Broncos 16 – 49ers 24: Studs and Duds

Duds: Don't forget the kickers, everybody working together to fail

Now I know why this feels so weird. From SI:

Denver and Pittsburgh are the only NFL teams to avoid a season of 4-12 or worse since the 16-game schedule was instituted in 1978. The Steelers (5-2) already have assured themselves of avoiding the ignominy this year. Not so the Broncos, whose second half doesn't include a single game against a team with a worse record.

To the BT Guys:

Save yourselves some trouble each week and just copy and paste your last three paragraphs into the Studs and Duds layout for each of the next 8 games. Without some positive input from Pat Bowlen, they are assured of weekly “Duddom”.

Studs

– Lloyd: great story

– Marcus Thomas: Don't laugh, this guy has shown stready improvement all year and was all over the place yesterday. He is developing into a quality D lineman and plays with heart.

Duds

– O Line coach: He's becoming a permanent fixture to the dud list

– Colquitt: Terrible game

MT got smashed by a qb…

I just thought about what we could have done with Doom this season……I think we would have beaten at least 2 teams this year if we had him… :'(

I can sort of agree to this. Defense played different with Robert Ayers on the field. With Ayes and Dumervil… We have a whole other season…

i think its raheem morris who says that

Good point. Him going down just kind of set the tone for the whole season.

Season-to-date and the reason we're in this giant mess Dud: Running game.

Kyle has been a stud every game, but he has his limitations, the biggest one being he's not Peyton Manning. Now he's at the point he has to try to win the game himself, and he's not that good, but neither are 99.999% of NFL players. Still that mentality leads to some more risky decisions and then turn-overs. This team can not over come turn overs. If we had a line that took pride in run blocking and running backs that REFUSED to be bottled up, we wouldn't be in such a deep hole. I see our QB and for the most part our WRs work their asses off each game, some times better than others, but I don't see the same from our RBs.

Our D has been better than I expected, and given our O a chance to get an early lead in most games. Our O has not gotten the job done. I see that as both talent and coaching/play calling issues.

um no Orton has not been a stud whatsoever. see stud QB's can actually throw for TD's where as Orton cant do that. never has. alot of yards and no TD's……….sounds like Jay Cutler with a weak ass arm. but look on the bright side, at least we wont lose this week. we will be lucky to win 4 games this year. a nice top 5 pick should net us somebody that McD will totally misuse and neglect then he will be traded for a 7th round TE the next year.

Good critical feedback by J. Kenneth K., Mr. Montogomery and E. Halsey Miles. As for the running game, it seems Moreno's best run is always his first or second one (whereas Shanahan, at least, could script the first 15 plays).

Then, of course, we'd have to hold on for dear life with passive cover-2 under Mike (who was equally gutless on defense).

But, it seems like McDaniels refuses to do what many fans are calling for in terms of stretching the defense early (as he did against the Jets on the first series).

He also refused to involve Scheffler all last season (particularly in the first-half when he was raring to go). Shanahan also was gun-shy about letting Jay Cutler air it out early on (despite it being particularly helpful due to Jay being so geeked-up at the game's start).

The theme? I know better than those stupid fans (because I see all the film and practices etc.. etc..).

But the phrase “the forest for the trees” is obviously lost on a head-coach whom many of us urged to address the TE position and some of us urged to sign LaGarrette Blount.

So, add Blount's name to the Kory Lichtensteiger, Ryan Torain, Peyton Hillis, Tim Crowder, Brian Orakpo list of players we easily could have had contributing here (if not for Coach Knows-It-All). Size, speed, balance and power apparently took a backseat to whatever objections Josh had to his ability to absorb his needlessly-complex playbook (while appearing like a choir-boy).

Shanahan passed on DeSean Jackson for similar reasons. So the similarities between McD and Shanahan continue (even though Josh, thankfully, got over his worries about Perrish Cox to select him in round-five).

As for the 49ers loss' positive side, at least Josh remembered that Tight Ends aren't Tackle Eligible's by another name (and even had Orton complete a pass or three to Graham and Gronkowski).

And the unfair chop-block call on Moreno– who could've avoided even that remote possibility, if he simply followed through on his block before turning around– certainly hurt.

But when all was dull and lifeless, it was the pass to the deep middle to Lloyd that woke up the Broncos and lit a spark under the defense too. Unfortunately, Josh continues to waste a quarter or more every week by hoping to repeat the success of the Moreno run/end-around reverses (that are two-thirds of his game-opening offense).

The other third is the smoke or bubble-screen. Which leads me to wonder when all this talk about whole new game-plans every week will materialize? Oh, I guess they change the formations on these three plays every now and then.

Which is clearly not something they do much on defense (which is the most vanilla scheme in the league outside of everyone's pre-season's efforts).

No “Amoeba Formation,” or run-blitzes can be used (since they risk vindicating something associated with Mike Nolan).

And no overloaded blitzess that strand an offensive-lineman blocking air can be done (since they would only illustrate how rare the tactic has been used previously). Sorta like the less-rare but common-elsewhere stunts where defensive linemen loop around each other or drop into Dick LeBeau's six basic permutations of the zone-blitz.

Boy, it sure must be hard to coach against yourself (when spin-doctoring takes precedence over doing whatever was necessary to win).

