Defensive Grading from HOU game

[Mediator12]

Let's start with the basic overall defense, since no one can say they played vanilla tonight. They employed 4 different basic fronts last night, including the Bates scheme and four point stances for most of the second half. The most interesting twist is putting a S on the LOS presnap and not just walking him down into the box late like most teams do.

They seem determined to keep teams from gouging the inside plays like they did last year, but they left the CB's exposed to the short passing game in doing so. Foxworth and Paymah played as well as they could based on what the defense was giving HOU. Bailey and Bly are not going to make that much better if at all. Still, they did not give up any big plays, except for the TD to Anderson. That was a total Front seven Cluster **** as Paymah was left to cover Anderson alone on the whole backside of the field and Rosenfels had all day to make that throw. I am sorry, but that is not the CB's fault and he still had very good coverage.

The front seven was still very hesitant in making their reads and getting explosively upfield. That sucks, because it looks like they should be playing an aggressive one gap scheme, but they executed it very poorly and were terrible playing the run laterally. Early in the game, Schaub was getting rid of the ball quickly and so was Rosenrosen (gratuitous Fletch reference), so the lack of a passrush was moot as they were getting the ball out before anyone was going to get there. Later in the game, they were trying to use the Bates front to produce Pressure from the Front four only on the QB and it was still awful. Only when they brought 6 on the rush did they force the QB to throw sooner than he wanted.

The sad thing is the disparity between the units. The second and third defense is just not good. Sure, there are a few promising players, but not many. I fail to see all the Josh Barrett love from just that game. Woodyard was one of the few that knew his assignments and then executed them. Nobody else stood out, and JMFW was flat out confused 50% of the time blowing coverages and missing reads.

Next: Specific players

[Ratboy]

Good read.

[Mediator12]

DL: Marcus Thomas was active and looked good on some plays, but his two big plays were more from missed assignments and blocks than actually beating someone straight up. Kenny Peterson was ok but got his butt whipped on running plays where he did not get penetration. Real inconsistent from play to play. Engleberger is still not a pass rush threat, but he seems to never make mental mistakes and that right there is why he starts and some more talented guys are sitting behind him. Dumervil played but he was not in there enough to make a difference and he is still a massive liability versus the run unless they play the S right next to him, which also takes away any outside pass rush he might provide being there on early downs. Makes you scratch your head a little on why they are doing it that way.

The Backup DL: Moss was OK and did get two pressures from my count. Those were the only times they did not roll protection away from him, so when he gets one on one he was doing alright, but he is not going to beat many double teams especially when the rest of the DL has zero pass rushing ability. Crowder just confirmed all my worst fears last night. Great Physical specimen, horrible at understanding the game and making adjustments. Blew 5 different reads by my count, and then I stopped counting! None of the other DT's are even worth mentioning, they were just awful.

LB's: Boss Bailey got hurt early, so no real opinion there. Webster loses his place on the field in zone coverage and is not as fast as he once was. MLB is not looking good right now and hopefully Thomas and Robertson will protect it more down the road than the DT's did last night. DJ was solid at Will, but he still overruns plays on the backside. His coverage was exceptional again though.

Backup LB's:Woodyard was the only one who was consistent. He diagnosed plays and made every tackle he had to make. He had one chance to stop a Third down run on Slaton on the counter pitch and took a great angle, closed fast, but just could not get there. Still, he made the tackle. Beck looked alright, but he gave up a FD on a hold where the Defense had them in a third and long. Not smart. Niko was getting hammered by the wash and was almost impossible to evaluate as Harris and Clemons were getting pushed off the LOS so much. Green got hurt right after Boss. Winborn really was not in position very much and looked very confused more than once in coverage.

Next: Secondary

[Willynowei]

Originally Posted by Mediator12

Still, they did not give up any big plays, except for the TD to Anderson. That was a total Front seven Cluster **** as Paymah was left to cover Anderson alone on the whole backside of the field and Rosenfels had all day to make that throw. I am sorry, but that is not the CB's fault and he still had very good coverage.

We rushed 4 on that play. No interior pressure but Moss was getting there and I don't believe peterson or thomas was playing tackle.

I'm pretty sure I saw a safety on the inside of Paymah. If Paymah didn't have help on that play then where the hell were our safeties considering we only brought 4.

[PRBronco]

So...my adopt a bronco isn't looking so hot?

[vancejohnson82]

I like bringing up the S early as to let the offense know they aren't going to treat our D how they did last year...i hated watching 6 yard first down runs series after series...

i HATE how the D-line has failed to impress early on...but then again, its early on.

[oubronco]

I Hate how our D-line has failed to impress the the last Ten Years or more

[vancejohnson82]

OU,

The problem is that every time we have a guy emerge we fail to surround him with anything else and eventually let them walk to FA...

the organization is finally starting to realize the importance of hte unit but I fear we waited too long as the "strength" positions of the team have started to fall apart (eg. LBSs)

[broncofan2438]

Good read here, a good assessment of the players

[Cosmo]

Mediator is spot on with the LB's.

