Super Charger Slaughter

[Mile High Mojoe]

Reposted from my blog on myspace...

What a disappointing loss. When a team gets their collective butt's whooped like the Broncos did yesterday you can find fault in almost every area of the team. To me, if I were asked what single area stood out more than any other obviously it was the play of the Defense but maybe the DL more so.

Defensive Weaknesses hit the Wall and Hard…

One of the things that has plagued and damned the Broncos the last 2 years is not having a consistent pass rush by the front 4. Before the Draft this year I'd hoped Shanahan would draft a DL high, in the next draft he must address this position. The only sack the Broncos DL had was from Ekuban. Most of the day Rivers wasn't really in danger of feeling much pressure at all. The Broncos didn't blitz much because the Chargers have such balance on O it was hard for them to gamble with it and DL alone did nothing to slow down Rivers at all.

Given the time Rivers had it was easy for him find a Receiver. It's understandable when Gates beats you on occasion but Eric Parker? He's a bench scrub but since we couldn't apply any pressure Williams made him look like a Pro Bowler. Williams all by himself just had a terrible day, Lynch didn't fair much better, he always seemed to be the only one near Gates and he just didn't have the speed to stay with him.

It was puzzling that Coyer didn't double Gates throughout; he's their only real threat to catch a ball. McCardell (old & slow) and Floyd (young & slow) didn't start so we should have been able to cover a guy like Parker one on one and doubled or even tripled Gates. Oh well, I guess since we couldn't get a hand on Rivers for most of the day it wouldn't have mattered what coverage's we used eventually even a scrub like Parker can get open.

You can't really defend the poor performance of the D as a whole but one of the things that's killed us all year is that we always have to defend a short field. I don't know if you heard Jim Nance say it but he said the Broncos have had the worst average starting field position of any Offense in the NFL. Guess what guys that translates into giving the Defense the shortest average field to defend in the NFL too. There are several reasons for that, one we have the worst special teams unit in the NFL and second early in the year we couldn't convert 3rd downs on O. 3 and out should have been the Broncos motto this year when Big Jake was still bumbling away games for us.

While the Broncos D did manage to keep Tomlinson in check for almost 3 quarters in the 4th the collapse was total. Up until the 4th as in the 1st meeting, the Broncos didn't allow LT to rip off any big chucks of yardage. He only had one TD and was under a 100 yards going into the 4th. Playing with a short field in the 4th quarter killed us but some that blame has to be placed on Shanahan.

Going for it twice on 4th down in our territory…

After getting the game back to 28 to 20 why Shanahan tried to throw the ball to Marshall on that 3rd and 2 made no sense to me. Then on 4th and 2 another weird route to Walker that didn't work. We should have run the ball on that 3rd and 2 first then maybe ran it again on 4th if we had too. That was one of the turning points in the game; we gave the Chargers a gift and the ball back on the 40 yard line. In hindsight it would have been better to punt the ball but Shanahan like so many times this season tried to out coach himself and leave the destruction of his bad play calling up to the D to cover his ass. To give the Bolts the ball twice in our own territory was bad idea against a team that has Rivers, Gates and LT on it.

Cutler proved "again" he belonged in the lineup…

I've seen it on all of the Broncos Boards on the net last night and today. The "I told you so" crowd is whining away about how much better a chance Jake would have given us in this game. Anyone who still believes that preposterous notion is out of their mind. Does anyone really believe that Jake brings a team back from a 28-3 deficit after the way he's played this year? Not just no, but HELL NO. Jay as Shanahan said when he made the change, "does give the Broncos the best chance to win."

He did have the one fumble when Merriman got him from the backside but other than that his game wasn't bad at all. Implementing the shotgun really helped him see better downfield and he made some big plays in the second half. His arm strength and accuracy is far superior to that of Jake's. I was very impressed with Scheffler, maybe he hadn't done anything prior to this game but I think he proved he's a player and he's got good hands BTW too. Thankfully Cutler had him as a go to guy, the lopsided score may have been bigger without his catches.

Cutler was sacked 4 times but he didn't seem all that rattled. He played a smart game all things considered. Pears and Foster didn't help much in pass protection but the shotgun did help. I wish we had a player like Merriman on our team; he forced 2 turnovers and got 2 sacks. We've got the greatest cover corner in the NFL in Champ but we lack a real beast like Merriman to wreak havoc with a pass rush or a big play. He sure made life hell for the OL and Cutler.

