Hulamau
10-16-2006, 03:04 PM
If you take Kriegers points and add them to some of Kizla's you get a complete argument! :-)
Bottomline we CANNOT win it all playing like this on O, and we do most resemble Chicago of last year and will likely suffer the same fate (at best) without some serious re-adjustments. If JAke can handle a bigger role and get it done great .. maybe we win it all.
But if not, lets get the kid in there to break him in for an outside chance this year, and at least a much better chance to go all the way next year (i.e. see Grossman's performance this year after finally getting some real game experience at the end of last year).
But first and foremost, lets find out NOW if Jake can play as a complete QB and not drag this out to the bitter end only to get stomped when it counts.
Unchain Jake!!
Krieger: Broncos offense stuck in Stone Age
Dave Krieger
October 16, 2006
First, let me put to rest the rumors you've been hearing.
Mike Shanahan did not let Marty Schottenheimer call the plays by telephone Sunday night against the Raiders.
Nope. Not Chuck Knox, either.
It only looked that way.
Sure, on the surface it might have seemed like just another ballroom dance, sort of like all the others the Broncos have played this season. In fact, it was much more. Turns out, it was the product of a rare archeological find.
The Raiders' game plan was apparently discovered on a cave wall from the Cro-Magnon Era by the eminent archaeologist Richard Leakey, an authority on the dawn of man.
The Broncos' game plan may have had Paleozoic origins, although further study will be required.
Let's get out the magnifying glass, as archaeologists do. When the hapless Raiders finally scored in the third quarter, it took a fumble by Broncos punt returner Darrent Williams to set them up at their 48-yard line.
From there, they ran a 12-play drive that gained 23 yards. They made four first downs. These were the first-down calls from offensive coordinator Tom Walsh, who goes back so far he apparently drew the original plays Leakey found on the cave wall:
• LaMont Jordan runs wide right for no gain.
• LaMont Jordan is tackled behind the line of scrimmage for a 2-yard loss.
• LaMont Jordan runs wide left for a 1-yard loss.
• LaMont Jordan runs wide right for a 2-yard gain.
The Broncos' game plan was not much more adventurous. Their first five plays from scrimmage went to running back Tatum Bell. Then they threw in a run by Mike Bell for the element of surprise. If it hadn't been for Javon Walker, they might not have scored at all.
"With field position, when you've got the game won, you don't want to take too many chances," Mike Shanahan explained. "As I told our guys, we've got four wide receivers who never dressed a year ago. We've got two tight ends who never dressed a year ago. We've got a running back who never dressed a year ago." (what?!?)
So this is the explanation. After everything we've heard about all those "voluntary" offseason workouts and six weeks of training camp producing a finely-tuned machine, we discover now that the offense is still wearing name tags.
"When all is said and done, you play this game to win," said Jake Plummer, putting the best face on scoring 13 points against a Raiders team that was giving up 28 per game coming in.
"We'll find an answer. Coach Shanahan is one of the best offensive minds in the game."
It sounded like a gentle reminder. There is an undercurrent of unhappiness now in an offense very much aware that Shanahan is holding the reins tighter than he ever has.
"I just work here, man," said veteran Rod Smith, who had a single catch for 12 yards and now has 16 for 136 through five games. He used to get those numbers in two games; sometimes one, if it happened to be in Arizona.
"I just run the plays they call," he said. "We had a lot of opportunities we didn't take advantage of. I don't worry about me. I worry about the wins."
It's a good thing the Broncos didn't sign Terrell Owens during the offseason or the locker room commentary on their offense would be considerably more colorful than it has been.
Let's be honest: Struggling to score against the Ravens is one thing. Struggling to score against the Raiders is something else.
The Broncos now resemble the Bears of a year ago. They rely almost entirely on their defense to win games. As Plummer's beard grows, he looks more and more like Kyle Orton out there, managing a conservative game plan designed to put the outcome in somebody else's hands.
The defense, meanwhile, is having a ball. For the second week in a row, Champ Bailey was burned on a long pass play and promptly made up for it with an interception in or near the end zone.
For the second week in a row, his film study told him exactly what the opponent would do. A week ago, as soon as he saw 6-foot-6 receiver Clarence Moore enter the game for Baltimore, he knew it would be a fade. Apparently, this was all Moore was good for because the Ravens cut him later in the week.
This week, he recognized the Raiders' corner route for Randy Moss before it even developed. He actually ran the receiver's route, leaving Moss to chase him as if he were the defensive back. Give Raiders quarterback Andrew Walter credit: He hit Bailey in the hands, right in stride.
The Broncos are 4-1, having bounced back from an opening loss in much the way they did a year ago. That cannot be discounted. They are winning. The defense is even better than it was a year ago.
Still, they may have taken this defense-first thing a little farther than they intended. They are averaging 12.4 points a game. Their high for the season is 17. Their former offensive mastermind now seems afraid of his own offense. They cannot get where they want to go like this.
"We're trying to be great," Smith said. "Being good is not good enough."
