DukeWoody
09-28-2007, 01:27 AM
Improved Denver secondary facing a tough task - Insider
By Scouts Inc
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Why To Watch
The Colts have dominated this matchup lately but Denver is much better equipped in the defensive secondary this season to deal with the high-powered Indianapolis defense, and new Broncos RB Travis Henry has had some success in the past running against the Colts. There will also be two great individual matchups on the outside in this game with Indianapolis WRs Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne going up against Denver CBs Champ Bailey and Dre Bly. The Colts are the defending Super Bowl champs and the Broncos are projected to be a playoff team in the AFC this season, so this should be a fun game to watch.
When the Broncos have the ball
Rushing: Denver ranked third in the league in rushing offense heading into last week's game at Jacksonville but Henry was completely neutralized bay the Jaguars, who did a great job of slanting their front seven and shooting lateral gaps. Denver runs a zone blocking scheme that relies on getting out in space, but the Jacksonville front four was quicker off the snap and as a result Jaguars were able to play on the other side of the line of scrimmage.
That has to be worrisome for head coach Mike Shanahan this week because the Broncos will face a font four this week coached John Teerlinck that thrives on using gap penetration. Teerlinck does not ask his linemen to play the run so his front four will be getting up the field all game. Denver might have to shorten their its splits on the offensive line this week to try and avoid allowing the kind of penetration that killed the Broncos last week. If they can get their cut off blocks Henry should be able to get to the second level and make Colts ILB Gary Brackett miss in the hole. Denver has to find a way to get Henry to the second level this week, so also look for a few more draws against an Indianapolis defensive front that could blow right by him on the delay or inside draw handoff.
Passing: Denver QB Jay Cutler forced a few passes last week but has been steady overall through the first three weeks of the season. Cutler has very good command of the offensive system and has done a solid job of spreading the ball around. He will have to be patient this week, though, because as Houston's Matt Schaub found out last week forcing the ball into the Colts' Cover 2 defense can mean trouble for a quarterback.
The Broncos will work on getting WR Javon Walker into holes in the seam-to-hashmark area of the field, and fellow wideout Brandon Marshall has shown the ability to make plays this season and will also be involved. Denver will also work on silent counts a lot as the RCA Dome will be very loud and Denver OTs Matt Lepsis and Erik Pears will be under a lot of pressure, and that duo will be at an athletic disadvantage on the edges against Colts DEs Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis. It is imperative that the Denver offensive line stay in synch and avoids disrupting off the timing of their precise West Coast offense.
A player to watch this week is Broncos TE Tony Scheffler. Even though Scheffler is listed as the third tight end on the depth chart he is the best receiving option at the position and the guy with the best chance of keeping Indianapolis S Bob Sanders occupied and away from the line of scrimmage. Scheffler and fellow TE Daniel Graham need to find voids in the short-to-intermediate parts of the field to take the pressure off Cutler and keep the sticks moving.
When the Colts have the ball
Rushing: If there is an Achilles heel for Denver it is the run defense. The Broncos have a lot of new players up front who are still adjusting to playing together, and the Jaguars pounded the ball between the tackles last week. The bigger issue, however, has been the release of MLB Al Wilson during the offseason. Former OLB D.J. Williams has not made a smooth transition to the middle as the game appears to be moving too quickly for him inside. Williams is not a physical, take-on player, and even though he can often recover with his speed he is often caught out of position against the run. That in turn puts pressure on WLB Ian Gold and S John Lynch in run support.
Indianapolis has not been spectacular in the running game but has done enough to keep the offense balanced. The Colts will never get too far away from their passing game but they will run the ball more this week. Running back Joseph Addai is a patient runner with very good vision and instincts and does and excellent job of seeing the cutback lane on the stretch play. Williams has been caught over-pursuing numerous times this season, so look for Addai to peer inside in search of the cutback and daylight on the inside. Denver has to be much more sound in the run game this week because even though their pass defense has been solid, the Colts throw it on everyone. The Broncos need to make the Colts more one-dimensional to limit the damage and that starts with the run defense.
Passing: The Colts have dominated this series lately in large part because of their ability to throw the ball all over the field against the Broncos, usually against the corner playing opposit Bailey. Bly is now on the other side, though, and the matchups are not as favorable.
