There is reason for optimism

[2KBack]

Everyone hates a loss, and this week is sure to be full some epic Defense Vs. Plummer arguments. Before all that gets into full force I want to make sure that people noticed some nice improvements that have been made.

We now have 2 legitimate RB threats. Tatum has run very well all season, but just didn't get it going today. It was great to see that we have another back to count on in those situations. Mike Bell ran with great pop, and showed some real shiftyness in the secondary. I'm far more comfortable with the rushing offense than I was before, even if it was against a terrible rush defense.

TE sightings, This was the best game so far for Plummer to Scheffler hook-ups. The bootleg pass for 27 yards was a thing of beauty. Tony had an amazing catch on a ball thrown low and behind him, he looks like he is getting into the swing of things again. I was also pleased with the end around attempt with him, it didn't work that great, but I love that versatility.

The Dingerhan offense was finally opened up a bit, and I doubt the defense is gonna crap out that terribly again.

It's also worth mentioning that the offense managed to adjust to the loss of Lepsis admirably.

I have more hope for this team than I did a couple weeks ago actually. As long as this is the offense we see every week, and a few defensive tweaks are made, this team can be a threat.

[Sassy]

Scheff had a good game!

[2KBack]

it was fun to watch him fight and bowl guys over for extra yardage, we haven't had a guy with this combination of toughness and athleticism in awhile

[fdf]

Everyone hates a loss, and this week is sure to be full some epic Defense Vs. Plummer arguments. Before all that gets into full force I want to make sure that people noticed some nice improvements that have been made.

We now have 2 legitimate RB threats. Tatum has run very well all season, but just didn't get it going today. It was great to see that we have another back to count on in those situations. Mike Bell ran with great pop, and showed some real shiftyness in the secondary. I'm far more comfortable with the rushing offense than I was before, even if it was against a terrible rush defense.

TE sightings, This was the best game so far for Plummer to Scheffler hook-ups. The bootleg pass for 27 yards was a thing of beauty. Tony had an amazing catch on a ball thrown low and behind him, he looks like he is getting into the swing of things again. I was also pleased with the end around attempt with him, it didn't work that great, but I love that versatility.

The Dingerhan offense was finally opened up a bit, and I doubt the defense is gonna crap out that terribly again.

It's also worth mentioning that the offense managed to adjust to the loss of Lepsis admirably.

I have more hope for this team than I did a couple weeks ago actually. As long as this is the offense we see every week, and a few defensive tweaks are made, this team can be a threat.

I agree with almost everything you said except one. After three years, millions of dollars, and a complete redo of the entire defense, and this was the game it was all for. All we have to show for that is that we suck a little less against the Colts than we used to. I know how Cleveland and KC and Oakland felt when we had Elway. Why bother?

We'll beat a lot of teams. We'll make the playoffs. But I'm expecting a repeat of the last three years when we get there. We are a very good but second tier team, not really much different from last year. That will remain the case until Peyton Manning retires or we get a defensive line.

[Northman]

No doubt about it, unlike the Pitt game the offense at least kept the team in the game this time. The result was the same but we certainly had our chances. All will be well next week.

[Blart]

I know how Cleveland and KC and Oakland felt when we had Elway.

I was thinking the same thing.

[hades]

I agree with almost everything you said except one. After three years, millions of dollars, and a complete redo of the entire defense, and this was the game it was all for. All we have to show for that is that we suck a little less against the Colts than we used to. I know how Cleveland and KC and Oakland felt when we had Elway. Why bother?

We'll beat a lot of teams. We'll make the playoffs. But I'm expecting a repeat of the last three years when we get there. We are a very good but second tier team, not really much different from last year. That will remain the case until Peyton Manning retires or we get a defensive line.

Or get lucky like Pitt did last year. Not a dominant team, but they played hard when they had too and won the big one.

[broncosteven]

I hope we play consistent again next week & Coyer brings a new Gameplan vs Pitt i.e. one that forces them to utilize their punter.

[Kaylore]

Here are my possitives, and there are more than a few. I think there are a lot of good things we can take away from this game.

1. The offense showed up. Granted, it was against a crappy defense, but they showed up in a big way. It's hard to ask for your team to put up more than 30 points to win.

