NFL Source Says Mike Shanahan Turned Down Washington Redskins Job Recently

Take it for what it’s worth.

An NFL source has confirmed that Mike Shanahan was contacted by the Washington franchise about their head coaching position prior to their recent game in Kansas City.

According to the source Mike Shanahan did have an invite to join the club prior to the game in Kansas City.  Washington management was abruptly turned down by Coach Shanahan.  The former Broncos Head Coach and GM apparently did not want to join the club with unresolved head coaching issues in Washington and the franchise in a current state of turmoil.

There has been a great deal of speculation about these issues since Coach Shanahan was let go by the Broncos at the end of the 2008 season.  This is the first actual confirmation that the coach had been contacted with some formality about a new position in the NFL.

Additionally it appears with the current state of affairs in Washington they are hindering their chances of landing the type of coach they would want to help turn their troubled franchise around.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

NFL Source Says Mike Shanahan Turned Down Washington Redskins Job Recently

Take it for what it’s worth.

An NFL source has confirmed that Mike Shanahan was contacted by the Washington franchise about their head coaching position prior to their recent game in Kansas City.

According to the source Mike Shanahan did have an invite to join the club prior to the game in Kansas City.  Washington management was abruptly turned down by Coach Shanahan.  The former Broncos Head Coach and GM apparently did not want to join the club with unresolved head coaching issues in Washington and the franchise in a current state of turmoil.

There has been a great deal of speculation about these issues since Coach Shanahan was let go by the Broncos at the end of the 2008 season.  This is the first actual confirmation that the coach had been contacted with some formality about a new position in the NFL.

Additionally it appears with the current state of affairs in Washington they are hindering their chances of landing the type of coach they would want to help turn their troubled franchise around.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

NFL Source Says Mike Shanahan Turned Down Washington Redskins Job Recently

Take it for what it’s worth.

An NFL source has confirmed that Mike Shanahan was contacted by the Washington franchise about their head coaching position prior to their recent game in Kansas City.

According to the source Mike Shanahan did have an invite to join the club prior to the game in Kansas City.  Washington management was abruptly turned down by Coach Shanahan.  The former Broncos Head Coach and GM apparently did not want to join the club with unresolved head coaching issues in Washington and the franchise in a current state of turmoil.

There has been a great deal of speculation about these issues since Coach Shanahan was let go by the Broncos at the end of the 2008 season.  This is the first actual confirmation that the coach had been contacted with some formality about a new position in the NFL.

Additionally it appears with the current state of affairs in Washington they are hindering their chances of landing the type of coach they would want to help turn their troubled franchise around.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Dissecting the “Wild Horses” Success of the Denver Broncos

Let the Old Man Speak

So you like the modern game do ya there, sonny?

Well, sit on down and stay a spell so you can understand what the heck happened on Sunday when the Broncos went Wild Horses upside the Beantown Patriots.  In the meantime someone should get Shannon Sharpe on the phone and see if he’s ready to call the President…again.

The Broncos version of the wildcat offense is called the Wild Horses, and was integrated seamlessly into the Broncos’ game plan on Sunday’s victory against longtime foe the Boston Patriots in the AFL Legacy Game, as designated by the NFL.

 

In The Beginning…

In the beginning…well sort of, not really, but yes…sort of…okay, just be patient and let the meaning of all this be explained.

At its core, the wildcat offense is a scheme that is gimmicky in nature and designed to pose problems for defenses with unconventional methodologies behind its execution.

It is possible to trace the origins of the wildcat offensive scheme back to the early days of football in the United States starting somewhere in the 1920s.

In the early days of football, there was a number of what would be later known as full backfield attacks.  These schemes would place up to four backs behind the line of scrimmage in nearly any backfield position imaginable in order to create controlled chaos as a way for dissecting a defense and to expose weakness. 

This approach was adapted and refined by the Notre Dame’s Four Horsemen offense that featured Harry Stuhldreher, Don Miller, Jim Crowley, and Elmer Layden who played for legendary coach Knute Rockne.  This group was all freshmen in 1921, and got the offense going a year later as sophomores under Rockne.

As a short answer to a trivia question, their nicknames were coined by a sports journalist at the time, Grantland Rice, with the following excerpt from the famous article he wrote about the group.

In dramatic lore their names are Death, Destruction, Pestilence, and Famine. But those are aliases. Their real names are: Stuhldreher, Crowley, Miller and Layden.  

The offense eventually became popularly known as the Wing-T offense sometime around 1934.  It has also been credited back to originating out of six man high school football rules since the original person to touch the ball could not run past the line of scrimmage and had to get the ball to another player for advancement of the ball. 

This brought about the quick toss to a player who could advance the ball since early football had the original position that touched the ball listed as blocking backs instead of what is modernly known as the quarterback position.

The Wing-T usage becomes widespread, and eventually leads to a great deal more sophistication within the running game, new formations, and blocking schemes.  Derivatives of the Wing-T have been in use primarily at the high school and college levels since that time.  Offensive attacks like the wishbone and power-I option attacks derived out of this original formation of the Wing-T and Power Wing-T.

At the professional level, the run game and various formations are heavily studied by teams to gain competitive advantage over their opponents; so, the NFL version of the scheme is the ultimate key to success.  It’s the ability to keep the opponent on their heels and off-balance so plays have the chance to succeed in combination with other plays. 

It also boils down to a numbers game, instead of the usual 10 on 11 (minus the QB on offense), the wildcat gives the offense a dedicated 11 on 11 matchup against the defense called.  This generally favors the offensive rushing attack.

