Rockne.

As a short answer to a trivia question, their nicknames were coined by a sports journalist at the time, Grantland Rice, with the following excerpt from the famous article he wrote about the group.

In dramatic lore their names are Death, Destruction, Pestilence, and Famine. But those are aliases. Their real names are: Stuhldreher, Crowley, Miller and Layden.

The offense eventually became popularly known as the Wing-T offense sometime around 1934. It has also been credited back to originating out of six man high school football rules since the original person to touch the ball could not run past the line of scrimmage and had to get the ball to another player for advancement of the ball.

This brought about the quick toss to a player who could advance the ball since early football had the original position that touched the ball listed as blocking backs instead of what is modernly known as the quarterback position.

The Wing-T usage becomes widespread, and eventually leads to a great deal more sophistication within the running game, new formations, and blocking schemes. Derivatives of the Wing-T have been in use primarily at the high school and college levels since that time. Offensive attacks like the wishbone and power-I option attacks derived out of this original formation of the Wing-T and Power Wing-T.

At the professional level, the run game and various formations are heavily studied by teams to gain competitive advantage over their opponents; so, the NFL version of the scheme is the ultimate key to success. It’s the ability to keep the opponent on their heels and off-balance so plays have the chance to succeed in combination with other plays.

It also boils down to a numbers game, instead of the usual 10 on 11 (minus the QB on offense), the wildcat gives the offense a dedicated 11 on 11 matchup against the defense called. This generally favors the offensive rushing attack.

For a very long time in the NFL, however, these sorts of offensive approaches were ignored, in large part because the passing game had evolved so much since the early days. This meant that teams needed a dedicated quarterback to run the offense.

In More Recent Times…

The meaning of the Wing-T in the modern day has more to do with an unbalanced line, a back who intends to run, and a special set of reads on how to execute the play. Idealistically, these plays are run with the intent to create options on offense while causing problematic issues on defense. At its core, this approach tests the dedication of a defenses dedication to each gap assignment.

In recent times, the University of Texas used an early version of today’s wildcat with Vince Young in the shotgun formation, making an option read on the defense. The uniqueness here began with unbalanced line formations to make some reads easier and blocking more rudimentary. Young would usually key on the defensive end and outside linebacker. Based on their position, they were committing to either one set of actions or another. This left the read up to the quarterback Vince Young. He would then have the ability to handoff to a back, fake the handoff and run, or fake a run and even pass.

This system of thought is similar to what the solo back in the current, more popularized wildcat offense is responsible for. The offensive line is usually unbalanced with only a running back in the backfield. These plays can be run with a set of option reads, but are usually designed for a primary purpose in exploiting specific gaps along the defensive line. One of the recent innovations by the Miami Dolphins was to run sweeps with reverse action out of the slot receiver position. This, in essence, takes the place of the option read that was used at Texas.

The ideology behind this attack is about putting the ball in the hands of the most athletically talented players on the field, thereby opening up a number of available options on the field. This can be done through play calls and creating sudden mismatches through motion or reads. It can also key on defenders that cheat or play out of position enough to hurt their teams’ defense.

It is not the most glitzy offensive approach—there usually is a mass of humanity gathered in clusters—and so breaking through that can be a challenge for the offense. The wildcat, however, because of this clustering has an ability to open up big plays if successfully executed. It is precisely this inherent characteristic that makes the wildcat attractive to teams that could be outmatched in executing other offensive schemes.

While Michael Vick claims to have created the wildcat, that’s not entirely true. The success of the wildcat can most successfully be traced to former Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator and current Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator Dan Henning. In the third game of last season (2008), the Miami Dolphins faced the New England Patriots in a game, which, on paper, was a clear mismatch in favor of New England. The Dolphins lined up either Ronnie Brown or Ricky Williams behind the center about six yards deep and gave them the option to run, handoff, or pass. This gave the Patriots headaches all game long and the Dolphins came out on top 38-13 in this lopsided upset affair.

This set off a league wide implementation of some wildcat into a large number of team playbooks. As of last weekend, 19 of the league's 32 teams had some form of the wildcat in-house, thereby validating its potency, even at the NFL level.

Denver’s Wild Horses Implementation

Certainly, Denver is not the first team to implement the idea of quickly lining up in the wildcat with the quarterback split out wide. They might not even be the only team to think of giving their quarterback the option to read the defense from the slot position and run the appropriate play. They are, however, the Denver Broncos, and they came up with the term that will more than likely forever ensconce the idea upon the football world with two words: Wild Horses.

In a nutshell, the Wild Horses offense gives the quarterback the opportunity to read how the defense is lined up from other skill positions on the field prior to running a play. This allows the QB to choose an appropriate execution option of the play call.

This is how the Broncos used the Wild Horses against New England on Sunday.

On the first play from scrimmage, Kyle Orton lined up as a receiver to the wide left side of the offense. Running back Knowshon Moreno lined up just over six yards deep in the backfield. New England was surprised, and checked out of their original defensive play call to a man cover-one, which brought their safety Brandon Meriweather out of cover-two down inside the box. The safety Meriweather picked the right gap, but missed out on the tackle of Moreno. The play winded up gaining 12 yards for the speedy and elusive Broncos running back.

With this formation in mind, the Patriots lined up in the man cover-one again, anticipating more of the same trickery from the Broncos. This again dedicated the safety to put eight defenders in the five-yard box between tight ends. Kyle Orton liked what he saw and went under center with man-on-man coverage being shown. Patriots’ safety Meriweather began to back off on the play, and Orton chose the opposite side, connecting on the pass for a short gain to Brandon Marshall.

This immediate play combination opened up the door for the Broncos when they ran a play out of their regular playbook to cross up the defensive pass coverage and Brandon Marshall was able to pick up a first down with a great run after catching the quick out route.

The Broncos then gashed the New England defense for five yards with another Wild Horses direct snap to Moreno.

The next play, quarterback Orton lined up on the right side of the offense wide, then went back under center, hooking up on a big pass play with tight end Tony Scheffler. This again caused Meriweather to check out of the current coverage and out of the box.

The net result was a first down, but the importance of it was that it kept the Patriots from disguising pass coverage because they were forced to deal with the option piece of the Wild Horses offense.

After another five-yard run out of Wild Horses by Moreno, New England Coach Bill Belichick had seen enough and wanted a timeout. Following the timeout, New England had figured out they needed a dedicated eight men in the box pinching down towards the middle of the field to keep the Broncos from successfully running out of the single back formation.

Had the Broncos run an option pass at this point, with the defense clearly getting settled in after the timeout, the Broncos might have had more success after the short break.

The Broncos could not connect on a short pass on third and six, and were forced to settle for a long field goal attempt which they missed wide-right.

The concept however was proven, and did work against the Patriots defense. It took New England out of their original defensive play calls, and put them on their heels.

The Broncos would use the offense again sparingly, but on this day, they proved their point. They could allow their quarterback to get better pre-snap reads of the defense by allowing him to make option calls based on the defense's alignment.

The Conclusion

This is certainly an offensive philosophy that will be used in the future by teams, though somewhat sparingly. It will probably be implemented as a great teaching tool for young quarterbacks on all levels, and does provide an element of entertainment to the game of football on all levels. It also has ways of inherently taking defenses out of their original game plans and forcing them to rethink how they will disguise coverages. Just like the Wing-T and the wildcat, the Wild Horses is here to stay.

Contact Chaz at sportsmanagement@gmail.com

Boston Patriots vs. Broncos: Throwback Game Ends in OT as Denver Triumphs 20-17

Chaz Mattson — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:51:02 -0400

The Glossy Cover to the Story

In what should be remembered as the Mother of all Throwback Games, the Denver Broncos beat their longtime rival the Boston Patriots with both teams wearing their original team garb, which was bound to jog a few memories and shock a few younger ones.

Last Sunday the Broncos hosted the Dallas Cowboys in a game that was ugly and downright sloppy at times. There were a number of penalties against both teams, and neither team seemed to get much going on offense.

As poor as that game was at times, this one delivered on the shortcomings on both sides of the ball.

Yesterday at Mile High against the Boston Patriots, the Denver Broncos prevailed in a very well played and well fought ball game on both sides. It was so good, in fact, that it had to go to overtime to get a final decision on which team was the better of the two for the day.

It was a day of celebration, nostalgia, remembrance, and more celebration. It was a time for the original AFL teams to celebrate their roots as teams in a competitive league with the NFL. The NFL and AFL did eventually merge, and that was worth remembering and celebrating as well.

In the end it was the Denver Broncos and their first season yellow and brown throwback jerseys prevailing over the classier look of the Boston Patriots in their throwbacks.

Don’t misunderstand this, however, even though the Broncos' original jerseys look like a generic way of saying jerseys don’t matter; the Broncos made them look incredibly tough to beat. After the Broncos beat down the Boston Patriots, it was cause for more celebration in Denver.

This throwback game was rooted in humble beginnings. Those same roots became embraced by the franchise and the fans on a day that could have easily turned out as ugly as the original uniforms. The Broncos' original jerseys have caught the eye of the national press and are the subject of pointed jokes once again.

Somehow, it doesn’t matter; these Denver Broncos are good regardless of the jerseys they wear, which coincidently is at four jerseys in five games, certainly making it some sort of a professional football record that will soon be eclipsed only by themselves. The Broncos are scheduled to wear the road throwback version against the Chargers in San Diego on Monday Night Football, making it five uniforms in six games.

The amazing thing is they haven’t even touched their late '60s jerseys or their old Orange Crush look from the 1970s.

From the latest and greatest offensive innovation, to the relentless defense, to Kyle Orton coming into his own, to Eddie Royal and Brandon Marshall coming up with the clutch grabs just when the Broncos had to have them—the Denver Broncos are maturing and jelling as a team, beating one of the best teams in the NFL to go 5-0 and looking like contenders.

The Validation of a New Identity

This team has gone a long way to make fans forget the offseason and the controversial trade of Jay who?