2. The tight ends were thrown to. They had been getting open but weren't being thrown to and this time they were.

3. Jake played much better. He seemed to actually check down and look off targets. He also spread the ball around so everyone from our receivers down to our fullback had an opportunity to make a play. That keeps all parts of the defense honest and prevents them from overcommiting. Yes he missed a big TD throw in the first quarter and yes he turned the ball over in our own redzone again. He also barely threw the second half. However he played much better than he has before and showed some good arm strength.

4. Mike Bell. We told you he had good vision and I think you saw it here. What he did in the game today was what impressed us. I think Tatum's two toes were a bit hurt, but Mike was more than willing to let us ride him. He did more than we could have asked given the circumstances.

5. This will probably be the best offense we face this year. There will be others that are very good, but having faced the best it won't suck as bad facing the others.

6. We were exposed. How is this a possitive? Well it shows the things we need to work on and puts a bit of humility back into the team. That means we'll work harder and be able to see the areas that we were hurting at. It also let's us know where we should be drafting (defensive end)

7. We were hurt. I mean let's be real, we lost two of our best players on both lines. You can't get beat up like that expect easy goings. Hopefully Warren will play next week, but this shows how important he is to that line. There's a reason we threw all that money at him.

8. (See I have lots of optimism in loses! The Irony! Ha!) I like that this brought things down to earth a bit. I thought it was bad karma the way the whole town was talking up or D trying to name it and pretending we were the 85 Bears. Enough! Just play football and win one game at a time. If by the end of the season they are that awesome, then you can name them, but not until then.

[youcandoit1687]

Here are my possitives, and there are more than a few. I think there are a lot of good things we can take away from this game.

1. The offense showed up. Granted, it was against a crappy defense, but they showed up in a big way. It's hard to ask for your team to put up more than 30 points to win.definitely, we have played crappier and done crappier, i think we definitely opened up the playbook a little more and got a nice push up front

2. The tight ends were thrown to. They had been getting open but weren't being thrown to and this time they were.haha as a TE i was loving it, i really liked the scheff end around, it may not have sprung but it will give defenses soemthing else to worry about and that is never a bad thing

3. Jake played much better. He seemed to actually check down and look off targets. He also spread the ball around so everyone from our receivers down to our fullback had an opportunity to make a play. That keeps all parts of the defense honest and prevents them from overcommiting. Yes he missed a big TD throw in the first quarter and yes he turned the ball over in our own redzone again. He also barely threw the second half. However he played much better than he has before and showed some good arm strength. no mistake jake returned thats for sure. the fumble was a tough one to pin on him

4. Mike Bell. We told you he had good vision and I think you saw it here. What he did in the game today was what impressed us. I think Tatum's two toes were a bit hurt, but Mike was more than willing to let us ride him. He did more than we could have asked given the circumstances.you were friggin right, wow, seemed like he had huge holes, was it the line or was it his vision? oh and he sure does love to do those front flips, dont hurt yourself kid

5. This will probably be the best offense we face this year. There will be others that are very good, but having faced the best it won't suck as bad facing the others.exactly and i think it just showed that our only large weakness is CB2 and that for that weakness to be exposed you have to have TWO elite WRs. dwill is still learning and i still have plenty of faith in him. i think he will improve alot, especially with games against arizona seattle and cincinnatti a little later on in the season

6. We were exposed. How is this a possitive? Well it shows the things we need to work on and puts a bit of humility back into the team. That means we'll work harder and be able to see the areas that we were hurting at. It also let's us know where we should be drafting (defensive end)does remind the FO that we need DLinemen(E or T IMO) but i worry about "flames being started", other offenses will study this and we will have to put the flame out or the problem will continue

7. We were hurt. I mean let's be real, we lost two of our best players on both lines. You can't get beat up like that expect easy goings. Hopefully Warren will play next week, but this shows how important he is to that line. There's a reason we threw all that money at him.any idea how pears played? why was super kuper deactivated?

