Accurate account of what went wrong defensively in MIA

[Mediator12]

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drm...084981,00.html

Defensive line bends over backward
Big linemen dropped off in zone coverage against the Dolphins

By Lee Rasizer, Rocky Mountain News
September 16, 2005

ENGLEWOOD - Play on your heels. Backpedal. The concepts go against everything defensive linemen are taught from the first time they put on shoulder pads.

But on snap after snap Sunday, the Denver Broncos defensive line was less front four and more front three or two as it dropped into zones to accommodate numerous and varied blitz combinations.

We'd rather go forward, but we have to play within the defense, and if it calls for us to drop, we drop," said Broncos defensive tackle Michael Myers, who twice did that.

At least the linemen's pass-coverage responsibilities were rendered moot by the pressure of the rushing cornerbacks or linebackers and resulting quick throws. If not, the backpedaling might have come from Broncos defensive coordinator Larry Coyer in trying to explain why 300-pound men were challenging fleet receivers and tight ends.

Denver didn't get any sacks against the Dolphins using the zone blitz, but it did accomplish its goal of forcing Miami Dolphins quarterback Gus Frerotte into letting go of the ball quickly while taking it out of the hands of rookie running back Ronnie Brown.

Yet for the most part, Frerotte handled the pressure extremely well, audibling out of runs and content to hit his "hot" read and letting his passing targets gain extra yards after the catch. The fact Miami turned so many short passes into longer gains wrecked what Coyer believes was "the right scheme" for attacking the Dolphins.

Denver sent straight blitzes 11 other times during its 34-10 loss, with mixed results.

"It came down to coordination," Coyer said. "We knew they were going to throw one-step passes. . . . The deal was, we didn't want them to run the ball. And what they did was let 3-yard gains turn into 12-yard passes. We can't do that."

Of the 12 zone blitzes against him, Frerotte unofficially completed seven of 10 passes for 55 yards with one interception.

Broncos defensive end Ebenezer Ekuban once was called for holding as the tight end released off the line of scrimmage, negating a sack. Cornerback Champ Bailey, blitzing on another occasion, forced a 10-yard holding penalty against Miami.

The Broncos cornerbacks were playing in "off" coverage on most of those zone blitzes because "we thought we were talented enough to break and make a play, and at times, we were," Coyer said.

Darrent Williams stripped one pass from David Boston after closing quickly. Bailey also had his moments before leaving the game. But there were too many missed tackles and open-field running on other occasions.

More in the Link...

[PatsWin2002]

I didn't see the game, but you can be sure Marty will use Nick's blueprint "to beat the Broncos" as long as what's broken remains broken.

[Taco John]

Lee has become one of my favorite reads...

[PatsWin2002]

TJ (sorry to hijack the thread).....

How did the site and chatroom perform last week? I was on the board right after the game and it seemed as fast as always.

I've been wondering and didn't know where to ask other than a PM.

[Mediator12]

Originally Posted by Taco John

Lee has become one of my favorite reads...

Lee Rasizer is the only Broncos reporter that tries to get below the surface at all IMHO. If I could only find out who wabbit is, then that might change

[Rock Chalk]

Originally Posted by Mediator12

Lee Rasizer is the only Broncos reporter that tries to get below the surface at all IMHO. If I could only find out who wabbit is, then that might change

Trust me, keeping wabbit's identity a secret is a good thing.

[epicSocialism4tw]

That article just adds to the perception that Champ had a really great game before getting injured. He really couldnt have done more outside of return that pick for a TD and line up at WR.

When he left, the confidence level fell through the floor. (Wasnt it 6-3 at that point?)

[Popps]

The Zone Blitz scheme is probably somewhere near it's 10th year of popularity. What does that mean? People have seen it... you're not fooling people with it, anymore. Can it be effective? I'm sure it can, but Coyer answered his own question: you've got to have the talent.

Haven't we tried this blitzing Gold-thing before? Didn't we find out last time we tried this that he's just not a great pass-rusher? Some people are great at rushing the QB from other positions, some aren't. Atwater was great, Romo was great. I've yet to see anything from any of our LBs or safeties that leads me to think they're great blitzers.

I'm not opposed to blitzing. In fact, I'm quite in favor of it when you have a team that doesn't have any true pass rusher on the D-line.(Like us.) But I'd like to see our four guys up front pushing the pocket back AND some extra blitz help.
Any time you blitz, you take your chances. That's why, for the last 7 years I've been b****ing about not having a premiere pass-rusher on the edge. How nice would it be to be able to just send the four up front and create pressure?

Neil Smith and Alfred Williams. Ahh.... the good old days.

Anyway, Coyer better scrap that silly **** for Sunday and figure something else out.