So just as head coach Josh McDaniels let loose of all his emotion following the victory should all the accolades start mounting. For all of Josh’s personal shortcomings and criticism surrounding the trade of Jay Cutler and other offseason dealings, he deserved his moment in the Mile High air to vent frustrations and celebrate something he believed in.

From the moment he interviewed, Josh conveyed a new direction for the Broncos, one they have not seen in quite some time—one that is now causing the Broncos faithful to start thinking about the Orange Crush defense and about being competitive every game out.

When no one thought the Broncos could beat the Bengals on the road, they did. When the Browns or Raiders looked like must games, they were merely speed bumps. Then everyone said Dallas and New England would show if the Broncos are for real or not. Well, forgive Coach McDaniels—he could have danced with a lampshade on his head, and he would have earned the right.

No one should be happier right now than owner Pat Bowlen, because he at times appeared to be at a loss during the offseason in trying to adapt. Much of the fanbase also followed suit in not knowing what to think or how to react to the myriad of moves made by the Broncos.

Shortly after hiring McDaniels for his football mind, it seemed the new coach was acting every bit the immature brat that Cutler had been portrayed as. It had to leave Mr. Bowlen second-guessing and scratching his head, as well as wondering if Josh was the right hire for the Denver Broncos.

Yet through it all the Broncos have maintained their goals as an organization. Nothing changed. Mr. Bowlen was very direct in the offseason saying in jest that a losing football team in Denver just won’t do.

Now owner Pat Bowlen, coach Josh McDaniels, and the players have their validation along with their new identity on who they are and where they are going.

The Mother of All Throwback Games

Wild horses were the theme of the day as the Broncos decided to debut an upgrade to the now highly used wildcat offense. Part of the Broncos enhancement was to line up quarterback Kyle Orton in the slot with the option to read the defense and get under center depending upon the read he made pre-snap.

In much the same manner the Miami Dolphins shocked New England last season with the wildcat, the Broncos put the Patriot defense on its heels early with the wild horses offense.

This was a new, seemingly essential wrinkle the Broncos needed to put into the game plan in order to keep Boston on its heels. Consider the fact that the Broncos offense very much emulates the Patriots offense and their way of executing. After all, this game was about the student and the teacher and how well the pupil could muster up against the master sensei.

The Broncos were able to effectively move the ball on their opening drive from their own 20 to just inside the Patriot 30. The drive stalled out almost immediately after Pats Coach Bill Belichick called for a timeout. Broncos kicker Matt Prater missed wide right from 47 yards out.

The Patriots then drove the ball the distance to score a touchdown on a Tom Brady to Wes Welker on an outside-in option route for the touchdown from nine yards out.

The Broncos then held the Patriots to a field goal following a Knowshon Moreno fumble.

Ironically enough, this was the same exact score the Broncos fell behind Dallas the week previous.

It was a tough and tight defensive battle much of the day with both teams moving the ball and trading punts.

The Broncos eventually got back into the game with a 90-yard drive that ended with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Orton to last week's star Brandon Marshall with 4:31 remaining in the first half.

The Boston Patriots immediately responded with a touchdown drive of their own that saw Tom Brady hook up with tight end Ben Watson on a seven-yard cross with five seconds remaining in the half.

The Broncos' Prater would connect in the third quarter on a 24-yard field goal to narrow the margin to 17-10 in favor of the Patriots.

Late in the third period the Broncos' fortunes started to change as Boston kicker Stephen Gostkowski missed on a 40-yard field goal attempt that hit the outside of the left post.

The Broncos nearly gave the Patriots the game during a subsequent drive when they committed two special teams errors on fourth down. This gave the Patriots two first downs and extended their last drive of the third quarter into the fourth quarter.

The MO-JO connection hooked up again late in the fourth with Orton hitting Marshall from 11 yards out on a stop route that saw an old school maneuver with a dive for the goal line and the tying score.

The two teams traded punts and two possessions each prior to overtime.

The Broncos won the toss in overtime and marched the ball to the 23-yard line of the Pats. Prater then connected on a 41-yard field goal to send Mile High Stadium into an elated state of excitement.

Players, fans, and coaches alike all celebrated, but no one celebrated quite like Bronco head coach Josh McDaniels. Pointing to his family and the crowd with multiple fist pumps filled with emotion, the Broncos won, and the student had beaten his teacher.

Contact Chaz at sportsmanagement@gmail.com.

These Aren't Your Grandparents Denver Broncos; Or Are They?

Chaz Mattson — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 12:49:22 -0400

The background music begins

Doodadodo- Dodadodo- Dodadodo- Dodadodo~ and on as the narrator begins to speak.

The Narrator

Imagine if you will, a football team, caught somewhere in time; with one foot stuck in 1960 and the other in 2009. This yellow, mellow custard jersey laced football team- looking as it did before- or as it is now. Perhaps, in its upcoming game, it will be like it was before in it’s inaugural game in its inaugural season. Only as they play the Boston Patriots, they will not be the away team, but the home team. Only where such oddities occur could you wind up in…the Twilight Zone.

The Actual Scoop on Those Twilight Zone Throwback Uniforms

So perhaps, you want the truth about those old duds before you see them on the field, or perhaps you’d like to humorously indulge the mother of all throwback jerseys head to toe.

In 1960, the first year of the American Football League (AFL), the Denver Broncos franchise had one of their more interesting starts. Undoubtedly, the poorest of all the start-up AFL teams, the Broncos began to play in the old Bears Stadium, which later became known as Mile High Stadium.

The stadium saw a number of upgrades along the way- the most notable of which was a state of the art design which slid the east side stands in and out- depending on whether it was time for football or baseball.

In the very first game for the Denver Broncos, they traveled east to take on the Boston Patriots, and won the game 13-10. The Broncos were the weakest franchise financially, and on the field, which really led to their humble beginnings in the Mile High city.

The Broncos originally practiced in Golden, Colorado at the Colorado School of Mines football field. The Broncos were so strapped for cash back in those days that they purchased their original set of jerseys from the old Copper Bowl All-Star game, and purchased vertically striped socks at a clearance sale to match.

So for two seasons, these used uniforms became the teams’ original identity to the Rocky Mountain region. The Broncos were not a competitive team for quite some time. Yet, they were entertaining and started to draw fans.

Perhaps only Red Miller, who was an assistant back in the early days, is the only person to save one of the original pairs of vertical striped socks. The old socks and uniforms were destroyed in a pre-game ceremony, per the orders of then head coach and GM Jack Faulkner.

This weekend, the Broncos are celebrating their origins into the AFL and eventually, the NFL merger with the retro throwback jerseys that will certainly take every fan back to their humble roots.

The Denver Broncos will be taking on the Boston (New England) Patriots this weekend, full well knowing these two teams have a rich history with one another. Both in the AFL, and NFL.

So if things don’t look quite the same as they normally do, just know that it’s a weekend of nostalgia and remembering the importance of taking a risk against all odds.

When you see those wild and crazy jerseys that the Broncos are wearing this weekend, at least you’ll have the scoop on the Broncos original starting place as an original AFL team struggling to survive. You’ll have the scoop on a team that somehow- continually built upon what it had to eventually reach the pinnacle in 1997 and 1998.

Broncos Statistics Show They Are a Team

Chaz Mattson — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:57:44 -0400

The opening introduction of coach Josh McDaniels to the Denver media was what most would probably expect. It was a lot of coach speak about players and forging a vision of how to build a team.

This argument might look good on paper, but with such a young guy in Coach McDaniels making the proclamation, it was met with cautious optimism.

Some in the media doubted the coach due to his age and lack of experience as a head coach. Others began to doubt the coach when he let team guys like Nate Jackson go. Then there was the signing of a multimillion-dollar contract by long snapper Lonnie Paxton over Mike Leach, who had been doing a solid job at the position.

Then, of course, there was the speculation on the deal to get Matt Cassel from New England and the subsequent fallout and trade of Jay Cutler.

Through the turbulent water came an ocean of change, much of it along the defensive front. There are now only three defensive starters from last year that are starters this year in Champ Bailey, D.J. Williams, and Elvis Dumervil, and only Champ is playing the same position.

This regime brought change, and after the dismal performance on defense last season, it would seem that the only way would be up for this team.

What has come to be an amazing statistic to this point in the season is that the Denver Broncos are now the best team by a mile in points allowed on defense. Currently the orange and blue defense is holding opponents to an average of 6.5 points per game. The next closest teams average over twice that amount.

At this juncture only the New York Giants defense has allowed fewer yards per game, at 232, than the Broncos, who are averaging almost 240 per game. The Broncos are fourth in interceptions with six and tied for 13th in forced fumbles with four.

While the defense is ample at creating turnovers, they are clearly benefiting as a team right now from the offense managing the game well and not turning the ball over. To date the Broncos offense has lost three fumbles, and Kyle Orton leads the league with zero interceptions. This works out for the team being in a three-way tie for first in the turnover battle, rating out at plus-seven.

This is a different organization than last season, and the numbers don’t lie.

Orton is currently ranked ninth with a passer rating at a very respectable 97.7.

Cutler is currently 14th at 89.3 with the Chicago Bears.

The Broncos rushing attack is ranked fourth, averaging 148 yards per game. The Broncos passing game is only averaging 217 yards to this point in time, which rates them 18th in the league. However, this is a well managed attack that does not turn the ball over more than their opponents, and that is a clear key to winning football games.

When the Broncos fail on offense, they still find ways to win the battle of field position and use a patient offensive attack to win games off the back of the defensive play.

To date special teams have been good, not great, but have most importantly not hurt the team.

One factor that has no statistic, but is probably the most important because it makes it all come together, is attitude.

Without a doubt this team has been impacted by the presence of Brian Dawkins on defense. His enthusiasm for the game is clearly contagious and infectious on both sides of the ball. This transcends practice, workouts, and even the games. It forges a positive mental attitude that makes it possible for the team and fans alike to start believing.

The major stats on both sides of the ball thus far reinforce the ideology that this is a team on both sides of the ball. The numbers about this team go beyond just offense and defense.

