Chargers Vs Broncos

[Mingo]

I wonder if the Broncos play with emotion for Kubiak in this one? My answer is yes = the guy is beloved by the players.

It is always an adventure to compete against Phillip Rivers. He can still sling the ball, but he is certainly more of a target for the Broncos pass rush.

We know Siemian is alleged to have the strongest arm of the Bronco's QBs, but Siemian has spent most of his QB reps - working the short passing game. This probably turned out wise as the short passing game - complements the Bronco's run game. Siemian has been hitting the short routes with the receiver in decent stride - threatening a dynamic play - each time that happens. Siemian makes a difference in this game.

Ray and Barrett are doing well, but the Broncos do miss D. Ware's Leadership and all around football knowledge.

There is a perceived problem that the Bronco's MLBs can't cover the pass - and I say that is not true - it is where the problem shows up, but not the source of the problem. The problem with the Falcons as the pass rush did not interfere with the passing lanes - you may not get to the QBs in the short and quick passing game, but you have to get into their passing lanes.

You can bet - the Broncos need to fix whatever they think went wrong with the Falcons -because every other team is going to copy that strategy until the Broncos stop it.

I think the Broncos are too talented and deep to lose to the Chargers for a 2nd bad game in a row. Add to that the emotional factor of Kubiak's medical problem. I think the Charger only have a sluggers chance to beat the Broncos.

 

[CEH]

The San Diego Chargers are a one-in-30 million story. The bad kind.

Mike McCoy's team is 1-4 and in the cellar of the AFC West. But it's how the Chargers got here that separates them from the pack.


According to Pro-FootballReference.com, the Chargers had two instances in their first five games where they had a 99.9 percent chance to win (Week 1 against Chiefs, Week 4 against Saints) and managed to lose both games. Additionally, they had a 84.7 percent win probability against the Colts in Week 3 and a 77.9 percent chance to prevail against the Raiders on Sunday. They lost those games, too.

"So if you ran a computer simulation of these games from these points 30 million times, the Chargers would lose all four just once," financial analyst Seth Bienstock told The Wall Street Journal.

That's right. The Chargers had a 0.0000034 percent chance of losing all four of those games ... and they pulled it off. The Chargers are lottery losers for the ages.

 

[CEH]

I wonder if the Broncos play with emotion for Kubiak in this one? My answer is yes = the guy is beloved by the players.

It is always an adventure to compete against Phillip Rivers. He can still sling the ball, but he is certainly more of a target for the Broncos pass rush.

We know Siemian is alleged to have the strongest arm of the Bronco's QBs, but Siemian has spent most of his QB reps - working the short passing game. This probably turned out wise as the short passing game - complements the Bronco's run game. Siemian has been hitting the short routes with the receiver in decent stride - threatening a dynamic play - each time that happens. Siemian makes a difference in this game.

Ray and Barrett are doing well, but the Broncos do miss D. Ware's Leadership and all around football knowledge.

There is a perceived problem that the Bronco's MLBs can't cover the pass - and I say that is not true - it is where the problem shows up, but not the source of the problem. The problem with the Falcons as the pass rush did not interfere with the passing lanes - you may not get to the QBs in the short and quick passing game, but you have to get into their passing lanes.

You can bet - the Broncos need to fix whatever they think went wrong with the Falcons -because every other team is going to copy that strategy until the Broncos stop it.

I think the Broncos are too talented and deep to lose to the Chargers for a 2nd bad game in a row. Add to that the emotional factor of Kubiak's medical problem. I think the Charger only have a sluggers chance to beat the Broncos.

Right now the defense looks to be having issues with task assignments especially the ILbers. Also missing is the Batman and Robin social aspect Danny T and Bmarsh had last year. This year , Davis and Marshall have not produced that camaraderie the other two had last year.

Last year, NE has success with RBs against our ILbers. Personal formations can be gear to generate a one on one matchup with a Lber .

The NFL is all about matchups and ATL had the personnel to beat Denver one on one. Upcoming, Gordon can be a matchup issue against our LBer plus Denver has had issues in the past with TEs. SD has Gates and Henry now Next week the speedy Lamar Miller come to town. Going to be real interesting to see how our ILbers do this week.