For a very long time in the NFL, however, these sorts of offensive approaches were ignored, in large part because the passing game had evolved so much since the early days.  This meant that teams needed a dedicated quarterback to run the offense.

 

In More Recent Times…

The meaning of the Wing-T in the modern day has more to do with an unbalanced line, a back who intends to run, and a special set of reads on how to execute the play.  Idealistically, these plays are run with the intent to create options on offense while causing problematic issues on defense.  At its core, this approach tests the dedication of a defenses dedication to each gap assignment.

In recent times, the University of Texas used an early version of today’s wildcat with Vince Young in the shotgun formation, making an option read on the defense.  The uniqueness here began with unbalanced line formations to make some reads easier and blocking more rudimentary.  Young would usually key on the defensive end and outside linebacker.  Based on their position, they were committing to either one set of actions or another.  This left the read up to the quarterback Vince Young.  He would then have the ability to handoff to a back, fake the handoff and run, or fake a run and even pass.

This system of thought is similar to what the solo back in the current, more popularized wildcat offense is responsible for.  The offensive line is usually unbalanced with only a running back in the backfield.  These plays can be run with a set of option reads, but are usually designed for a primary purpose in exploiting specific gaps along the defensive line.  One of the recent innovations by the Miami Dolphins was to run sweeps with reverse action out of the slot receiver position.  This, in essence, takes the place of the option read that was used at Texas.

The ideology behind this attack is about putting the ball in the hands of the most athletically talented players on the field, thereby opening up a number of available options on the field.  This can be done through play calls and creating sudden mismatches through motion or reads.  It can also key on defenders that cheat or play out of position enough to hurt their teams’ defense.

It is not the most glitzy offensive approach—there usually is a mass of humanity gathered in clusters—and so breaking through that can be a challenge for the offense.  The wildcat, however, because of this clustering has an ability to open up big plays if successfully executed.  It is precisely this inherent characteristic that makes the wildcat attractive to teams that could be outmatched in executing other offensive schemes.

While Michael Vick claims to have created the wildcat, that’s not entirely true.  The success of the wildcat can most successfully be traced to former Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator and current Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator Dan Henning.  In the third game of last season (2008), the Miami Dolphins faced the New England Patriots in a game, which, on paper, was a clear mismatch in favor of New England.  The Dolphins lined up either Ronnie Brown or Ricky Williams behind the center about six yards deep and gave them the option to run, handoff, or pass.  This gave the Patriots headaches all game long and the Dolphins came out on top 38-13 in this lopsided upset affair.

This set off a league wide implementation of some wildcat into a large number of team playbooks.  As of last weekend, 19 of the league’s 32 teams had some form of the wildcat in-house, thereby validating its potency, even at the NFL level.

 

Denver’s Wild Horses Implementation

Certainly, Denver is not the first team to implement the idea of quickly lining up in the wildcat with the quarterback split out wide.  They might not even be the only team to think of giving their quarterback the option to read the defense from the slot position and run the appropriate play.  They are, however, the Denver Broncos, and they came up with the term that will more than likely forever ensconce the idea upon the football world with two words: Wild Horses.

In a nutshell, the Wild Horses offense gives the quarterback the opportunity to read how the defense is lined up from other skill positions on the field prior to running a play.  This allows the QB to choose an appropriate execution option of the play call.

This is how the Broncos used the Wild Horses against New England on Sunday.

On the first play from scrimmage, Kyle Orton lined up as a receiver to the wide left side of the offense.  Running back Knowshon Moreno lined up just over six yards deep in the backfield.  New England was surprised, and checked out of their original defensive play call to a man cover-one, which brought their safety Brandon Meriweather out of cover-two down inside the box.  The safety Meriweather picked the right gap, but missed out on the tackle of Moreno.  The play winded up gaining 12 yards for the speedy and elusive Broncos running back. 

With this formation in mind, the Patriots lined up in the man cover-one again, anticipating more of the same trickery from the Broncos.  This again dedicated the safety to put eight defenders in the five-yard box between tight ends.  Kyle Orton liked what he saw and went under center with man-on-man coverage being shown.  Patriots’ safety Meriweather began to back off on the play, and Orton chose the opposite side, connecting on the pass for a short gain to Brandon Marshall.

This immediate play combination opened up the door for the Broncos when they ran a play out of their regular playbook to cross up the defensive pass coverage and Brandon Marshall was able to pick up a first down with a great run after catching the quick out route.

The Broncos then gashed the New England defense for five yards with another Wild Horses direct snap to Moreno.

The next play, quarterback Orton lined up on the right side of the offense wide, then went back under center, hooking up on a big pass play with tight end Tony Scheffler.  This again caused Meriweather to check out of the current coverage and out of the box. 

The net result was a first down, but the importance of it was that it kept the Patriots from disguising pass coverage because they were forced to deal with the option piece of the Wild Horses offense.

After another five-yard run out of Wild Horses by Moreno, New England Coach Bill Belichick had seen enough and wanted a timeout.  Following the timeout, New England had figured out they needed a dedicated eight men in the box pinching down towards the middle of the field to keep the Broncos from successfully running out of the single back formation.

Had the Broncos run an option pass at this point, with the defense clearly getting settled in after the timeout, the Broncos might have had more success after the short break.

The Broncos could not connect on a short pass on third and six, and were forced to settle for a long field goal attempt which they missed wide-right.

The concept however was proven, and did work against the Patriots defense.  It took New England out of their original defensive play calls, and put them on their heels.

The Broncos would use the offense again sparingly, but on this day, they proved their point.  They could allow their quarterback to get better pre-snap reads of the defense by allowing him to make option calls based on the defense’s alignment.