The theme all offseason has been about team, and so far in 2009 the strength of the Denver Broncos is that they are a solid team that will be mentally ready and will not quit during games.

Now that is a team, and the statistics are proving it out.

Contact Chaz at sportsmanagement@gmail.com

Broncos-Cowboys: Underrated Denver Defense Stifles Overrated Dallas 17-10

Chaz Mattson — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:17:22 -0400

Come in here, Dear boy, have a cigar.
You're gonna go far,
You're gonna fly high,
You're never gonna die,
You're gonna make it, if you try;
They're gonna love you.
Well I've always had a deep respect,
And I mean that most sincere.
The band is just fantastic,
that is really what I think.
Oh by the way, which one's Pink?

“Have A Cigar” – Pink Floyd

The Pink Prelude

So to say at the very least, the NFL did a phenomenal job of promoting what should now traditionally be called Pink Sunday in the NFL. The fact is cancer deserves no press. The victims and survivors of this horrible disease do.

What the NFL did league-wide is very commendable. The league had coaches and players alike decked out in pink ribbons, special team gear laced with pink, as well as pink wrist bands, receiver gloves, cleats, and shoelaces.

No doubt these in-game treasures will go a long way to raising more funds for the fight against breast cancer.

The NFL deserves a clear salute for doing the job right on and off the field on this one. It shows the depths to which the most testosterone-filled sports league was willing to go to support this very important cause.

The Pre-Game

For an entire off-season and through three weeks of the 2009 NFL season, the Denver Broncos were underrated and the victims of a poor preseason and media critics who doubted them. Overlooked by many was the reality of how good the Broncos defense really was to this point in the season.

The message received by the Broncos was that they were a three-point dog at home.

The message sent by the Broncos was a statement that read, “Really?!?!??!”

Brian Dawkins emphasized as much in his pre-game rally cry to his teammates. “Again! How can you be 3-0 and be underdogs at your house? That’s disrespect! Let’s take it! Let’s take it! Let’s take it!”

Dogfight of a Game

Let there be little doubt about it, the game was destined to be a physical matchup from the start, and this game delivered big. The Dallas Cowboys are among the NFL’s largest teams, and the Broncos have proven to be a very physical football team thus far on the 2009 season.

From the get-go the Denver defense set the early tone, forcing Dallas to an early three and out. From there, the battle remained physical in the trenches and throughout the remainder of the game.

In what was vaunted as one of the league's biggest teams and most physical running attacks, the Dallas Cowboys made an early impression that had the Broncos on their heels.

The Cowboys worked their way out of a 1st-and-20 situation that eventually resulted in a 49-yard field goal.

The following drive for the Cowboys saw a physical run game from the Denver one-yard line convert on a Marion Barber touchdown. He was aided by his line with no call on the play as the Cowboys muscled their way into the end zone.

The Cowboys led 10-0 and looked like they could be on their way to a victory with a sizable margin on their side.

Shortly after the Dallas TD, Dawkins had a very emotional discussion with his teammates about getting back up after their last two drives and keeping the Broncos in the game.

The break the Denver Broncos were waiting for came on a 3rd-and-14. A blitzing Renaldo Hill put a hit on Tony Romo to force a fumble. The Broncos recovered and advanced to the Dallas nine yard line.

On first and goal, Kyle Orton forced the ball and his will in to Knowshon Moreno for a touchdown pass, as Dallas defender Anthony Spencer just missed an interception that may have resulted in a TD the other way.

Maybe the Cowboys thought the Broncos were too old or they weren’t for real.

Champ Bailey was thrown at constantly throughout the game, only to rise up when it mattered most. He made a diving interception near the Cowboy sideline when they had a drive going deep in Broncos territory. Little did everyone else know he was about to save his best for last.

In this defensive battle, the teams moved the ball primarily between the 30s, making it difficult for putting up points.

Give Dallas credit, they were a team on a mission. They knew they were going to have to bring a full effort against Denver, and they did.

Denver was fortunate to tie the game on a short Matt Prater field goal with 5:58 remaining in the game.

Denver kept the Cowboys 120 yards below their team rushing average for the game while producing five sacks of Romo on the day.

Dallas held the Broncos to just 116 total yards on the ground and 221 yards through the air and three sacks of Orton.

Moreno took the game to the two-minute warning with a 14-yard burst up the middle to set up the magic that was about to happen.

On first down Orton found Brandon Marshall 20 yards downfield with a jump ball. Marshall hauled in the pass over the top of Dallas DB Terence Newman. He then raced to the center of the field, made a juke move to make the Dallas defense miss him, and raced back towards the right end zone flag for the touchdown standing up.

Dallas regained control of the ball with 1:46 remaining.

Romo showed he had some magic of his own in store as he connected on 4th-and-3 with Miles Austin, who ran down to the Broncos 25. On the play, Romo twisted out of the pocket avoiding the sack, and threw a floater that resulted in the 53-yard gain.

Dallas called timeout with 59 seconds remaining—and that is when they must have decided to pick on Champ Bailey a little more.

Previously in the game, D.J. Williams flattened receiver Roy Williams, which kept him out of the game on the most important drive of the day for the Cowboys.

Dallas wound up with a 1^st-and-goal from the eight. Patrick Crayton got six yards with the clock winding down, and then Romo spiked the ball with nine seconds left.

On third down, Romo threw at Sam Hurd and Bailey broke up the pass. On 4^th-and-goal from the two with five seconds left, Romo threw again at Hurd, and again Bailey denied the Dallas Cowboys.

This time it meant the game was over, as the Denver defense held off a late Dallas rally.

The win put the Broncos at an impressive 4-0 start to the young 2009 season.

Final Thoughts On Pink Sunday

Consider the amazing fact that the Broncos really didn’t hook up much with Brandon Marshall all day until he had the play of the day with his 51-yard touchdown.

Ironically enough, Dallas threw at Champ Bailey, and even at his worst he was very good and proved it in the end.

So on a day that proved to be pink, it is appropriate to have some lyrics from Pink Floyd as a prelude and as a way of exit. Little did we all know that those old rock lyrics could parallel an amazing athlete’s life in the NFL spotlight and his off-season contract dispute with the likes of Marshall.

Moreover, it certainly is parallel to the early season plight and disrespect the Broncos team feels through their early season successes.

It’s an oddity in parallel. After the touchdown Marshall was seen hugging his head coach Josh McDaniels, proving that winning solves a number of company ills. In a later press conference, Coach McD told Marshall, who was in close proximity, to not tell the press what he told him.

That only leads to the speculation that the deal for Brandon Marshall is on the way.

And did we tell you the name of the game?

We call it Riding the Gravy Train.

For Marshall, Coach McDaniels, and the Denver Broncos, being 4-0 was always a possibility in their minds. Only now they will start to gain the respect of their peers and the accolades of the press.

Next week the Broncos face the New England Patriots coming to Denver with a myriad of story lines to boot.

There will be one impressionistic stat to remember about Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots prior to next week's game. They are a reported 73-1 when leading after three quarters.

Contact Chaz at sportsmanagement@gmail.com

It's Time for the NCAA to Be Consistent With D-I Football

Chaz Mattson — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 02:28:55 -0400

Most are already aware of the inconsistencies in NCAA Division I football.

The top schools with the most tradition and the most capital get the most preferential treatment. Those are the schools that wind up in the BCS bowls the vast majority of the time.

Those are the programs with the deeper booster base, so they are allotted some margin of error even with scheduling weaker opponents.

That’s a tough load to handle if you’re not totally on board with the smaller D-I programs missing out on opportunities earned.

Take the Utah Utes last season, who had to play Alabama, a team currently pushing for the BCS National Championship. Utah did not get to play for the National Championship, but they did manhandle the Crimson Tide in their bowl game.

Alabama will eventually get an invite to the big dance if it keeps pace with its current undefeated record.

So where is the justice off the field? Well the reality and worst kept secret is that it does not exist in college football.

It is bad enough the politics of college football plagues teams from getting the opportunities that should be rightfully their own.

Over the weekend another more problematic issue took hold on the field of play. Maybe you were able to catch it, maybe you weren’t, but the net result is this one fact played out on national TV coverage on Saturday afternoon.

It’s time for the NCAA to be consistent with D-I football.

There are two games where there were glaring differences in the way things were handled by the officials and it really transcends the field of play. It’s a disturbing sight to see in both regards, and at the end of the day there absolutely needs to be consistency.

In a game that was promoted as another segment of the “Greatest Rivalry of the Decade in the SEC” LSU visited Georgia, between the hedges. In a tightly contested game which did not need further hype or drama, the game had some controversy that severely impacted the end result of the game.

With 2:53 remaining in the game, LSU running back Charles Scott banged home a go-ahead touchdown from just inside the three yard line. This wound up putting LSU up 12-7 with less than three minutes remaining in the game as Georgia stuffed the two point try.

The first point here is there was a short celebratory dog pile in the end zone by LSU that was not called.

Georgia took control at their own 21-yard line. Quarterback Joe Cox wound up leading Georgia on a 79-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown with 1:09 remaining on the clock.

On the play Cox threw a 16-yard jump ball to his right where he hooked up with star receiver A.J. Green for the go-ahead score.

Georgia was then penalized for excessive celebration in the end zone. The penalty was called most directly on Green. After the touchdown Green showed no signs of taunting or excessive celebration on his part as he was embracing his own teammates.

So it’s bad enough that excessive celebration was called against Georgia. It’s much worse that it impacted the following kickoff with a 15 yard penalty against the Bulldogs. This forced a kickoff from the 15 yard line of Georgia.

Georgia had an additional penalty on the kickoff which placed the ball at their own 38-yard line for LSU.

With the score 13-12 in favor a Georgia, LSU was already in field goal range. It was somewhat moot after Charles Scott rambled 33 yards on the second play from scrimmage for the touchdown.

What happened next can only be described as this: The officiating was so bad that they HAD to do a make up call!

The problem here was that LSU was now flagged for excessive celebration. Furthermore it did not appear as though there was any reason to throw the flag against LSU other than the admission of an initial bad call by the officials.