[Mile High Shack]

Originally Posted by Popps

Anyway, Coyer better scrap that silly **** for Sunday and figure something else out.

or at least have the corners playing tighter so it stays as a 3 yard gain

[DB-Freak]

Originally Posted by Mile High Shack

or at least have the corners playing tighter so it stays as a 3 yard gain

What I dont like about is that our CBs are pretty lightweight and none of them are great jammers.

And Walls would absolutely blow it at it.

Stiff hip, slow transition, and 6-4 and 195 pounds. Thats skinny.

A guy like him is better off line.

[Play2win]

What I most definitely don't want to see is the Pseudo Blitz, where they line everybody up like its a blitz (LBs and Safeties), then they drop back. I know at one point in time this was effective, but it just doesn't work anymore. At all.

Why would you purposely put people out of position, so they could back-peddle, or catch-up, for the rest of the play. I mean, why on God's green earth would you put our guy in such a disadvantage, basically before the game even starts? Does anybody else have a take on this?

[ludo21]

Originally Posted by Play2Win

What I most definitely don't want to see is the Pseudo Blitz, where they line everybody up like its a blitz (LBs and Safeties), then they drop back. I know at one point in time this was effective, but it just doesn't work anymore. At all.

Why would you purposely put people out of position, so they could back-peddle, or catch-up, for the rest of the play. I mean, why on God's green earth would you put our guy in such a disadvantage, basically before the game even starts? Does anybody else have a take on this?

basically as a lb your told to do that on almost every play. sort of. I see some do it, others just blitz when their told, or stay back.

But it sure does get old when he has everyone doing it 5x a game and its obvious the offense doesnt buy it.

I just wanna see some more "hidden" blitzes on the backside. 'Other than that, lets let the front 4 try and get pressure and drop everyone else.

If that dont work, blitz in the 2nd half and try that approach.

[Play2win]

Originally Posted by ludo21

basically as a lb your told to do that on almost every play. sort of. I see some do it, others just blitz when their told, or stay back.

But it sure does get old when he has everyone doing it 5x a game and its obvious the offense doesnt buy it.

I just wanna see some more "hidden" blitzes on the backside. 'Other than that, lets let the front 4 try and get pressure and drop everyone else.

If that dont work, blitz in the 2nd half and try that approach.

What I mean, though, is if the LB is already 5 yards deep, he is in a much better position for angles, coverages and to read the run. It allows the LBs to play to their stengths and react to the play. Why would you not want to put your men in a position that allows them to play to their Strengths? Don't you want to give your men (and your team) the best chance to succeed? I don't believe this "Pseudo Blitz" does that. At all.

How can a LB truthfully Read and React to the Play-Action-Fake if he is too busy backpeddling. His vision, reads and angles are impared by where he is on the field.

It is PARAMOUNT that the LBs read and react quickly and decisively to the Play-Action-Fake. It is really one of the most important things for a defense to do, that, and stop the run.

I mean, after all, he is called a LINE-BACKER not a LINE-MEN?

[Broncoman13]

Originally Posted by PatsWin2002

I didn't see the game, but you can be sure Marty will use Nick's blueprint "to beat the Broncos" as long as what's broken remains broken.

Won't work for two reasons. First, before our defense wore down they were doing quite well. Save for one big play that really caught us off guard (reverse). At any rate, the temp will be a lot different and you can rest assured that the Chargeless will run out of gas in the altitude before the Broncos do. Second reason is our running game will work this weekend. I'm willing it to happen. We don't have a choice. Run the ball and run it well!

[brncs_fan]

Originally Posted by OSKIE

Won't work for two reasons. First, before our defense wore down they were doing quite well. Save for one big play that really caught us off guard (reverse). At any rate, the temp will be a lot different and you can rest assured that the Chargeless will run out of gas in the altitude before the Broncos do. Second reason is our running game will work this weekend. I'm willing it to happen. We don't have a choice. Run the ball and run it well!

You forgot the most important reason, their fan base increased by one this week

[Broncoman13]

Also, this is exactly what I've been saying is pissing me off about Coyer's Destroyers... Dropping our DL into coverage kind of defeats the purpose of blitzing. I can handle a zone blitz every once in awhile, but you have to mix it up with overloading as well. No suprise element this way and you usually get a hat for a hat instead of a 5 on 4 type situation.

[Broncoman13]

Originally Posted by brncs_fan

You forgot the most important reason, their fan base increased by one this week

That too!!! Joryn will bring good luck!

[Old Dude]

The deal was, we didn't want them to run the ball. And what they did was let 3-yard gains turn into 12-yard passes.

That's pretty much the whole story. It got worse as the game progressed, after Bailey was injured, and as the heat and humidity took their toll on a defense that got no chance to rest on the sidelines. Toward the end, we had guys out there limping around with cramps, too worn down to make a tackle.