 

The Conclusion

This is certainly an offensive philosophy that will be used in the future by teams, though somewhat sparingly.  It will probably be implemented as a great teaching tool for young quarterbacks on all levels, and does provide an element of entertainment to the game of football on all levels.  It also has ways of inherently taking defenses out of their original game plans and forcing them to rethink how they will disguise coverages.  Just like the Wing-T and the wildcat, the Wild Horses is here to stay.

 

Contact Chaz at sportsmanagement@gmail.com

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Boston Patriots vs. Broncos: Throwback Game Ends in OT as Denver Triumphs 20-17

The Glossy Cover to the Story

In what should be remembered as the Mother of all Throwback Games, the Denver Broncos beat their longtime rival the Boston Patriots with both teams wearing their original team garb, which was bound to jog a few memories and shock a few younger ones.

Last Sunday the Broncos hosted the Dallas Cowboys in a game that was ugly and downright sloppy at times. There were a number of penalties against both teams, and neither team seemed to get much going on offense.

As poor as that game was at times, this one delivered on the shortcomings on both sides of the ball.

Yesterday at Mile High against the Boston Patriots, the Denver Broncos prevailed in a very well played and well fought ball game on both sides. It was so good, in fact, that it had to go to overtime to get a final decision on which team was the better of the two for the day.

It was a day of celebration, nostalgia, remembrance, and more celebration. It was a time for the original AFL teams to celebrate their roots as teams in a competitive league with the NFL. The NFL and AFL did eventually merge, and that was worth remembering and celebrating as well.

In the end it was the Denver Broncos and their first season yellow and brown throwback jerseys prevailing over the classier look of the Boston Patriots in their throwbacks. 

Don’t misunderstand this, however, even though the Broncos’ original jerseys look like a generic way of saying jerseys don’t matter; the Broncos made them look incredibly tough to beat. After the Broncos beat down the Boston Patriots, it was cause for more celebration in Denver.

This throwback game was rooted in humble beginnings. Those same roots became embraced by the franchise and the fans on a day that could have easily turned out as ugly as the original uniforms. The Broncos’ original jerseys have caught the eye of the national press and are the subject of pointed jokes once again. 

Somehow, it doesn’t matter; these Denver Broncos are good regardless of the jerseys they wear, which coincidently is at four jerseys in five games, certainly making it some sort of a professional football record that will soon be eclipsed only by themselves. The Broncos are scheduled to wear the road throwback version against the Chargers in San Diego on Monday Night Football, making it five uniforms in six games.

The amazing thing is they haven’t even touched their late ’60s jerseys or their old Orange Crush look from the 1970s.   

From the latest and greatest offensive innovation, to the relentless defense, to Kyle Orton coming into his own, to Eddie Royal and Brandon Marshall coming up with the clutch grabs just when the Broncos had to have them—the Denver Broncos are maturing and jelling as a team, beating one of the best teams in the NFL to go 5-0 and looking like contenders. 

 

The Validation of a New Identity

This team has gone a long way to make fans forget the offseason and the controversial trade of Jay who?

So just as head coach Josh McDaniels let loose of all his emotion following the victory should all the accolades start mounting. For all of Josh’s personal shortcomings and criticism surrounding the trade of Jay Cutler and other offseason dealings, he deserved his moment in the Mile High air to vent frustrations and celebrate something he believed in.

From the moment he interviewed, Josh conveyed a new direction for the Broncos, one they have not seen in quite some time—one that is now causing the Broncos faithful to start thinking about the Orange Crush defense and about being competitive every game out.

When no one thought the Broncos could beat the Bengals on the road, they did. When the Browns or Raiders looked like must games, they were merely speed bumps. Then everyone said Dallas and New England would show if the Broncos are for real or not. Well, forgive Coach McDaniels—he could have danced with a lampshade on his head, and he would have earned the right.

No one should be happier right now than owner Pat Bowlen, because he at times appeared to be at a loss during the offseason in trying to adapt. Much of the fanbase also followed suit in not knowing what to think or how to react to the myriad of moves made by the Broncos.

Shortly after hiring McDaniels for his football mind, it seemed the new coach was acting every bit the immature brat that Cutler had been portrayed as. It had to leave Mr. Bowlen second-guessing and scratching his head, as well as wondering if Josh was the right hire for the Denver Broncos.

Yet through it all the Broncos have maintained their goals as an organization. Nothing changed. Mr. Bowlen was very direct in the offseason saying in jest that a losing football team in Denver just won’t do.

Now owner Pat Bowlen, coach Josh McDaniels, and the players have their validation along with their new identity on who they are and where they are going. 

 

The Mother of All Throwback Games

Wild horses were the theme of the day as the Broncos decided to debut an upgrade to the now highly used wildcat offense. Part of the Broncos enhancement was to line up quarterback Kyle Orton in the slot with the option to read the defense and get under center depending upon the read he made pre-snap.

In much the same manner the Miami Dolphins shocked New England last season with the wildcat, the Broncos put the Patriot defense on its heels early with the wild horses offense.

This was a new, seemingly essential wrinkle the Broncos needed to put into the game plan in order to keep Boston on its heels. Consider the fact that the Broncos offense very much emulates the Patriots offense and their way of executing. After all, this game was about the student and the teacher and how well the pupil could muster up against the master sensei. 

The Broncos were able to effectively move the ball on their opening drive from their own 20 to just inside the Patriot 30. The drive stalled out almost immediately after Pats Coach Bill Belichick called for a timeout. Broncos kicker Matt Prater missed wide right from 47 yards out.

The Patriots then drove the ball the distance to score a touchdown on a Tom Brady to Wes Welker on an outside-in option route for the touchdown from nine yards out.