8. (See I have lots of optimism in loses! The Irony! Ha!) I like that this brought things down to earth a bit. I thought it was bad karma the way the whole town was talking up or D trying to name it and pretending we were the 85 Bears. Enough! Just play football and win one game at a time. If by the end of the season they are that awesome, then you can name them, but not until then.exactly, no need to "crown their asses"



another positive was seeing brian clark doing KRs, granted we only saw i think one return but seeing him back there was nice, do we drop Q2 now? or maybe trade him for a DLinemen along with cobbs

cecil sapps running was very good, boy, that sure will keep Ds honest, i was assuming that would be whta would we do after the long mbell run.

the return of no mistake jake(minimal mistake jake if you insist), he managed the game very well and was aided by the strong running attack of an UDFA rook.


if nothing else, it was much better than the rams loss, and hey we were 5-2 last year too and i would say, not anywhere near as good. the defense is better, even if they were a little exposed and the offense looks to be on the rise hopefully. be optimistic maners!

[Mile High Shack]

i see no positives to esentially losing homefield advantage in week #8

[Sassy]

I have one more positive...JAKE LOOKED/ACTED CONFIDENT...I didn't see the "scared" Jake out on the field today. He hasn't looked like that all year.

[ZONA]

I agree - positives are that we played a very tight game and barely lost to the Colts with seconds remaining. A far better output against them then we have had in recent past. We'll get over that hump soon enough. I know that offense is deadly but still, they rely so much on the passing game and that's one of the first things to go when it gets cold and the playoffs come. They've been passing like madmen year after year during the regular season but playoffs you need to run and stop the run. We know they suck at stopping the run and probably average to better then average at running. There's a reason Peyton has had to comeback to win games after the half 3 times this year. They just blew a second round pick on that run stuffer and he just got stuffed.

[dragondawg]

how did the titans limits the colts to no points in the first half and 2 tds in the second with their defense?

[youcandoit1687]

how did the titans limits the colts to no points in the first half and 2 tds in the second with their defense?

the nfl is a funny league. if you wanna do those extrapolations, the raiders would beat the chiefs by 45(raid beat steelers by 7, steelers beat chiefs by 38). different games, different conditions, different gameplans, different feel to the game, etc. just a different environment when playing the titans, my guess is that they ultimately played down to their level jsut as we have down with browns raiders chiefs rams

[Kaylore]

wow, seemed like he had huge holes, was it the line or was it his vision? oh and he sure does love to do those front flips, dont hurt yourself kid
That's actually a weaker line than the one Tatum is used to, though it also easily the worst run defense we have faced and probably will face this year. The best part about Mike Bell's dives are that he used them setup the defenses so the on that second TD he ran under them and jsut walked in for an easy six. He's pretty good.

does remind the FO that we need DLinemen(E or T IMO) but i worry about "flames being started", other offenses will study this and we will have to put the flame out or the problem will continue

It's possible, but as I said there aren't really any teams that can run the offense the way Peyton does. You need him and those receivers and that's already more than most people have. Let's see how we handle the Steelers.

any idea how pears played? why was super kuper deactivated?My guess is a lot of dis-information. I need to go back and watch the game to see how Pears did, but from I remember he understandably was struggling. I'd still like to see Kuper in but looks like this is the way we're going to go for awhile.

exactly, no need to "crown their asses"
Indeed. The Colts are definitely who we thought they were.

[orange crusher]

Another positive is that they put together a lot of long drives that ended in TD's on offense. I think all of their TD drives were 80 yards or more.

[ScottXray]

Here are my possitives, and there are more than a few. I think there are a lot of good things we can take away from this game.

1. The offense showed up. Granted, it was against a crappy defense, but they showed up in a big way. It's hard to ask for your team to put up more than 30 points to win.

2. The tight ends were thrown to. They had been getting open but weren't being thrown to and this time they were.

3. Jake played much better. He seemed to actually check down and look off targets. He also spread the ball around so everyone from our receivers down to our fullback had an opportunity to make a play. That keeps all parts of the defense honest and prevents them from overcommiting. Yes he missed a big TD throw in the first quarter and yes he turned the ball over in our own redzone again. He also barely threw the second half. However he played much better than he has before and showed some good arm strength.

4. Mike Bell. We told you he had good vision and I think you saw it here. What he did in the game today was what impressed us. I think Tatum's two toes were a bit hurt, but Mike was more than willing to let us ride him. He did more than we could have asked given the circumstances.

