Random Thoughts on the Broncos Game

[Direckshun]

I re-watch games throughout the week and found that starting a thread and discussing any number of random things I notice is enjoyable both for me and some folks.

If you'd rather not re-live this game, I suggest you put this thread on a very civil ignore.

Sorry about last week and the Raiders thread. As I mentioned, I had to get myself right after confronting some stuff in the family. This week, I should be fine.

On with the show.

[Direckshun]

Before the kickoff, a Broncos fan in the stands has a #BerryStrong poster out there.

I've always had mad respect for Broncos fans. It's easier to be a great fan when your franchise is awesome, but still it's a very thoughtful thing that the fan didn't have to do.

[Direckshun]

Pretty hysterical this game was a match of the Chiefs' current kicker Cairo Santos against a Chiefs reject Connor Barth. Neither kicker can reliably kick it deep, and I don't know if either hit the end zone once on a kickoff.

[The Franchise]

Pretty hysterical this game was a match of the Chiefs' current kicker Cairo Santos against a Chiefs reject Connor Barth. Neither kicker can reliably kick it deep, and I don't know if either hit the end zone once on a kickoff.

Barth did and I believe Santos did once or twice when he had someone holding the ball for him.

[MIAdragon]

Have not looked at the stats but I wonder if short kicking it and allowing a return results in poorer field position than simply taking a touch back.

[Easy 6]

This game sliced a nice fat piece of optimism right out of me, not only the losing but HOW they lost... it was worse than the Indy game in many ways IMO.

[Direckshun]

First play out of the gate by Andy Reid:

Avery and De'Anthony Thomas out wide, with Bowe in the slot. Smith in shotgun with Charles staggered behind him, and Fasano in-line with Fisher.

De'Anthony motions across on a fake jet sweep, Smith fakes the handoff the Charles. Two handoffs to our speedsters, hoping to suck Denver in.

Denver doesn't suck in, at all. Only the four down-lineman are at the LOS, everybody else has dropped into coverage. Alex Smith then unloads for Avery, which is what the play was designed to do from the start.

Possibly the worst throw of Alex Smith's career, however. Holy shit. A 30-yard throw that lands so far away from whereever Avery is that there's no chance to make a play.

Crazy thing is, Avery was in single coverage and was running on the numbers. He had a sideline he could work with. But Smith elects to go inside with the pass, and it's dramatically out of Avery's reach.

Edit: Noted -- Fasano blocked Ware on the play, Fisher down-blocked on the tackle trying to sell the defense on a runplay for Charles.

[Direckshun]

2nd play out of the gate:

Smith in shotgun, Charles staggered off behind. Bowe, Thomas, and Kelce in a bunch formation on the far side. Fasano standing up off the RT.

Quick fake to Charles, then a bubble screen to Thomas behind Kelce and Bowe -- Von Miller read it brilliantly, but just couldn't get his hand on the ball as Alex zipped it by him.

Bowe and Kelce are ideal for blocking, but T.J. Ward blows them both up. Thomas is still too brilliant on these things, and wriggles six yards out of the play.

[TEX]

This game sliced a nice fat piece of optimism right out of me, not only the losing but HOW they lost... it was worse than the Indy game in many ways IMO.

Yep. They were completely dominated and out coached. No doubt who the better team was/is. The game was not as "close" as the score indicates.

[The Franchise]

Thomas needs to be taken off of punt returns. Give that job to Wilson.

[Direckshun]

3rd play out of the gate:

Smith in shotgun, Charles off to his right. Bowe, Avery, and Kelce out on the RT side, and Fasano in-line next to Fisher.

Fasano takes off down the field, leaving Fisher mano vs. mano against Ware, who torches Fisher with a devastating spin move to the inside.

Smith is too quick with the ball, and has his choice of three slants: a quick slant to Avery, an intermediate slant to Bowe, or a sideline-slant to Kelce.

Broncos play it fairly well, doubling Avery's route. Chris Harris expects the slant all the way (it's the only real play Alex and Dwayne have), and jacks up the pass. Time to punt.

Kelce has a CB all to himself cutting in from the sideline, however. At a certain point you'd think Smith could capitalize on that.