Cutler definitely wasn't the problem in this game, still all the Jake Apologists will say that since the OL, DL and special team's weaknesses have been a problem area all year and really came glaring through this week that none of the previous losses should be attributed solely to his play. That's just Jake the Snake Oil talking, please we all knew about these weaknesses before the change was made. Jake was like throwing gas on a raging fire he did more to magnify and contribute to the overall weaknesses of the team. I'm just sick to death of trying to point this out to all blind followers of Jake.

It's still not over…

Some have already jumped off the bandwagon and say we have no chance to make the playoffs. Winning yesterday would have helped immensely but now we'll have to have help and run the table.

This isn't an impossible task, the Cards WR's will give us fits this week but we should be able to shut down the run and pressure Leinart. The Cards OL has played well recently but even as demoralizing as this loss was to the Chargers we should rebound against them because they aren't THAT good. The Bengals game may determine our fate, if we beat the Cards with a good game maybe we play well against the them next week. The 9ers game to me should then be a gimme.

I'm still optimistic, you never know what's going to happen guys, don't give up on the season yet. The Broncos have had far less talented teams than this and still found a way to make it to the playoffs.

[Crushaholic]

Cutler definitely WASN'T the problem. Our defense is absolutely DEPLORABLE. We don't have CLOSE to a championship-caliber team. If we somehow back into the playoffs, I'll be impressed but shocked.

[RMANCIL]

Great read that said Parker is one of our starters and in the past the Bolts limited him to under routes. Sunday was the first time I can remember this season where he ran a double move and went long.

The resulting completion was more the result of the CB being shocked by Parker not sitting down which has been his mo all year. Jackson also came off the bench due to McCardells injury to see significant playing time and he too ran a couple of double moves and caught some long passes.

The Charger OL is vastly improved this season particularly in comparison to the last game of the season in 2005 as we did not have McNeil at LOT but instead we were playing Jordan who struggled in pass protection.

McNeil is one of the big keys to the Charger offensive pass improvement and the Bolts run game now goes through him as his size and speed make him a devastating blocker on the second level.

Thanks for the best post of the two weeks I have been hanging this year.

[Mile High Mojoe]

Great read that said Parker is one of our starters and in the past the Bolts limited him to under routes. Sunday was the first time I can remember this season where he ran a double move and went long.

The resulting completion was more the result of the CB being shocked by Parker not sitting down which has been his mo all year. Jackson also came off the bench due to McCardells injury to see significant playing time and he too ran a couple of double moves and caught some long passes.

The Charger OL is vastly improved this season particularly in comparison to the last game of the season in 2005 as we did not have McNeil at LOT but instead we were playing Jordan who struggled in pass protection.

McNeil is one of the big keys to the Charger offensive pass improvement and the Bolts run game now goes through him as his size and speed make him a devastating blocker on the second level.

Thanks for the best post of the two weeks I have been hanging this year.McNeil is a stud, he could be considered you're MVP, if not for him you wonder where LT/Rivers/Gates are offensively. Double moves or not Williams should be able to cover a guy like Parker or Jackson. He seems to go between making a play to help us win games or making a boneheaded play to help us lose, no inbetween.

[400HZ]

McNeil is a stud, he could be considered you're MVP, if not for him you wonder where LT/Rivers/Gates are offensively. Double moves or not Williams should be able to cover a guy like Parker or Jackson. He seems to go between making a play to help us win games or making a boneheaded play to help us lose, no inbetween.

Parker is a lot better than people give him credit for. The guy is freakin nails on 3rd down conversions. He doesn't have great size or speed, but his route running is perfect, and he'll always sacrifice his body for a catch. I love players with that mentality. McNeil is a beast, and barring serious injury will be around for the next 10 or 12 years !Booya! !Booya! !Booya!

[theAPAOps5]

Parker is a lot better than people give him credit for. The guy is freakin nails on 3rd down conversions. He doesn't have great size or speed, but his route running is perfect, and he'll always sacrifice his body for a catch. I love players with that mentality. McNeil is a beast, and barring serious injury will be around for the next 10 or 12 years !Booya! !Booya! !Booya!

Parker is a possession receiver he grinds out the tough plays to keep the chains rolling. Like how Rod Smith used to be for us and sometimes still is. Those are my favorite receivers I hate the Randy Moss types who just go deep and do silly dances. The most amazing part about your team is that your receiving corps is really dinged up, you lost two stud defenders for numerous games and yet you just keep rolling along. That right there tells me SD has that perfect mix to get it this year. I hope it works out for you guys. Playoffs always slip some team up.

[Northman]

Nice post MHM. Very well done.

