SB Nation User Blog: TedBartlett905

Holistic Consideration of the Offense After 12 Games

TedBartlett905 — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 14:35:48 -0000

As one of the resident offense guys, I decided that I would write something about the offense. There are many ways, in my opinion, to be too specific in assessing the offense of this team, and to kind of get bogged down at a level of detail which is too focused, or what I would call a tactical level. The discussion which I hope to get to is the distinction between offensive strategy and tactics.

There are certain coaches who are far ahead of everybody else in terms of football strategy. In my opinion, the NFL has only two of those coaches in Mike Shanahan and Bill Belichick. I see some subtle genius in Sean Payton's offensive schemes, and I also like what Jason Garrett does in terms of play design with the Dallas passing offense. Guys like Jeff Fisher and Tony Dungy are great coaches from more of a people management perspective, and not so much strategically. When it comes down to overall football strategy, though, there are just the two masters.

I bring up Belichick, because he had some comments before the Denver game in October which added significantly to how I understand the Broncos offense. That's saying something, since I have been watching it very closely for all 14 years of the Shanahan Era. To paraphrase, (I couldn't find the quote anywhere) Belichick asserted that the Broncos offense is the most game-planned in all of the NFL. He said one week you'll see a lot of screens, and the next week there will be none. One week there will be 10 naked bootlegs, and the next week the passing game will be all drop-back. He alluded to the use of different personnel groupings to create matchup problems. I just thought this was a really smart way to view the big picture of our offense.

The implication of Belichick's thinking is that in order to have a good expectation of what's coming from the Broncos, you have to think about the weaknesses of your own team's defense, and then imagine how a smart coach like Shanahan would attack those weaknesses. That's a very difficult thing to do, with just a standard week of preparation.

As I talk about the distinction between tactics and strategy, let me first establish a framework, as I see it. First, and obviously, the Broncos use zone blocking concepts in both the passing and running games. Second, all running backs are coached to take one cut, and go north and south. A key to the success of these approaches is coaching continuity. The O-Line had Alex Gibbs and then Rick Dennison for the last 14 years, and our RBs have had the outstanding Bobby Turner for that whole period.

Playing into this consistency, there is a sameness concept which is really important at a strategic level. In the running game, there are only a few plays, and they are run repeatedly. The play-action game looks exactly like those running plays, and tends to incorporate a misdirection element, which slows down backside pursuit. This is key to a running game which works horizontally to spread the field, and create vertical lanes.

That stuff is constant over the last 14 years. In my estimation, players who fit the defined run-game concepts are sought and acquired. The passing game has been more adaptable, which I think owes to the recognition that QBs have different skill sets. There has been a great deal of variability year-over-year during the Shanahan era, particularly around the transitions between QBs. This flexibility indicates a larger commitment to understand the strengths and weaknesses of your own passing game personnel. I would say that the running game personnel are considered to be more commoditized, where the system is first, and personnel are required to fit it. The passing game is conversely designed to suit the personnel, who may have a broader range of skills. This is very, very different from most of the League's approach, but it's really smart in my opinion.

For an illustration of what I mean, consider the protection schemes. Last season, the Broncos max-protected on 25% of their dropback passing attempts, which was the highest number in the League. This was due to the presence of the underwhelming Matt Lepsis and Erik Pears at Tackle, and a first-year starting QB. This season, with the outstanding Ryan Clady and Ryan Harris outside, and Jay Cutler a year more experienced, there are more guys in the pattern on every play, and Daniel Graham can catch a few passes, rather than pass-block all the time. This puts a great deal more pressure on a defense, and it is possible due to the capabilities of the personnel.

Another important strategic element is that Mike Shanahan has always been willing to run on passing downs, and I don't mean draw plays. There are a lot of times where a run has been called on 3rd and 5, and it's important to do that, whether it works or not on a given play. It's sort of like what they call a purpose pitch in baseball, where you throw way inside at a guy, and maybe knock him down, and then he can't get to a ball on the outside corner the next pitch. Every defensive coach knows that a run is a possibility in that down-and-distance situation with the Broncos, and it forces a more conservative defensive approach than they'd usually employ.