Whatever.

[The Franchise]

Kelce has a CB all to himself cutting in from the sideline, however. At a certain point you'd think Smith could capitalize on that.

Whatever.

Never. Going. To. Happen.

[Chiefnj2]

2nd play out of the gate:

Smith in shotgun, Charles staggered off behind. Bowe, Thomas, and Kelce in a bunch formation on the far side. Fasano standing up off the RT.

Quick fake to Charles, then a bubble screen to Thomas behind Kelce and Bowe -- Von Miller read it brilliantly, but just couldn't get his hand on the ball as Alex zipped it by him.

Bowe and Kelce are ideal for blocking, but T.J. Ward blows them both up. Thomas is still too brilliant on these things, and wriggles six yards out of the play.

You forgot to mention the horrendous attempt at a cut block.

[Easy 6]

Yep. They were completely dominated and out coached. No doubt who the better team was/is. The game was not as "close" as the score indicates.

Reid and co. took a huge hit in my book with this one... I can understand the dynamics behind the Raider loss more than this abortion.

The offensive talent disparity is one thing, but the gameplan was just sooo uninspired and it was poorly executed at that... after a mini-bye.

No extensive shifts, motioning or other trickery like in the past, two of our three most explosive players mostly rode the bench, throwing it around while Davis and DAT sat, while Charles was virtually ignored again .. it was sad.

[Direckshun]

On the Broncos' first play, they hand it off to CJ Anderson.

Chiefs have Bailey, Poe, and Howard as downlineman, with Hali and Houston in their usual spots. Mauga and JMJ at ILB.

CJ gets stuck trying to run up the gut on Poe, but Poe shoves a lineman back into his lap, but nobody wraps up and he wiggles forward for a 6 yard gain.

Mauga and JMJ have HORRENDOUS gap integrity on the play. They both step up behind the DEs, and get isolated from the play, getting washed out with the trash. Poe makes the play single-handedly as Gaines steps in to finish him off.

[Direckshun]

You forgot to mention the horrendous attempt at a cut block.

You're not wrong.

[Aspengc8]

First play out of the gate by Andy Reid:

Avery and De'Anthony Thomas out wide, with Bowe in the slot. Smith in shotgun with Charles staggered behind him, and Fasano in-line with Fisher.

De'Anthony motions across on a fake jet sweep, Smith fakes the handoff the Charles. Two handoffs to our speedsters, hoping to suck Denver in.

Denver doesn't suck in, at all. Only the four down-lineman are at the LOS, everybody else has dropped into coverage. Alex Smith then unloads for Avery, which is what the play was designed to do from the start.

Possibly the worst throw of Alex Smith's career, however. Holy shit. A 30-yard throw that lands so far away from whereever Avery is that there's no chance to make a play.

Crazy thing is, Avery was in single coverage and was running on the numbers. He had a sideline he could work with. But Smith elects to go inside with the pass, and it's dramatically out of Avery's reach.

Edit: Noted -- Fasano blocked Ware on the play, Fisher down-blocked on the tackle trying to sell the defense on a runplay for Charles.

designed deep post. Could you see how the safeties were aligned pre-snap, and if they rolled? I saw one safety & the corner trailing avery near where the pass landed. Either way he couldn't get behind anyone.

[Direckshun]

2nd and four, same down linemen for the Chiefs. Same personnel everywhere, except now Mauga and JMJ have switched sides.

CJ Anderson with a huge run off the LT right through where Allen Bailey is supposed to be.

Orlando Franklin at RG erases Bailey from the play, totally isolating him inside. Hali and JMJ -- who are both playing that side -- are erased. Hali gets pushed way outside by Clady. JMJ actually starts the play standing at the LOS, but can't shed an OL to save his life. Abdullah is actually in the box on the play, and steps out wide, but CJ one-cuts it inside for a huge gain and a first down.

[Direckshun]

designed deep post. Could you see how the safeties were aligned pre-snap, and if they rolled? I saw one safety & the corner trailing avery near where the pass landed. Either way he couldn't get behind anyone.