Maybe not, but for the offense, it would be a step up from where they are.
Bottomline we CANNOT win it all playing like this on O, and we do most resemble Chicago of last year and will likely suffer the same fate (at best) without some serious re-adjustments. If JAke can handle a bigger role and get it done great .. maybe we win it all.
But if not, lets get the kid in there to break him in for an outside chance this year, and at least a much better chance to go all the way next year (i.e. see Grossman's performance this year after finally getting some real game experience at the end of last year).
But first and foremost, lets find out NOW if Jake can play as a complete QB and not drag this out to the bitter end only to get stomped when it counts.
Unchain Jake!!
Krieger: Broncos offense stuck in Stone Age
Dave Krieger
October 16, 2006
First, let me put to rest the rumors you've been hearing.
Mike Shanahan did not let Marty Schottenheimer call the plays by telephone Sunday night against the Raiders.
Nope. Not Chuck Knox, either.
It only looked that way.
Sure, on the surface it might have seemed like just another ballroom dance, sort of like all the others the Broncos have played this season. In fact, it was much more. Turns out, it was the product of a rare archeological find.
The Raiders' game plan was apparently discovered on a cave wall from the Cro-Magnon Era by the eminent archaeologist Richard Leakey, an authority on the dawn of man.
The Broncos' game plan may have had Paleozoic origins, although further study will be required.
Let's get out the magnifying glass, as archaeologists do. When the hapless Raiders finally scored in the third quarter, it took a fumble by Broncos punt returner Darrent Williams to set them up at their 48-yard line.
From there, they ran a 12-play drive that gained 23 yards. They made four first downs. These were the first-down calls from offensive coordinator Tom Walsh, who goes back so far he apparently drew the original plays Leakey found on the cave wall:
• LaMont Jordan runs wide right for no gain.
• LaMont Jordan is tackled behind the line of scrimmage for a 2-yard loss.
• LaMont Jordan runs wide left for a 1-yard loss.
• LaMont Jordan runs wide right for a 2-yard gain.
The Broncos' game plan was not much more adventurous. Their first five plays from scrimmage went to running back Tatum Bell. Then they threw in a run by Mike Bell for the element of surprise. If it hadn't been for Javon Walker, they might not have scored at all.
"With field position, when you've got the game won, you don't want to take too many chances," Mike Shanahan explained. "As I told our guys, we've got four wide receivers who never dressed a year ago. We've got two tight ends who never dressed a year ago. We've got a running back who never dressed a year ago." (what?!?)
So this is the explanation. After everything we've heard about all those "voluntary" offseason workouts and six weeks of training camp producing a finely-tuned machine, we discover now that the offense is still wearing name tags.
"When all is said and done, you play this game to win," said Jake Plummer, putting the best face on scoring 13 points against a Raiders team that was giving up 28 per game coming in.
"We'll find an answer. Coach Shanahan is one of the best offensive minds in the game."
It sounded like a gentle reminder. There is an undercurrent of unhappiness now in an offense very much aware that Shanahan is holding the reins tighter than he ever has.
"I just work here, man," said veteran Rod Smith, who had a single catch for 12 yards and now has 16 for 136 through five games. He used to get those numbers in two games; sometimes one, if it happened to be in Arizona.
"I just run the plays they call," he said. "We had a lot of opportunities we didn't take advantage of. I don't worry about me. I worry about the wins."
It's a good thing the Broncos didn't sign Terrell Owens during the offseason or the locker room commentary on their offense would be considerably more colorful than it has been.
Let's be honest: Struggling to score against the Ravens is one thing. Struggling to score against the Raiders is something else.
The Broncos now resemble the Bears of a year ago. They rely almost entirely on their defense to win games. As Plummer's beard grows, he looks more and more like Kyle Orton out there, managing a conservative game plan designed to put the outcome in somebody else's hands.
The defense, meanwhile, is having a ball. For the second week in a row, Champ Bailey was burned on a long pass play and promptly made up for it with an interception in or near the end zone.
For the second week in a row, his film study told him exactly what the opponent would do. A week ago, as soon as he saw 6-foot-6 receiver Clarence Moore enter the game for Baltimore, he knew it would be a fade. Apparently, this was all Moore was good for because the Ravens cut him later in the week.
This week, he recognized the Raiders' corner route for Randy Moss before it even developed. He actually ran the receiver's route, leaving Moss to chase him as if he were the defensive back. Give Raiders quarterback Andrew Walter credit: He hit Bailey in the hands, right in stride.
The Broncos are 4-1, having bounced back from an opening loss in much the way they did a year ago. That cannot be discounted. They are winning. The defense is even better than it was a year ago.
Still, they may have taken this defense-first thing a little farther than they intended. They are averaging 12.4 points a game. Their high for the season is 17. Their former offensive mastermind now seems afraid of his own offense. They cannot get where they want to go like this.
"We're trying to be great," Smith said. "Being good is not good enough."
Maybe not, but for the offense, it would be a step up from where they are.