The last major strategic point I want to hit on is the very creative use of personnel groupings, which may be the most important point of all. With this year's full-strength roster, you have a pool of skill-position players which includes Selvin Young, Andre Hall, Michael Pittman, Ryan Torain, Peyton Hillis, Spencer Larsen, Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal, Brandon Stokley, Darrell Jackson, Chad Jackson, Tony Scheffler, Daniel Graham, and Nate Jackson. From that group of 14 players, you can, and the Broncos do, liberally mix and match any five at a time to create personnel matchup problems for the defense. If you remember the Colts game last season, they consistently ran the ball with 3 TEs, because they determined that the Colts could be overpowered in that grouping. This past week against the Jets, there was a consistent commitment to using 3 WRs (sometimes with Scheffler in the slot.) I don't recall seeing a FB used at all. This, I am positive, is because a determination was made that having Hank Poteat on the field was a better deal than having either David Bowens or Eric Barton on the field. Most of Peyton Hillis's better runs came out of a spread-out nickel look. Also, Stokley, Graham, and Scheffler had big days against the Poteats and Abram Elams of the world. This was a strategic decision, made to exploit the lack of quality secondary depth for the Jets.

When you think about strategy, and you understand what is going on in that context, it ceases to matter which specific tactics being employed. It doesn't matter how much screening, or outside running, or bootlegging is happening. We can expect the tactics to change every week, but the underlying strategies to remain the same. These strategies extend into the personnel and financial operations of the team, and that's when you have a program. Discuss among yourselves.

After 3/4 of the season, some context

TedBartlett905 — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 03:40:46 -0000

Here at MHR, we know the answer to the question everybody is asking today. How can a team that gets hammered by the Raiders at home, go into Giants Stadium and dominate the Jets? And, more importantly, should such a team be taken seriously?

And by the way, what the hell is going on with this season? What does this whole body of work mean?

First things first, this is a team which has next to no margin for error. That's the answer which we all know. When our team makes less errors than the other team, our team wins, and we're all happy. Mike Shanahan is maybe the greatest coach in NFL history at playing with a 10-point lead. The commitment to repeated execution of the same plays and techniques really pays off when you're in that position. All you have to do is focus on what you're supposed to do, and let the clock be your ally.

This team is not built to play from behind yet. As some of our young offensive players get more experience, we'll see improved success on that front. The real reason we struggle in trailing situations is that we have an undersized defensive unit, which can get overpowered by a team which is committed to running the ball and killing the clock.

When our team can establish a lead, and not turn the ball over, our team will almost always win. So, the answer is, this team does need to be taken seriously by all opponents. It's clear that scoring isn't a problem, and I am convinced that our team can beat ANY team in the NFL, when the flow of the game goes in a favorable way.

And by the way, I've been on record a couple times this season calling the Jets a .500-caliber team, and I continue to stand by that. They'll win more than 8 games, but they're not a real contender.

As for what's the story with this season, some thoughts....

1. When I read Moneyball, the idea which I was most struck by is the thought that the only goal for the A's is to get into the playoffs every year, and give themselves a chance to win a championship. In that context, we're heading for an unquestionably successful season.

2. When assessing the defense, it's important to see the improvement that has been made since early in the season. The injuries to key players has disguised that somewhat, but the improvement is definitely there.

3. I was talking on the phone today with my brother, and he was lamenting Thomas Jones having 100 yards in the first half. Almost all of it was on 2 runs, so the number doesn't bother me that much. I'd rather give up runs of 59 and 29 yards on a couple of mistakes, and then hold the guy to 8 more carries for 15 yards, than I would to give up 10 carries of 11 yards each. This is the story of our season as a run defense. It's mostly solid, particularly up the middle, but it's been prone to a few big plays in the C-gaps and on cutbacks. Being mostly solid gives you something to improve upon for the future, and it's not like the whole thing is broken.

4. This team can pass-protect better than any other team in the NFL, and for that reason, it can carve up the defenses of a Pittsburgh or Indianapolis in the playoffs. Trust me, the Jets ordinarily get after QBs, and they barely sniffed Jay today.

5. Peyton Hillis may turn out to be best used as a tandem tailback in the future. He sure is a talented young player, and I consider him to definitely be a key part of this team's young offensive core going forward.

6. I hope the Dre Bly haters have been watching lately, because he has been playing outstanding football for about a month now. The only real blemish is the long-ball to Lelie last week, and on that play, his safety help (Roderick Rogers, we hardly knew you) didn't get there. Lavernues Coles had 2 catches for 2 yards today, while matching up almost exclusively against Dre. With the impending return of Champ Bailey, Dre will soon be seeing more throws again, but his play has been huge in winning 3 out of 4 games this quarter.