I didn't look like Avery beat anybody, but he did have a ton of sideline to work with if Alex took the shot there.

Instead, Smith inexplicably went inside.

[Mile High Mania]

Do you really post play by play...

[Direckshun]

New 1st and ten, same personnel for the Chiefs everywhere.

Broncos attempt running Anderson again off tackle, but perfect gap integrity foils them.

Most importantly, Hali stays on the outside, never letting Clady get outside of him and allowing Anderson to turn the corner. This stalls Anderson.

Trying to get to the outside of Bailey actually plays into his strengths. Bailey sheds one OL and blows up another trying to get to Anderson, who is turning in thanks to Hali's work on the edge.

Mauga swoops in and bats clean-up. Maybe a 2 yard gain.

Edit: Actually Mauga swoops in and absorbs another blocker. It's actually 330-lb Dontari Poe who gets all the way out to the numbers and shuts Anderson down.

[Direckshun]

Do you really post play by play...

I go where the day takes me.

Like I said, you can put the thread on ignore if that's too much.

[Direckshun]

Chiefs staying with the same personnel, and shut down Anderson again.

This time the Broncos try to run behind their RG, right at Jaye Howard.

Howard beasts. He's doubled at the point of attack, stacks up both blockers and secures the tackle.

He's flanked by good plays, too. Houston contains on the outside, and Poe blasts through the OL.

[Baby Lee]

This game sliced a nice fat piece of optimism right out of me, not only the losing but HOW they lost... it was worse than the Indy game in many ways IMO.

Way worse than the Indy game, IMO. We got way up in the Indy game, tons of people, a freakish 1:1,000,000 amount, got hurt. It was a destiny/luck thing.

Last Sunday night was a schooling on a quality team versus a team masking a lot of chronic problems. We do have a lot of people hurt, but a lot of the big impact people we're missing have been gone a while and it appeared that we had adapted.

Indy was 'this just wasn't your day'
Denver was 'you don't belong here.'

[Direckshun]

3rd and six. One of many in the 1st half where they simply couldn't get Manning off the field.

Chiefs in dime. Poe and Bailey down, Hali and Houston on the edge, Mauga and Abdullah as your LBs. Parker and Coleman playing what looks like a cover 2.

Sean Smith has Demaryius Thomas covered fine on the outside, but the Broncos run a good looking criss-cross route -- Sanders starts off the LT and cuts across the middle, and Anderson comes out of the backfield off RT and cuts the other way.

The weird thing is the Chiefs never attempt to line up anybody across from Sanders. Mauga draws the assignment and fails to keep up with him across the field. Abdullah flinches to the inside with Anderson but then sees the pass and is too late to get there.

Sanders catches the ball in stride with both defenders trailing. Big gain.

[Direckshun]

Anderson up the gut against on the Chiefs' dime defense. Poe is doubled and Bailey is blocked to the side. Mauga fills the gap but an OL smothers him and erases him. Abdullah is in the mix, but isn't a factor. Anderson bursts through for 8 yards.

[Direckshun]

Chiefs back out in base defense. Broncos attempt to run Anderson off LT, but Anderson is blown up right off the hand off.

The 6th OL doesn't get across the line to Hali fast enough. Hali swallows up Anderson. Howard gets crazy penetration and also gets there in a hurry.

Even Allen Bailey stalls up the OL he's facing.

[TEX]

Reid and co. took a huge hit in my book with this one... I can understand the dynamics behind the Raider loss more than this abortion.

The offensive talent disparity is one thing, but the gameplan was just sooo uninspired and it was poorly executed at that... after a mini-bye.

No extensive shifts, motioning or other trickery like in the past, two of our three most explosive players mostly rode the bench, throwing it around while Davis and DAT sat, while Charles was virtually ignored again .. it was sad.

Exactly - The game plan allowed Denver to basically do the SAME thing (blitz and run blitz) all game long. You're also spot on with your assessment of the completely motion free offense and of the lack of personnel used - Just mind boggling that Knile Davis was NOWHERE to be found. especially when you consider that he had a great deal of success week 2 in Denver. The offense was so stale, I thought I was watching a Herm Edwards game plan. :shake:

[Direckshun]

Another 3rd down, this time 3rd and 5.