And for as good as Indianapolis is in the passing game they do not have a complex system. Harrison will line up on the right side of the formation a vast majority of the time and be in a direct matchup with Bailey, who has the quickness to stay with Harrison underneath in man-to-man as well as over the top. Bailey is a tremendous athlete and a very good technician so don't look for Harrison to win many matchups this week. Wayne has dominated against the Broncos on the other side of the formation, and while Bly will gamble more than Bailey his recovery speed is not nearly as good. Look for Peyton Manning to work some pump fakes to Wayne's side this week to bait Bly.
As good as the matchups are on the outside, the guy who has really been paving the way for the Indianapolis passing game has been TE Dallas Clark. Safeties Lynch and Nick Ferguson have been better in coverage this season but have yet to face a tight end who moves around the field and creates mismatches the way Clark does. Look for the Broncos to also use the athletic Gold on Clark this week because he has the foot quickness to matchup well, an in certain packages he will get safety help over the top. This matchup will be key for Denver because the Colts' domination in this category is the reason the Broncos have been on the wrong end of the scoreboard recently against the Colts.
Special Teams
Injuries on the defensive side of the ball have caught up to the Colts' special teams, as evidenced by the kickoff return touchdown Jerome Mathis scored last week as well as a long punt return by Jacoby Jones. Denver has not been able to generate anything in the return game and their usually-solid cover units have been shaky as well, so their is potential for some big returns in this game.
Both teams have excellent kickers in the Colts' Adam Vinatieri and the Broncos' Jason Elam, but the nod goes to Vinatieri as he has never missed a kick in his career in the RCA Dome. Punters Hunter Smith of Indianapolis and Todd Sauerbrun of Denver have not kicked as well as they have in the past but the advantage goes to Smith because of his ability to keep the Broncos pinned deep in their own end. It is a close call on special teams this week, and even though the Colts were a little shaky with their cover units last week they have the better kicker and punter.
Denver pretty much has to play an entirely error free ball game in all phazes to have any chance for a victory, with the Colts playing a sloppy game to boot...
I'm a :homer: so what the hell....31-28 GO BRONCOS !!!
By Scouts Inc
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Why To Watch
The Colts have dominated this matchup lately but Denver is much better equipped in the defensive secondary this season to deal with the high-powered Indianapolis defense, and new Broncos RB Travis Henry has had some success in the past running against the Colts. There will also be two great individual matchups on the outside in this game with Indianapolis WRs Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne going up against Denver CBs Champ Bailey and Dre Bly. The Colts are the defending Super Bowl champs and the Broncos are projected to be a playoff team in the AFC this season, so this should be a fun game to watch.
When the Broncos have the ball
Rushing: Denver ranked third in the league in rushing offense heading into last week's game at Jacksonville but Henry was completely neutralized bay the Jaguars, who did a great job of slanting their front seven and shooting lateral gaps. Denver runs a zone blocking scheme that relies on getting out in space, but the Jacksonville front four was quicker off the snap and as a result Jaguars were able to play on the other side of the line of scrimmage.
That has to be worrisome for head coach Mike Shanahan this week because the Broncos will face a font four this week coached John Teerlinck that thrives on using gap penetration. Teerlinck does not ask his linemen to play the run so his front four will be getting up the field all game. Denver might have to shorten their its splits on the offensive line this week to try and avoid allowing the kind of penetration that killed the Broncos last week. If they can get their cut off blocks Henry should be able to get to the second level and make Colts ILB Gary Brackett miss in the hole. Denver has to find a way to get Henry to the second level this week, so also look for a few more draws against an Indianapolis defensive front that could blow right by him on the delay or inside draw handoff.
Passing: Denver QB Jay Cutler forced a few passes last week but has been steady overall through the first three weeks of the season. Cutler has very good command of the offensive system and has done a solid job of spreading the ball around. He will have to be patient this week, though, because as Houston's Matt Schaub found out last week forcing the ball into the Colts' Cover 2 defense can mean trouble for a quarterback.