At this point it is virtually irrelevant because the damage was done to Georgia with only 42 seconds left on the clock to respond.

Perhaps this could be thought of as just a test case and the end of story. But wait a moment, it gets even better than that.

A few minutes later in real time on another national broadcast something similar happened with an entirely different result.

On Saturday the Washington Huskies paid a visit to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in South Bend. A game that Washington appeared to have in hand much of the game eventually slipped away.

In this game it was Notre Dame who truly were celebrating to the point that it should have been flagged for being excessive. The only problem here is that it was not called. Not only was it not called once, but it was not called twice following the two point conversion which was also excessive in nature as well.

It may have never happened had a controversial touchdown run by Washington back Chris Polk not have been reversed. The referees made a decision that Polk was aided by teammates in getting into the end zone.

Interestingly enough Notre Dame had a touchdown and two point try that clearly favored the Irish and cast everything else to the wind with 1:20 remaining in the contest.

The Irish did have very clear excessive celebrations in the end zone after their go-ahead touchdown and two-point conversion. What made matters worse in the eyes of the Husky faithful is that there was a very clear case of aiding the runner that was not called against Notre Dame.

This happened shortly after the Huskies' touchdown was reversed.

Notre Dame fullback Robert Hughes kept his legs driving while getting clear assistance from his teammates to increase the Notre Dame lead to three late in the game.

So what stands out is the inconsistency in NCAA officiating and the administration of how these situations wind up impacting the credibility of the product on the field.

How the NCAA chooses to address these issues in the future is anybody’s guess, but the reality is still plain and crystal clear.

It’s time for the NCAA to be consistent with D-I football both on the field of play with rules and the officiating of games. Additionally there needs to be further action in the handling of off the field issues like giving every D-I program an opportunity to play for the BCS Championship.

Regardless of the impact one thing remains the same.

It’s time for the NCAA to be consistent with D-I football.

Contact Chaz at sportsmanagement@gmail.com.

Denver Broncos Offense Earns a "B" vs. Oakland Raiders

Chaz Mattson — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:19:11 -0400

First and foremost it’s important to understand the Broncos offense played very well against the Oakland Raiders over the weekend. Additionally they managed the game very well and had two rushers near the 100 yard mark. That is impressive.

The Denver Broncos defense was impressive early in setting up opportunities for the offense. That went a long way. The Broncos went for it on fourth and goal from the one. Teams usually settle for points in tight, rivalry types of games, you only go for it if you believe in your offense and your defense.

That is what should stand out loud and clear about this Denver Broncos team. They do believe in the defense and they know they can score points. That is the type of team this needs to continue moulding into if it has hopes for future success.

The offense executed very well. The reason they don’t get an "A" is because they left a lot of points out on the field on Sunday and they would admit as much.

The upside is the Broncos ran phenomenally well and controlled the ball and the tempo on both sides of the ball. It’s this type of a game that makes the perfect template for the team to look at and recognize this should be their pattern to success.

Offensive Film Study

The first possession saw Kyle Orton line-up under center early and often throughout the game. On second and eight Brandon Marshall hooked up for his first catch on the day for a 15 yard gain on a cross route.

The next play was set up because Orton was operating under center; it was a play pass that successfully hooked up with Tony Scheffler for 14 yards and another first down. Knowshon Moreno then had a couple of carries to get the Broncos a first down.

Again Kyle Orton hits Brandon Marshall on an underneath route for another first down and the Broncos run game is getting warm pushing them down to the one yard line. Then at this point, things bogged down.

Peyton Hillis was called for a false start which was ridiculous for that to happen in that situation. So the Broncos start first and goal at the six and not the one. Then the Raiders defense starts to show signs of life, allowing the Broncos to only reach the one yard line after four downs.

So what happened here? Obviously the penalty was a momentum killer, but so was the play calling at this juncture. While running it in makes all the sense in the world, the Raiders were clearly keying on stopping it and bringing more pressure. The Broncos may have had better success running if they spread the field or if they decided to run a play pass to suck in the defense that was keying on the run.

Because it’s a game of field position the Broncos did the right thing in going for it against a team that has struggled offensively.

The second possession Denver starts at the Raiders 23 after an interception.

On third and one Knowshon Moreno picks up nine yards for a first down at the five. The Broncos call a play action pass on second down, but there is nobody open, so Orton throws the ball away.

This allows the next play to become the touchdown play they were seeking. Again Brandon Marshall worked his way across the middle of the field, fighting off a defender and catching a heater from Orton for six.

Besides the points, the offense recognized the Raiders were going to give them the middle cross again and the connection was established for an early lead.

The Broncos go back on the attack after Andre Goodman’s interception of JaMarcus Russell.

The Broncos go nowhere, and try another bubble screen this week to Eddie Royal with little success. This does however set up a long field goal attempt due to the field position.

The Broncos tried to hit Brandon Marshall on another cross, but the Raiders rush and coverage forced a bad throw by Kyle Orton.

This is where the team on the whole needs a deeper playbook, to find a way to get the yardage they need. There is a great deal of predictable repetition going on within the play calling.

The team could benefit from some other ways to solve the same problem. Things like other screen packages, hitches for first down yardage, and deeper drag routes would place more of a burden on the defense and open up the game plan.

The next Broncos drive they decide to get back to basics and hand the ball to Correll Buckhalter who scampers for a 34-yard chunk.

The play was an inside trap with Ben Hamilton and Casey Wiegmann executing a perfect double team to form a wall while right tackle Ryan Harris showed off his speed and strength as he pulled and sealed off the running alley. All that was left was to see Buckhalter run with power and agility down to the Raider 45 yard line.

Then the Broncos hit a snag with a five yard false start penalty. The Broncos were able to hit Jabar Gaffney on a cross, then Buckhalter and Moreno helped the team get the first down behind the offensive line.

The Broncos then continued to pick apart the middle of the Raiders defense and establish a theme that eventually came back to bite them. Jabar Gaffney ran an awesome option or choice route where he posted up briefly, sucking in the coverage then he hit the gas to make a good grab on the cross from left to right.

Then Brandon Marshall became a decoy running a middle cross right to left with Gaffney delaying then running behind him on a flat and more shallow route. The Raiders choose to double Marshall and don’t account for Gaffney. Orton connects and Gaffney picks up another crucial first down inside the ten.

The Broncos stall out at this point and nearly have a third down middle cross intended for Eddie Royal picked off by Michael Huff. The end result is the Broncos have to settle for three points instead of a touchdown.

The point here is this drive started with a great drive and then had a definite theme of middle crosses causing headaches for the Raiders. Running the same routes in the end zone is a dangerous proposition after the drive clearly had established these routes. Yet again this is where the Broncos need to be more dynamic in their play calling before it does cost them in a much bigger way.

In the second half the Broncos lead by a slim 13-3 margin. The opening drive of the second half is key in setting the tone for the rest of the game. The Broncos wind up marching 80 yards and scoring their second touchdown on the day.

The run game is featured and the offensive line starts to take control by establishing contact and maintaining their blocks so the backs can reach the second and third level of the defense. The Broncos get big gainers with Moreno and Buckhalter.

Most importantly the Broncos are able to add to their lead and take four minutes off the clock.

The very next drive the Broncos run an inside trap with Buckhalter but the ball is knocked out of his hands and the Raiders recover the fumble at the Broncos 16 yard line.

Following Brian Dawkins fumble recovery the Broncos began to chew up clock and yardage. Offensively there was an intent focus on the run game and one creative tight end screen that was shutdown earlier in the game.

This time Dan Graham came close to getting a touchdown as he rambled from the 38 down to the Raider 12. This set up the final score of the game, a short field goal by Matt Prater.

Almost more importantly the drive consumed eight minutes and polished off the Raiders.

contact Chaz @ sportsmanagement@gmail.com

Film Study Shows That Denver Broncos Defense Dominates In Oakland

Chaz Mattson — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:34:28 -0400

Prelude to the Film Studies

At the end of my last article I made a bold prediction about combining the Oakland and Cleveland game studies into one article each for offense and defense. That is until my computer with the Cleveland game was entirely scrubbed, though the article was backed up; it’s with my technician not me.

So, my personal apologies, I will get the Cleveland game review out later in the week with a little luck. In the meantime, the first installment focuses on Denver’s top notch effort against Oakland.

Finally after the film segments I hope to have some interesting thoughts regarding the Dallas Cowboys game with Denver over the coming weekend.

For now, do the mental reps as you recall the game and enjoy the film study segment.

Denver’s Defense Leads the NFL and Earns an A+ Rating in Oakland

On the first possession by the Raiders the Broncos defense established control. On first down the front seven got good penetration to shut down the Raider run in the middle.

The very next play was a screen that proved the Broncos had good lateral pursuit and the play lost two yards. Third down, the Broncos had great coverage and forced the screen pass which they shutdown. The most important piece was that it set the tone early, three and out.

---

The second series for the Raiders starts at their own one yard line after denying the Broncos the end zone.

On first down JaMarcus Russell shows his lack of touch by throwing the ball a little high and hard off the hands of his fullback Luke Walton. Champ Bailey just misses out on an interception. On second down, the Raiders go deep and it is intercepted by Renaldo Hill who returns the ball to the Raider 23 yard line, putting the Broncos back in business.

While the Broncos did not have a great pass rush on the play, they did have good penetration and that may have caused an early release.

---

The next possession for the Raiders starts around their 20 yard line. On 2nd-and-8, Darren McFadden runs a middle stretch. Center Chris Morris immediately reaches the second level while right guard and former Bronco Cooper Carlisle cuts down the outside pursuit coming from the middle.

Meanwhile the tackle and tight end allow the Broncos outside contain to over pursue and the running lane is created. McFadden cuts back and gains an easy 15 yards.

True to the Oakland Raider fashion of the last few years, the very next play they shoot themselves in the foot. They decide to mix up the play calling and throw in the area of Darrius Heyward-Bey who runs a deep hook.