[Mile High Mojoe]

Parker is a lot better than people give him credit for. The guy is freakin nails on 3rd down conversions. He doesn't have great size or speed, but his route running is perfect, and he'll always sacrifice his body for a catch. I love players with that mentality. McNeil is a beast, and barring serious injury will be around for the next 10 or 12 years !Booya! !Booya! !Booya!McNiel is a beast on this I agree but you're touting Parker as more of a stud than he really is sorry. He's a second level guy who was just lucky Floyd and McCardell were hurt and couldn't play. Marshall and Kircus have far more talent than he does, if they ever get a chance to prove it.

[Mile High Mojoe]

Nice post MHM. Very well done.I appreciate the appreciation, thanks.

[jonny1]

I don't see blaming Shanahan for going for it on 4th down in the 4th quarter, in particular the first time. You can b!tch about the type of play run, but I think the idea was great. As Shanahan said after the game, "We didn't come here to lose close."

[400HZ]

McNiel is a beast on this I agree but you're touting Parker as more of a stud than he really is sorry. He's a second level guy who was just lucky Floyd and McCardell were hurt and couldn't play. Marshall and Kircus have far more talent than he does, if they ever get a chance to prove it.

Parker is our starting #2, ahead of Floyd on the depth chart. I agree that Marshall or other guys might have more God given talent, but Parker compensates by going 110%, breaking hard, and laying himself out for catches. I'd take him on my team any day of the week. I didn't say that he was a stud. He's a little guy with a big motor that consistantly gets it done.

[BroncoBuff]

Vincent Jackson, Antonio Gates, Brandon Manumaleuna
. . . . . vs.
Champ Bailey, Darrent Williams, Dominiques Foxworth


Those matchups gave the Chargers an average 5-inch, 75 pound advantage man-for-man. Playing Gates so much at WR was brilliant I thought ... how many times did our DB's just bounce off those 3 guys like tennis balls? Gate's TDs - Champ and 'Nique bounced off on the first, and Lynch on the other ... and Foxworth against Manumaleuna is like putting Earl Boykins on Shaquille O'Neal. Manumaleua only caught two balls, but both were on third down, and 'Nique bounced off him both times.

/

[RMANCIL]

Manumaleuna blocking is great, in fact that was a major reason Gates was out in the pattern and yet the Bolts were able to pick up the blitz .

Parker starts ahead of Floyd he continues to step his game up he is a pretty decent player. His timing routes are the best on the Chargers. Floyd is just starting to get it this season and has played well in the Gold zone were his height is a major advantage.

The Chargers rotate the wr a great deal as the larger wr help our run game a great deal. Jackson in particular has been very effective. I think that he will see more action and should be a featured wr in the Bolts attack perhaps next season as it will be his 3 rd year and wr seem to under stand the pro game much better in the 3rd season of play.

[Popps]

This game illuminated the problems we had all year... as did the last Charger game, as did the Indy game, as did the Pittsburgh loss.

Frustrating, but absolutely nothing new.

[RMANCIL]

McNeil is a stud, he could be considered you're MVP, if not for him you wonder where LT/Rivers/Gates are offensively. Double moves or not Williams should be able to cover a guy like Parker or Jackson. He seems to go between making a play to help us win games or making a boneheaded play to help us lose, no inbetween.

If the Chargers don't get very lucky and land McNeil in the second round the season would have been in huge trouble. Oben failed to heal in time for the season opener and just recently was activated for the balance of the season.

McNeils play has been on a pro bowl level he has out played our 1st round selection by a wide margin in fact several redo mock drafts have him listed as a top 5 selection and 1 SI articole redo draft listed him at number 1#.

He should be huge for the Bolts and Dielman our LG has also been a real find. His hard working hard driving attitude has rubbed off on the rest of the OL. Their over all play is greatly improved over last season.

[Taco John]

That was a good read. Lot of good stuff in there Mojoe. Nice write-up. :)

[boltaneer]

I know Denver's defense has problems (though I keep saying I think they're still a pretty good defense) but to give up 30+ points to the Chargers really shouldn't be that disappointing. San Diego has the number one scoring offense and are averaging around 32 points a game.

Sometimes you'll have to win by shootout and some teams like Indy and San Diego are going to put up points on you, especially when they're playing at home.

And as already noted above, Eric Parker is no scrub. He's a solid number two receiver and has been for several years now.

[Rigs11]

Cutler definitely WASN'T the problem. Our defense is absolutely DEPLORABLE. We don't have CLOSE to a championship-caliber team. If we somehow back into the playoffs, I'll be impressed but shocked.

What a bunch of homers.Cutler sucked in this game except in the 3rd quarter. What did he have 34 yards in the first half?People would have been calling for a lynching had Jake put up those numbers.