Last week, ATL lined up Coleman out wide against Davis and ran a inadvertent pick with the TE to get Coleman free on a short 5 yard in . Denver had a 4 man rush . Ryan did a good job from the shotgun taking 2 steps and getting the ball out of his hands.

The 2nd big play to Coleman again lined him up this time against BMarsh and Ryan threw the ball after a 2 step drop from shotgun, . At the time the ball was released Coleman was even with BMarsh so Ryan threw Coleman open.

Sure the DLineman can get their hands up but they have their job to do as well so it's hard to know who was at fault. I know if you have the personnel , the Denver ILbers/S can be exploited with backs or TEs.

All in All , Ryan had about 50% completion, Jones held to 29 yards and ATL held to 2 for 12 on 3rd down.

Alt looks legit and a Super Bowl contender in the NFC.

I think the D just tired out by the lack of offensive output to give them a rest. Several times the offense could not convert 3rd and shorts, fumbled or had penalties on drives the QB , at this point in his career, could not overcome.

 

[MileHigh64]

There is a general perception out there by uninformed fans (none on this site) that this game should be a cakewalk for the Broncos. I think this is going to be a huge challenge for the Broncos. Short week, young QB, no Kubiak, on the road, divisional opponent and against a pretty damn good football team that's desperate as hell. The Chargers would love to beat the Broncos and get their season heading back in the right direction. This is going to be a very physical, tough game IMO.

 

[cdumler7]

From what I understand it does look like it the Falcons pretty much borrowed the game plan of the Patriots from the playoffs. Now yes we won that game but I think what the Falcons saw were there were opportunities that the Patriots just didn't take advantage of. Throw in they also have a much more prolific running game compared to against the Patriots where the Broncos just didn't even worry about them running all over the field.
In the NFL it really is sometimes teams just match up well against you. Such as in the past we have struggled with the Colts but could somehow always beat the Patriots.

As for this game lots to be looking at. The nice thing is that Siemian, Stephenson, and Green are all expected to play this week. That could be a huge boost to this offense that obviously saw some struggles not only this last week but really the run game has been struggling since week 2 ended and Green and Stephenson were injured. So I look for the Broncos to try and get the run game back on track.

And I do know the players and coaches have all said this game is dedicated to Kubiak. That emotional boost could be huge to getting this team back on track.

Now I know we all hate losing but I will say sometimes losing isn't the worst thing in the world. It is the moment you have to take a step back as a team and really look at what went wrong. I remember Terrell Davis talking about the 1998 season where they were undefeated late in the season. He said that those late season losses were huge as they were the first time the team really had to take a hard look at themselves and actually see they did have some weaknesses that needed work. Last year the loss to the Steelers was that game where I remember hearing that Kubiak talked to the whole team about it was time to dig deep and decide what they are made of as a team.

Just a quick injury report...
For the Broncos D. Ware was the only one who did not practice. This was a big week for him though as he went back to see how his arm was healing and see if he could actually be ready to play next week against the Texans.
Limited was Trevor Siemian and Kayvon Webster for the 2nd day in a row.
The rest of the team was a full practice. So for a Thursday game this team is about as healthy as you can hope for.

The Chargers have not been so lucky. With so many players on IR and then you add Jahleel Addae and Brandon Flowers have yet to practice this week. Limited were Joe Barksdale, Orlando Franklin, Chris Hairston, Craig Mager, Denzel Perryman, Drew Kaser, and Dexter McCluster.

 

[CEH]

DT needs a 6 catch 113 yards 2 TDs game.

SD is a desperate team with a coach about to be fired. Even worst is they appear to be a pretty good team that is desperate to stay in the hunt.

 

[cdumler7]

Something else to keep in mind that I find comforting during this week that Kubiak is gone. The Broncos have the most experienced coaching staff in the NFL at the coordinator positions. Combined they have 62 years experience as Coordinators. So they should be able to keep the place running while the main man gets healthy.

 

[cdumler7]

Also it has been confirmed that both Stephenson and Green will be playing in this game. Siemian and Webster are still listed as questionable.