Russell may have been trying to hit Louis Murphy in the slot who was streaking. Regardless, the Broncos had the perfect man-zone trap called. These defenses ideally put a triangle of DB’s around a given throwing area.

Defenses like these are what make the NFL hard on young quarterbacks. Essentially the Broncos line up in what could be man or quarter zone coverage. The quarterback really doesn’t know.

The biggest key he has to look for is where the safeties and cornerbacks are rolling to. If there is some of that rotation it’s a zone and he needs to find the receiver in space.

Technically Bey was open; however the Broncos had a perfect blanket coverage which forces the turnover. When young quarterbacks force the ball into these areas they literally are making high risk—reward decisions.

As this play developed, Champ Bailey rolls to the outside from his inside coverage position. Over the top Andre Goodman and the safety Renaldo Hill converge on Louis Murphy’s streak route.

JaMarcus Russell makes an OK read, but wastes his effort with an inaccurate throw that sails too high for Heyward-Bey and behind the streaking Murphy. Andre Goodman makes a great read of the throw and makes an easy interception, returning it 20-some yards to around the original line of scrimmage.

---

The Raiders best drive of the day occurs after Matt Prater’s 48 yard field goal.

The Raiders start with the ball on their own 14 yard line. On 2nd-and-6, Darren McFadden catches a seven yard screen pass getting Oakland’s drive rolling. Then a couple of recurring vulnerabilities the Broncos have are exploited by the Raiders.

The Raiders' Michael Bush and Darren McFadden are able to run to the outside for a couple of big gains. This will set up their short inside gains that help them to attain first downs.

Then Louis Murphy is able to make like Brandon Marshall on short cross routes to exploit the Denver defense for big gainers. The Broncos defense doesn’t get off to a particularly good start on the pass rush and the release is early in dissecting the defense.

The Broncos benefit from a Raider penalty and a caused fumble by Mario Haggan that was recovered by Oakland along with some hard hitting along the way. Finally on a key third down situation the Broncos show an all-out blitz and force a Raider timeout.

Oakland connects on an underneath route to Zach Miller and advances the ball down to the Broncos 30 and has to settle for three.

---

On the first Raider drive of the second half, Oakland again works to establish a nice lane for McFadden to use on the outside of the offensive line. A Raider tight end is able to establish contact with Elvis Dumervil and eventually turn him to the outside creating a running lane.

Darren McFadden carries the ball for 10 yards where he is then de-cleated by Brian Dawkins.

Later in the drive the Raiders go for it on fourth down and the Broncos jump offsides to give them the first down.

Dawkins later has great coverage on Zach Miller and the ball goes incomplete. Then Elvis Dumervil shuts down the Raider drive with a sack of JaMarcus Russell.

---

After the Broncos lose a fumble on their own 16, Oakland then runs a toss play on 2nd-and-5 to the right side. The play picks up seven for a first down, however DJ Williams strips McFadden of the ball and Brian Dawkins makes a quick heads-up play to recover the fumble and snuff the Raiders' last hopes of getting back into the game.

The key here is the defense never quit despite being put in a bad spot and they created some magic of their own. With the turnover, the Broncos came away stealing the Raiders heart as they were pushing towards a touchdown in the south end zone of their fan faithful.

After the replay officials ruled that the play would stand in favor of the Broncos, Brian Dawkins drove home the final nail in the Raiders chance. He simply signaled a slow point in the Broncos direction for a first down with a jubilant slant as an exclamation to the game. There were still five minutes left in the third quarter, but this game was over.

Special Teams Does Things Well But Finds Room for Improvement (Grade: B+)

Eddie Royals' first punt return had very little blocking so the return went for a mere four yards.

---

After an interception drive goes nowhere. Matt Prater connects on a 48 yard field goal that could have been good from 58 yards off the baseball dirt infield. These are hard kicks for field goal kickers because their plant foot will usually slip a little bit on the swing of the kicking leg.

No matter, perfect form results in a perfect kick and three more points for the Broncos.

On the play, the Raiders were able to get good penetration up front and this is an area Coach McDaniels said specifically the Broncos will be working on this week. That is a real plus, since it happened on the next field goal and extra point try as well.

The Raiders were over stacking eight players to one side and getting good pressure up the middle.

---

The following kickoff is six yards deep in the end zone and the Broncos stuff the return at the 14 yard line, allowing the defense to be set up for success. On the next kick return for the Raiders they were stopped at the 15 yard line.

---

Conversely when the Raiders try a 48 yarder the Broncos get very little penetration and Sebastian Janikowski connects on the long attempt.

---

On the following kickoff Eddie Royal gets the ball out to the 22 yard line, good for a 27 yard return.

---

On the Raiders kickoff return following the Broncos second touchdown, the Broncos make a touchdown saving tackle at the 30 yard line.

contact Chaz @ sportsmanagement@gmail.com

Broncos Show There Is Dominant In Team: Theme Crushes Raiders

Chaz Mattson — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 02:20:16 -0400

To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them?

William Shakespeare - “Hamlet”

A Contending Early Autumn Wind

A new autumn’s dominant theme is changing the colors of the season from coast to coast. It’s absolutely caught up in the changing leaves and trees—it happens this time every year. The change in green color to this season’s theme: it’s white, surprising purple, a myriad of orange with amazing black, and even blue.

These colors appear to be for real in this early autumn theme, turning pretenders into contenders in the early stages of chasing the dream.

In the autumn wind there is the ringing breeze of forceful winds that are cousins of the new cold fronts that bring them. Within that same gust of the new coming are some of the traditions of the past.

Football teams and their rivalries carry out those recurring dreams of rising up to their constant rivals. In this the young 2009 NFL season, we have seen the leaves change colors and maintain the theme of newness and unexpected results.

We are finding out that there are some new up and comers—teams that are proving they are for real.

The New York Jets sported their old New York Titans jerseys against the Tennessee Titans—who donned their old Houston Oilers jerseys. In the end, the Titans of New York won the game behind rookie sensation Mark Sanchez.

In Minnesota that age-old staelwierthe (stalwart) himself, Brett Favre, in his new purple adornment, proved he could still get it done when it mattered most. The Minnesota Vikings are now a serious contender for the Super Bowl.

Carson Palmer and the Bengals proved they are tougher than most had given them credit for. They beat the defending Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers with last second heroics and altered the outlook of their season. So add them to your list of contending teams.

Out west it was Raider Nation taking on the Denver Broncos. It beckoned a number of questions for the football minds who could see.

The Raiders local telecast was blacked out because the game was not a sellout. These are peculiar times indeed. The current economical situation has affirmed that, but if it’s Raider Nation—tell us all, why do they flee or fail to show?

Oakland—Raider Nation Has a Problem

Anytime you can beat a team at home it's a great thing. When it's your archrival, better yet.

There was apparently a spirited exchange prior to the on-field battle that sent along a needed message this fall. Regardless of the change at the helm for the Denver Broncos the Raiders are still the ultimate team rival, whether for good or ill.

So they call it Raider Nation? However, it has proven not to be. A once intense and great rivalry started to slip with fan apathy on an eminence front.

The devastated local economy coupled with obsolete NFL rules aimed to sell more tickets to home games is backfiring and weaning fans off NFL products in one of the league's most legendary markets.

An archive of NFL films has stated that the autumn wind is a pirate or even a Raider, like a legendary tale of yore.

No matter to the Broncos—who somewhere along the line decided they were only concerned with themselves. They knew the domination that they sought was in shutting down the pirate ship.

A little secret to pass along when it comes to beating down the Raiders: the Broncos know the old pirate fable that "dead men tell no tales."

In football terms this translated to the objective that was to make the Raiders one dimensional with a simple philosophy. Make Jamarcus Russell beat them. The response was just as simple—he couldn’t.

Meanwhile the Broncos offense racked up 215 yards on the ground courtesy of Correll Buckhalter and rookie Knowshon Moreno.

Moreover, Brandon Marshall brought his best against the Raiders and caught five passes for 67 yards and caught his first touchdown of the season. Marshall proved his issues off the field are behind him at least for now.

The defense was its now solid, usual self. It yielded only three points by racking up two interceptions and one key fumble recovery, and had three sacks on the day.

So it's now well known what happens when the pirate ship gets pillaged.

It’s a blackout in the black hole with the Broncos going home in first place atop the AFC West—a game ahead of the San Diego Chargers.

The Denver Broncos Are For Real

Call it a welcomed surprise or a hopeful premonition.

The Broncos have found a way to move their record to 3-0 on this young season. Regardless of the personal views and takes in the offseason—reaching this record the way they have could not have been easily predicted.

The Broncos deserve to be undefeated.

The Cincinnati Bengals also deserve to be undefeated with their last minute drive to seemingly ice the Broncos. Somehow the Broncos escaped week one with a deserved victory.

The following week the Bengals promptly beat Green Bay at Lambeau Field and came home only to upend the World Champion Steelers.

The Bengals are for real and deserve to be undefeated.

Strangely enough, so are the Broncos.

Denver’s dominating defense has set the tone in all three of its games. The Broncos are physical on offense and defense. A surprise for many, but the team on paper appeared to be heading in this direction during the offseason. It’s just a sight for sore eyes to see in action.

The Broncos have quelled the opposition to the tune of less than 215 yards per game, outdistancing the next closest defense by a full 30 yards.

They are the top rated defense in the NFL.

The most impressive stat is the one that matters most. The Broncos have yielded a total of 16 points over three games for an average of 5.3 points per game.

The Broncos rate fifth in the NFL in interceptions with a total of five. They also have 10 sacks, which ties them for first in the NFL with the Bengals and the Eagles. They have also recovered three fumbles.

Meanwhile, the offense is finding ways to protect the ball and control the battle of field position and time of possession.

Currently they only rank 14th, but they do have an average of nearly 21.0 points per game. The team is rated ninth in total yards with an average of 374.0 yards per game. They boast the fourth best ground attack in the NFL, which may be the mortar of their physical team approach to the game.

The special teams haven’t been incredibly special.

They have fumbled one opening kickoff return and missed three field goals due to wind. This aspect of the game should improve throughout the season.

