Kiszla: Broncos might have to change offensive blueprint

[Bronco Rob]

Kiszla: Broncos might have to change offensive blueprint


By Mark Kiszla
The Denver Post
Posted: 11/02/2009 01:00:00 AM MST



BALTIMORE — It took the Broncos six games to earn the NFL's respect and one snap to be exposed.

From the first snap of this lopsided 30-7 loss to Baltimore, quarterback Kyle Orton ate turf, while the conservative game plan of coach Josh McDan- iels got fed to the shredder.

Perfection was gone in less than 60 seconds.

"Who said we'd go 16-0?" linebacker Andra Davis asked after the Broncos came undone Sunday.

Answer: nobody.

The league has been handed a formula to beat Denver, which had won six straight times with sound fundamentals unencumbered by anything resembling pizazz.

The big question now: Are the Broncos and McDaniels bold enough to do anything about it?

"It would be naive to think, 'Hey, we'll be all right.' We need a sense of urgency right now," said Broncos safety Renaldo Hill, fully aware the next team on the schedule is the defending world champion Steelers.

"Who's to say Pittsburgh won't take the same formula to try to beat us?"

If we have learned anything about the Broncos, we know they are well- coached, physical and disciplined.

It's all good . . . to a point.

We also have seen enough to realize if the playbook of McDaniels were any more conservative, it would read like a best seller from Glenn Beck.

The Broncos have made too much noise in the standings to continue to win by boring foes to death.

For the sixth time in seven games, Orton did not throw an interception. But, against the Ravens, he averaged 3.4 yards per pass attempt.

The Denver offense was dink, dunk and a cloud of dust.

"We put ourselves in some bad situations, long-yardage situations. That's not the way to beat this team. You can't get behind in down and distance," Broncos receiver Jabar Gaffney said.

On the road or against a stout defense, it is too difficult to make 10-play, 86-yard drives like the one that resulted in Denver's lone touchdown against Baltimore anything more than an aberration.

Although Orton stood in front of his locker and forthrightly said, "When it doesn't go right, it's on me," it would be far too easy to point a finger at the quarterback.

Blame McDaniels. It's the coach who needs to let his team evolve beyond old-fashioned, block-and-tackle philosophies that pay homage to all the classic football masters from George Halas to Vince Lombardi but don't always play smoothly at the high baud rates of 2009.

The Broncos have the basics down pat. But throw them off their game and make them play outside of their comfort zone, and they can look as frustrated as kids with plain vanilla ice cream melting at their feet.

The small charms of a brutally long 16-game NFL season can be found in how patterns emerge and even the most brilliant schemes are forced to adjust. There's now a book on the Broncos. They don't defeat themselves. But if they can't establish physical dominance, this is a team that can be revealed to be painfully short on imagination.

Against Baltimore, Knowshon Moreno rushed 10 times for 39 yards, and Brandon Marshall caught four passes for 24 yards. Those are not the stats of playmakers. It was as if Denver was more interested in trying to hypnotize linebacker Ray Lewis and the Ravens than attack the Baltimore defense. Who knew a 33-year-old coach would be so risk-averse?

Throw the Broncos for a loss, knock them off their down-and-distance rhythm, and they quickly get stuck in the same mire that eventually led to extinction of the power- sweep offenses roaming the the NFL during the 1960s. Maybe the lone fatal flaw in the way McDaniels likes to play is not the lack of a strong- armed quarterback who throws deep, but a relentless demand for fine motor-skill precision that is tough to replicate all season long unless your name is Tom Brady.

"I think anytime you have a game like this, it forces you to look in the mirror and really tell yourself where you're at individually and as a football team," McDaniels said.

A single loss does not doom Denver. Far from it. It's hard to envision a future without this team in the playoffs.

But the road to the Super Bowl never is a straight line, and right now the Broncos have mastered only one path to victory.

Is a Denver locker room full of football overachievers capable of learning more?

http://www.denverpost.com/premium/broncos/ci_13691543

[Schism]

We'll open the playbook up more as the season goes on and it becomes more apparent what the players can and can't do, I'm sure.

Didn't like the offensive gameplan much yesterday though, we should have taken more shots deep once it became obvious the Ravens were gonna be so aggressive in taking away the short stuff.

The premise of the article is pretty gammy though. "Boring" football, as it is described here, wins more championships than "pizazz". Always been the case and still is, even in today's pass happy NFL.

Colts are the only high powered, flashy offense to win a Superbowl since the turn of the century.

[peacepipe]

Originally Posted by McSchism

We'll open the playbook up more as the season goes on and it becomes more apparent what the players can and can't do, I'm sure.

Didn't like the offensive gameplan much yesterday though, we should have taken more shots deep once it became obvious the Ravens were gonna be so aggressive in taking away the short stuff.