[bolthead123]

McNiel is a beast on this I agree but you're touting Parker as more of a stud than he really is sorry. He's a second level guy who was just lucky Floyd and McCardell were hurt and couldn't play. Marshall and Kircus have far more talent than he does, if they ever get a chance to prove it.

Parker is very popular in San Diego, he rarely drops a pass and is nails when it comes to 3rd down plays. We don't have a legitimate deep threat (yet) but we haven't needed it either. We will take Parker over Randy Moss any day of the week.

Mcneil has been huge for us, somebody mentioned that he is our team MVP, I think I agree with that and I bet Rivers, LT and Gates wouldn't argue that point. That man has a bright future.

[theAPAOps5]

What a bunch of homers.Cutler sucked in this game except in the 3rd quarter. What did he have 34 yards in the first half?People would have been calling for a lynching had Jake put up those numbers.

Homers? We say he did well but most people are measuring him against the fact that it was his second start, EVER in the NFL. Hell yeah we would be calling for Plummers head if he played like that or when he played like that. Except he is being measured as a 10 year vet, big difference. People who don't seem to get that.

[Mile High Mojoe]

I don't see blaming Shanahan for going for it on 4th down in the 4th quarter, in particular the first time. You can b!tch about the type of play run, but I think the idea was great. As Shanahan said after the game, "We didn't come here to lose close."I just think on the 3rd and 2 maybe we try a run first, we had been running the ball on them well leading up to that play. Losing close and losing because you're trying to get to cute or outcoach yourself are 2 different things. Shanahan could try keeping it simple sometimes but for what ever reason he just can't stand to be boring and run for a 1st down in that situation instead of throwing it.

[Mile High Mojoe]

Homers? We say he did well but most people are measuring him against the fact that it was his second start, EVER in the NFL. Hell yeah we would be calling for Plummers head if he played like that or when he played like that. Except he is being measured as a 10 year vet, big difference. People who don't seem to get that.Perfect comeback, that's the bottom line here.

[Mile High Mojoe]

This game illuminated the problems we had all year... as did the last Charger game, as did the Indy game, as did the Pittsburgh loss.

Frustrating, but absolutely nothing new.All the posts you've made regarding Coyer, the OL and DL have had some measure of true in them, most of us have been saying the same things all season. I just think when you've talked about it, you've seemed to always make us out to be much worse than we really are. The Chargers kicked our butts, still I don't think they are as unstoppable or as unbeatable as many would believe and I don't think the Broncos are as bad as they played in this game either. The score doesn't indicate it but this game really was close until we gambled and Shanahan made some questionable calls in the 4th Q.

[Mile High Mojoe]

Vincent Jackson, Antonio Gates, Brandon Manumaleuna
. . . . . vs.
Champ Bailey, Darrent Williams, Dominiques Foxworth


Those matchups gave the Chargers an average 5-inch, 75 pound advantage man-for-man. Playing Gates so much at WR was brilliant I thought ... how many times did our DB's just bounce off those 3 guys like tennis balls? Gate's TDs - Champ and 'Nique bounced off on the first, and Lynch on the other ... and Foxworth against Manumaleuna is like putting Earl Boykins on Shaquille O'Neal. Manumaleua only caught two balls, but both were on third down, and 'Nique bounced off him both times.

/The match up's didn't always go in our favor but the lack of any pressure on Rivers gave them even more of an advantage. DWill played a horrible game and Lynch always seemed to be out of position whenever the ball was throw his way.

[theAPAOps5]

Perfect comeback, that's the bottom line here.

I just get tired of the whole Cutler/Plummer debate. That is all we talk about. The change was made so I look for what the new QB is doing. He is a raw but talented rookie. He played ok in my mind compared to last week. Yeah he made mistakes, too many at that. But he also made some great throws and showed why he had the chance to be great. If that is Homer thinking so be it.

[Mile High Mojoe]

I just get tired of the whole Cutler/Plummer debate. That is all we talk about. The change was made so I look for what the new QB is doing. He is a raw but talented rookie. He played ok in my mind compared to last week. Yeah he made mistakes, too many at that. But he also made some great throws and showed why he had the chance to be great. If that is Homer thinking so be it.I was fed up with Jake after the 2nd Raiders game, it's to bad we couldn't have made the move then. Each week Jay will improve and only get better, maybe some don't like it but he does give us the best chance to win, at least at the QB position.

[theAPAOps5]

I was all for Jake playing the full year even after his bad games early on. It just became apparent that teams were loading up to force him to pass from the pocket. He just doesn't have that type of skillset.