5. This will probably be the best offense we face this year. There will be others that are very good, but having faced the best it won't suck as bad facing the others.

6. We were exposed. How is this a possitive? Well it shows the things we need to work on and puts a bit of humility back into the team. That means we'll work harder and be able to see the areas that we were hurting at. It also let's us know where we should be drafting (defensive end)

7. We were hurt. I mean let's be real, we lost two of our best players on both lines. You can't get beat up like that expect easy goings. Hopefully Warren will play next week, but this shows how important he is to that line. There's a reason we threw all that money at him.

8. (See I have lots of optimism in loses! The Irony! Ha!) I like that this brought things down to earth a bit. I thought it was bad karma the way the whole town was talking up or D trying to name it and pretending we were the 85 Bears. Enough! Just play football and win one game at a time. If by the end of the season they are that awesome, then you can name them, but not until then.


I agree with ALL of these.

Now get it together and just go crush a cornered and dangerous Pitt team..in their lair. The Broncos have learned their Defense isn't perfect...or even close...
Lets actually play a complete game next week!

I would LOVE to put Pitt at 2-6 next week (except that it would help Baltimore...and I hate them almost as much as Pitt and the Jaw) But I guess I could live with it helping Baltimore...

[youcandoit1687]

That's actually a weaker line than the one Tatum is used to, though it also easily the worst run defense we have faced and probably will face this year. The best part about Mike Bell's dives are that he used them setup the defenses so the on that second TD he ran under them and jsut walked in for an easy six. He's pretty good.good point, he does seem to use countermoves to a lot of his moves from earlier in the game, ie breaking in instead of out once past the box


It's possible, but as I said there aren't really any teams that can run the offense the way Peyton does. You need him and those receivers and that's already more than most people have. Let's see how we handle the Steelers.exactly, that is why i have brought up seattle, arizona, and cincinnatti, all have two top tierish receivers and two have good QBs. should be nice test for darrent and coyer. i really would like to see ferguson over the top more with our LB speed

My guess is a lot of dis-information. I need to go back and watch the game to see how Pears did, but from I remember he understandably was struggling. I'd still like to see Kuper in but looks like this is the way we're going to go for awhile.i did see him and alexander double teaming freeney on some PPro situations but i think we would have had to do that with lepsis or any tackle in the game, freeney is a fast guy that needs two wide bodies to build a wall. i would have liked to see him trapped more however, that would slow his pass rush a little. i really didnt get why we tried a sweep to tatum to his side, theres no way that works


Indeed. The Colts are definitely who we thought they were.thats why we showed up but we let them off the hook thanks for the analysis, your training camp reports are becoming more and more validated each week it seems

[ludo21]

many reasons for optimism were all hit here.

Big loss, no doubt, but we have 9 games left to play, so lets get them done!

[Sassy]

Hey Ludo...I kicked your butt in the OM league ;D

[Kaylore]

The Steelers will be hungry but I like how we match up against them this year over last year. It will be another good game. At least we'll come in angry.

[Northman]

i see no positives to esentially losing homefield advantage in week #8



Does this mean we wont see you the rest of the year since you've thrown in the towel already?

[Popps]

No doubt about it, unlike the Pitt game the offense at least kept the team in the game this time.

Only illustrating that our offense is not our defense.

Each unit functions on its own, and our defense has no one to blame but themselves for collapses in big games like this.

So, the crowd that attempted to blame our offense for the Pitt loss (should have) learned a very obvious lesson today.

[Northman]

Only illustrating that our offense is not our defense.

Each unit functions on its own, and our defense has no one to blame but themselves for collapses in big games like this.

So, the crowd that attempted to blame our offense for the Pitt loss (should have) learned a very obvious lesson today.



What? that we got beat by a better team and a better Qb? Yea, it happens but we still had a chance unlike the Pitt game where jake turned the ball over 4 times. Ill take a chance like this anyday when we still have a shot to win. But, Manning never turned the ball over and he was clutch when he needed to be.

[Popps]

What? that we got beat by a better team and a better Qb? Yea, it happens but we still had a chance unlike the Pitt game where jake turned the ball over 4 times. Ill take a chance like this anyday when we still have a shot to win. But, Manning never turned the ball over and he was clutch when he needed to be.