7. Josh Barrett becomes yet another rookie to play well and contribute today. He made a particularly terrific tackle on a kickoff return by Leon Washington today.

8. The emergence of Wesley Woodyard and Spencer Larsen as good NFL players has been a benefit of the injuries on defense. I think both have good futures in this League. Honestly, I greatly prefer Woodyard to Boss Bailey on the strongside, and Larsen is at least better than Webster, though I think his ultimate role is to be a top backup and special teams guy.

Finally, an imagination exercise. This will be fun... ready, begin.

You're a football team. After three-quarters of the season, the reviews by the pundits (as always, meant in a negative way) aren't very positive about your team, despite your posession of a winning record, and a likely playoff future. Your QB is young, and still pretty inconsistent. You've lost a couple of blowouts, but have been winning more close games than not. You have a long-tenured coach who has come under more fire than ever before in his career. You've had quite a few injuries, particularly at running back, linebacker, and cornerback, but guys keep stepping up. Interestingly, you win a lot of tough games on the road, which is pretty abnormal. It's almost like you play up to the level of good teams, and then lay an egg to somebody you should beat easily. Finally, the best thing going for you is that every rookie you drafted made the team, and is a contributor, which portends well for even more success in the future. People are starting to say you had the best draft in the NFL.

Does this scenario sound familiar? It should. Ladies and gentleman, your 2008 Super Bowl Champion New York Giants.

The Best-Timed Bye Since There Have Been Byes

TedBartlett905 — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 21:12:20 -0000

So, it's been a rough few days. The taste of Monday Night is still strong with me, and still disgusting, and I think we all learned some lessons that night. I think it is important to take away the right ones, though, so that will be the purpose of this post, to discuss what I think those lessons are.

1. Our offense is one of the best in the League, but has been turning the ball over way too much lately. The fundamental indicators are there which show the quality of this offense. Our offense almost never goes 3 and out, which is the best way to tell how an offense functions. The turnovers must stop, though.

2. The benefit we enjoyed from relatively good roster-wide health over the first 5 weeks of the season can't be counted on anymore. Tony Scheffler and Brandon Stokley have been missed in a huge way over the last 2 weeks, and the game Monday really got out of hand once Champ got hurt.

3. Our defense is flat-out undertalented, and needs a large boost in that area this coming offseason. There is no need, however, to change coaches. Bob Slowik is not to blame, and is doing the best he can with what he has. You can't make chicken salad out of chicken feathers, but he is trying. The best thing this team can do is stick with Slowik, and let him conceive of a defensive framework, and program plan, for the years to come. As much as stability has helped the offense, the lack thereof has correspondingly hurt the defense.

4. I, and others here, have been too optimistic. That said, the world has not ended. We got routed in a game on national TV, but it was a case of a game just getting away from us. To me, if a lot of stuff is going to go wrong, it might as well all be in one game. The events of that game, though, in and of themselves, have no bearing on future events.

We still have a 4-3 team, which is in first place. Let's not lose sight of that, even if it is clear that this thing will be more of a struggle than we thought a couple weeks ago. Coming out of this bye, maybe some stuff gets figured out, and our team plays better for a couple weeks, in a couple of winnable games against Miami, and at Cleveland. That's something we can be optimistic about.

Things My Eyes Saw And My Brain Thought - Week 6

TedBartlett905 — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 02:22:01 -0000

Time for more Things! What could be better on a Thursday, other than if Burn Notice was still running new episodes?

1. Tony Romo has a large weakness, which is about to be publicized more than it has been. The guy is a chronic fumbler, and he put it on the ground 4 times against the Cardinals (though the beloved tuck rule saved him from a fumble in his own end zone.) The upshot of this issue is that it will surely bear upon the team's decision to let Romo play with a broken pinkie on his throwing hand. Personally, I'd see what Brad Johnson can do.

2. Darnell Dockett (#90) for the Cardinals was dominant in the Dallas game. Really, more often than not, he is. I consider him to be the second best DT in the NFL behind Albert Haynesworth, even though he mostly technically plays a 5-technique DE for the Cardinals. He's really a DT, and comparing him to a Dwight Freeney does neither justice.

