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Published on 10/16/2007 at Tue Oct 16 08:51.
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The Key to Victory is QB Pressure

Posted Tue Oct 16th by

In advance of our game versus Pittsburgh, I looked back at two previous Steeler games…

The first game was our last meeting, when we pounded them 31-20 in Nov. 2006. I’ll leave our offense completely out of this conversation (as we have a different QB, RB, WR, O-line, etc, etc).

The thing that stood out for me was the shear number of fumbles, interceptions and sacks. While Denver had NO turnovers in that game, Pittsburgh had 6 fumbles (3 that we recovered) and 3 interceptions. Big Ben was sacked 4 times versus only 1 sack of then-QB-Plummer. The shear number of turn-overs is amazing and as I recall watching this game, I remember thinking that we were putting all kinds of pressue on Roethlisberger.

Now, game two in review… Pittsburgh has only suffered one loss this year and it was to Arizona. Let’s take a look at that game shall we?

Most of the important game stats (i.e. passing, rushing, punting, time of possession, etc) were pretty balanced in this game. However, Ben Roethlisberger was sacked 4 times, he threw 2 interceptions and fumbled twice. And although Arizona didn’t actually pick up any of the Pittsburgh fumbles, they still disrupted Ben enough to squeeze out a home victory.

So, what do the 2-3 Denver Broncos need to do in order to win at home this week against 4-1 Pittsburgh? We need to put the pressure on Ben! We need to find a way to destroy the pocket and force Roethlisberger into errors which should provide turn-overs and thus a victory.

I’m not claiming to know HOW to get this done mind you – I’ll leave that to more skilled thinkers than me. I just know what goal Jim Bates should have this week as he prepares for the Steelers visit: Bring the pressure – Force the turn-overs!

GO BRONCOS!
-Jonathan Douglas
BroncoTalk.net

  • http://broncotalk.net Kyle

    Couldn’t agree more. Considering the AFC Championship Game, I can remember Roethlisberger having what seemed like hours in the pocket, converting third down after third down. When you consider the moves we made this offseason, I would say we had a greater emphasis on pass rush (Dumervil, Rice starting; Jarvis Moss our first round pick; Marcus Thomas).

    These guys need to step up and show that if they’re going to struggle against the run, AT LEAST they’re going to pin their ears back and wreak havoc in the opponent’s backfield. And if the defensive staff can’t figure that out then we really are in trouble.

  • Brandon

    I’m sorry, I totally disagree. We’ve already got decent pressure on the QB this year, at least much greater than in previous years (Elvis may set the sack record this season).

    If there is one “key”, it’s got to be improving our run D. We almost lost to the BUFFALO BILLS, and we probably would have lost if they had rushed more. Willie Parker will absolutely demolish us if we don’t have a 180 degree improvement vs the first five games.

  • http://www.broncotalk.net Jonathan Douglas

    Actually, I think our run-D showed signs of improvement in our game versus SD. Before clobbering me, consider this…

    We gave up 214 rushing yards on 37 attempts (5.7 yards average) – that’s terrible. HOWEVER, 123 of those yards were on TWO plays (49 yard run in the 3rd quarter and 74 yard TD run in the 4th).

    If you remove just those two BIG plays, San Diego’s rushing average drops to 2.45 yards per carry.

    We held LT to 69 yards and also held Turner to 24 (outside of those two mentioned plays). That means that for 35 running plays (the whole game minus two blown plays) our defense did very good at stopping the run.

    Now we have to deal with preventing the BIG play from killing us, but I think we’re closer to putting on a good performance versus the run than most people think.

  • Ed

    Dude you are such a homer!!!! Denver does not have the personel on D to rush the passer!! You earn the right to rush the passer by shutting down the run, getting an early lead 7+ pts, and making a team have to throw the ball just to catch-up!!!! If you can’t stop the run with your front 7 it’s hard to beat a team consistantly on every down!! Ben’s Mobillity will also be a challenge for your defense!! Please look at your oponents objectively! Oh and Pittsburgh runs the ball better than SD!!! Get out of your rush lanes trying to presure Ben a quick speed screen to Parker and it’s an automatic 7!! Your rush d is just awefull and 2 weeks can’t cure it!! stopping the run is one of the most fundemental things of defensive football, and comes from fundemental tackling, scheme, attitude, size, and perssonel! I look for the Broncos to have early success shutting the Steelers down, based on emotion, but just like the AFC championship game you will succomb to a very big, physical O-line and a pro-bowl running back, along with his bruising back-up! the Steelers will presure Cuttler into mistakes! Remember Ben is more experienced than Cuttler and knows what it takes to when in the thin air of the Rocky mountains!!

    Good luck you are going to need it!!!

  • http://www.broncotalk.net Jonathan Douglas

    Ed,

    Welcome to Broncotalk!

    I have to begin by saying that both Kyle and I are equally quick to admit our homerism. We run a Denver Broncos Fan Blog, dude – we’re not hiding it! :)

    To your very valid points about Denver’s struggles versus the run – you’re right. I most certainly don’t think Denver will have an easy time stopping your RB’s. Pittsburgh is a great road team, and Ben is a big boy to bring down in his own right.

    My original post merely pointed out that the key to beating Pittsburgh is by pressuring the QB; although I didn’t (and still don’t) know how that can be accomplished with this personnel.

    I do stand by my statement that Denver’s defense versus the run was better against San Diego than it was in the first few weeks of the season. I would be happy if we could preform as well as we did for 35-out-of-37 plays against SD when we play the Steelers. I think that if we could limit Parker to 67 yards rushing (like we did to LT), we’d be in a much better position to pressure the QB and win the game.

    However, Denver will first need to overcome its recent tendency to give up the big play and turnovers.

    In the end, as is often the case, this game will be decided in the trenches. Which D-line vs which O-line will win the 60 minute fight down front. And with Denver’s damaged O-line and our struggling D-line, this game will be a very big test for our Broncos.

  • TustinBronco

    Ed,

    Put in a bib on dude, your blubbering rant is causing spittle to drip from your toothless mouth and down onto your food stained T-Shirt.