Game Thread: Broncos/Bears! Football is back!

[cdumler7]

Re-watched the game tonight. Took way too long of a nap this afternoon so a bit wired. Anyway a few extra observations

1) Part of me is starting to think Colquitt is going to win the punting job. He has been the more consistent of the two in practice and maybe more importantly I have heard that McManus seems to have most of his misses in practice when Dixon is the holder. Just must be something off about the timing or the hold that is really messing with McManus. So it might just be worth those few extra million if it means our kicker is more comfortable.

2) While Bibbs didn't have his best day running the football I thought he maybe helped himself more because of his special teams play. He made a very nice tackle on a kick return and looked pretty good on a few other special teams plays. Our 3rd RB has to a Special Teams player which is why I think he makes it over Hillman since Hillman still doesn't look like he wants to be on special teams.

3) While the stats might not say Siemian had the best day of the 3 QB's honestly going back and watching he just seemed to be the one that knew exactly where he was going with the football and made very nice passes. A few more of Sanchez's passes were a bit off making the WR have to leave their feet a bit. Not saying Sanchez had a bad day just think Siemian looked a bit more in control. He did however miss a wide open TE down the middle when he tried to throw the deep fade to Taylor in the end zone. Going to be interesting to see who they start in that San Fran game.

4) Penalties honestly seem to have been our biggest problem in that game. They kept us from putting up at least 40 in that game. Preseason they always seem to throw a lot more flags just trying to start out strict letting players know they can't get away with some things but still man those holding calls and the biggest of them all that personal foul by Ferentz. Not sure what is going on with Ferentz but man he needs to clean up his anger. From what I understand at the game he had a couple of times he tried to get some Bears players to fight him. Then of course he has been a part of 3 fights in practice. There is being aggressive and then there is being stupid. Right now he is very much leaning towards the latter in that area. I think this guy makes the team if he can clean that part of his game up but he better watch out because coaches can't stand players that go and get those stupid personal foul penalties that just kill a drive.

 

[cdumler7]

Also didn't see this anywhere here today but Bennie Fowler broke his elbow in the game. It is a small break and isn't expected to threaten his season but just something to keep an eye on. He said he expects to be back for the 1st game of the season. Now if I know my bone breaking protocol they usually say at least 6-weeks and usually 8-weeks is what they like for a bone to fully heal. My guess with treatment they should keep that on the low end but would rather see him maybe sit out a game or two especially with how Latimer is looking. My guess though is that is why he wants to get back as soon as possible knowing that Latimer is looking really good.

 

[Orange Crush77]

He has a cannon

 

[cdumler7]

So figured since all of our divisional opponents have now played a game I would see if anybody else watched some of their games and see what you thought. I'll be honest I stopped watching after the 1st units went out. I don't care as much about their back ups as I do ours obviously. But figure 1's on 1's gives us a small glimpse on some things for the season.

Chiefs

Very impressed with their offense. They look like they could be one of the most balanced offenses in the NFL with a strong run game and a pretty good passing game as well. OL could be the downfall of their offense but they looked really good run blocking against a pretty stout Seattle front-7.

They were missing some starters on defense but I really thought the Chiefs defense looked like it took a big step back from last year. Hali and Houston were obviously out but against a Seattle OL that shouldn't be very good they got very little push and even struggled against the run. Passing wise they were saved by a Peters interception but otherwise there were some struggles in coverage. Have to wait to see some of the other starters come back but we could see the Chiefs fall behind a little more early on and have to see how Alex Smith responds. He hasn't historically been the best when the team gets off schedule.

Chargers

Again looked like a pretty good offense. OL looks vastly improved over last year. Made some nice holes in the run game and I think Rivers has a few options to throw to this year. Health always seems to be an issue with this offense though so have to see if they can escape some of that. Defensively I thought they looked slow in the 1st unit. The safeties look like a huge weakness right now and the DL definitely got pushed around.

Raiders

Honestly I was impressed by the 3 offenses. Timing was a bit off between Carr and Cooper but Cooper looks a little quicker this year and him teamed up with Crabtree on the other side will be some tough match ups. The run game for the Raiders didn't look great but just have to see if that continues. I am not a big Murray fan as he is injury prone and really struggles unless he has some running room to get up to speed.