Sean Smith and Chris Owens cheat in on the WRs at the last second before the snap. Manning freaks and calls TO. Looks like he was eyeing Demaryius really hard before Smith showed press man at the last second.

[Direckshun]

Actually play for 3rd and 5:

Thomas on a go route out of the slot on Sean Smith. It looks like Parker choked up to take away Sanders who was coming WIDE OPEN across the middle for a second time. The second Parker took a step forward, Smith had no help over the top and Manning lobs a TD pass to him.

[Mile High Mania]

Actually play for 3rd and 5:

Thomas on a go route out of the slot on Sean Smith. It looks like Parker choked up to take away Sanders who was coming WIDE OPEN across the middle for a second time. The second Parker took a step forward, Smith had no help over the top and Manning lobs a TD pass to him.

http://i.imgur.com/l1wKI.gif

[Easy 6]

Way worse than the Indy game, IMO. We got way up in the Indy game, tons of people, a freakish 1:1,000,000 amount, got hurt. It was a destiny/luck thing.

Last Sunday night was a schooling on a quality team versus a team masking a lot of chronic problems. We do have a lot of people hurt, but a lot of the big impact people we're missing have been gone a while and it appeared that we had adapted.

Indy was 'this just wasn't your day'
Denver was 'you don't belong here.'

That's why I'm tired of hearing about the injuries, pretty much every team takes big injury hits and the good ones don't let it keep them down for long... Denver didn't have Talib or their bigshot tight end.

We have a deeper team than last year that's now well into its second year in this system, there just isnt any viable excuse to look the way they did in this game.

Exactly - The game plan allowed Denver to basically do the SAME thing (blitz and run blitz) all game long. You're also spot on with your assessment of the completely motion free offense and of the lack of personnel used - Just mind boggling that Knile Davis was NOWHERE to be found. especially when you consider that he had a great deal of success week 2 in Denver. The offense was so stale, I thought I was watching a Herm Edwards game plan. :shake:

Charles, Davis and Thomas... three of our four most explosive players were barely involved in the gameplan, it was an absolute abortion, very Herm/Solari-like indeed.

[Direckshun]

Alright, let's cover the Chiefs' next 3 and out, shall we?

First play is a Charles run off LT with Sherman blocking out front.

The play is blown up when McGlynn and Hudson can't get their guys out of the way.

Fisher blows up Von Miller to the outside. But Derek Wolfe stacks McGlynn and Knighton stacks Hudson. Charles has no where to go so he bails upfield for a couple yards.

[Direckshun]

Next play, Bowe and Avery out to the near side, Charles the lone back. Smith under center.

Another run to the far side with Hudson pulling out in front. The play sets up decently -- Hudson clips his guy and Kelce is plowing downfield, but DeMarcus Ware destroys Fasano, casting him aside like a child.

Charles has no where to go at this point.

[Direckshun]

3rd and 8. Let's see what you got, Andy.

Chiefs are four wide, with a tight end just off Fisher. The tight end clips Ware, but it doesn't matter. Smith doesn't think he has anywhere to go, and collapses and gets sacked.

Ware gets no resistance on the play. Fisher sucks in to stop a blitzing Ward -- which he misses.

This play gets what it gets because McGlynn sucked in to block a DT that Hudson could have handled. Hudson's line calls are just horrid right now.

[The Franchise]

McGlynn is fucking garbage. There is no reason why he should be starting anymore.

[Chiefnj2]

The Denver game was great at demonstrating the overall lack of talent on the team. When Andy doesn't have a brilliant game plan to make up for the deficiencies of the players, the team comes out flat and looks like it did against Denver.

[TLO]

McGlynn is ****ing garbage. There is no reason why he should be starting anymore.

I blame Alex Smith.

[Mile High Mania]

This thread is at an intermission it would appear...

[vailpass]

Random thoughts on the game from the other side of the fence, the Broncos mobile app. Special love for Fisher and interesting news on how the fake punt came to be...

You wait all season for a moment like the one that faced David Bruton Jr. early in the second quarter of Sunday night's 29-16 win at Kansas City.

