Enjoy the games everyone, and Go Broncos!!
Doug is IAOFM’s resident newsman and spelling czar. Follow him on Twitter @IAOFM
They were gassed. You could see it. Baltimore kept running it and running it. Broncos didn’t have a chance to catch their breaths.
That said, I wonder about something…
We also know that McD likes to use certain plays/formations to set up other plays in the second half, and the defense looks like it gets better as the game goes on.
Perhaps, the Broncos WON’T be making fast starts, and instead will be a team that feels out the opponent in the first half, hopes to keep it close, and then exploits what they’ve learned with some second-half adjustments and tweaking to take the lead and hopefully win.
We saw the “keep it close, win late” approach work last week, and saw it fail this week. Giving up 17 points to start the game isn’t going to cut it.
Anybody care to share their thoughts?
Good points to you both! Indeed.
I was disappointed by run D today but they may have been gassed. Again, no run game means even if passing game is good the Defense is not rested long enough.
My two cents: I think if we play no huddle for most of the game, we are a better team. And I dont mean that just b/c Balt was in a more prevent-ish type defense. I just see it as better use of the type of offense we run. We get a better rhythm when we do that.
You know, the message prior to the game was that the Ravens don’t give up big plays. You could see that the Broncos believed that in the early play-calling.
McDaniels has a tendency to be conservative early on, which makes sense - this is a very young team - but I wonder if the Broncos went all-out from the first possession the game would have ended a little differently.
If the team continues to gel, McD may start trusting them more from the beginning and the Broncos should have faster starts.
Wow, what a nice throw and catch there! A consolation prize but still.
Plus Orton’s on my fantasy team!
can we also request Dan Fouts not do any more Broncos games, too? He’s so biased against Denver it’s kind of sad.
Yeah, what’s this “as always”?
I honestly don’t care either way. I want the Broncos to beat every team they play, home or away. If they want to be a great team they take care of the Ravens IN Baltimore if they have to.
Me too
Most important thing I took away from this game:
If the NFL schedule maker has us play @ Baltimore next year, I will be UPS-ing him/her a huge brown bag of crap.
I would’ve gone for it there, you know? but on the other hand, what’s the point…
(PS: “as always”?)
That was pathetic…as always
D is gassed, O is being kept off the field. Not looking good.
Not that I’m too happy watching the rush defense today, mind you.
I just won’t throw the whole team under the bus based on this game. At least the Chiefs are losing.
We have a B-Dawk down! B-Dawk down!
Come on, D.
Eh, I’m so glad I’ve got this site. Those game threads were so infuriating.
A stop… they need a turnover, frankly. Preferably for a TD.
Doc, Fouts said that, too, on the lack of challenge, but looking at the replay a couple of times it looked like he was out on the catch imho. I don’t know… I feel he would’ve lost it and the TO.
Defense has to get a stop, no ifs and buts.
Chibronx, not everyone’s freaking out of course but those who are, it’s all of the above: personnel, game planning, blocking, and my very old favorite, no heart! They just don’t have enough heart and grit. Oh and also, Broncos are going to lose by 30 points to Jets at home next week, so you might as well skip that one. <img alt="hmmm" height="19" src="http://www.singernet.com/images/smileys/hmm.gif" style="border:0;" width="19">
Bad mistake by McD, not challenging. The knee was in on Gaff’s catch.
Underdog—what new schematic/coaching weakness have they diagnosed? Or is it McD’s eye for talent that’s the problem now?
Glad people on MHR game threads are as rational as always. <img alt="hmmm" height="19" src="http://www.singernet.com/images/smileys/hmm.gif" style="border:0;" width="19"> Season’s over folks, might as well pack it in, apparently.
Penalties have hurt. Having the length of a football field to make up hurts.
First halves have not been our friends.
Well I said all along if Denver can be 3-3 after both the Ravens and Jets, I will totally take that, given the brutal early schedule and the “easier” later schedule. IF.
I’m beginning to agree, Chi. Broncos need to play on fire to come back from this one.
Missed the 2nd quarter and part of the 3rd. Looks like I didn’t miss a ton other than Denver’s D continuing to hold them close—until this last frustratingly long drive of runs. <img alt="hmmm" height="19" src="http://www.singernet.com/images/smileys/hmm.gif" style="border:0;" width="19"> Did I miss anything else?
Frustrating that they fix some things that usually ail them vs Baltimore here but still can’t win…
I feel like the Broncos have blown their chance to get back into this one. I’m still heartened over all, etc., especially in terms of the run blocking. But they can’t keep ‘em bottled up for this long.
The defense has really stepped since early the 2nd qtr. Great job.
Either Hoch is a way better run blocker than Daniels or Balt rush D is average, but our run blocking is much better.