Defensively they still look like they have some holes. AZ ran on them pretty well and had some wide open WR's at times. With so many new moving parts on that defense I figured this might be a problem early on where they just don't have the chemistry with one another. Have to see if that continues but this is why winning FA doesn't always mean you win in the season.

Again always want to emphasize that this is preseason game 1 so just because it was a weakness or strength in game 1 doesn't mean that will continue. Looks like a tough division for sure but some areas maybe the Broncos can exploit in our match ups.

 

[Duffman]

I think one of the other negatives you can point out is the Offense only put up 7 points out of the 22 we scored. Obviously it's the first preseason game but it's still shades of last year where the Offense struggled too many times and had to rely on the D/ST to help them out far too often.

The last thing we want is to have hope the defense bails us out plays great because the offense didn't show up again.

But that's really the only small negative I have to say about the game everything else I was happy with, they will hopefully get better and it's just taking some time.

 

[cdumler7]

I think one of the other negatives you can point out is the Offense only put up 7 points out of the 22 we scored. Obviously it's the first preseason game but it's still shades of last year where the Offense struggled too many times and had to rely on the D/ST to help them out far too often.

The last thing we want is to have hope the defense bails us out plays great because the offense didn't show up again.

But that's really the only small negative I have to say about the game everything else I was happy with, they will hopefully get better and it's just taking some time.

Good thoughts. I do agree the offense didn't score well. What gives me hope though is the fact that all 3 units moved the ball most drives. Only 3 of the 12 drives in the game ended in a 3 and out. Really what kept us from dominating more score wise offensively was just the penalties at very inopportune moments. Such as Lynch was driving the offense nicely and made a beautiful pass to get us to the 7 yard line to then have Ferentz do something stupid and get a personal foul. I think that drive ends in a touchdown or at least a field goal at worst. The offense also did have a couple of nice drives that should have ended in field goals. Such as end of the half with very very little time Siemian did an incredible job to get us into field goal range to then have it blocked. To me those points would belong to the offense more than special teams to have ran the 2 minute drill so well. Then of course the other missed field goal happened on a nice long drive by the offense to then come away with nothing was disappointing. So the opportunities were there just didn't quite finish off the drives. Still the fact that we moved the ball when 3 and outs were so prevalent last year at least showed some promise.

 

[cdumler7]

So just went back and watched the 1st unit OL. They were for the most part only in for the first 2 drives. Even there a few went out after the 1st drive such as Stephenson. The first drive they did pretty decent other than the penalties. The middle guys did get pushed back just a bit on a couple of plays that kind of kept Sanchez from stepping up.

Still overall decent work by this unit.

Have to say Schofield looked so much better than a year ago. He had one play where he got bull rushed back into Sanchez a bit but he wasn't just getting beat around the edge like he was last year. He looks a bit stronger and looked like a guy with a bit more confidence in his game. I've actually reached a point that I am hoping he is our starting at the RG position week 1. I think he will do well at the guard position as it eliminates some of his struggles of working in space.

Right now I wouldn't mind an OL that has Okung-Garcia-Paradis-Schofield-Stephenson. I think most of us after last year were ready to give Schofield the boot but I think he really worked hard at his game this offseason and could surprise some people.

 

[Mingo]

IMO, not much of a shot to make the team active roster, but should go back to the PS.

IMO the top two are set with Paradis and Ferentz and we won't keep 3 unless one of them plays OG. I think Day will spend the majority of the season on our PS. He might have a chance next year as he continues to develop. Sadly, with Paradis and Ferentz being young (not sure when Ferentz contract is up) Day's best chance may not be in Denver long term.

Unless - of course - the Broncos keep him as a OG. The fact that the Broncos are giving him a feature opportunity in this pre-season game - shows they think he has top 53 potential.

 

[Mingo]

Well have a computer here for a few minutes so figured get some thoughts out real quick. First off even if it was preseason it was awesome to watch the Broncos play somebody other than each other again! Man have I missed this. When I get home tomorrow I'll have to rewatch the game because a few things at first glance made me do some double takes...

1) Not sure if anybody else noticed this but the Broncos had a new formation they played with last night. It was put Simmons in the single high deep safety position and have both Stewart and Ward playing in the linebacker positions near the LOS. I had heard rumors that this is exactly what Phillips wants to be able to do but he didn't have that 3rd safety that allowed him to do that last year.