You need the right combination of elements: a favorable formation from the opposing punt rush/return team, proper field position with a reasonable amount needed for the line to gain, momentum that was only doused a bit by the third-down stop moments earlier, and, finally, by a penalty on the previous punt play that forced a do-over of the fourth down, which exhausted the Chiefs a bit.

"It's just been a thing a lot of teams practice, and that we have practiced for a while, and no better time than on Sunday Night Football against a division rival and you get the right look for that situation," said Bruton.

"I just knew that they were going to give us a look so I made the audible myself to make the play."

He made the call -- which is a lot to put on some players' shoulders. But the six-year veteran and special-teams captain is equipped to handle the burden.

"Actually, I [was] not nervous," he said. "I [was] excited because I've been looking for that look all year. It's something as a defensive back, as a special teams guy, you don't get the ball much in your hand. You're usually blocking for the guy or tackling the guy who has the ball. So I'm definitely excited to have the ball in my hand every chance I get."

The last time Bruton ran the football, he galloped 35 yards against Jacksonville last year. Against the Chiefs, he gained 13, but that still leaves him with a 24.0-yards-per-carry average with a pint-sized career sample size.

Bruton didn't make it happen alone, and the block by Corey Nelson on Charcandrick West was crucial to getting Bruton to the edge. Steven Johnson then steered Albert Wilson upfield and away from the play, and all Bruton had to do was beat Josh Martin to the edge.

It was a decisive play from a seasoned player and a team imbued with confidence in all three phases after a balky stretch in early November.

A PREMIUM PASS RUSH

In 2014, the Broncos' defense is second in the league in yardage per pass play allowed, permitting just 5.34 yards every time an opponent drops back to pass.

Much of that is due to their pass rush, which had its best performance against the Chiefs, catching them off guard first with some deceptive looks, and then by capitalizing off a pass-first mentality they had to employ to attempt a comeback.

Safety T.J. Ward had the first sack of Alex Smith on a third-and-8 to end the Chiefs' second possession, blitzing through the B-gap between left guard Mike McGlynn and left tackle Eric Fisher.

The Broncos ended up bringing only four pass rushers on the play, droppingDerek Wolfe into the spot vacated by Ward, who sprinted past McGlynn, who worked to double-team tackle Malik Jackson, working as the right defensive tackle.

Had Fisher been able to respond fast enough, he could have prevented the sack, and the Chiefs had a numerical advantage. They used tight end Anthony Fasano and running back Jamaal Charles to delay the edge rushes of DeMarcus Ware andVon Miller, respectively, before going outside on their routes. But Fisher was too slow and off-balance as he tried to get set before Ward blew past him, and the safety/nickel box linebacker had the 13-yard loss on the sack.

Kansas City's next possession ended in similar fashion, with a safety logging the sack, in this case Quinton Carter:

Again, the Broncos used a safety to attack through the B-gap. But instead of dropping a defensive tackle back, they attacked with Wolfe and Jackson. Wolfe drew a double team, and Jackson stunted around him, providing a secondary rush behind Carter, which sent Smith to his left -- and into Ware, who grappled with Fisher and easily escaped the second-year left tackle.

But one play before the sack came an equally effective pass rush that took away an element the Chiefs desperately needed as the game slipped from their control -- the screen pass to Charles:

Here, the Broncos rush five, working out of their base 4-3 personnel grouping, but in effect have a 3-4 alignment, with Miller and Ware working as stand-up outside linebackers. There's nothing fancy here: just dominant work off the edge forcing Smith to deliver the pass to Charles well before he's ready.

Normally, the screen pass reduces the effectiveness of the edge rush -- unless, of course, the defenders arrive so fast as to force an unsettled throw that renders the play dead on arrival.

If Smith was not under duress and delivered an accurate ball, the Chiefs could have ripped off a massive gain; the blockers were in place, and the Broncos' defensive backs were 10 yards back of the line of scrimmage, responding to the routes run by Chiefs receivers who took off after aligning in a bunch formation to the right flank.That created an opening that Charles could have exploited -- if Miller and Ware had not met at the QB.