Thomas didn't play much, but he looked great while he played, give him a bit more credit than the other team blew their assignments though.

Barrett was impressive because he can fly, nothing of special note other than that. He's fast and aggressive, if he can learn about the game more, watch out.

Everything else was good. Niko just didn't have enough going his way to make any kind of call on him, but he is always in position, which is more than I can say about Nate (I swear he is always super confused).

[Rabb]

Originally Posted by vancejohnson82

OU,

The problem is that every time we have a guy emerge we fail to surround him with anything else and eventually let them walk to FA...

the organization is finally starting to realize the importance of hte unit but I fear we waited too long as the "strength" positions of the team have started to fall apart (eg. LBSs)

my thoughts exactly

the jury is still out, but building around Dumervil will prove to be the real key to the future here on the D line

[TheReverend]

Was only able to watch the 2nd half and had a four year old keeping me from paying too much attention, so patiently waiting for the rest

[Mediator12]

Surprisingly, Dre Bly was playing the first team slot CB in the nickle. I really thought he would not play alot, but he got beat twice on crossing routes on their scoring drives in the first half. He seemed to not really be going full speed though, I wish he would have been, but his head did not seem into the game.

Starting secondary: Foxworth was very good last night. He even made a very solid TFL cutting inside his man and making a great tackle. Paymah was pretty solid too. I already explained the TD pass earlier, but he was pretty solid on that play in coverage and only a perfect throw would have scored there. Unfortunately, it was a perfect throw.

The safeties scare me. McCree and Manuel were constantly thinking and not getting to where they needed to be. The reverse was a really poor play recognition and angle by McCree. He had inside help and failed to take away the edge when he could have. Manuel really bit on the PA and misdirection, taking false steps instead of reading the play. Safety is a mental position and both those guys were not strong making their pre-snap and post-snap reads. McCree looked like he read the Goalline play, but he was in Robber coverage and that was where he was going anyway.
Both played deeper in coverage and that allowed the short inside game to be much more effective.

If the starters were exposed from the Front seven, giving grades to the backups is pretty hard. The safeties were nonexistant in coverage the second half and Barrett and Rogers were not able to do much. Barrett did an excellent job of jumping on the pile and getting some assists though!JMFW played like a deer in the headlights most of the game. Hopefully, he moves on from this. Morton had the sack, but his technique and footwork in coverage is really poor. Lamont Reid made some tackles, but they did not throw his way much and therefore hard to see his coverage from TV angles. Some Dude named Vickiel Vaughn played, but I honestly do not remember seeing him do anything either!

[Mediator12]

Originally Posted by Willynowei

We rushed 4 on that play. No interior pressure but Moss was getting there and I don't believe peterson or thomas was playing tackle.

I'm pretty sure I saw a safety on the inside of Paymah. If Paymah didn't have help on that play then where the hell were our safeties considering we only brought 4.

Eight guys in the box, cover one, ball on the opposite hash. Paymah has to cover OVER half the field really. Moss or a LB blew the contain, again based on what they were running on that play.

[Rabb]

Originally Posted by Mediator12

The safeties scare me

I thought Manuel was ok, but McCree looked like garbage

McCree completely whiffed on a hit in the 1st and was just not looking confident on anything else

1st game, preseason, I will chalk it up to rust myself

[Willynowei]

Originally Posted by Mediator12

Eight guys in the box, cover one, ball on the opposite hash. Paymah has to cover OVER half the field really. Moss or a LB blew the contain, again based on what they were running on that play.

My point, what the heck are we doing running a cover one with four pass rushers, whats the extra guy doing, roasting marsh mellows?

[Broncos_OTM]

Originally Posted by Cosmo

Mediator is spot on with the LB's.

Thomas didn't play much, but he looked great while he played, give him a bit more credit than the other team blew their assignments though.

Barrett was impressive because he can fly, nothing of special note other than that. He's fast and aggressive, if he can learn about the game more, watch out.

Everything else was good. Niko just didn't have enough going his way to make any kind of call on him, but he is always in position, which is more than I can say about Nate (I swear he is always super confused).

Everytime i saw niko or larssen they were lost in the wash. and werent able to shed blocks

[bpc]

Mediator, great read bro. I defer to your overall knowledge of the defense and overall scheme.

It just pains me to see our DL losing so many one on one battles. It's a shame really because we've invested a lot of resources into those spots. What you are saying about Moss and Crowder is scary. Engelberger may be doing the "job" but he never makes the play. That's the sign of a bad defense though... players who are overly talented but can't do their assignments and blue collar guys who can but aren't talented enough to make the play.