The point here is that the Denver Broncos are not beating themselves—they are beating their opponents into submission.

Thus far, this team is proving they are for real—there really is no question.

Regarding This Week's Film Study Segment

Due to some technical problems last week's film study vs. Cleveland and this week's vs. Oakland will be combined for offense and defense.

Next up on the schedule for the Broncos is the Dallas Cowboys in Denver on Sunday afternoon.

Chaz Mattson

sportsmanagement@gmail.com

Why the Broncos and Raiders Rivalry Is One of the Greatest

Chaz Mattson — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:48:51 -0400

In Denver they call it Raider week. It happens twice a year at a minimum whenever these two football rivals play. Since 1977 the Denver Broncos have a slight edge in the rivalry, but it is a rivalry even at it's valley. Check out some of the biggest reasons why this is probably the NFL's most overlooked and yet best rivalry in the last 30 + years.

Begin Slideshow

Denver Broncos Beat Down of Browns Inaugurates the New Winning Formula

Chaz Mattson — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:21:16 -0400

Granted the Denver Broncos did beat the Cincinnati Bengals a week prior to their recent home game against the Cleveland Browns.

Undoubtedly some key elements that were missing in Cincy suddenly found their way to Invesco Field at Mile High for the Broncos and their fans on Sunday.

While it’s still very early to say if the Broncos 2-0 start is going to propel them on to bigger and better things, it is encouraging nonetheless. With the offseason drama behind, this team needs solid footing to move forward and so far they are gaining traction.

It’s okay if you start shaking your head or wind up pinching yourself, just don’t jump off a cliff. The Broncos are in the top ten on offense and defense after two games on this young season.

Don’t discount the Broncos first game against the Cincinnati Bengals either despite the miracle finish. The orange and black tigers went into Green Bay and promptly feasted on the Packers; not exactly an easy task.

Moreover the Bengals are probably better than most people think; this week they play division rival and Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh so keep that game on the radar.

Offense Ranking

Currently on offense the Denver Broncos rank eighth overall in the NFL.

Now think about that for a minute.

Number eight after an afternoon in Cincinnati where the offense did not reach the red zone until Brandon Stokley’s miracle catch and run. No. 8 averaging 19.5 points a game.

That’s a full 2.5 points better than the New England Patriots, one win better, and one spot higher on the league stat leaders. Keep in mind the Broncos host New England in three weekends after going to Oakland and then hosting the Dallas Cowboys.

Sure for the Broncos to be in the top ten after two games is a bit premature to venture, precariously enough it comes with interesting angles and takes as well.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers rank fourth in total offense. They fired their offensive coordinator just prior to the start of the season, and they are 0-2 in the most important stat of wins and losses.

Dallas is No. 2 on offense and they lost at home on Sunday Night Football to the Giants as they opened their billion dollar plus new stadium. The San Diego Chargers are 1-1 after falling to the Baltimore Ravens at home.

The Tennessee Titans lost to the Houston Texans and are 1-1 as the number seven team. The Broncos are eight, the 1-1 Patriots nine, and the 1-1 Philadelphia Eagles were decimated by the number one offensive team New Orleans.

So what’s the point exactly?

Currently the Denver Broncos have to be happy at being 2-0 and being able to average 375.5 yards on offense given all their challenges to get to where they currently are at. Consider only four teams are averaging over four hundred yards per game, and the Broncos aren’t that far off the pace.

Wins are wins, and they seem to cover over a number of ills.

The Broncos face the Oakland Raiders next and their 29th

rated offense. The Raiders are averaging 16.5 points per game, a full three behind Denver. Statistically speaking while prognosticating at a glimpse, this makes the game between the Raiders and the Broncos a toss-up.

Defense! Defense! Defense!

A large part of why Mike Shanahan was eventually let go had nothing to do with the offensive side of the ball. It really had to do with the apathetic attitude on defense and the lackluster special teams.

Give credit where credit is due. Josh McDaniels and staff pulled the right strings in getting their defensive coaching staff together. In taking a bit of a gamble by moving to a 3-4 defense, the Broncos tried to better facilitate their lack of size and superior speed on the defensive side of the ball.

So far it’s paying off big dividends as the defense is allowing only 6.5 points through two games. The score is the most important stat, and to protect leads is what this defense appears primed and ready to do.

Surprisingly enough, the Broncos are ranked third in the league in sacks with seven. Elvis Dumervil has led the way with four against the Cleveland Browns. This is a plus since the Broncos traditionally are not among league leaders in the sack department.

Against the rush the Broncos are currently ranked 10th in the league allowing 140 yards per game. Certainly there is room for improvement here; however to already be in the top ten in this statistic is a positive to build upon considering the fallout and implosion along the defensive line last season.

In playing the pass game, the Broncos again rank tenth in the league allowing 183.5 yards per game. Good enough to be ranked number ten on defense again. Considering this is a whole new defensive backfield with some live talent that is gelling week to week, look for this group to get better over time.

Possibly the most telling stat aside from the score is turnovers and the Broncos are winning the turnover battle by intercepting three passes and recovering two fumbles. This is good enough for a +4 on the young season in the turnover department.

The Current Outlook

The formula for winning is simple and the implementation is catching up on the field.

Don’t be deceived. The Broncos still have a very long way to go, however they need to be a top ten team on both sides of the ball to give themselves a chance. So far they have done that.

They need to score while keeping the other teams off the board. The defense has carried the team into being able to say they are undefeated at 2-0, but it’s still all about team.

Offensively, the Broncos are using surgical strikes to beat their opponents into submission by spreading the ball around. On the cordial side, they have left the door wide-open for Brandon Marshall to step in and fill the void, but they are sending the message that this is all about having a real team.

On the special teams side, Matt Prater showed he still has maturing to do as a kicker by letting the wind send two of his kicks wide against Cleveland, he is 4-6 on the year while still ranking sixth in the league with seven other teams.

The outlook is getting brighter, the next few games should tell us what this Broncos team is really made of, so stay tuned.

Denver Broncos Film Study: Offensive Identity Search Begins vs. Bengals

Chaz Mattson — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 04:15:50 -0400

Sunday’s game in Cincinnati had yet another miracle finish in the opener for the Denver Broncos. Fans may recall the amazing finish the Broncos had in Buffalo in 2007 when Jason Elam and the kicking team had to run onto the field with time running out.

Elam made the kick as time expired and the Broncos beat the Buffalo Bills 15-14 at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Sunday’s game in Cincinnati saw the 87-yard deflected pitch and catch to Brandon Stokley for the game-winning touchdown that won’t be forgotten in Denver anytime soon. It was an amazing finish to a game that really had the Denver Broncos searching for an identity on offense.

It’s not because they don’t have a viable scheme, because they do. It’s not due to a lack of effort, because it’s there. It might be more about attention to detail, ironing out some more technical problem solving, and gelling as a team.

Frankly, the Broncos' coaching staff really needs to re-evaluate its play-calling from the preseason until now. There are some serious flaws being exposed in the offensive game plan and it takes momentum away from the team at crucial times in the game.

Offensive Film Summary

While Josh McDaniels has come from the New England Patriots and shaken things up in Broncos camp a great deal, he may be long remembered for what didn’t happen on offense. At least initially, he subtracted an arm that can hit any spot on the field in Jay Cutler and believed enough in Kyle Orton to help get his vision going in Denver.

Part of the way the Patriots do business offensively is that they spread the field and find ways to use the short pass game much in the way most teams use the run. Some may call it a dink-and-dunk philosophy, but it is about being a passing team first and a run team second.

This is at least contrary to the way coach Shanahan approached his system philosophy. Much of the talent assembled offensively over the years was geared toward the zone run blocking scheme with a complementary pass game based on the quarterback’s abilities.

At this stage, given the renewed emphasis on defense, the Broncos have to find creative ways to make the run game matter. Currently, teams are more or less telling the Broncos to make Kyle Orton beat them while they cheat up to stop the run.

This is sort of a complex, puzzled solution and one which requires a balanced attack.

What Actually Happened on the Field

The Broncos decided to start the game with two runs to Correll Buckhalter for which he gained eight and 14 yards, respectively. Not a bad start. What followed was a one-yard gain vs. seven defenders in the box. The Broncos then predictably went to their screen bubble package with a drop from Brandon Marshall.

Regardless of the drop, the Bengal defense correctly read the play setup and rallied to shutdown the play. Had Marshall caught the ball, it would have been for a minimal gain.

On third down, Kyle Orton forced the ball into Brandon Stokley on a play that should have had illegal contact called against the Bengals. The ball wound up falling incomplete without a penalty against Cincinnati.

The point here is that the Broncos cannot rely on the referees to give them the call and Orton therefore must find the open man.

This is a primary criticism of the current offensive system. It requires the quarterback to be a supreme game manager and have a solid ability to keep from turning the ball over.

To date, Kyle Orton has not proven that he is going to supremely protect the ball. Moreover, he is not making good reads at this juncture. There were more than a few glaring miscues in this area on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.

On the second series, Knowshon Moreno entered the game but lined up in the I-formation nine yards deep on the first play then eight yards deep on the second play from scrimmage.

On the first play, he gained four yards but could have hit the hole sooner. On the second play, he was shut down near the line of scrimmage.

Conversely, when Buckhalter got his first two carries, he lined up seven-and-a-half yards deep and seven yards deep, respectively. This allowed Buckhalter, the veteran, to hit the hole faster and find his way up field.

While it will be nice at some point to see what Knowshon Moreno can do, immediately alternating series before seeing what the veteran can do is a bad idea. The results are immediate and the Broncos' run game starts to fall by the wayside.

This eventually sets the Broncos up in another third and long where yet again Kyle Orton telegraphs his pass to Brandon Stokley in double coverage. The ball gets deflected at the line of scrimmage; two more Bengals converge as the ball falls incomplete with Stokley surrounded by four Bengals.

The third drive finds the Broncos in another third and long situation where Kyle Orton gets sacked with a chop block called against the Broncos, adding salt to the wound.