The Broncos then held the Patriots to a field goal following a Knowshon Moreno fumble.

Ironically enough, this was the same exact score the Broncos fell behind Dallas the week previous.

It was a tough and tight defensive battle much of the day with both teams moving the ball and trading punts.

The Broncos eventually got back into the game with a 90-yard drive that ended with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Orton to last week’s star Brandon Marshall with 4:31 remaining in the first half.

The Boston Patriots immediately responded with a touchdown drive of their own that saw Tom Brady hook up with tight end Ben Watson on a seven-yard cross with five seconds remaining in the half.

The Broncos’ Prater would connect in the third quarter on a 24-yard field goal to narrow the margin to 17-10 in favor of the Patriots.

Late in the third period the Broncos’ fortunes started to change as Boston kicker Stephen Gostkowski missed on a 40-yard field goal attempt that hit the outside of the left post.

The Broncos nearly gave the Patriots the game during a subsequent drive when they committed two special teams errors on fourth down. This gave the Patriots two first downs and extended their last drive of the third quarter into the fourth quarter.

The MO-JO connection hooked up again late in the fourth with Orton hitting Marshall from 11 yards out on a stop route that saw an old school maneuver with a dive for the goal line and the tying score.

The two teams traded punts and two possessions each prior to overtime.

The Broncos won the toss in overtime and marched the ball to the 23-yard line of the Pats. Prater then connected on a 41-yard field goal to send Mile High Stadium into an elated state of excitement.

Players, fans, and coaches alike all celebrated, but no one celebrated quite like Bronco head coach Josh McDaniels. Pointing to his family and the crowd with multiple fist pumps filled with emotion, the Broncos won, and the student had beaten his teacher.

 

Contact Chaz at sportsmanagement@gmail.com.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

These Aren’t Your Grandparents’ Denver Broncos…or Are They?

The background music begins

Dodadodo- Dodadodo- Dodadodo- Dodadodo~ and on as the narrator begins to speak.

 

The Narrator

Imagine if you will, a football team, caught somewhere in time. With one foot stuck in 1960 and the other in 2009. This yellow mellow custard jersey laced football team looking as it did before or as it is now. Perhaps in its upcoming game it will be like it was before in it’s inaugural game in its inaugural season. 

Only as they play the Boston Patriots, they will not be the away team but the home team. Only where such oddities occur could you wind up in…the Twilight Zone.

 

The Actual Scoop on Those Twilight Zone Throwback Uniforms

So perhaps you want the truth about those old duds before you see them on the field, or perhaps you’d like to humorously indulge possibly the mother of all throwback jerseys head to toe.

In 1960, the first year of the American Football League (AFL), the Denver Broncos franchise had one of the more interesting starts. Undoubtedly the poorest of all the start-up AFL teams, the Broncos began to play in the old Bears Stadium, which later became known as Mile High Stadium.

The stadium saw a number of upgrades along the way, the most notable of which was a state of the art design which slid the east side stands in and out depending on whether it was time for football or baseball.

In the very first game for the Denver Broncos, they traveled east to take on the Boston Patriots, and won the game 13-10.  The Broncos were the weakest franchise financially, and on the field, which really led to their humble beginnings in the Mile High city. 

The Broncos originally practiced in Golden, Colorado at the Colorado School of Mines football field. The Broncos were so strapped for cash back in those days that they purchased their original set of jersey from the old Copper Bowl all-star game, and purchased vertically striped socks at a clearance sale to match. 

So for two seasons these used uniforms became the teams’ original identity to the Rocky Mountain region.  The Broncos were not a competitive team for quite some time. Yet, they were entertaining and started to draw fans.

Perhaps only Red Miller, who was an assistant back in the early days, is the only person to save one of the original pairs of vertical striped socks. The old socks and uniforms were destroyed in a pre-game ceremony, per the orders of then head coach and GM Jack Faulkner.

This weekend, the Broncos are celebrating their origins into the AFL and eventually the NFL merger with the retro throwback jerseys that will certainly take every fan back to their humble roots.

The Denver Broncos will be taking on the Boston (New England) Patriots this weekend, full well knowing these two teams have a rich history with one another. Both in the AFL, and NFL. So if things don’t look quite the same as they normally do, just know that it’s a weekend about nostalgia and remembering the importance of taking a risk against all odds.

So when you see those wild and crazy jerseys that the Broncos are wearing this weekend, at least you’ll have the scoop on the Broncos original starting place as an original AFL team struggling to survive. You’ll have the scoop on a team that somehow continually built upon what it had to eventually reach the pinnacle in 1997 and 1998.

 

contact Chaz at sportsmanagement@gmail.com

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Broncos Statistics Show They Are a Team

The opening introduction of coach Josh McDaniels to the Denver media was what most would probably expect. It was a lot of coach speak about players and forging a vision of how to build a team.

This argument might look good on paper, but with such a young guy in Coach McDaniels making the proclamation, it was met with cautious optimism.

Some in the media doubted the coach due to his age and lack of experience as a head coach. Others began to doubt the coach when he let team guys like Nate Jackson go. Then there was the signing of a multimillion-dollar contract by long snapper Lonnie Paxton over Mike Leach, who had been doing a solid job at the position.

Then, of course, there was the speculation on the deal to get Matt Cassel from New England and the subsequent fallout and trade of Jay Cutler.

Through the turbulent water came an ocean of change, much of it along the defensive front. There are now only three defensive starters from last year that are starters this year in Champ Bailey, D.J. Williams, and Elvis Dumervil, and only Champ is playing the same position.