2) As DC keeps saying it was a preseason game so always take everything with a grain of salt but I thought all 3 QB's had decent moments. While I don't think any of the QB's really separated themselves a whole lot I also think the game eased at least my mind for a week that we might be ok at the QB position. We won't have a star by any means but we might have a competent QB.

3) Biggest disappointment for me was some of the OL struggles. Been hearing so many good things about them but man those holding penalties killed so many of our drives. Now I know they were playing with some back ups in and of course rotating like that can cause confusion and such but still wish they would have shown a little better. Now I will say there was one play that there was like a 5 yard hole open for the RB! We didn't hardly see that at all last year so good to see the OL opening some huge holes.

4) Anybody a little more nervous this year for having McManus as our kicker? I've been hearing that he hasn't been as sharp in camp this year as last year and then went 2-4 last night. Not going to panic but he just doesn't look quite as confident.

5) I have to say I was very impressed with Latimer last night. He looks like a different player this year and ready to really break out. I know we don't do a ton of 3-wide sets but I hope we find a way to get the ball in his hands.

6) I thought our rookie class maybe showed the best of any rookie class we have had for a 1st preseason game. Gotsis was a beast up the middle. For a guy still working back from an ACL injury he looked ready to go and could become an impact player this year! Lynch while he had some struggles getting rid of the ball on time showed great accuracy and showed his ability to run. Simmons looks like he could be a rookie of the year candidate. They seem very excited about him. Then Booker I thought looked the best of the RB's yesterday. Ran with purpose all but one of his runs and made a very nice catch that was down by his knees. Will Parks was another that showed really well! Only guy that I thought didn't show great was McGovern. I watched him blow a couple of blocking assignments.

Anyway going to stop there but for a first preseason game plenty of promise shown for all areas of our team. Again it is preseason but I feel much better about our team than I would if I were a Bears fan right now.

I love your #1 observation. That defense will give the Broncos 8 guys on each play (outside of the interior DL) - who can run fast and make a play. You can just sense - this Bronco defense has a distinct pride in their achievements. I pity the fool that has to play them.

 

[Dr Cyanide 28]

i have been saying i am excited for schofield this season. He was one of our better olineman in the super bowl. He sucked against Mack, but he was so overmatched and for some reason we refused to give him ANY HELP for God knows why.

 

[CEH]

Well have a computer here for a few minutes so figured get some thoughts out real quick. First off even if it was preseason it was awesome to watch the Broncos play somebody other than each other again! Man have I missed this. When I get home tomorrow I'll have to rewatch the game because a few things at first glance made me do some double takes...

1) Not sure if anybody else noticed this but the Broncos had a new formation they played with last night. It was put Simmons in the single high deep safety position and have both Stewart and Ward playing in the linebacker positions near the LOS. I had heard rumors that this is exactly what Phillips wants to be able to do but he didn't have that 3rd safety that allowed him to do that last year.

Yeah Simmons has the range to make plays the way everyone envisioned Rahim the Dream would make plays.

I like both new rookie safeties. I foresee Sanders getting a new contract and the team letting Darian Stewart or TJ Ward walk next year.

 

[Orange Crush77]

Dak Prescott looked like a seasoned pro out there.

 

[randymon]

So figured since all of our divisional opponents have now played a game I would see if anybody else watched some of their games and see what you thought. I'll be honest I stopped watching after the 1st units went out. I don't care as much about their back ups as I do ours obviously. But figure 1's on 1's gives us a small glimpse on some things for the season.

Chiefs

Very impressed with their offense. They look like they could be one of the most balanced offenses in the NFL with a strong run game and a pretty good passing game as well. OL could be the downfall of their offense but they looked really good run blocking against a pretty stout Seattle front-7.

They were missing some starters on defense but I really thought the Chiefs defense looked like it took a big step back from last year. Hali and Houston were obviously out but against a Seattle OL that shouldn't be very good they got very little push and even struggled against the run. Passing wise they were saved by a Peters interception but otherwise there were some struggles in coverage. Have to wait to see some of the other starters come back but we could see the Chiefs fall behind a little more early on and have to see how Alex Smith responds. He hasn't historically been the best when the team gets off schedule.

Chargers

Again looked like a pretty good offense. OL looks vastly improved over last year. Made some nice holes in the run game and I think Rivers has a few options to throw to this year. Health always seems to be an issue with this offense though so have to see if they can escape some of that. Defensively I thought they looked slow in the 1st unit. The safeties look like a huge weakness right now and the DL definitely got pushed around.