But, such is life in the McBowlen era. And I say McBowlen since Mr. “Standing-Pat” Bowlen deserves the biggest Dud week-in and week-out (and its time that fans organized a boycott of buying his merchandise until he finally addresses these annual deficiencies).

Like, uh, hiring a coach who understands that the 3-4 enables a team to better disguise blitzes. Like, uh, spending money for a real GM and a top-flight defensive-coordinator (who aren't wholly dependent on McDaniels approval and can, therefore, provide unvarnished critiques to the not-so-football-savvy owner).

Its not like Joe Ellis or Mrs. Bowlen are capable of that. And you don't expect McDaniels to admit to any of these flaws, do you?

Personally, I'm waiting until we address the Front Seven in rounds 1-2 for two consecutive years before I spend a dime on anything Broncos. And, although I tried to buy a Brown Brian Dawkins Jersey when we were 6-0 last year, they were all sold out (so I can say that I've resisted the impulse for three years running).

What can I say? I love earth tones.

What I despise is how readily Broncos Nation has accepted Bowlen fielding the annual equivalent of 98-pound weakling teams that never punch anyone else in the mouth.

Instead of wasting early picks on Bruton, Quinn, McBath, Alphonso Smith and Moreno, we should have been beginning the three year project of constructing a defensive line (that does more than simply occupy blockers). The Chiefs began this task and have already moved on to adding speed elsewhere throughout their roster. And the Raiders also have d-line talent that require double-teams. But Denver? Its always the same sad song (as if by ignoring these logical premises, we won't have to end up paying in losses for the extra 2 seconds we allow opponents to throw the ball).

If we had Pittsburgh's linebackers, it would be tolerable to construct a front-three whose jobs are to retain gap-integrity and occupy four blockers. But we don't (and as hard as Mario Haggan plays, he and Joe Mays, Ryan McBean and Justin Bannan will never be the kind of cornerstones a franchise can be constructed around).

Its the bargain-basement Broncos and McDaniels has to hold his tongue about Bowlen's financial troubles (in exchange for getting his first-job).

Too bad our owner has no outside revenue stream (and probably invested in the same Ponzi scheme that took St. John's coffers for $10 million dollars).

If he had any concern or respect for Broncos Nation, Bowlen would sell to someone who could do better than signing Daniel Graham and Dale Carter as the only two high-profile, outside free-agents to be acquired this decade. But I guess the Bowlen family's bottom-line must take precedence over the dreams and wishes of millions of Broncos fans (who can no longer coast on memories of “this one's for John”).

But money isn't always linked to success in the NFL, when teams like the Steelers and Giants have the discipline to follow a Front-Seven Template (year-in and year-out).

But just like our lack of pressure and lack of blitz packages. And our poor pass defense getting less column inches than out poorer run defense.

The amount of problems in Denver have become so numerous that they individually escape addressing and attention (especially with our near-worthless reporters of the obvious at the butt-kissing “Denver Post.”)

You almost don't know where to begin, so its somehow easier to have a new QB being developed every 3 years to attract our attention (like moths to a flame).

Its worked well for Bowlen these last 7 years as the Plummer-Cutler-Orton-Tebow story-lines have commanded most of the chatter.

I just wish we could have begun the slow but unavoidable task of building the front-seven through the draft instead of endlessly seeking d-backs who can accomplish the impossible: i.e.cover for 5-6 seconds and still come up with interceptions occasionally.

It hasn't worked before and it will never work. Too bad, Mr. Bowlen has us in a corner where he gets an endless amount of seasons to attempt this futile goal.

And now we also have a coach who doesn't see the linkage between the lack of a seam-stretching receiving TE– see Marcedes Lewis, Dallas Clark, Owen Daniels, Kellen Winslow Jr., Antonio Gates etc.. etc..– and the resulting throttling of our run-game (which won't improve no matter what record McDaniels sets for changing the O-line personnel every week).

As we head into 2011, I can see some “Denver Post” story reminding us how the same 5 starters only played 3-4 games together in 2010. So what can we expect?

Better analytical reporting, coaching, player personnel decisions and better accountability for the entire organization. As it is now, the GM and the head-coach are answerable to Pat Bowlen (who only seems to care about rookie signing bonuses and TV rights).

Stud: Brady Quinn who makes more money riding the bench than Orton does. That's a stud in my book.

Mike Shannahan is working out JaMarcus Russell (Sorry for hijacking)

Duds abound on our Broncos. Yes Bowlen, Ellis and Xanders are big dud's with regards to their role in the assessment of McNugget's ability to be a HC. Without a doubt, McNugget is the biggest DUD we have. The eTrade babies could do a better job play calling… That and the lack of talent on this team, falls squarely on McNuggets shoulders. This is his team! He not only has traded away vital talent but more importantly he has run off quality coaches. Nolan, Dennison and Turner are gone and look where we are now. Can't run, can't block and can't tackle, but we got CHARACTER!

Looks like Bowlen got his wish, taking his team in another direction…

It was actually Scotty Bowman if I want to be a dick about it. But I am not. =)

The e-trade babies would make an awesome coaching staff.

My tendency is to keep giving McDaniels some more time. He didn't get stupid overnight. There have been a lot of great coaches that struggled their first couple of years. I think he has done great with Orton but Orton is not a clutch quarterback. He does not come up big when he needs to. Throw Tebow in there for a quarter and see what he does.

Ahaha, that's the official headshot image from the NFL and Denver Broncos, it's terrible.