The Broncos will work on getting WR Javon Walker into holes in the seam-to-hashmark area of the field, and fellow wideout Brandon Marshall has shown the ability to make plays this season and will also be involved. Denver will also work on silent counts a lot as the RCA Dome will be very loud and Denver OTs Matt Lepsis and Erik Pears will be under a lot of pressure, and that duo will be at an athletic disadvantage on the edges against Colts DEs Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis. It is imperative that the Denver offensive line stay in synch and avoids disrupting off the timing of their precise West Coast offense.
A player to watch this week is Broncos TE Tony Scheffler. Even though Scheffler is listed as the third tight end on the depth chart he is the best receiving option at the position and the guy with the best chance of keeping Indianapolis S Bob Sanders occupied and away from the line of scrimmage. Scheffler and fellow TE Daniel Graham need to find voids in the short-to-intermediate parts of the field to take the pressure off Cutler and keep the sticks moving.
When the Colts have the ball
Rushing: If there is an Achilles heel for Denver it is the run defense. The Broncos have a lot of new players up front who are still adjusting to playing together, and the Jaguars pounded the ball between the tackles last week. The bigger issue, however, has been the release of MLB Al Wilson during the offseason. Former OLB D.J. Williams has not made a smooth transition to the middle as the game appears to be moving too quickly for him inside. Williams is not a physical, take-on player, and even though he can often recover with his speed he is often caught out of position against the run. That in turn puts pressure on WLB Ian Gold and S John Lynch in run support.
Indianapolis has not been spectacular in the running game but has done enough to keep the offense balanced. The Colts will never get too far away from their passing game but they will run the ball more this week. Running back Joseph Addai is a patient runner with very good vision and instincts and does and excellent job of seeing the cutback lane on the stretch play. Williams has been caught over-pursuing numerous times this season, so look for Addai to peer inside in search of the cutback and daylight on the inside. Denver has to be much more sound in the run game this week because even though their pass defense has been solid, the Colts throw it on everyone. The Broncos need to make the Colts more one-dimensional to limit the damage and that starts with the run defense.
Passing: The Colts have dominated this series lately in large part because of their ability to throw the ball all over the field against the Broncos, usually against the corner playing opposit Bailey. Bly is now on the other side, though, and the matchups are not as favorable.
And for as good as Indianapolis is in the passing game they do not have a complex system. Harrison will line up on the right side of the formation a vast majority of the time and be in a direct matchup with Bailey, who has the quickness to stay with Harrison underneath in man-to-man as well as over the top. Bailey is a tremendous athlete and a very good technician so don't look for Harrison to win many matchups this week. Wayne has dominated against the Broncos on the other side of the formation, and while Bly will gamble more than Bailey his recovery speed is not nearly as good. Look for Peyton Manning to work some pump fakes to Wayne's side this week to bait Bly.
As good as the matchups are on the outside, the guy who has really been paving the way for the Indianapolis passing game has been TE Dallas Clark. Safeties Lynch and Nick Ferguson have been better in coverage this season but have yet to face a tight end who moves around the field and creates mismatches the way Clark does. Look for the Broncos to also use the athletic Gold on Clark this week because he has the foot quickness to matchup well, an in certain packages he will get safety help over the top. This matchup will be key for Denver because the Colts' domination in this category is the reason the Broncos have been on the wrong end of the scoreboard recently against the Colts.
Special Teams
Injuries on the defensive side of the ball have caught up to the Colts' special teams, as evidenced by the kickoff return touchdown Jerome Mathis scored last week as well as a long punt return by Jacoby Jones. Denver has not been able to generate anything in the return game and their usually-solid cover units have been shaky as well, so their is potential for some big returns in this game.
Both teams have excellent kickers in the Colts' Adam Vinatieri and the Broncos' Jason Elam, but the nod goes to Vinatieri as he has never missed a kick in his career in the RCA Dome. Punters Hunter Smith of Indianapolis and Todd Sauerbrun of Denver have not kicked as well as they have in the past but the advantage goes to Smith because of his ability to keep the Broncos pinned deep in their own end. It is a close call on special teams this week, and even though the Colts were a little shaky with their cover units last week they have the better kicker and punter.
Denver pretty much has to play an entirely error free ball game in all phazes to have any chance for a victory, with the Colts playing a sloppy game to boot...
I'm a :homer: so what the hell....31-28 GO BRONCOS !!!