[Dr.5280]

Shanahan built this team to beat the Colts. What he forgot about was the Bolts. They are bigger and stronger. Drafting midget dbs with speed, ignoring the dl proved to be a recepie for disaster. Foxworth, Williams and Paymayh (sp) give me a break. Just another wasted draft. One of many in our recent past.

One playoff win in eight years.

[Crushaholic]

What a bunch of homers.Cutler sucked in this game except in the 3rd quarter. What did he have 34 yards in the first half?People would have been calling for a lynching had Jake put up those numbers.

It's not hard to have low numbers if you are standing on the sidelines watching the Chargers do whatever they wished on offense in the first half. Cutler nearly came back from the first half deficit in that third quarter. All he needed was a little help from the defense in the second half...which he didn't get...

[Mile High Mojoe]

Shanahan built this team to beat the Colts. What he forgot about was the Bolts. They are bigger and stronger. Drafting midget dbs with speed, ignoring the dl proved to be a recepie for disaster. Foxworth, Williams and Paymayh (sp) give me a break. Just another wasted draft. One of many in our recent past.

One playoff win in eight years.

I think Williams my pan out but rest doubtful. Yea, Shanahan has ignored the DL. We invested far to much in Pryce, the last 2 years he was in Denver he didn't do much of anything for the mega bucks contract he signed for. His big bucks contract and his below average play set us back at least 2 years.

He's got to address it this off season.

[BroncoBuff]

Why don't we just talk about the elephant in the room that everybody is trying to ignore?

Phillip Rivers is a monster.

He's played at a Pro Bowl level since the season started, and will probably continue as such for a decade or more. With LT, Gates and Tomlinson there, we're going to have lots of high-scoring games against them in the next few years.

Watching LT makes me wish Mattie Lepsis hadn't landed on TD. Davis was every bit the running back LT is now ... maybe more. *SIGH*

[Popps]

All he needed was a little help from the defense in the second half...which he didn't get...

Nothing new.

Same when Jake was QB, ****... same when Griese was QB, for that matter.

Our defense has been getting embarrassed to the tune of NFL records for years, now. But, smoke and mirrors and few top notch players have kept us looking respectable. The problem is, when push come to shove, (i.e. when we face a decent offense) that's not enough.

But, it's refreshing to see the forum collectively coming to terms with it. Hopefully the front office will follow suit.

[Mile High Mojoe]

Why don't we just talk about the elephant in the room that everybody is trying to ignore?

Phillip Rivers is a monster.

He's played at a Pro Bowl level since the season started, and will probably continue as such for a decade or more. With LT, Gates and Tomlinson there, we're going to have lots of high-scoring games against them in the next few years.

Watching LT makes me wish Mattie Lepsis hadn't landed on TD. Davis was every bit the running back LT is now ... maybe more. *SIGH*Rivers game is greatly enhanced by LT and his running ability, if teams can stop LT or if he goes down to injury I think Rivers could just be another also ran. Right now he looks like lights out though for sure. He's such a big guy and seems so confident. People were saying that about Romo last week, look what happened to him. The NFL can sure humble a Big Head in less than a week.

Davis was stronger and faster than LT, Davis excelled going north and south, LT may have had a few more moves but I agree in his prime I'd take Davis over LT.

[Popps]

Why don't we just talk about the elephant in the room that everybody is trying to ignore?

Phillip Rivers is a monster.


We make monsters out of any good QB. Manning has had a sub-par season by his standards, but... we were sure to accommodate him like we always do, laying down for the entire second half. That guy was a few dropped passes from going 40 for 40, and you've got people around here saying we're not allowed to ask a few questions about Coyer.

Being at that game yesterday made it alarmingly clear just how bad our pass defense is. You get the idea on T.V., but there's nothing like witnessing it first-hand. Four guys getting stood up, up-front, and 7 other guys playing what looks like a high school zone defense.

I mean, receivers just run to an open spot... and there's always an open spot.
Our seats were high, so you really got a clear view of the plays opening up.
SD's receivers just jogged into the (many) soft spots in our coverage and made easy catches. It looked almost effortless.


But, again... this is NOTHING NEW, folks. Pittsburgh ripped us to shreds in January the exact same way. Converting long third downs, exploiting our lack of pass rush and vanilla cover schemes.

This is old news. Some people just refused (or pretended not) to see it.

[Mile High Mojoe]

Our defense has been getting embarrassed to the tune of NFL records for years, now. You're going to the extreme and exaggerating about how bad the D is again. This game we got taken to school but all year the D has kept us in games. No matter how hard you try you have to get Jake into the thread somehow and tie it all together when the 2 aren't related at all.