This regime brought change, and after the dismal performance on defense last season, it would seem that the only way would be up for this team.

What has come to be an amazing statistic to this point in the season is that the Denver Broncos are now the best team by a mile in points allowed on defense. Currently the orange and blue defense is holding opponents to an average of 6.5 points per game. The next closest teams average over twice that amount.

At this juncture only the New York Giants defense has allowed fewer yards per game, at 232, than the Broncos, who are averaging almost 240 per game. The Broncos are fourth in interceptions with six and tied for 13th in forced fumbles with four. 

While the defense is ample at creating turnovers, they are clearly benefiting as a team right now from the offense managing the game well and not turning the ball over. To date the Broncos offense has lost three fumbles, and Kyle Orton leads the league with zero interceptions. This works out for the team being in a three-way tie for first in the turnover battle, rating out at plus-seven.

This is a different organization than last season, and the numbers don’t lie.

Orton is currently ranked ninth with a passer rating at a very respectable 97.7.

Cutler is currently 14th at 89.3 with the Chicago Bears.

The Broncos rushing attack is ranked fourth, averaging 148 yards per game. The Broncos passing game is only averaging 217 yards to this point in time, which rates them 18th in the league. However, this is a well managed attack that does not turn the ball over more than their opponents, and that is a clear key to winning football games.

When the Broncos fail on offense, they still find ways to win the battle of field position and use a patient offensive attack to win games off the back of the defensive play.

To date special teams have been good, not great, but have most importantly not hurt the team.

One factor that has no statistic, but is probably the most important because it makes it all come together, is attitude.

Without a doubt this team has been impacted by the presence of Brian Dawkins on defense. His enthusiasm for the game is clearly contagious and infectious on both sides of the ball. This transcends practice, workouts, and even the games. It forges a positive mental attitude that makes it possible for the team and fans alike to start believing.

The major stats on both sides of the ball thus far reinforce the ideology that this is a team on both sides of the ball. The numbers about this team go beyond just offense and defense.

The theme all offseason has been about team, and so far in 2009 the strength of the Denver Broncos is that they are a solid team that will be mentally ready and will not quit during games.

Now that is a team, and the statistics are proving it out.

 

Contact Chaz at sportsmanagement@gmail.com

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Broncos-Cowboys: Underrated Denver Defense Stifles Overrated Dallas 17-10

Come in here, Dear boy, have a cigar.
You’re gonna go far,
You’re gonna fly high,
You’re never gonna die,
You’re gonna make it, if you try;
They’re gonna love you.
Well I’ve always had a deep respect,
And I mean that most sincere.
The band is just fantastic,
that is really what I think.
Oh by the way, which one’s Pink?

 

                                “Have A Cigar” – Pink Floyd

 

 

The Pink Prelude

So to say at the very least, the NFL did a phenomenal job of promoting what should now traditionally be called Pink Sunday in the NFL. The fact is cancer deserves no press. The victims and survivors of this horrible disease do.

 

What the NFL did league-wide is very commendable. The league had coaches and players alike decked out in pink ribbons, special team gear laced with pink, as well as pink wrist bands, receiver gloves, cleats, and shoelaces.

 

No doubt these in-game treasures will go a long way to raising more funds for the fight against breast cancer.

 

The NFL deserves a clear salute for doing the job right on and off the field on this one. It shows the depths to which the most testosterone-filled sports league was willing to go to support this very important cause.

 

 

The Pre-Game

For an entire off-season and through three weeks of the 2009 NFL season, the Denver Broncos were underrated and the victims of a poor preseason and media critics who doubted them.

Overlooked by many was the reality of how good the Broncos defense really was to this point in the season. 

 

The message received by the Broncos was that they were a three-point dog at home.

 

The message sent by the Broncos was a statement that read, “Really?!?!??!”

 

Brian Dawkins emphasized as much in his pre-game rally cry to his teammates. “Again! How can you be 3-0 and be underdogs at your house? That’s disrespect! Let’s take it! Let’s take it! Let’s take it!”

 

 

Dogfight of a Game

Let there be little doubt about it, the game was destined to be a physical matchup from the start, and this game delivered big. The Dallas Cowboys are among the NFL’s largest teams, and the Broncos have proven to be a very physical football team thus far on the 2009 season.

 

From the get-go the Denver defense set the early tone, forcing Dallas to an early three and out. From there, the battle remained physical in the trenches and throughout the remainder of the game.

In what was vaunted as one of the league’s biggest teams and most physical running attacks, the Dallas Cowboys made an early impression that had the Broncos on their heels.

 

The Cowboys worked their way out of a 1st-and-20 situation that eventually resulted in a 49-yard field goal.

 

The following drive for the Cowboys saw a physical run game from the Denver one-yard line convert on a Marion Barber touchdown. He was aided by his line with no call on the play as the Cowboys muscled their way into the end zone.

 

The Cowboys led 10-0 and looked like they could be on their way to a victory with a sizable margin on their side.

 

Shortly after the Dallas TD, Dawkins had a very emotional discussion with his teammates about getting back up after their last two drives and keeping the Broncos in the game.

 

The break the Denver Broncos were waiting for came on a 3rd-and-14. A blitzing Renaldo Hill put a hit on

 

Tony Romo to force a fumble. The Broncos recovered and advanced to the Dallas nine yard line.

 

On first and goal, Kyle Orton forced the ball and his will in to Knowshon Moreno for a touchdown pass, as Dallas defender Anthony Spencer just missed an interception that may have resulted in a TD the other way.

 

Maybe the Cowboys thought the Broncos were too old or they weren’t for real.