3. Everybody knows I love Yeremiah Bell, but there is another Dolphins defender whom I have a man-crush on. Take a look at Channing Crowder, #52, who plays ILB. I've actually liked him since he was an instant impact player at the University of Florida, but he has really come into his own since Zach Thomas left town. The guy is an impact player, and what is better, he is a free agent after this season.

4. I really like Greg Camarillo, who has replaced Wes Welker in Miami as the slot guy. He makes a lot of plays, and also wears #83, and as an added bonus, gets 12.5 yards per catch, as opposed to Welker's typical 10 or so (which is more than his 9 this year.)

5. Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison looked terrific on Sunday, and particularly in Harrison's case, I may have written his eulogy too early.

6. Joe Flacco got in a rhythm in the second half against Indianapolis, and at one point, completed 11 passes in a row. Then, he completed the 12th to Tim Jennings of the Colts (#23,) one of my favorite unknown guys in the league. Flacco is solid for a rookie, but still has a lot to learn.

7. Ryan Grant is a good RB, who runs downhill, and with good acceleration to the hole. When you carry the ball 33 times, and get 90 yards, you're not getting the blocking you need up front. In particular, Chad Clifton is just terrible at LT. I heard the play-by-play guy call him a Pro Bowler, and spit up my Diet Coke all over myself. He was once an average player, but he has declined significantly since those days. Mark Tauscher is underwhelming on the right side, his damn self.

8. Andy Reid gets a lot of credit for being a great coach. On Sunday, he made one of the most asinine decisions I've ever seen, and he was lucky it didn't cost him the game. At the end of the first half, with seconds left, they trotted out David Akers for a 52 yard FG attempt. This is the same Akers who is shaky even one inch outside of 40 yards. I would expect Andy took some physics somewhere along the way, and understands that distance is a function of both the trajectory of a propelled object and the force imparted on that object. A weak-legged kicker like Akers has to use a lower trajectory to have a prayer of getting the ball there. Of course, the kick gets blocked, and promptly returned for a Touchdown as time expired. The only play there was to throw a Hail Mary.

9. I told you so about JT O'Sullivan. This is what happens when teams get some film on you.

10. The Gary Kubiak/Kyle Shanahan team called a Huge Huevos play with that QB Draw to Schaub for the winning TD. If he didn't make it, it's game over. He made it easily, just like the knew he would.

11. Count the Panthers among the teams using direct snaps to RBs. Speaking of the Panthers, they just got off on the wrong foot, with a punt blocked and returned for a TD, and they never recovered. Their best player was #92, Damione Lewis, who has been an underachiever in his career. Jon Beason and Steve Smith were good too, but they're stars, so we expect that.

12. The Bucs introduced an interesting wrinkle, frequently using Earnest Graham at FB, with Warrick Dunn at TB. Graham actually looked like he didn't mind cracking somebody on the Iso stuff they ran. That's commitment to the team.

13. Jeff Garcia is easily one of my least favorite players in the League.

14. Cleveland looked terrific on Monday night, while the Giants simultaneously laid a huge egg. The Browns pass protection was vastly improved, and Derek Anderson finally hung tough in the pocket for the first time this season.

15. Speaking of pass protection, I think my fears were right about the Giants in that department. I heard the 4-letter crew call the Giants O-Line the best in the League during the pregame, and they are not that. They have a star, Chris Snee, at RG, but the other 4 guys are average. They do a very good job in run situations, but they aren't as good moving backwards.

16. Kyle Orton has really turned into a pretty good QB, and it was a shame the Bears lost when he played so well. Maybe it will make teams think twice about the idiotic squib kick.

17. On the other hand, Matt Ryan was terrific on Sunday, and also deserved to win. He's ahead of his years, from an intangibles perspective.

18. The Redskins were tremendously sloppy throughout their "debacling" at the hands of the Rams. I'm Emmitt Smiff and I approve this message.

19. Drew Brees is good, and he's playing very well, but the scheme of the Saints is one of the very best in the League, and it really puts him in position to be successful. Most of the time, they're going underneath with the ball, and they get a lof of yards after the catch on the screen and swing stuff they do. Sean Payton deserves tremendous credit.