[Mile High Mania]

I nearly sharted when I saw the fake punt at 4th and 7, given the lead - it was on the road and the field position it would have given KC had it failed. That was a brass balls call.

http://cdn.nextimpulsesports.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/fake.gif

[the Talking Can]

Alex Smith then unloads for Avery, which is what the play was designed to do from the start.

Possibly the worst throw of Alex Smith's career, however. Holy shit. A 30-yard throw that lands so far away from whereever Avery is that there's no chance to make a play.

Crazy thing is, Avery was in single coverage and was running on the numbers. He had a sideline he could work with. But Smith elects to go inside with the pass, and it's dramatically out of Avery's reach.



still makes me laugh till i cry that we thought leaning on Smith's (non-)ability to go deep was the smart play...yeah, let's lead the thing we're worst at...that'll fool 'em

Reid: "So, what's Smith's worst skill?"

Room full of coaches (in unison): "Throwing past 10 yards"

Reid: "Perfect...they'll never see it coming"

[eDave]

Do you really post play by play...

We believe Derickshun is insane.

[TLO]

This thread is at an intermission it would appear...

It was time for him to go pick up his adderall script at the pharmacy.

[Perineum Ripper]

http://i.imgur.com/l1wKI.gif

I know what he is saying

You and me..after the game..getting corn on the cob

[Mr. Laz]

McGlynn is fucking garbage. There is no reason why he should be starting anymore.

apparently he's hurt and not practicing


Reid just said that Harris will continue to start at RT

[Sorter]

designed deep post. Could you see how the safeties were aligned pre-snap, and if they rolled? I saw one safety & the corner trailing avery near where the pass landed. Either way he couldn't get behind anyone.

http://i.imgur.com/IOKZGuU.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/pKVwUfr.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/QllbM6D.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Tj9y90b.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/dRb0qFk.jpg

[The Franchise]

apparently he's hurt and not practicing


Reid just said that Harris will continue to start at RT

Not really a choice. Stephenson looked like dog shit when he came in.

[jonzie04]

Quick random thought- man its sad when you bring in a jag wr, who was cut from a losing team with a horrible wr corp, and he comes in and practices for 1 week and gets more yards than your 14m a year wr

[The Franchise]

OMG!11!11! BOWE IS THE SUX!!!!!!!

[jonzie04]

OMG!11!11! BOWE IS THE SUX!!!!!!!

Or maybe, avant is a god?

[The Franchise]

Or maybe, avant is a god?

LMAO

You're hilarious.

[Aspengc8]

http://i.imgur.com/IOKZGuU.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/pKVwUfr.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/QllbM6D.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Tj9y90b.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/dRb0qFk.jpg

Thanks for posting that. Looks like vanilla cover 3, and we only sent out two receivers (3 if you count DAT off the fake jet). Charles should have leaked out OR have fasano leak across after the initial double team.

[jonzie04]

Fwiw I dont think bowe sucks. I think hes still a 1200 1300 yard recevier on a lot of other teams, but I dont think hes worth 14m per here. But the whole situation is sad no matter whst angle you want to look at it from. Bowe underachieving, the o line not blocking long enough, smith choosing to feed jags instead of bowe, our coach not making bowe a bigger part of our game plan, whatever. The jag had more yards than bowe, and it makes me sad.

[Reerun_KC]

Quick random thought- man its sad when you bring in a jag wr, who was cut from a losing team with a horrible wr corp, and he comes in and practices for 1 week and gets more yards than your 14m a year wr
You rattle that cage and the Blowe Pops will unleash their fury on you.

Treading lightly would be wise.

[TEX]

Quick random thought- man its sad when you bring in a jag wr, who was cut from a losing team with a horrible wr corp, and he comes in and practices for 1 week and gets more yards than your 14m a year wr

Yep. Several people I watched the game with had the same take. Pathetic.

[Pasta Little Brioni]

Manning and an average softass squad took us to the woodshed in a game he didn't play well so not feeling great right now about this team.

[Pablo]

Ugh. There is no reason to re-live this abortion. This was a Broncos team imposing their will on a weaker, dumber, and scared team.