 

Champ Bailey was thrown at constantly throughout the game, only to rise up when it mattered most. He made a diving interception near the Cowboy sideline when they had a drive going deep in Broncos territory. Little did everyone else know he was about to save his best for last.

 

In this defensive battle, the teams moved the ball primarily between the 30s, making it difficult for putting up points.

 

Give Dallas credit, they were a team on a mission. They knew they were going to have to bring a full effort against Denver, and they did.

 

Denver was fortunate to tie the game on a short Matt Prater field goal with 5:58 remaining in the game.

 

Denver kept the Cowboys 120 yards below their team rushing average for the game while producing five sacks of Romo on the day.

 

Dallas held the Broncos to just 116 total yards on the ground and 221 yards through the air and three sacks of Orton.

 

Moreno took the game to the two-minute warning with a 14-yard burst up the middle to set up the magic that was about to happen.

 

On first down Orton found Brandon Marshall 20 yards downfield with a jump ball. Marshall hauled in the pass over the top of Dallas DB Terence Newman. He then raced to the center of the field, made a juke move to make the Dallas defense miss him, and raced back towards the right end zone flag for the touchdown standing up.

 

Dallas regained control of the ball with 1:46 remaining.

 

Romo showed he had some magic of his own in store as he connected on 4th-and-3 with Miles Austin, who ran down to the Broncos 25. On the play, Romo twisted out of the pocket avoiding the sack, and threw a floater that resulted in the 53-yard gain.

 

Dallas called timeout with 59 seconds remaining—and that is when they must have decided to pick on Champ Bailey a little more.

 

Previously in the game, D.J. Williams flattened receiver Roy Williams, which kept him out of the game on the most important drive of the day for the Cowboys.

 

Dallas wound up with a 1^st-and-goal from the eight. Patrick Crayton got six yards with the clock winding down, and then Romo spiked the ball with nine seconds left.

 

On third down, Romo threw at Sam Hurd and Bailey broke up the pass. On 4^th-and-goal from the two with five seconds left, Romo threw again at Hurd, and again Bailey denied the Dallas Cowboys.

 

This time it meant the game was over, as the Denver defense held off a late Dallas rally.

 

The win put the Broncos at an impressive 4-0 start to the young 2009 season.

 

 

Final Thoughts On Pink Sunday

Consider the amazing fact that the Broncos really didn’t hook up much with Brandon Marshall all day until he had the play of the day with his 51-yard touchdown.

 

Ironically enough, Dallas threw at Champ Bailey, and even at his worst he was very good and proved it in the end.

 

So on a day that proved to be pink, it is appropriate to have some lyrics from Pink Floyd as a prelude and as a way of exit. Little did we all know that those old rock lyrics could parallel an amazing athlete’s life in the NFL spotlight and his off-season contract dispute with the likes of Marshall.

 

Moreover, it certainly is parallel to the early season plight and disrespect the Broncos team feels through their early season successes.

 

It’s an oddity in parallel. After the touchdown Marshall was seen hugging his head coach Josh McDaniels, proving that winning solves a number of company ills. In a later press conference, Coach McD told Marshall, who was in close proximity, to not tell the press what he told him.

 

That only leads to the speculation that the deal for Brandon Marshall is on the way. 

 

And did we tell you the name of the game?

We call it Riding the Gravy Train.

 

For Marshall, Coach McDaniels, and the Denver Broncos, being 4-0 was always a possibility in their minds. Only now they will start to gain the respect of their peers and the accolades of the press.

 

Next week the Broncos face the New England Patriots coming to Denver with a myriad of story lines to boot. 

 

There will be one impressionistic stat to remember about Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots prior to next week’s game. They are a reported 73-1 when leading after three quarters.

 

 

Contact Chaz at sportsmanagement@gmail.com

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Denver Broncos Offense Earns a “B” vs. Oakland Raiders

First and foremost it’s important to understand the Broncos offense played very well against the Oakland Raiders over the weekend.  Additionally they managed the game very well and had two rushers near the 100 yard mark.  That is impressive.

The Denver Broncos defense was impressive early in setting up opportunities for the offense.  That went a long way.  The Broncos went for it on fourth and goal from the one.  Teams usually settle for points in tight, rivalry types of games, you only go for it if you believe in your offense and your defense.

That is what should stand out loud and clear about this Denver Broncos team.  They do believe in the defense and they know they can score points.  That is the type of team this needs to continue moulding into if it has hopes for future success. 

The offense executed very well.  The reason they don’t get an “A” is because they left a lot of points out on the field on Sunday and they would admit as much.

The upside is the Broncos ran phenomenally well and controlled the ball and the tempo on both sides of the ball.  It’s this type of a game that makes the perfect template for the team to look at and recognize this should be their pattern to success.

 

Offensive Film Study

The first possession saw Kyle Orton line-up under center early and often throughout the game.  On second and eight Brandon Marshall hooked up for his first catch on the day for a 15 yard gain on a cross route.

The next play was set up because Orton was operating under center; it was a play pass that successfully hooked up with Tony Scheffler for 14 yards and another first down.  Knowshon Moreno then had a couple of carries to get the Broncos a first down. 

Again Kyle Orton hits Brandon Marshall on an underneath route for another first down and the Broncos run game is getting warm pushing them down to the one yard line.  Then at this point, things bogged down.

Peyton Hillis was called for a false start which was ridiculous for that to happen in that situation.  So the Broncos start first and goal at the six and not the one.  Then the Raiders defense starts to show signs of life, allowing the Broncos to only reach the one yard line after four downs.

So what happened here?  Obviously the penalty was a momentum killer, but so was the play calling at this juncture.  While running it in makes all the sense in the world, the Raiders were clearly keying on stopping it and bringing more pressure.  The Broncos may have had better success running if they spread the field or if they decided to run a play pass to suck in the defense that was keying on the run.