20. There is really nothing very good to say about the Raiders. They looked terrible.

This weekend, I'll be officially launching my own site, which will be dedicated to league-wide analysis. I believe there is a void in the football analysis market which I can fill. This weekly posting will be part of my new site, but I still plan to post it here also, for the duration of this season. Other features of the new site will be dedicated, detailed analysis of line play for a few selected teams per week, and a Pro Bowl watch list. I still intend to be a rank-and-file poster here on MHR, where I can behave as a good Broncos fan, and also, I plan to model my site after some best-practices I see on this one.

Thoughts the morning after

TedBartlett905 — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 13:27:10 -0000

I'm upset with the loss yesterday, but not as much as I was after the Kansas City game. I think there were a few major positives which emerged yesterday, and generally, I was fairly happy with the performance of the defense for the second week in a row. Some thoughts....

1. The Broncos were very physical, even slightly more physical than the Jaguars, who are known more than anything for being a physical team. Last season, the Jaguars whipped the Broncos physically, and the fact that that didn't happen yesterday is something to be happy about.

2. Mike Shanahan had it exactly right when he said that there was an opportunity lost to take control of the game. The Broncos need to establish significant early leads to win games. That is obviously helpful for any team, but over his career, Shanahan may be the best coach ever with a 10 point lead. It is crucial to cash in on these early opportunities.

3. Dre Bly played very well yesterday in coverage, better than he has all season. Even on the deep completion which was called back, it was a perfect throw which beat very good man-to-man coverage.

4. It must have been payback day from the officials. The Clady downfield holding penalty was not nearly holding, the Bly illegal contact penalty was ridiculous, and the Manuel-McCree was completely horrible. I'm not blaming the loss on these three calls, but one penalty stalled a promising drive, one extended Touchdown drive for the Jaguars, and one allowed the Jags to kill the clock and end the game. When the AP is reporting on bad calls in their write-ups, what you have are obvious bad calls.

5. The Stokley injury was just a killer. I'm not in the business of being an apologist for losing, but the Broncos were already very handicapped by the absences of Selvin Young, Eddie Royal, and Tony Scheffler. Losing a reliable target like Stokley just made it a really tough task to move the ball in the passing game. There is no rapport or familiarity between Cutler and Darrell Jackson, and Glenn Martinez is who we thought he was, which is a solid punt returner and a marginal receiver.

6. I don't like Larsen at FB. Sure, he hits guys hard, but he hasn't shown anything else. I very much prefer Hillis, who is a good runner and receiver, and gets his pads into guys well as a lead blocker too.

7. Pittman played a terrific game, but I still prefer Young to be the starter at this point. I think Pittman is great at what he has been doing this season, and is merely solid as a starting back.

8. Something needs to be done about all of this fumbling. It's getting very troubling, and you can't have it happening, and still expect to win.

Things My Eyes Saw and My Brain Thought - Week 5

TedBartlett905 — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 02:23:58 -0000

I'm a day late with this, because it has been a busy week at the office for me. Here goes some thoughts, now that I have seen every game.

1. The Giants are ridiculously good. I mentioned the Jacobs-Ward-Bradshaw troika in the past, but check out this group of WRs. Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer start, and Steve Smith and Domenik Hixon contribute a lot as reserves. Even Sinorice Moss, their 5th receiver seems redeemable, and had 2 TDs on Sunday. The Giants have no apparent weaknesses, though I'm slightly concerned on an intiutive level with their pass protection. I want to see them against the Eagles.

2. The Seahawks have gotten healthy at WR finally, but are still a pretty average team, overall. I think Deion Branch is a tremendously overrated player.

3. The Carolina O-Line did a very nice job against Kansas City, minus both of their starting Tackles. By the way, that game could have been much worse, because the Panthers turned it over 3 times in plus territory.

4. The two most boring teams to watch in the NFL are Tennessee and Baltimore. It's just brutal to watch when they play each other.

5. The Titans have been killed the last 2 years for not drafting a WR in the First Round of the Draft. It's necessary to note, however, that Michael Griffin and Chris Johnson, the guys they did take, are stars. It really lends credence to taking the best player on the board, which is evidently a lesson they learned after drafting Vince Young.

6. A lot of people seem to think Kerry Collins is good enough to win with, over the long haul. I am here to assure you, he is no such thing. That's a team that needs a legit QB.

7. The Miami Dolphins are already a Parcells team. They're very physical, and sound, and it was no fluke whatsoever that they beat San Diego. They were absolutely the better coached team, and they dominated the whole game.

8. The second-best RB in the NFL, behind Adrian Peterson, played in Miami Sunday. It was Ronnie Brown, and not LaDainian Tomlinson. LDT is not the same player as he used to be.