Just another in a long line of big-game defensive collapses.

Sure, manning never turned the ball over. Why would he? There were no Broncos anywhere near him or his receivers all day long. Your average high school QB could avoid turnovers with those parameters.

[Northman]

Just another in a long line of big-game defensive collapses.

Sure, manning never turned the ball over. Why would he? There were no Broncos anywhere near him or his receivers all day long. Your average high school QB could avoid turnovers with those parameters.



Sack up. One game dude. Get over it.

[OrangeShadow]

the entire offense(except for bell slipping at the end there) gave us reason for optimism .i just hope our D can rebound

[SoDak Bronco]

Just another in a long line of big-game defensive collapses.

Sure, manning never turned the ball over. Why would he? There were no Broncos anywhere near him or his receivers all day long. Your average high school QB could avoid turnovers with those parameters.

Popps I feel sorry for you and your perspective. I think Manning being compared to a highschool QB is a bit much, did you not see the first half? 6 points, Denver was in that game, and with a few things corrected, the next time we meet it will give us more confidence.

[Kaylore]

We've lost two games by a total of 9 points. and the rest of the games we're winning by double digits - not bad. :)

[riiiiick]

it seems against the colts, we have to change defensive gameplans at halftime, even if the 1st half one is working. pman is so good at attacking the gameplan after half. do you see him after his TD's? he goes straight to the bench and looks at printouts. after halftime he will beat the plan that's been stopping him so far. normally, that would be crazy to change something that's working, but it couldn't be any worse.

[-Slap-]

The biggest positive is Jake only **** down his pantleg on one play. Unfortunately it was a play that completely swung the momentum in the game. Still, he played twice as well as even his staunchest defenders could have expected. He normally leads us to nothing in the first half of a big game and then he pads his stats in the second half for the edification of the ****ing morons around here.

[-Slap-]

My reason for optimism is Jake Plummer is only going to hamstring my team a maximum of ten more games.

[Mile High Shack]

My reason for optimism is Jake Plummer is only going to hamstring my team a maximum of ten more games.

while I agree with you the first few games of the year

the last game had nothing to do with Plummer's lack of ability

[-Slap-]

while I agree with you the first few games of the year

the last game had nothing to do with Plummer's lack of ability

Two solid games and five ****ty ones.

[watermock]

Two solid games and five ****ty ones.

Try 7 going back to the playoffs. He certainly didn't manhandle the Patriots.

Under normal conditions fans would be pissed if their QB fumbled well inside their own red zone, leading to a 3 play "drive' and the lead. We have gotten so used to Plummer stinking it up simply above average play is considered vindication for a series of horrible efforts.

[Rock Chalk]

Sack up. One game dude. Get over it.

Actually thats 3 games now the defense failed to pressure Manning and he ripped us for it.

[-Slap-]

Jake has played two good games and five ****ty ones.

The defense has played six and a half good games and two ****ty quarters.

[broncosteven]

My reason for optimism is Jake Plummer is only going to hamstring my team a maximum of ten more games.

in our work confidence pool I took Indy with 10 points to win for 2 reasons

1 I thought Jake would turn the ball over & give indy short field.

2 Our D would not be able to get to Manrino.

If Rothlismoto didn't throw 2 picks in the Butt-pirate game for TD's I would have won. I had Pitt with 15 points.

Now I am thinking that next week we will

1 not be able to get to Rothlismoto
&
2 Jake will turn ball over at least once giving Pitt short field for easy scores.

How high should I go confidence wise?

[-Slap-]

in our work confidence pool I took Indy with 10 points to win for 2 reasons

1 I thought Jake would turn the ball over & give indy short field.

2 Our D would not be able to get to Manrino.

If Rothlismoto didn't throw 2 picks in the Butt-pirate game for TD's I would have won. I had Pitt with 15 points.

Now I am thinking that next week we will

1 not be able to get to Rothlismoto
&
2 Jake will turn ball over at least once giving Pitt short field for easy scores.

How high should I go confidence wise?


Can't really give an opinion. Betting against Denver is not something I could ever do. Not even in 1988 when it was absolute free money.