 

[cdumler7]

It always cracks me up when I go look at the national reporters and what they have to say. The headline this week is "Are the Broncos on the decline?" So one loss in the last 9 months means this team has completely fallen off the Super Bowl trail I guess. Never mind they are tied atop the AFC for top record. Just amazes me how much they just love to either stir the pot or over panic every little thing that happens in the NFL. We saw last year the Broncos had twice where they lost 2 games in a row and yet hey were Super Bowl Champions. It is just part of the NFL year. Every team other than 1 has lost a game at some point.

 

[randymon]

From what I understand it does look like it the Falcons pretty much borrowed the game plan of the Patriots from the playoffs. Now yes we won that game but I think what the Falcons saw were there were opportunities that the Patriots just didn't take advantage of. Throw in they also have a much more prolific running game compared to against the Patriots where the Broncos just didn't even worry about them running all over the field.
In the NFL it really is sometimes teams just match up well against you. Such as in the past we have struggled with the Colts but could somehow always beat the Patriots.

As for this game lots to be looking at. The nice thing is that Siemian, Stephenson, and Green are all expected to play this week. That could be a huge boost to this offense that obviously saw some struggles not only this last week but really the run game has been struggling since week 2 ended and Green and Stephenson were injured. So I look for the Broncos to try and get the run game back on track.

And I do know the players and coaches have all said this game is dedicated to Kubiak. That emotional boost could be huge to getting this team back on track.

Now I know we all hate losing but I will say sometimes losing isn't the worst thing in the world. It is the moment you have to take a step back as a team and really look at what went wrong. I remember Terrell Davis talking about the 1998 season where they were undefeated late in the season. He said that those late season losses were huge as they were the first time the team really had to take a hard look at themselves and actually see they did have some weaknesses that needed work. Last year the loss to the Steelers was that game where I remember hearing that Kubiak talked to the whole team about it was time to dig deep and decide what they are made of as a team.

Just a quick injury report...
For the Broncos D. Ware was the only one who did not practice. This was a big week for him though as he went back to see how his arm was healing and see if he could actually be ready to play next week against the Texans.
Limited was Trevor Siemian and Kayvon Webster for the 2nd day in a row.
The rest of the team was a full practice. So for a Thursday game this team is about as healthy as you can hope for.

The Chargers have not been so lucky. With so many players on IR and then you add Jahleel Addae and Brandon Flowers have yet to practice this week. Limited were Joe Barksdale, Orlando Franklin, Chris Hairston, Craig Mager, Denzel Perryman, Drew Kaser, and Dexter McCluster.

I think we/media need to pull back on the reins a tad when giving Atlanta all this talk of being contenders,etc because they beat are beloved Broncos. First like CEH pointed out the D besides allowing Coleman to exploit them and some unforgivable run gains up the middle of the line, played well enough to win if the Offense wasn`t so anemic for 3 1/2 qtrs. Coming in to the game, Atlanta only had 4 sacks in 4 games. They got six vs Denver. I think it would be safe to say the O-line and Lynch cold split the responsibility for those sacks. Atlanta, IMO, isn`t as good as our " offense " made them look. The final points Denver scored were complete junk points ( and Atlanta played much softer D ) to any of you that think the final score was at least "respectable". Not. As far as SD game goes, Denver has not performed very well on Thurs night games for the most part and even if a sore Siemian and Stephenson plays, this game will go down to the wire. The motivation for Kubes, could be the difference in this one. Go Broncos. Go QB. Go O-line.

 

[cdumler7]

I think we/media need to pull back on the reins a tad when giving Atlanta all this talk of being contenders,etc because they beat are beloved Broncos. First like CEH pointed out the D besides allowing Coleman to exploit them and some unforgivable run gains up the middle of the line, played well enough to win if the Offense wasn`t so anemic for 3 1/2 qtrs. Coming in to the game, Atlanta only had 4 sacks in 4 games. They got six vs Denver. I think it would be safe to say the O-line and Lynch cold split the responsibility for those sacks. Atlanta, IMO, isn`t as good as our " offense " made them look. The final points Denver scored were complete junk points ( and Atlanta played much softer D ) to any of you that think the final score was at least "respectable". Not. As far as SD game goes, Denver has not performed very well on Thurs night games for the most part and even if a sore Siemian and Stephenson plays, this game will go down to the wire. The motivation for Kubes, could be the difference in this one. Go Broncos. Go QB. Go O-line.