The premise of the article is pretty gammy though. "Boring" football, as it is described here, wins more championships than "pizazz". Always been the case and still is, even in today's pass happy NFL.

Colts are the only high powered, flashy offense to win a Superbowl since the turn of the century.

Didn't like our gameplan yesterday? It's been the same gameplan all season so far. Throw a short pass & hope marshall & co. can break it for a long run.

Colts
Steelers 2x
patriots. 3x

6 of the last 9 Superbowl winners had high-powered offenses.
Not including 2 more on the losing ends seattle & the rams.

[baja]

Yesterday was the first game this season that I thought Cutler (Still don't want him here but I'd take Flacco in a NY minute) would have made a difference. Orton is going to have to find a way to beat the pressure with his arm or our winning ways are over.

[Florida_Bronco]

Who the hell let this guy become a sportswriter?

[mwill07]

Originally Posted by peacepipe

Didn't like our gameplan yesterday? It's been the same gameplan all season so far. Throw a short pass & hope marshall & co. can break it for a long run.

Colts
Steelers 2x
patriots. 3x

6 of the last 9 Superbowl winners had high-powered offenses.
Not including 2 more on the losing ends seattle & the rams.

not true. Steelers and 2 out of three pats teams could hardly be considered "high powered".

2000 Ravens: O was ranked 14th in points, 16th in yards.
2001 Patriots: O was ranked 6th in scoring, 19th in yards.
2002 Buccs: O was ranked 18th in scoring, 24th in yards.
2003 Patriots: O was ranked 12th in scoring, 17th in yards.
2004 Patriots: O was ranked 4th in scoring, 7th in yards.
2005 Steelers:O was ranked 9th in scoring, 15th in yards.
2006 Colts: O was ranked 2nd in scoring, 3rd in yards.
2007 Giants: O wa ranked 14th in scoring, 16th in points
2008 Steelers:O was ranked 20th in scoring, 22nd in yards.

Of the past 9 SB champs, only the 2006 Colts and 2004 Patriots had offenses that could be considered top 5, no matter how you cut it.

[Gort]

the sports department at the Denver Post is downright giddy this morning. probably high-fiving each other over the Broncos loss. now they get to write the kind of articles they haven't been able to write all year. what a bunch of dinks.

i said yesterday that the loss was 99% on the coaching staff. give them a week to respond and see if they make the changes needed to beat Pittsburgh. then, if they don't, the Denver Post writers can have a field day. but it's a bit premature to start jumping off the bandwagon.

[gtown]

The Broncos were exposed? The book on beating the Broncos is getting up for a big game and winning the physical battles?

Seems to be the formula for beating any team.

[barryr]

Seems the Broncos never play the Ravens well, so losing wasn't that big a surprise to me. Especially on the road and the Ravens playing to catch Cincy.

Oh, and I find this yards per pass attempt one of the more useless stats in football. if a guy throws two 50 yard passes and they are both incomplete, then throws a pass complete for 10 yards, it's considered he is basically throwing 3 yards per pass attempt. I worrry more about the yards per pass completion more important, if even that is important, for pass atttempts since it doesn't indicate truly the passes that were really thrown and attempted. A complete, bogus stat.

[ant1999e]

Originally Posted by baja

Yesterday was the first game this season that I thought Cutler (Still don't want him here but I'd take Flacco in a NY minute) would have made a difference. Orton is going to have to find a way to beat the pressure with his arm or our winning ways are over.

I don't know. Orton was pressured all day. Cutler is known to throw a few int's when under pressure. I do agree we may have thrown a few more deep balls thus relieving some pressure.

[baja]

Originally Posted by barryr

Seems the Broncos never play the Ravens well, so losing wasn't that big a surprise to me. Especially on the road and the Ravens playing to catch Cincy.

Oh, and I find this yards per pass attempt one of the more useless stats in football. if a guy throws two 50 yard passes and they are both incomplete, then throws a pass complete for 10 yards, it's considered he is basically throwing 3 yards per pass attempt. I worrry more about the yards per pass completion more important, if even that is important, for pass atttempts since it doesn't indicate truly the passes that were really thrown and attempted. A complete, bogus stat.

So true about that stat, would be the same if at the end of the season add up every teams total points scored and say the team with the most points is the best team.

[go_broncos]

Originally Posted by baja

Yesterday was the first game this season that I thought Cutler (Still don't want him here but I'd take Flacco in a NY minute) would have made a difference. Orton is going to have to find a way to beat the pressure with his arm or our winning ways are over.

Baja..don't think about Cutler..

I believe it is the best thing to happen for our team.

We never know if we get Good or Bad Jay on Sunday's.

Though we might have won yesterday against BAL, we might have lost other games.

My only problem with our team is about offensive playcalling and punter.

[Rohirrim]

I'm sure when Josh needs advise about football, he'll turn to Kizla.

[baja]

Originally Posted by go_broncos

Baja..don't think about Cutler..