My apologies. Everyone knows that Orton can’t throw the long ball and Lloyd disappears when the season starts. Nice work to both men!
10 pts with the way that half went? I’ll gladly take that. Gotta clean up the penalties and field position issues
Tough first half. That first goal line stand must have taken a lot of steam out of the defense. It took more than a quarter to get their mojo back. DJ has looked a lot better, this year, especially in the open field. He does, however, seem to have trouble getting of of blocks to make plays at the line of scrimmage. It was way obvious on Baltimore’s second TD. The TD to Loyd was the first time in the first half that a draw, screen, or running play wasn’t called following a penalty. It’s amazing what Orton can do with a little protection (due to a three man rush).
Wow, are the Chiefs really that good?
Starting to believe.
I’ll be honest with you, I’ve stopped charting plays! Better go back to this in the 2nd half to see what adjustments are made.
Right now, Baltimore isn’t doing anything strange. They are playing their standard 212 set almost every drive.
The difference is that Martindale has begun to blitz.
Yes! Orton to Lloyd! TD!
Awesome catch and what a noodle arm throw!
Very interesting how well KC is handling Peyton. Romeo appears to be a D-coordinator extraordinaire. dammit.
I don’t know what the short-attention-span crowd’s complaints about our D look like these days, but they seem to play better as the game goes on. Unless someone has an excellent alternate hypothesis, that means good coaching.
McD seems to like to get into halftime and then make adjustments rather than do any during the first half.
Great defense during the 2nd qtr.
An Andre Brown sighting!
Well, at least they just got a stop. Hopefully, they can get the offense into some kind of a rhythm.
Good info, Doc. Both tackles are having a bit of trouble. Hopefully as the rushers get tired, they will equalize.
btw, KC just lost a fumble that looked much like the hit on DT. they’re only down 6-0 but Indy just moved into KC territory.
Clady isn’t handling speed rushers on the edge like he has - I’d bet on adhesions in the surgical knee. Could be a long day, but you never know
Colquitt is still one of the biggest upgrades this yr
Running game is better. I still would like to see them attack the middle of the field more. Maybe in the 2nd half
Let’s go, Broncos! It’s only 17 points! :p
Holding them to FG is huge. Let’s get to halftime with 3 or 7 on the board and we are still in fine position.
Aah… Thomas was saying that as long as you don’t tip-toe through the hole, you’ll be fine - and that’s exactly what he does. I really hope he’s okay.
Two quarters in, 2 Broncos down.
Ouch. Well, that answers the question of how much better Goody is than Cox. We’re just not covering well - or getting a push on Flacco. Bad combination. Time for Orton to make some magic - C’mon, guys!
Part 2 of the Thomas Kick Returning experiment makes all our fears come true.
I really really hope DT is alright. KR duties are a tough part of the game…thats why Cox likes PR better.
Wow, this is so much worse than I expected.
What a shame. 14-zip.
Good morning everyone and Go Broncos !
When you are playing a defense that is as good as the Ravens, what can the offense due to offset their speed ? Wow I’m always so impressed with how fast and physical they are.
Is this a time where you might want to go to a hurry up offense and try to keep the defense off balance or is this a dumb question ?
Josh’s conservative play calling could make Rush Limbaugh look like a liberal. I’m just saying…
Broncos are at least running the ball some. Setting up the second half.
The penalty, followed by apparent Casper Milquetoast play calling took momentum away.
So far, I’ve only counted one running play that was terribly blocked (the first one, when the DB was unaccounted for). That is improvement, as was the nice run out of the shotgun.
Thank goodness for the announcers. How else would we know that the Broncos have trouble running, that Ray Lewis is awesome, and that the Ravens’ defense swarms the ball. Good information!
Man, a pass rush is hard to come by for us this year from the front, unfortunately.
I only noticed Darcel getting carted off. I understand he got tangled with Ngata, but what exactly happened?
Well, dang.
What a time to take a penalty, DT. :(
Poor McBath. He wasn’t back long…
That was awesome. Why can’t DJ be an mfing animal like that more often?
I can’t stand the Ravens. Does any other team except the Chargers get so much love for so little hardware? And for the amount of love Joe Flacco gets, one would expect him to be better at football.
How huge was that stand?!!!
What a goal-line stand!
And welcome everyone to our humble thread! We may not promise a lot of furious anger, but it should be lively nonetheless.
Got a link to that, TJ? I could use the chuckle. <img alt="wink" height="19" src="http://www.singernet.com/images/smileys/wink.gif" style="border:0;" width="19">
Brandon Marshall continues to make me laugh. On his off week he’s in the studio talking about how good he is and how Jay Cutler would be great with him again.
Keep truckin’, dude.