I'm interested to see what McCree and Hamza can do next to each other. I did not really care for the job that Manual did. He lacks instincts in a major way, has his blinders on which was the case on the reverse. I don't know what he was looking at but he bit too hard on the QB fake. Barrett is young but I did like the way he can cover the field. I'll say that this is the first time since watching him at ASU where I thought he was even playing close to his preseason 40 speed. We was going sideline to sideline.

[Hotrod]

Sounds a lot like more of the same this year. Hopefully they can fix the mental issues but there is little that can be done for lack of depth at this point.

Good stuff Med.

[Denver724]

I remember someone from the Bronco organization saying something to the effect of, "we could not believe Crowder was still there when we were on the clock". Not sure if it was Sunquist or Shanny. They probably know now why he was still available.

[Mediator12]

Some more general observations.

1. They are playing the Deep safety over 15 yards behind the LOS, which basically eliminates him from any run support role. If teams can cutback against the play, there are going to be some really long runs like Stephen Jackson had a few years ago.

2. They are playing the modified cover 3, cover one man for the most part behind their fronts. They are also playing off the ball 4-6 yards. Translation, patient ball control teams will march up and down the field against them and wear them out if they are not better on first down.

3. They need Robertson really bad versus the run. Peterson can penetrate, but he gets manhandled if they get their hands on him. He washed destroyed on their two long runs versus the first team "D".

4. The front four lacks any aggressiveness for a one gap scheme. Why the Hell Jacob Burney is still there is beyond me. He can not get these guys to play quick and get off the ball worth a darn.

[TheReverend]

Originally Posted by Mediator12

Surprisingly, Dre Bly was playing the first team slot CB in the nickle. I really thought he would not play alot, but he got beat twice on crossing routes on their scoring drives in the first half. He seemed to not really be going full speed though, I wish he would have been, but his head did not seem into the game.

Starting secondary: Foxworth was very good last night. He even made a very solid TFL cutting inside his man and making a great tackle. Paymah was pretty solid too. I already explained the TD pass earlier, but he was pretty solid on that play in coverage and only a perfect throw would have scored there. Unfortunately, it was a perfect throw.

The safeties scare me. McCree and Manuel were constantly thinking and not getting to where they needed to be. The reverse was a really poor play recognition and angle by McCree. He had inside help and failed to take away the edge when he could have. Manuel really bit on the PA and misdirection, taking false steps instead of reading the play. Safety is a mental position and both those guys were not strong making their pre-snap and post-snap reads. McCree looked like he read the Goalline play, but he was in Robber coverage and that was where he was going anyway.
Both played deeper in coverage and that allowed the short inside game to be much more effective.

If the starters were exposed from the Front seven, giving grades to the backups is pretty hard. The safeties were nonexistant in coverage the second half and Barrett and Rogers were not able to do much. Barrett did an excellent job of jumping on the pile and getting some assists though!JMFW played like a deer in the headlights most of the game. Hopefully, he moves on from this. Morton had the sack, but his technique and footwork in coverage is really poor. Lamont Reid made some tackles, but they did not throw his way much and therefore hard to see his coverage from TV angles. Some Dude named Vickiel Vaughn played, but I honestly do not remember seeing him do anything either!

Like I said, wasn't able to watch much let along pay attention, so only have a couple notes.

We played a lot of man-cover 2 and even base cover 2, and no over/under fronts (from what I saw).

Also, Barrett must've been different from when I was watching because I was able to see a guy show that he's ahead of the learning curve of other 3rd teamers, show good play recognition and someone taking EXCELLENT angles.

[Broncos_OTM]

Originally Posted by Mediator12

Some more general observations.

1. They are playing the Deep safety over 15 yards behind the LOS, which basically eliminates him from any run support role. If teams can cutback against the play, there are going to be some really long runs like Stephen Jackson had a few years ago.

2. They are playing the modified cover 3, cover one man for the most part behind their fronts. They are also playing off the ball 4-6 yards. Translation, patient ball control teams will march up and down the field against them and wear them out if they are not better on first down.

3. They need Robertson really bad versus the run. Peterson can penetrate, but he gets manhandled if they get their hands on him. He washed destroyed on their two long runs versus the first team "D".

4. The front four lacks any aggressiveness for a one gap scheme. Why the Hell Jacob Burney is still there is beyond me. He can not get these guys to play quick and get off the ball worth a darn.

whats more disstressing to me as well is that shanny knows Gary. and his offense and we still couldnt do jack

[Mediator12]

Originally Posted by Willynowei

My point, what the heck are we doing running a cover one with four pass rushers, whats the extra guy doing, roasting marsh mellows?

It was a PA bootleg, one of many , and the Whole "D" bit on it and totally overpursued. What makes it even worse, is that situationally, the safeties are closer to the LOS because they were already in the red zone and no one needed to overrun their gaps!!!

The PA is what the problem was inot that coverage. The lack of backside discipline put Paymah on an island the size of australia. I just watched that a couple more times and it makes me sick.

[Rabb]

great overall write ups man, seriously good reading