I believe it is the best thing to happen for our team.

We never know if we get Good or Bad Jay on Sunday's.

Though we might have won yesterday against BAL, we might have lost other games.

My only problem with our team is about offensive playcalling and punter.

I see you joined in 06, do you read the Mane often?

[go_broncos]

Originally Posted by baja

I see you joined in 06, do you read the Mane often?

Yes..I came to know about this site in 06.

I read most of the time and don't post often.

[rastaman]

Well when you "Dink" and Dung on offense during practise....you will dink and dung offensively in the games. Question is, how much has McD worked on the deep ball during practice to where Orton and the WR's feel comfortable enough to make it a success on Sunday. The deep ball must be drilled and practised as a major part of the offensive game plan every Sunday.

[loborugger]

Originally Posted by Rohirrim

I'm sure when Josh needs advise about football, he'll turn to Kizla.

Someone else already said it, but its worth repeating. Out physicaling a team is always a path to success.

[BroncoInferno]

Originally Posted by rastaman

Well when you "Dink" and Dung on offense during practise....you will dink and dung offensively in the games. Question is, how much has McD worked on the deep ball during practice to where Orton and the WR's feel comfortable enough to make it a success on Sunday. The deep ball must be drilled and practised as a major part of the offensive game plan every Sunday.

The lack of the deep ball wasn't the problem yesteray. Orton barely had any time in the pocket. The run game sets up the deep passing, and we did not do that well enough or block the blitz well enough to give Orton even a chance with the deep ball.

[mwill07]

I would have liked to see Broncos go max protect, keeping RB's and TE's in blocking to counter the blitz, and let Royal/Marshall get deep. Take a couple of shots like that, then start sneaking Scheffler/Graham out into the middle of the field.

Make this work, and the safeties will be out of the box. Once that happens, you can go to the screen game, and then the whole O works.

Without the deep threat, Reed/Polomau will be able to blow up any screen they see developing and this O will be stuck in the mud.

[Rohirrim]

Originally Posted by rastaman

Well when you "Dink" and Dung on offense during practise....you will dink and dung offensively in the games. Question is, how much has McD worked on the deep ball during practice to where Orton and the WR's feel comfortable enough to make it a success on Sunday. The deep ball must be drilled and practised as a major part of the offensive game plan every Sunday.

Thank you, Sid Gillman.

[OABB]

I don't understand how throwing deep is the answer to porous line play. Hell, EVen that Lispy Dbag dierdorf said coming out of the half" The broncos are going to have to go to quick passes".

It seems that alot of people that understand football agree with this assessment.

Or, I guess we could just hold on to the ball longer and than throw it really far.

[Ambiguous]

I think he was somewhat right about the conservative play calling, but the biggest and most glaring problem was the offensive line. They looked totally out matched yesterday.

EDIT: Treed by orangeandblue

[BlaK-Argentina]

Originally Posted by BroncoInferno

The lack of the deep ball wasn't the problem yesteray. Orton barely had any time in the pocket. The run game sets up the deep passing, and we did not do that well enough or block the blitz well enough to give Orton even a chance with the deep ball.

Exactly. The only time we were able to pass deep was on the fake reverse. And that play resulted in a PI and probably a catch if Foxworth doesn't pull on Marshall's arm. They didn't give Orton time to throw and the WRs can't get open in a second. It's as simple as that. We were outplayed but this talk about the Broncos being "exposed" is really dumb. I expected it though.

We have problems, everyone does, I'm confident McD will work on them and we'll be an improved team come monday.

[peacepipe]

Originally Posted by orangeandblueblooded

I don't understand how throwing deep is the answer to porous line play. Hell, EVen that Lispy Dbag dierdorf said coming out of the half" The broncos are going to have to go to quick passes".

It seems that alot of people that understand football agree with this assessment.

Or, I guess we could just hold on to the ball longer and than throw it really far.

How often were we going deep prior to this game,when were giving good protection to Orton? If defenses don't believe/respect that we can go deep,they'll just crowd everything in close & sit on routes. If you can stretch a defense it'll open up receivers in the for short throws.

[Smiling Assassin27]

So let me get this straight. Fundamental football wasn't good enough to beat a team that beat us playing solid fundamental football? The Ravens just blocked, tackled, ran and passed better--no tricks, just simple downhill running, superior qb play, and defensive execution. Imagination doesn't win games--implementation of imagination can, however, which goes back to yes, fundamentals. Imaginative play calls require MORE fundamentals than normal--things like holding blocks longer, being more sure on tackles, and covering wr's for even longer. If you are getting beat soundly at these things already, 'imagination' only puts your team in more jeopardy, IMO.

Granted, there are some plays that could add a creative wrinke, like a halfback toss with an option to throw it, a no huddle, or even the wild horse look, but overall, this team just got beat by a better version of themselves, IMO.