Because it’s a game of field position the Broncos did the right thing in going for it against a team that has struggled offensively.

The second possession Denver starts at the Raiders 23 after an interception.

On third and one Knowshon Moreno picks up nine yards for a first down at the five.  The Broncos call a play action pass on second down, but there is nobody open, so Orton throws the ball away. 

This allows the next play to become the touchdown play they were seeking.  Again Brandon Marshall worked his way across the middle of the field, fighting off a defender and catching a heater from Orton for six.

Besides the points, the offense recognized the Raiders were going to give them the middle cross again and the connection was established for an early lead.

The Broncos go back on the attack after Andre Goodman’s interception of JaMarcus Russell. 

The Broncos go nowhere, and try another bubble screen this week to Eddie Royal with little success.  This does however set up a long field goal attempt due to the field position.

The Broncos tried to hit Brandon Marshall on another cross, but the Raiders rush and coverage forced a bad throw by Kyle Orton.

This is where the team on the whole needs a deeper playbook, to find a way to get the yardage they need.  There is a great deal of predictable repetition going on within the play calling. 

The team could benefit from some other ways to solve the same problem.  Things like other screen packages, hitches for first down yardage, and deeper drag routes would place more of a burden on the defense and open up the game plan.

The next Broncos drive they decide to get back to basics and hand the ball to Correll Buckhalter who scampers for a 34-yard chunk.

The play was an inside trap with Ben Hamilton and Casey Wiegmann executing a perfect double team to form a wall while right tackle Ryan Harris showed off his speed and strength as he pulled and sealed off the running alley.  All that was left was to see Buckhalter run with power and agility down to the Raider 45 yard line.

Then the Broncos hit a snag with a five yard false start penalty.  The Broncos were able to hit Jabar Gaffney on a cross, then Buckhalter and Moreno helped the team get the first down behind the offensive line.

The Broncos then continued to pick apart the middle of the Raiders defense and establish a theme that eventually came back to bite them.  Jabar Gaffney ran an awesome option or choice route where he posted up briefly, sucking in the coverage then he hit the gas to make a good grab on the cross from left to right. 

Then Brandon Marshall became a decoy running a middle cross right to left with Gaffney delaying then running behind him on a flat and more shallow route.  The Raiders choose to double Marshall and don’t account for Gaffney.  Orton connects and Gaffney picks up another crucial first down inside the ten.

The Broncos stall out at this point and nearly have a third down middle cross intended for Eddie Royal picked off by Michael Huff.  The end result is the Broncos have to settle for three points instead of a touchdown.

The point here is this drive started with a great drive and then had a definite theme of middle crosses causing headaches for the Raiders.  Running the same routes in the end zone is a dangerous proposition after the drive clearly had established these routes.  Yet again this is where the Broncos need to be more dynamic in their play calling before it does cost them in a much bigger way.

In the second half the Broncos lead by a slim 13-3 margin.  The opening drive of the second half is key in setting the tone for the rest of the game.  The Broncos wind up marching 80 yards and scoring their second touchdown on the day. 

The run game is featured and the offensive line starts to take control by establishing contact and maintaining their blocks so the backs can reach the second and third level of the defense.  The Broncos get big gainers with Moreno and Buckhalter. 

Most importantly the Broncos are able to add to their lead and take four minutes off the clock.

The very next drive the Broncos run an inside trap with Buckhalter but the ball is knocked out of his hands and the Raiders recover the fumble at the Broncos 16 yard line.

Following Brian Dawkins fumble recovery the Broncos began to chew up clock and yardage.  Offensively there was an intent focus on the run game and one creative tight end screen that was shutdown earlier in the game.

This time Dan Graham came close to getting a touchdown as he rambled from the 38 down to the Raider 12.  This set up the final score of the game, a short field goal by Matt Prater. 

Almost more importantly the drive consumed eight minutes and polished off the Raiders.

 

contact Chaz @ sportsmanagement@gmail.com

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Film Study Shows That Denver Broncos Defense Dominates In Oakland

Prelude to the Film Studies

At the end of my last article I made a bold prediction about combining the Oakland and Cleveland game studies into one article each for offense and defense.  That is until my computer with the Cleveland game was entirely scrubbed, though the article was backed up; it’s with my technician not me. 

So, my personal apologies, I will get the Cleveland game review out later in the week with a little luck.  In the meantime, the first installment focuses on Denver’s top notch effort against Oakland.

Finally after the film segments I hope to have some interesting thoughts regarding the Dallas Cowboys game with Denver over the coming weekend.

For now, do the mental reps as you recall the game and enjoy the film study segment.

 

Denver’s Defense Leads the NFL and Earns an A+ Rating in Oakland

On the first possession by the Raiders the Broncos defense established control.  On first down the front seven got good penetration to shut down the Raider run in the middle. 

The very next play was a screen that proved the Broncos had good lateral pursuit and the play lost two yards.  Third down, the Broncos had great coverage and forced the screen pass which they shutdown.  The most important piece was that it set the tone early, three and out.

—

 

The second series for the Raiders starts at their own one yard line after denying the Broncos the end zone.

On first down JaMarcus Russell shows his lack of touch by throwing the ball a little high and hard off the hands of his fullback Luke Walton.  Champ Bailey just misses out on an interception.  On second down, the Raiders go deep and it is intercepted by Renaldo Hill who returns the ball to the Raider 23 yard line, putting the Broncos back in business.

While the Broncos did not have a great pass rush on the play, they did have good penetration and that may have caused an early release.