9. Jacob Hester of the Chargers is a winning football player, even if he plays for a team in decline. His forced fumble on special teams was a thing of beauty, and an example of his brand of smart and physical play.

10. The fumble set up a goal line stand on 4th down for the Dolphins, where LDT got stuffed by Channing Crowder. It was the key play of the game.

11. One thing about getting to a game late in the week is that you tend to see analysis by other people before you see the game yourself. In that context, I was was watching the blocking of the Eagles TEs, after reading some stuff from Michael Lombardi on Nationalfootballpost.com. I agree with him. Not a one of them can block to save their lives. Their offensive line is terrible too, which is pretty amazing, given their well-known proclivity toward drafting linemen from both sides of the ball high in each draft.

12. Conversely, the Washington line has looked terrific for the last 4 weeks now. They won the game.

13. Jason Campbell is the best QB in the NFC through 5 weeks. That is going to sound a little crazy, but there's no doubt in my mind that it's true. He leads an offense which, amazingly, has not committed a turnover all season, and he's decisive and accurate with all of his throws. Every time he drops back, the ball is out on time, and he puts it right where he wants it. The Skins are playing great on offense, and look like legit Super Bowl contenders.

14. Matt Forte is more versatile than I thought, and he looked very natural split out as a receiver.

15. In addition to Forte, Kyle Orton, Devin Hester, and Greg Olsen have emerged as legitimate skill position players for the Bears. They are dangerous this season, and I expect them to win the NFC North.

16. Casual fans are going to be quick to blame Aaron Rodgers, but it is nowhere near his fault that the Packers aren't winning lately. They get manhandled on both lines, and they miss Cullen Jenkins really badly at DE.

17. I've decided that, in terms of style of play, Matt Ryan reminds me of Jake Plummer. He's more mobile than I perceived while he was in college, and is effective on the bootleg stuff, which mitigates his below-average arm. He'll never be a high-efficiency guy, but he has all the makings of a guy with a sense for making big plays. I bet he never grows a stupid mustache for a network TV picture, though.

18. Then there is the Colts-Texans game. Wow... just, wow. The Colts are not a good football team anymore, and won that game on a combination of guile and experience, and a corresponding lack thereof by the Texans.

19. Steve Slaton is an outstanding tandem back, but the Texans need to keep his carries in the 15-per-game neighborhood. He's like a much more instinctive Tatum Bell.

20. Marvin Harrison looks finished. He just can't separate anymore, and that was always his best skill.

Love for Ryan Clady from Pro Football Weekly

TedBartlett905 — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 02:16:42 -0000

Love for Ryan Clady from Pro Football Weekly

Matt Sohn at PFW ranks Clady 2nd (and Royal 5th) for Rookie of the Year, though 5 games.

After a day of reflection...

TedBartlett905 — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:41:42 -0000

Here are some thoughts, about yesterday's game, and the season at the 5 game mark.

1. For as much as Broncos free agent signings have been criticized over the years, two great bargain-priced acquisitions showed up huge yesterday. Michael Pittman and Brandon Stokley were the stars of this game on offense. Both have delivered beyond what was expected of them when they were signed. What a couple of great team guys to have.

2. That said, the calls for Pittman to start at RB are misplaced. One of the more intelligent trends of the past 5 years or so is the move toward defined RB tandems. The modern movement really started with Priest Holmes ceding some carries due to the emergence of Larry Johnson, and it was clear that both players were better for it. The Broncos started doing it too, after the trade of Clinton Portis, and it has worked well. Even teams like San Diego, Minnesota, Dallas, and Miami, with legit #1 workhorse backs are splitting carries now, so it is a trend which is here to stay. I have consistently been a Selvin Young fan, and maybe the only one on this site, but I think he is an outstanding tandem back. He has rare acceleration, and the last few games, has been running with much improved balance and vision. A cogent argument can be made for Pittman taking some of Andre Hall's workload, but I like Pittman in exactly the role he is in. He adds more value in specialty situations than he would as a lead back.

3. You could see that Jay Cutler was frustrated by having to be so patient yesterday, but it was impressive that he was able to. It highlighted an ever-improving football maturity in him.