Raiders

Honestly I was impressed by the 3 offenses. Timing was a bit off between Carr and Cooper but Cooper looks a little quicker this year and him teamed up with Crabtree on the other side will be some tough match ups. The run game for the Raiders didn't look great but just have to see if that continues. I am not a big Murray fan as he is injury prone and really struggles unless he has some running room to get up to speed.

Defensively they still look like they have some holes. AZ ran on them pretty well and had some wide open WR's at times. With so many new moving parts on that defense I figured this might be a problem early on where they just don't have the chemistry with one another. Have to see if that continues but this is why winning FA doesn't always mean you win in the season.

Again always want to emphasize that this is preseason game 1 so just because it was a weakness or strength in game 1 doesn't mean that will continue. Looks like a tough division for sure but some areas maybe the Broncos can exploit in our match ups.

Honestly I think Raiders Offense was the most impressive of the West teams. No sacks, a run avg close or above 5 yrs per carry and decent receiving stats. KC was basically endemic in passing yds and except for West, the run game was pretty pathetic.SD, other than Gordon's 44 yd receiving Td, wasn't very impressive on offense in either department.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

KC was basically endemic in passing yds and except for West, the run game was pretty pathetic.

I usually leave these type of things alone... but:


West 8.8 YPC
Ware 4.8 YPC
Davis 4.3 YPC
Reaves 3.8 YPC

4.7 YPC Total.

Alex Smith 3/4 36 yards 9.0 YPA. 102.1 Rating

You're right the backup QB's were less than impressive, however.

 

[randymon]

I usually leave these type of things alone... but:


West 8.8 YPC
Ware 4.8 YPC
Davis 4.3 YPC
Reaves 3.8 YPC

4.7 YPC Total.

Alex Smith 3/4 36 yards 9.0 YPA. 102.1 Rating

You're right the backup QB's were less than impressive, however.

and your right except......on the rbs....look at the carries and " longest run ". Then look at avg yd per carry. They all averaged about 2 yds per carry after their best carry of day.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

and your right except......on the rbs....look at the carries and " longest run ". Then look at avg yd per carry. They all averaged about 2 yds per carry after their best carry of day.

In such small sample sizes, I don't think it matters, but if you insist on it...

 

[randymon]

Besides you there is a ton of people/expert,etc that believe KC will win div. Sorry but I think KC will need a lot of help just to reach playoffs. My guess is they start off decent then fold and finish prob best at 8-8.

 

[cdumler7]

I usually leave these type of things alone... but:


West 8.8 YPC
Ware 4.8 YPC
Davis 4.3 YPC
Reaves 3.8 YPC

4.7 YPC Total.

Alex Smith 3/4 36 yards 9.0 YPA. 102.1 Rating

You're right the backup QB's were less than impressive, however.

I'm actually with you on I thought the Chiefs offense looked good. Of all the offenses in the AFC West at least starting unit wise I thought they looked the best of them all. Again very small sample size so can't read much one way or the other but wouldn't surprise me to have them be the best offense in the AFC West.

 

[cdumler7]

Yeah Simmons has the range to make plays the way everyone envisioned Rahim the Dream would make plays.

I like both new rookie safeties. I foresee Sanders getting a new contract and the team letting Darian Stewart or TJ Ward walk next year.

I have heard a couple of times from coaches that this year even more so than last year they feel like they have the right players to run the WHOLE defensive system. They loved Bruton but he didn't have the range to completely be trusted to man the whole back end of the defense. Simmons fits that role for them of having the range, cover ability, and tackling ability to be trusted to be the last line of defense if needed and let them be very aggressive up front. What is funny is people keep talking about how much we blitzed and Philips tweeted out after the game that they never once blitzed. Now the true definition of a blitz is 6 or more players coming after the QB and the most we sent was 5 so he is technically right but I do think you will see this team going even crazier with sending guys after the QB. They want to force more turnovers and that comes with forcing QB's to act even faster than they did last year.

 

[58crash]

I'm actually with you on I thought the Chiefs offense looked good. Of all the offenses in the AFC West at least starting unit wise I thought they looked the best of them all. Again very small sample size so can't read much one way or the other but wouldn't surprise me to have them be the best offense in the AFC West.

Its a lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng season and KC's depth is trash !