The fourth series saw a well thrown deep ball to Brandon Marshall go right through his hands. This set up another third and long that saw Orton connect with Jabar Gaffney after his second deflected pass for a minimal gain.

The fifth series finds the bubble screen make another appearance on second down as Eddie Royal gains eight yards. The very next play, however, Orton telegraphs and Eddie Royal is hit by two defenders on his short hook route as the ball falls incomplete.

The net result out of these two drives is that the Broncos' defense is left out on the field for a very long period of time covering most of the first quarter. This has to be alarming to the Broncos on offense that they are leaving the defense out to dry. It was a theme that continued throughout much of the game.

Prior to the final drive of the first half for the Broncos, they had netted 39 total yards on offense. This is unacceptable for a high-flying offense to struggle as much as the Broncos did, even in the early going. Kyle Orton has to assume the responsibility through his future actions as quarterback.

Fortunately, the final drive of the half resulted in three points. The highlight of the drive was a 20-yard out to Jabar Gaffney which setup the first long Matt Prater field goal on the day before the half. Just prior to that, Correll Buckhalter was the featured back again for the first time since the team's first series and he helped the Broncos to finally start moving the ball.

The first series of the second half really encapsulated where the Broncos are now as a team under Kyle Orton. Knowshon Moreno started the second half instead of Buckhalter. Moreno tripped out of the backfield on one down.

Finally, on 3rd-and-13, Orton almost immediately locks onto Brandon Marshall running a short eight to 10 yard out after lining up tight left. Marshall winds up being double covered while Brandon Stokley is wide open running the seam route. Stokley has about a ten yard buffer of space on each side of him as he runs the route. To not find him on a 3rd-and-long is inexcusable.

Orton has shown he is a system quarterback, but appears to be timid in the pocket. Kyle starts by locking on his usual primary without recognizing the coverage. It’s almost as if he’s too afraid to sit in the pocket longer to find the right read. This is very dangerous for Orton and the Broncos. There really is no excuse for these sorts of shallow reads.

These types of poor reads occur because the quarterback is too focused on the play-calling and not what the defensive scheme is currently in or rolling to. Kyle needs to really read the defense pre-snap and go from there.

On the second series of the second half, Knowshon Moreno lines up seven-and-a-half yards deep while having his best run of the day. He gained seven yards and was introduced to the NFL by former Dallas safety Roy Williams, who put a serious hit on him. Moreno was dinged on the play and did not return to the game.

The next drive really went nowhere, but thanks to Matt Prater the Broncos were now up 6-0 in a game their offense had no business being in.

The highlight offensively clashed with the low lights on the fourth drive of the second half. The Broncos started to move the ball, but penalized themselves on a number of downs. On 3rd-and-16, Kyle Orton was sacked, nullifying all the good the team did to get into winning position.

The final drive is now headline news, but the thing that stands clear is the telegraphing of Kyle Orton and predictability of the offensive scheme. Both are to blame for what followed next.

On first down, Orton throws a 10-yard out to Brandon Marshall near the sidelines with less than 40 seconds left in the game. The ball is nearly picked off by one of two Bengal DBs in the area.

On the next play, the Broncos benefited from the triple team on Brandon Marshall when the ball was deflected to Brandon Stokley, who raced 87 yards for the game-winning touchdown.

Offensive Scheme: C-/D+

Any time your play-calling is predictable, your play-calling is average at best. Only because the Broncos won did this score not get worse.

Play-Calling: C-

There is a clear need for improvement, however some of the improvement can come by Kyle Orton making the right reads and pre-snap adjustments. The Broncos should line up under center; their strength is not in the spread offense.

Moreover, they should limit the bubble screen packages or use them sparingly. One of Orton’s bubble screen passes was almost intercepted. That should tell the staff that teams are catching on.

Third Down Conversions: D-

The Broncos were pitiful on third down, going 3-for-12 (25 percent), which is just unacceptable.

The Red Zone: F---

There was one?

Kyle Orton’s Grade: C

Give Kyle credit for having a gritty game, but he could have made his team’s day a whole lot easier by reading the defense pre-snap. Instead, he chose the easy check downs and it cost the Broncos in the long run. Kyle telegraphed a majority of his big passes. This also is unacceptable.

Denver Broncos Miracle Grab: A Bungle in the Jungle

Chaz Mattson — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 02:29:15 -0400

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary gives the following definition for the word "bungle".

bun-gle

Etymoloy: perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Icelandic banga to hammer (1549 AD)

Intransive verb: to act or work clumsily and awkwardly

Sunday’s game in Cincinnati brought to mind two quotes, and Brandon Stokley provided the inspiration for a third. Still, there were more that reinforced some of the oddity that has been brewing of late in the Denver Broncos camp. As the Broncos kicked off their 50th season of professional football, they ended their first game with a memorable play.

The play brought about an evocation of thoughts and attitudes both past and present.

“The (Denver Broncos) were who we thought they were! And we let ‘em off the hook!”– Denny Green

“You gotta make those miracles happen on your own.” – John Keyworth, Denver Broncos 1977

“We needed a miracle.” - Brandon Stokley, Denver Broncos 2009

OK, so Denny Green was nowhere to be found, but his famous sports quote truly fit the mood and the mindset of what the Bengals faithful must have been thinking and feeling. Critics of the Broncos organization may have had takes of a similar ilk, only now they have been put on hold.

Some bungling irony came across in a bungling way in Bengaltown—Cincy, USA on Sunday’s early autumn day. The Denver Broncos had a miracle finish when they had to have it.

Considering how much controversy has surrounded the franchise since Mike Shanahan was dismissed at the end of last season. This was just what the franchise needed to start believing in themselves and all of their offseason maneuvering.

Give the triple covered Brandon Marshall credit; he took one for the team unexpectedly as Kyle Orton did his best to force a ball into tight coverage.

To his credit, Orton’s courage or poor decision making was rewarded, as he never looked for another receiver in telegraphing his passing intentions. Brandon Marshall was, for all intents and purposes, mugged on the play and became the sacrificial lamb that sprung an answer to the prayers of the Broncos faithful.

Cincinnati Bengals corner Leon Hall had a great jump on the ball Kyle Orton threw towards Brandon Marshall, only to make the dubious deflection instead of an interception. On the play, both of the Bengal starting safeties eliminated Brandon Marshall with a big hit during the tipped ball that sprang Brandon Stokley’s 87-yard miracle touchdown scamper in the waning seconds.

The thing about minor miracles is that they bring hope in something greater than the moment, as amazing as it might be. The hope being that something greater is possible at some point down the road.

That is really the reason coaches preach playing through the whistle on all levels of football, because you never know what might happen.

Since 1977, the Denver Broncos have been among the league’s most winning franchises. It was that year when all this irony and miracle talk began. The Denver Broncos were a struggling football franchise for the first 17 seasons of their existence. They then hired a former New England Patriots coach to be the headmaster in Denver.

Robert “Red” Miller would eventually land in the Super Bowl in his first year with the team. Red helped to shape the original Orange Crush into becoming the league’s most dominant defense that year. Red brought the Denver Broncos into respectability where they were once a laughing stock. From that time on, the Broncos have always been respected league wide.

Ironically enough, Josh McDaniels had appeared to be taking the franchise into greater respectability by being aggressive in the free agent market shortly after he arrived in Denver from New England.

Then things changed and appeared to go into a near immediate nose dive by trading the franchise quarterback Jay Cutler away to the Chicago Bears. At that moment, it appeared as though the Broncos had gone from respectability back into being a laughing stock overnight.

It was almost as if the previous thirty years never happened.

To celebrate as much, the NFL decided to go old school on the Broncos and the old AFL teams by forcing them back into wearing their hideous Copper Bowl reject jerseys the team wore in their first two seasons for two games this season.

The originals jerseys were so bad there was a public burning of the old duds. Fans will now be able to soon see the Broncos retroactive laughingstock wear, vertical striped socks and all.

Just what the Broncos franchise needed, more laughter heard around the league.

The Broncos reinforced the dubious inclinations in the preseason by posting a 1-3 mark, including a loss to Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears.

It’s all fairly interesting and somewhat ironic when you think about it.

The Broncos have now had two head coaches that have come to Denver from the New England Patriots.

Both of them won their season openers and both were low scoring affairs.

Red Miller’s Broncos beat the then St. Louis Cardinals 7-0 in his first game at old Mile High Stadium.

Josh McDaniel’s defense was up to the task against Carson Palmer and the Bengals for 55 of the games 60 minutes. They had been pitching a shutout until the Bengals' last minute drive nearly cost the Broncos the game.

No worries. Following the play of the day in the NFL, the Broncos literally pulled victory out of the air of certain defeat and ignited the reason to believe in themselves for the rest of the season. This all happened almost for spite and despite all the lack of head sense in the offseason.

Back in 1977, the Denver Broncos were so weak offensively they had to have their defense create opportunities for them to win and control games.

In the 2009 season opener, the Denver Broncos defense showed the promise most national prognosticators overlooked. To the defense's credit, they took Carson Palmer and the Bengals out of their rhythm, time and time again, while causing problems over and over again.

Ironically enough, with how great the defense showed all game, the offense was predictably not as potent with Kyle Orton battling his recently dislocated index finger. Regardless of the net results, Orton had a respectable day on the stat sheet going 17 for 28 and 243 yards with one miracle touchdown throw.

Make no mistake about it, the Broncos would have lost to a stronger opponent, and even the Cincinnati Bengals if not for the miracle grab on the run. It truly was a minor miracle Brandon Stokley was able to pull off.

Almost just as surprising was how No. 14 had the presence of mind to take more time off the clock. With only seconds remaining, Stokley tight-roped horizontally next to the goal line to milk the clock for all the amazing touchdown play was worth, leaving the Bengal crowd silent in disarray.

For now, the Broncos can start dreaming of even greater things this season, all because of this one play that suddenly kept the critics of Josh McDaniels at bay for at least another week or two.