4. I really liked how Marcus Thomas looked as a 5-technique DE yesterday in the 30 fronts. It's harder to double him outside, and he got some push. I also think using him in drops on zone-blitzes takes good advantage of his outstanding athleticism. He just needs to hold on to the ball when he picks one off.

5. We got the second horse-excrement chop-block penalty called on us this season. Yesterday, Andre Hall went low on a rusher as Daniel Graham breathed on him up high. In the other one, against San Diego, Clady went low after Hamilton had disengaged up high. I'd really like to see the officials do better calling this, because teams which use zone protection schemes are always going to teeter on the edge of this penalty. Neither penalty was well-earned.

6. Speaking of protection, I don't think I have ever seen another team go from being completely awful in pass protection in one season to being the best in the NFL the next. In 192 pass attempts over 5 games, Jay Cutler has been physically sacked only once. That is an amazing accomplishment for this line, and for Jay. Messrs. Clady, Hamilton, Wiegmann, Kuper, and Harris should take a bow. Mr. Clady should start making plans to be in Hawaii in February, if there is any fairness in the voting, because he has been easily the best LT I've seen this season.

7. It is kind of tacky to pat yourself on the back for having prescient thoughts, so I won't exactly do that. I'll just say that field position management has, on the whole, been much improved this season. Matt Prater and Brett Kern are huge field position weapons, and punt coverage has been good all season. As with our defense, our kickoff coverage is kind of feast or famine sometimes, but I like touchbacks, and Prater leads the league in them.

8. Our defense is improving organically, and will be fully league-average by the time the playoffs roll around. Dumervil dominated Jeremy Trueblood on Sunday.

9. We're going to have a rooting interest in January this season. My dad called to give me a hard time a few days ago, crowing about how the Broncos were going to finish 6-10 this season. He doesn't really know anything substantial about football beyond the Madden-type cliches, and probably couldn't distinguish between a Tackle and a Guard on offense, so I just kind of chuckle at him. Still, it will be fun to serve him a nice, warm glass of Shut The Hell Up. The hardest part, for me, will be to remember that this is a young team, in the 3rd year of a 5 year plan, but this team will be in the playoffs this season.

The 30 front

TedBartlett905 — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 23:04:09 -0000

I thought the use of the 30 front last week was garbage, and the Broncos got away from it quickly. Today, however, it worked very well, and they used it a lot. On the one hand the Broncos have the wrong kind of personnel for a 3-4 look. The linebackers and Elvis Dumervil are smaller than you'd like for it, and Dewayne Robertson is not really a NT, which is why we got him for a bag of footballs from the Jets. On the other hand, it's undoubtedly easier to find 4 good LBs on the Broncos than it is to find 4 good D-Linemen.

For one thing, Dumervil seems to be back. He dominated Jeremy Trueblood today. The LBs and Safeties also tackled much better today. The soundness of the defense and the patience of the offense combined to win today. I'm very pleased with what I saw.

Things My Eyes Saw and My Brain Thought - Week 4

TedBartlett905 — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 03:43:45 -0000

I hate when the Broncos play in the early game, because it prevents me from channel-flipping like I like to during the busy part of the day. I watched our game on Sunday intently, and only had 3 games to flip through late.

Today, I cut out of work early, and came home to watch a bunch of football. Observations and thoughts follow. As always, I only comment on football I personally watched.

1. The best RB on the Oakland roster is Michael Bush. He looks like Larry Johnson, without the stupid Roc-A-Fella hand jive. Darren McFadden is dangerous, due to his speed, but he reminds me of Robert Smith, who played well for several years for Minnesota, but never was a great player.

2. Gerard Warren is playing terrific football for the Raiders the past 3 weeks. He was pushing Kris Dielman around on Sunday.

3. Robert Meachem is turning into a big-time deep threat for the Saints. It seems like the light is coming on for him.

4. I don’t like JT O’Sullivan’s skills, as I mentioned 2 weeks ago. He is a tough guy, though, to shake off all the sacks he is taking. As with Ben Roethlisberger, I’d be a little surprised if he can do that all season.

5. I only saw Joe Flacco play once in college, but I am very impressed with him in his first 3 games as a pro. The game is not too fast for him, and the tempo he is playing with is that of a 5 year veteran. It’s very impressive to watch.

6. I remember (not fondly) when Dante Hall was a really dangerous player. Those days are long gone. On returns, on a reverse, and even throwing a duck of a pass, he did nothing of much value Sunday. I wish he’d been fair-catching punts at his own 8 in his KC days.