Oh I agree with a lot of this. Broncos defense didn't play as bad as some are making it sound and I agree the Falcons defense is not as good as we made them look. We had a terrible game plan going into the game, executed that game plan terribly, and didn't make adjustments until the end of the game when things were for the most part already decided. Just an all around bad game for everybody involved. Hopefully it is one of those great learning experiences.

Now onto something I don't agree with. We have not been terrible on Thursday games as you suggest. In fact the Broncos have won the last 4 Thursday Night games they have been involved with. We played the Panthers to start the season on Thursday (which remember it is less prep time than most teams get so I guess for me I still qualify that as a Thursday game). Last year we beat the Chiefs in week 2 on Thursday. That was a close one that came down to the final seconds but on the road in a game that both the Chiefs and their fans were pretty fired up to show they were the class of the AFC West I would say that was an impressive win.

In 2014 we beat the Chargers pretty solidly.

In 2013 we beat the Ravens to open the season on Thursday night then lost to the Chargers later in the year in a bad game that we still actually stood a chance of winning at the end. So again I wouldn't say Thursday has been our downfall. They are though pretty crazy games that are hard to predict.

 

[cdumler7]

Here is a great read for anybody interested. This was written by Chris Harris about the top-5 receivers that he has faced in his time in the NFL and what challenges each of them present. Also talks a little bit about his process to get ready for these type of guys. Really this article just shows the intelligence of Harris and how this guy wins just as much with his quick feet as he does with his head in knowing what the opposing team is trying to do.

The 5 Toughest Receivers I’ve Ever Covered | The Players' Tribune

 

[cdumler7]

San Diego's injury report does not look good for them. Jahleel Addae (starting SS) and Brandon Flowers (Starting Corner) are both listed as out for this game. Joe Barksdale, Orlando Franklin, Chris Hairston, Craig Mager, Dexter McCluster, and Denzel Perryman are all listed as questionable.

 

[Mingo]

Broncos DC Wade Phillips on Gary Kubiak: “We’re going to dedicate this game to him”

Wade Phillips - going to dedicate the game effort for Kubiak.

Phillips - also got off a funny line when asked by the reporters if he was asked to be the interim HC? Phillips shot back - 'No, has anyone seen my interim head coach record?'

 

[Mingo]

It will be interesting to see how the play calling goes against the Chargers with Kubiak out of the game plan and off the sidelines. I'm thinking it might be less cautious.

 

[randymon]

Oh I agree with a lot of this. Broncos defense didn't play as bad as some are making it sound and I agree the Falcons defense is not as good as we made them look. We had a terrible game plan going into the game, executed that game plan terribly, and didn't make adjustments until the end of the game when things were for the most part already decided. Just an all around bad game for everybody involved. Hopefully it is one of those great learning experiences.

Now onto something I don't agree with. We have not been terrible on Thursday games as you suggest. In fact the Broncos have won the last 4 Thursday Night games they have been involved with. We played the Panthers to start the season on Thursday (which remember it is less prep time than most teams get so I guess for me I still qualify that as a Thursday game). Last year we beat the Chiefs in week 2 on Thursday. That was a close one that came down to the final seconds but on the road in a game that both the Chiefs and their fans were pretty fired up to show they were the class of the AFC West I would say that was an impressive win.

In 2014 we beat the Chargers pretty solidly.

In 2013 we beat the Ravens to open the season on Thursday night then lost to the Chargers later in the year in a bad game that we still actually stood a chance of winning at the end. So again I wouldn't say Thursday has been our downfall. They are though pretty crazy games that are hard to predict.

Hey Cd, glad we both agree on at least something lately. . On to Denver on Thursday night games.....first off, I " never suggested " like you said " I suggested " that Denver has played " terrible " in Thursday games. I said they have not " performed very well ". By that I mean.....yes, they have won, but on several occasions they come out flat, made uncharacteristic stupid plays, kept games closer than they should have ., Let a rb,wr or te have a career game vs defense, etc etc.. They always seem distracted or off kilter and make some ( actually all ) of them lately, closer than they should be. That's my recollection and quite frankly besides GB game I can't remember last time I relaxed in 4th qtr in any Bronco game in last 10 yrs.