The Broncos' organization has been thrown under the bus in the offseason for a number of personnel and public relations debacles this season. So maybe there are no happier fans of Brandon Marhsall’s and Brandon Stokley’s at the moment than owner Pat Bowlen and Broncos executive Joe Ellis.

It might be time to resume those contract discussions with the Brandon’s and their agents sooner than later.

At the end of the day, this is professional football, so credit the team for showing up. Brandon Marshall brought his professional game, and was heavily involved in the Broncos most unlikely miracle to fuel the fire. Brandon Stokley showed his value by hustling and staying heads-up until the play was done.

Don’t over look this defensive effort either as the Broncos would have been out of this game early if they did not bring it in force.

The Broncos pressured and forced an otherwise sharp Carson Palmer into rushing his passes eventually leading to two costly interceptions. The Bengals' offensive line yielded three sacks, as Palmer was harassed all game long with multiple pressure packages from the Broncos.

With as much drama as this franchise has been through this offseason, the fans and franchise alike should hearken back to a simpler time when winning was usually out of the question.

Who knows how good this Broncos team will actually be this season? This is the NFL, it should be a fun time for the fans, and they should revel in their team pulling off a miracle win on the road.

With shades of irony back 30 years in time there is the memory of signs and banners that used to be carted around the stadium to charge the fans.

Some of those large banners in the stands back in 1977 read something like:

“You Gotta Believe!” and “Believe In Miracles!”

And then there was the classic banner with the win and loss tally.

“We Believe! 1-0”

Ironically enough, Champ Bailey when interviewed at the end of the game in the visitor’s locker room stated “You gotta believe in what you’re doing.”

“Now that’s bungle in the Jungle, Yeah that’s alright by me!” – Jethro Tull

Jets Still Posturing for a Possible Brandon Marshall Trade with Broncos

Chaz Mattson — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:12:45 -0400

Over the weekend a very interesting trade took place between the Detroit Lions and the New York Jets.

The Lions sent quarterback Kevin O’Connell to the Jets for an undisclosed pick. The Lions acquired O’Connell off waivers from the New England Patriots on Sept. 1. The trade occurred Saturday, Sept. 5.

What’s interesting here is that the Denver Broncos also put in a claim for O’Connell before he became the property of the Detroit Lions for a brief moment.

The New York Jets now have four quarterbacks on their roster and say they plan to “move forward with four quarterbacks on the roster.”

While the Jets legitimately like O’Connell, he is also more valuable to them right now as trade bait.

He is coming into a new system with three quarterbacks that have spent at least six months adapting to the new Jets regime. Ahead of O’Connell on the depth chart are starter Mark Sanchez, Kellen Clemens, a fourth-year player out of Oregon, and Erik Ainge, in his second year out of Tennessee.

The Jets in all likelihood will offer the Broncos O’Connell and draft picks. The Broncos are rumored to have shown some interest in Jets linebacker David Harris as well. Keep in mind the Jets are depleted in high draft picks due to last year’s acquisition of Brett Favre and this year’s move to get Sanchez.

If the Broncos do eventually discuss a trade with New York, they should call the Jets' bluff and ask for Mark Sanchez; in all logic that isn’t going to happen, but they should still pursue that angle. Sanchez has won the starting quarterback job in New York as a rookie.

Sanchez was seen on the University of Colorado sidelines during the CU-CSU game all decked out in Buffs gear. He was there supporting his longtime friend, CU wideout Scotty McKnight. Sanchez was standing alongside, ironically enough, Broncos third stringer and fellow rookie Tom Brandstater.

The Denver Broncos took Brandon Marshall off the suspended list on Sunday and officially made room for him on the roster by releasing former New England Patriot wide receiver Chad Jackson. The Broncos had been carrying seven receivers.

It's important to note that the Broncos have taken the stance that they are not looking to trade Marshall. The thinking is at this point Brandon needs the team and they need him. However, this strained relationship leaves a number of things to think about.

The Jets are carrying four quarterbacks, and as everyone now knows, the Broncos have three quarterbacks that are all young in coach Josh McDaniels’ system. Kyle Orton’s and Chris Simms' injuries have put the position in doubt. While Brandstater had a good debut as a starter, he has noticeable things he should work on before becoming the starter.

Both Coach McDaniels and the Jets are high on Kevin O’Connell’s potential in the NFL.

The question is, what will really come of Brandon Marshall this season and any possible trade?

Brandstater Leads Broncos: Game Capsule and Film Study vs Cardinals

Chaz Mattson — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 15:53:43 -0400

Game Capsule: Broncos off the Schneid in Final Preseason Game

It’s real simple when you think about it.

To win football games the offense needs to score points and the defense needs to keep the opponent from scoring. With the Broncos 0-3 on the preseason, no better time than the present to get back to basics. The Broncos scored multiple times while the NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals did not. The final score Broncos 19 Cardinals 0.

In the game rookie quarterback Tom Brandstater made his debut as a starter due to injuries plaguing the other top two quarterbacks on the Broncos roster. What came out of the game was a good showing by number three and a lot of respectability along the way. He showed he can be a good game manager while still showing he has a little ways to go yet.

The Broncos ground game was sound and the Broncos overall did something they did not do until this point. They took care of the ball for the most part giving up only one interception while forcing four Cardinals miscues leading to turnovers.

See, it’s that simple.

Broncos Film Study: Broncos Showcase Potential

Rookie Alphonso Smith returned the opening kick from five yards deep out to the twenty five yard line. The potential he shows to be solid, along with his confidence to bring the ball out from five yards deep shows he will be a player to watch this season.

Starting with the good, facing the bad, and ending with the good of the opening drive. Tom Brandstater had a good night overall.

On the opening series, the Broncos found themselves in a tight situation on third and seven, Brandstater connected with Chad Jackson for a 43 yard gain on the pitch and catch. Correll Buckhalter ran well early in creating more opportunity for the offense while feeding off the previous big play to Jackson. The Broncos drive bogged down shortly after that and they had to settle for three points from the more reliable Matt Prader.

On the opening drive the Broncos defense seemed to have the Cardinals on the ropes when Kurt Warner hit Larry Fitzgerald for a big gain of 36 yards. The Cardinals drive bogged down shortly after that. With the Cardinals not scoring any points on the night, they appeared to be a team just going through the motions. The Broncos defense however was playing like a team that wanted to win.

Brandon Lloyd is showing just how acrobatic and athletic he is. The last two weeks he has caught balls thrown behind him near the end zone that eventually set up a touchdown.

Kenny McKinley would certainly be a great addition to the team, he is up against a numbers game and his route running needs improvement. Hopefully they keep him around, I look for him on the practice squad if he’s not on the regular roster.

Areas of Improvement for Tom Brandstater

While Tom has demonstrated good composure and technique in the pocket, there are a few areas he should work on to improve his game.

Early in the preseason Tom had a number of mental miscues from fumbled snaps to poor footwork coupled with poor handoff exchanges. Those are unfortunately expectations of things that happen to rookie quarterbacks in the NFL. Against Chicago, he showed some improvement, last night against Arizona he still had a snafu or two, but he was clearly in control as the leader of the Denver Broncos.

It is important to say on the surface Brandstater has shown great technique, composure, and accuracy overall. From the placement of the ball, to his down field vision, you can see he has the potential for very good things sometime in the future.

Compare that with Jay Cutler who is a coach’s worst nightmare when it comes to his technique, where he holds the ball and how he locks onto receivers. It seems Tom Brandstater could have a very bright future in Denver.

Probably first and foremost due to the timing routes; Brandstater sets up quickly, however not always square to the line of scrimmage. When quarterbacks aren’t square to the line of scrimmage it tips off the defense because he is showing that he is committed to his next set of actions.

This is the key indicator that helps defensive backs key on receivers and routes that eventually lead to interceptions. The common theme on what Tom needs to work on from the game last night is get squared up to the line of scrimmage first while making a read down field.

Brandstater did show a weakness early on by telegraphing his short passes, by not looking down field first to freeze the defense. Early on this resulted in two five yard outs that were knocked down by the Arizona cornerback on the opening drive. One of the batted down balls led to a third and seven and the other prompted the opening drive to stall out. This made the Broncos settle for three points instead of finishing the opening drive with a touchdown.

This happened again after Darrel Reid’s interception of Curt Warner. The Broncos had a second and nine and again the pass was knocked down to the ground as he tried to connect with Brandon Lloyd.

This type of telegraphing would later result in Brandstater’s lone interception on the night and in the team going to the well once too often. Again Tom was working to his right and was not squared up to the line of scrimmage. His body language gave the defense the indicator it needed to jump the route and make the interception.

Another area that should be looked at is his center of gravity, right now it is very high. That could be due to inexperience and being nervous in some regard. So he looked a little stiff in the pocket.

One of his tendencies however that should be worked on is in creating his physical stability in the pocket. Quarterbacks that have a low center of gravity in the pocket have greater escape-ability and tend to avoid injuries from being sacked.

Currently there isn’t much bend in Tom’s knees while in his stance in the pocket. He should have a slightly wider base with knees bent while using the whole body to throw the ball. Because he has such a strong arm, and because he has naturally good vision of the field, these minor tweaks have probably been overlooked but could go a long way to making him a better quarterback.

He threw a deep ball to Kenny McKinley that was underthrown and incomplete. On the play he threw the ball slightly off his back foot with a slight twist to his follow through.

If he had a lower center of gravity it would force him to step up into his throw and lead to better ball placement. This is the type of ball however that can become an interception against first team defenses.

Currently because he stands so high in the pocket, on deep balls his body spins after the throw instead of having a firm follow through. This leads to taking something off the ball, and under throws are the net result many times.

Additionally, as strong as his arm is he could have greater velocity on deeper balls and in some instances he will need that to be the case.

Finally, on the good side, besides his strong arm, Brandstater is incredibly accurate on his timing passes. He also has a unique ability to change speeds by having the right touch on the ball for each variety of pass types.

He has the tools to become something good and special, but he will have to focus on the adjustments to his technique to become a reliable starter.

For Tom Brandstater and the Broncos, the future might be very bright.