7. Chris Long and Leonard Little are a nice pair of pass-rushing ends for the Rams. Both got sacks on Sunday. With Will Witherspoon, Adam Carriker, and OJ Atogwe, the defense has some good talent. The Rams are a team which is utterly handicapped by its bad O-Line.

8. I think that over the last 3 games, Jason Campbell has looked as good as any QB in the NFC, including Drew Brees. The second TD pass was extremely impressive. It was a slant to the left, that would have been intercepted, so Campbell held the ball, drifted right, and found a small window to get it into Antwaan Randle El. It was the kind of play a big-time QB makes.

9. I can’t figure out why the Cowboys gave up on the run so dramatically and quickly. I love the design of their vertical passing game, but they have to run the ball to bring the safeties closer to the line of scrimmage.

10. I was about to compliment the play of Stephon Heyer at RT for the Redskins, till I noticed that the RT was #76 Jon Jansen. Last I had heard, Heyer had beaten out Jansen, but Jansen looked really good Sunday, and I never noticed #74 (Heyer.)

11. I continue to be impressed by #48 Chris Horton of the Redskins, as I mentioned a week or two ago. He has terrific ball skills.

12. The old NY Titans uniforms are hideous, but not as bad as the original Broncos gear.

13. My vote for most obscure player who I have noticed is a team captain goes to Aaron Francisco (#47) of the Cardinals. Evidently, the Jets cut him from their camp in 2005, which is a great claim to fame.

14. For a guy who threw for almost 500 yards, Kurt Warner had just an abysmal game at the Meadowlands. It was Bad Kurt in terms of ball security. SIX turnovers, just by him!!!! As Emmitt Smiff would say, he got debacled.

15. The Laveranues Coles-Brett Favre connection looked terrific. I used to work with a guy in Jacksonville who was close friends with Coles when they were kids. Everybody called him Trouble, because he got in a lot of it. He disclosed a few years ago that his stepfather molested him over a period of years, and as I recall, he credited Chad Pennington with helping him to be able to talk about it. They are very close, and it was no surprise that he vocally took up for Pennington when he got cut so unceremoniously in conjunction with the Favre acquisition, but he seems to be getting used to Brett now.

16. Somebody needs to explain to me what the Jets are doing, going for 2 with a 54-35 lead, and 1:54 left on the clock.

17. Watching the Jaguars and Texans, I was struck by the thought that both QBs are “good-enough-to-make-the-playoffs” types. Both David Garrard and Matt Schaub have gotten big paydays (like other good-enoughs like Marc Bulger and the odd not-good-enough like Derek Anderson.) I believe you need a blue-chip guy to really be in the hunt to win Super Bowls, so I think you get into kind of a no-man’s-land, paying guys like this a lot of money to be slightly above average. Just remember our Jake Plummer era; that’s where the Jags and Texans are.

18. Steve Slaton was very impressive on Sunday. It’s not like he is sneaking up on anybody after the career he had at West Virginia, so it’s really a question of if he can hold up to the kind of load he carried Sunday. Time will tell if he is more durbale than he was projected to be.

19. Jacksonville was better in pass protection than I have seen from them all season. With them, like the Steelers, and the Rams, that’s always the first thing I look at.

20. I saved the Cleveland-Cincinnati game for last, because it looked horrid on paper. The paper was right. What a couple of bad teams.

21. Jason Wright clearly looks better than Jamal Lewis at RB for the Browns. I think this every time I watch the Browns, so I wonder why their decision-makers don’t.

22. I wonder if Brady Quinn looks really bad in practice, because Derek Anderson is not a legitimate starter at the NFL level. I called him a credible game-manager in the offseason, and I was being too kind to him. He’s just awful.

23. I’ve been critical of Carson Palmer lately, but he sure is a lot better than Ryan Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick is extremely marginal as a backup.

24. It looked to me like the Cut-rate Coaching Crew in Cincinnati felt like they didn’t need to change the game-plan to account for the differences in ability between Palmer and Fitzpatrick. They ran the exact same stuff as they did last week against the Giants. The Bengals are well-known for being the cheapest team in the NFL, and you get what you pay for.

25. Chris Perry might be the worst starting RB in the NFL, so it was somewhat interesting that the Bengals signed Cedric Benson today. Or, maybe they thought Chris Henry might need a drinking buddy.