I would have sent the defense to the locker room after the game, but kept the offense out there and made them run windsprints for 30 minutes, so they'd know what they put Coyer's guys through.

[DivineLegion]

Originally Posted by OSKIE

Also, this is exactly what I've been saying is pissing me off about Coyer's Destroyers... Dropping our DL into coverage kind of defeats the purpose of blitzing. I can handle a zone blitz every once in awhile, but you have to mix it up with overloading as well. No suprise element this way and you usually get a hat for a hat instead of a 5 on 4 type situation.

I just thought of something...with the way our interior line typicaly pushs Coyer probably thought he would have more sucsess bringing in corners...

[ludo21]

Originally Posted by OSKIE

That too!!! Joryn will bring good luck!

I hope so! better get joryn dolled up for the game, we need all the support we can get.

[footstepsfrom#27]

Denver didn't get any sacks against the Dolphins using the zone blitz, but it did accomplish its goal of forcing Miami Dolphins quarterback Gus Frerotte into letting go of the ball quickly while taking it out of the hands of rookie running back Ronnie Brown.

Yea...two people that should scare the living daylights out of your defense, an old statue-like has been QB who isn't good enough to start on more than three teams in the NFL and a rookie running back with 11 snaps of preseason football to his credit...brilliant! The last thing in the world I want to see is 325 pound Gerard Warren covering a receiver while Durrant Williams sends the blitz...does that make ANY sense? I know some of these big guys are fast...but they aren't THAT fast. This was an idiotic scheme. We need to line these guys up and tell them to pin their ears back and go after the ball...PERIOD. Right now the defene IMO gets a pass for the Miami game because the offense has a limitless supply of things to criticize...but if we see this nonsense again, it's time to talk about that side of the ball as well.

[Mediator12]

This went from a good idea to hell in a handbasket in about seven posts. Good Job fellas!

[watermock]

If you had given an accurate analysis, it might of.

[ScottXray]

Originally Posted by footstepsfrom#27

Yea...two people that should scare the living daylights out of your defense, an old statue-like has been QB who isn't good enough to start on more than three teams in the NFL and a rookie running back with 11 snaps of preseason football to his credit...brilliant! The last thing in the world I want to see is 325 pound Gerard Warren covering a receiver while Durrant Williams sends the blitz...does that make ANY sense? I know some of these big guys are fast...but they aren't THAT fast. This was an idiotic scheme. We need to line these guys up and tell them to pin their ears back and go after the ball...PERIOD. Right now the defene IMO gets a pass for the Miami game because the offense has a limitless supply of things to criticize...but if we see this nonsense again, it's time to talk about that side of the ball as well.

Agree! rep!

[watermock]

ENGLEWOOD - Play on your heels. Backpedal. The concepts go against everything defensive linemen are taught from the first time they put on shoulder pads.

But on snap after snap Sunday, the Denver Broncos defensive line was less front four and more front three or two as it dropped into zones to accommodate numerous and varied blitz combinations.

We'd rather go forward, but we have to play within the defense, and if it calls for us to drop, we drop," said Broncos defensive tackle Michael Myers, who twice did that.

At least the linemen's pass-coverage responsibilities were rendered moot by the pressure of the rushing cornerbacks or linebackers and resulting quick throws. If not, the backpedaling might have come from Broncos defensive coordinator Larry Coyer in trying to explain why 300-pound men were challenging fleet receivers and tight ends.

Denver didn't get any sacks against the Dolphins using the zone blitz, but it did accomplish its goal of forcing Miami Dolphins quarterback Gus Frerotte into letting go of the ball quickly while taking it out of the hands of rookie running back Ronnie Brown.

Yet for the most part, Frerotte handled the pressure extremely well, audibling out of runs and content to hit his "hot" read and letting his passing targets gain extra yards after the catch. The fact Miami turned so many short passes into longer gains wrecked what Coyer believes was "the right scheme" for attacking the Dolphins.

Denver sent straight blitzes 11 other times during its 34-10 loss, with mixed results.

"It came down to coordination," Coyer said. "We knew they were going to throw one-step passes. . . . The deal was, we didn't want them to run the ball. And what they did was let 3-yard gains turn into 12-yard passes. We can't do that."

Of the 12 zone blitzes against him, Frerotte unofficially completed seven of 10 passes for 55 yards with one interception.

Broncos defensive end Ebenezer Ekuban once was called for holding as the tight end released off the line of scrimmage, negating a sack. Cornerback Champ Bailey, blitzing on another occasion, forced a 10-yard holding penalty against Miami.

The Broncos cornerbacks were playing in "off" coverage on most of those zone blitzes because "we thought we were talented enough to break and make a play, and at times, we were," Coyer said.

Darrent Williams stripped one pass from David Boston after closing quickly. Bailey also had his moments before leaving the game. But there were too many missed tackles and open-field running on other occasions.