—

 

The next possession for the Raiders starts around their 20 yard line.  On 2nd-and-8, Darren McFadden runs a middle stretch.  Center Chris Morris immediately reaches the second level while right guard and former Bronco Cooper Carlisle cuts down the outside pursuit coming from the middle. 

Meanwhile the tackle and tight end allow the Broncos outside contain to over pursue and the running lane is created.  McFadden cuts back and gains an easy 15 yards.

True to the Oakland Raider fashion of the last few years, the very next play they shoot themselves in the foot.  They decide to mix up the play calling and throw in the area of Darrius Heyward-Bey who runs a deep hook. 

Russell may have been trying to hit Louis Murphy in the slot who was streaking.  Regardless, the Broncos had the perfect man-zone trap called.  These defenses ideally put a triangle of DB’s around a given throwing area.

Defenses like these are what make the NFL hard on young quarterbacks.  Essentially the Broncos line up in what could be man or quarter zone coverage.  The quarterback really doesn’t know. 

The biggest key he has to look for is where the safeties and cornerbacks are rolling to.  If there is some of that rotation it’s a zone and he needs to find the receiver in space. 

Technically Bey was open; however the Broncos had a perfect blanket coverage which forces the turnover.  When young quarterbacks force the ball into these areas they literally are making high risk—reward decisions. 

As this play developed, Champ Bailey rolls to the outside from his inside coverage position.  Over the top Andre Goodman and the safety Renaldo Hill converge on Louis Murphy’s streak route. 

JaMarcus Russell makes an OK read, but wastes his effort with an inaccurate throw that sails too high for Heyward-Bey and behind the streaking Murphy.  Andre Goodman makes a great read of the throw and makes an easy interception, returning it 20-some yards to around the original line of scrimmage.

—

 

The Raiders best drive of the day occurs after Matt Prater’s 48 yard field goal. 

The Raiders start with the ball on their own 14 yard line.  On 2nd-and-6, Darren McFadden catches a seven yard screen pass getting Oakland’s drive rolling.  Then a couple of recurring vulnerabilities the Broncos have are exploited by the Raiders.

The Raiders’ Michael Bush and Darren McFadden are able to run to the outside for a couple of big gains.  This will set up their short inside gains that help them to attain first downs.

Then Louis Murphy is able to make like Brandon Marshall on short cross routes to exploit the Denver defense for big gainers.  The Broncos defense doesn’t get off to a particularly good start on the pass rush and the release is early in dissecting the defense.

The Broncos benefit from a Raider penalty and a caused fumble by Mario Haggan that was recovered by Oakland along with some hard hitting along the way.  Finally on a key third down situation the Broncos show an all-out blitz and force a Raider timeout.   

Oakland connects on an underneath route to Zach Miller and advances the ball down to the Broncos 30 and has to settle for three.

—

 

On the first Raider drive of the second half, Oakland again works to establish a nice lane for McFadden to use on the outside of the offensive line.  A Raider tight end is able to establish contact with Elvis Dumervil and eventually turn him to the outside creating a running lane. 

Darren McFadden carries the ball for 10 yards where he is then de-cleated by Brian Dawkins.

Later in the drive the Raiders go for it on fourth down and the Broncos jump offsides to give them the first down.

Dawkins later has great coverage on Zach Miller and the ball goes incomplete.  Then Elvis Dumervil shuts down the Raider drive with a sack of JaMarcus Russell.

—

 

After the Broncos lose a fumble on their own 16, Oakland then runs a toss play on 2nd-and-5 to the right side.  The play picks up seven for a first down, however DJ Williams strips McFadden of the ball and Brian Dawkins makes a quick heads-up play to recover the fumble and snuff the Raiders’ last hopes of getting back into the game.

The key here is the defense never quit despite being put in a bad spot and they created some magic of their own.  With the turnover, the Broncos came away stealing the Raiders heart as they were pushing towards a touchdown in the south end zone of their fan faithful.

After the replay officials ruled that the play would stand in favor of the Broncos, Brian Dawkins drove home the final nail in the Raiders chance.  He simply signaled a slow point in the Broncos direction for a first down with a jubilant slant as an exclamation to the game.  There were still five minutes left in the third quarter, but this game was over.

 

Special Teams Does Things Well But Finds Room for Improvement  (Grade: B+)

Eddie Royals’ first punt return had very little blocking so the return went for a mere four yards.

—

 

After an interception drive goes nowhere.  Matt Prater connects on a 48 yard field goal that could have been good from 58 yards off the baseball dirt infield.  These are hard kicks for field goal kickers because their plant foot will usually slip a little bit on the swing of the kicking leg. 

No matter, perfect form results in a perfect kick and three more points for the Broncos.

On the play, the Raiders were able to get good penetration up front and this is an area Coach McDaniels said specifically the Broncos will be working on this week.  That is a real plus, since it happened on the next field goal and extra point try as well. 

The Raiders were over stacking eight players to one side and getting good pressure up the middle.

—

 

The following kickoff is six yards deep in the end zone and the Broncos stuff the return at the 14 yard line, allowing the defense to be set up for success.  On the next kick return for the Raiders they were stopped at the 15 yard line.

—

 

Conversely when the Raiders try a 48 yarder the Broncos get very little penetration and Sebastian Janikowski connects on the long attempt.

—

 

On the following kickoff Eddie Royal gets the ball out to the 22 yard line, good for a 27 yard return.

—

 

On the Raiders kickoff return following the Broncos second touchdown, the Broncos make a touchdown saving tackle at the 30 yard line.

 

contact Chaz @ sportsmanagement@gmail.com

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

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