 

[cdumler7]

Hey Cd, glad we both agree on at least something lately. . On to Denver on Thursday night games.....first off, I " never suggested " like you said " I suggested " that Denver has played " terrible " in Thursday games. I said they have not " performed very well ". By that I mean.....yes, they have won, but on several occasions they come out flat, made uncharacteristic stupid plays, kept games closer than they should have ., Let a rb,wr or te have a career game vs defense, etc etc.. They always seem distracted or off kilter and make some ( actually all ) of them lately, closer than they should be. That's my recollection and quite frankly besides GB game I can't remember last time I relaxed in 4th qtr in any Bronco game in last 10 yrs.

I guess to me if you win on Thursday that is pretty darn good considering it is a very shortened week with guys still banged up and the game plan has to be simplified more than usual. So yes mistakes will be made but that is what happens when the usual schedule for a team is interrupted. As long as they win I count it as a triple victory. One being that you actually got the win, two being that you now have almost an extra Bye week to rest up and have time to prepare for your next opponent, and three being they are usually divisional games so they count extra. I'll take an ugly win on a Thursday. Like I said they are unpredictable. We have seen good teams get completely blown out. These seem to be the games that get a bit lopsided at times.

And sorry I misquoted your word usage.

 

[cdumler7]

It will be interesting to see how the play calling goes against the Chargers with Kubiak out of the game plan and off the sidelines. I'm thinking it might be less cautious.

I'm interested in this too. As much as I know Rick Dennison is a huge contributor to the game plan he has never actually called a game as the OC if I remember right. So big week for him in adjusting to his new expectations as a coach. Has me a bit nervous but maybe there are things about this offense that he sees that maybe Kubiak hasn't seen to call in the game. I know Dennison is the guy up top watching what a team is doing and he is the guy that usually helps make the adjustments especially at half time. For the most part the Broncos have had their best offensive output after the half so I think Dennison knows what he is seeing and knows what will work.

 

[randymon]

I guess to me if you win on Thursday that is pretty darn good considering it is a very shortened week with guys still banged up and the game plan has to be simplified more than usual. So yes mistakes will be made but that is what happens when the usual schedule for a team is interrupted. As long as they win I count it as a triple victory. One being that you actually got the win, two being that you now have almost an extra Bye week to rest up and have time to prepare for your next opponent, and three being they are usually divisional games so they count extra. I'll take an ugly win on a Thursday. Like I said they are unpredictable. We have seen good teams get completely blown out. These seem to be the games that get a bit lopsided at times.

And sorry I misquoted your word usage.

So.....if they lose and even though the other team is under same circumstances, that's acceptable and then you can say " well they didn't perform well enough to win cause the other team ........cheated ?, was more prepared?, took advantage of Denver's sloppy play ? They won ugly ? Had better looking cheerleaders ?. My reply was Denver hasn't performed well on Thursday games. You disagree and then say doesn't matter if it was ugly, they won. Doesn't " not perform well " and " ugly " seem shockingly " similar " ? I never mentioned wins or losses, just said they haven't performed well. You are funny guy.

 

[cdumler7]

So.....if they lose and even though the other team is under same circumstances, that's acceptable and then you can say " well they didn't perform well enough to win cause the other team ........cheated ?, was more prepared?, took advantage of Denver's sloppy play ? They won ugly ? Had better looking cheerleaders ?. My reply was Denver hasn't performed well on Thursday games. You disagree and then say doesn't matter if it was ugly, they won. Doesn't " not perform well " and " ugly " seem shockingly " similar " ? I never mentioned wins or losses, just said they haven't performed well. You are funny guy.

Seems like you like to really read way too much into what I type and never get out of it what I try to get across. Thursday games I go into them knowing that some weird things are going to happen. I understand that there will be moments where miscommunication happen and bad play happens. Both teams will experience this. It is why for me just getting a win on a Thursday game makes it a good game. Especially when you add in it usually means a win against a divisional opponent and 10 days to now prepare for your next game where your opponent most likely only had 7.

So really it comes down to perspective. If you expect the team to play perfectly every play then yes by your standards the Broncos haven't played well on Thursday games. If you go by my standards then they have done pretty well on Thursday night games.