The Broncos for the second straight week looked flat against their opponent. They did show some fight against the Steelers on Sunday but the poor starts are starting to catch up. The Broncos need to make major adjustments ahead of their showdown vs the LV Raiders who also have lost 2 straight. I will provide 2 negatives I noticed and one positive to help see the Silver Lining.
Negatives:
Defensive Struggles:
I praised the defense for their grit and bounce back mentality vs the ravens. Here there is nothing to say. Kyle Fuller continues to get beat on big plays as he gave up a 50 yard TD to Diontae Johnson. A few plays before that, he gave up 23 yards to Chase Claypool on a 3 and 2. He has easily been the biggest disappointment this year. The Broncos third down defense was also atrocious giving up 7/12 and it doesn’t help when the offense goes 2/12 on third down keeping the defense on the field too long. The Broncos once again lost Time of Possession 33-27 which isn’t bad but they need to win this stat in order to win games. The run defense was completely over powered by the Steelers offensive line as they gave up 122 yards on 23 carries. Justin Simmons claimed they had very intense practices throughout the week. Well….prove it! The Broncos have given up 50 points in 2 games to experienced QBs. The scary part is the Steelers offense was sputtering all season and basically used our defense as a get right game. Not a good look.
Difference in Mindset:
The Steelers and Broncos are different teams. Not because of the record but because of certain situations and how both teams handled it. The Broncos on 3rds and longs would screen pass it to Javinte or throw it 10 yards short of the sticks to Patrick basically accepting a FG or a punt that drive. Even on 3rd and 10 Teddy would only throw 5 yards. The Steelers on the other hand threw a 50-50 ball down the ride side of the endzone on 3rd and 15 and got a pass interference call. (Fuller committed the interference but I’m done speaking on him 😂) . It’s maddening when the Broncos do not take chances on 3rd downs that are more than 8 yards and it wastes possessions. This is very similar to the Broncos of last year especially when they would, on multiple occasion, throw well short of the sticks on 3rd and between 10 and 15 yards. I don’t understand why not just throw a jump ball to Sutton or Patrick who were very good yesterday. 2 things could happen there: Sutton or Patrick come down with it or draw a pass interference. Another big difference I saw between the 2 teams was game to game adjustments. The Steelers made sure to help out Big Ben and be more balanced on offense. As a result, they ran the ball 23 times for 122 yards with Najee Harris and Big Ben had one his finer games this season because of that throwing for 253 yards and 2 TDs with no ints. Pat Shurmer on the other hand changed absolutely nothing as they continued to be very uncreative on offense. Up until the 4th quarter it was either deep shots it check down. No intermediate looks until the 4th which was finally when the offense got going. Another thing I must point out is how poor he calls run plays. It feels like he runs the ball because he has to or is obliged to do it after what happened last week. He just runs Gordon or Javonte right up the middle and depends on their skill and athleticism to gain yards. He rarely does stretch runs or counters or anything of that sort. Late last year he started pulling guards from one side to the other on runs from the shotgun and I have yet to see them in 2021. He called a toss play once and that got Javonte Williams 49 yards. Shurmer seems to be very stubborn and does not adjust game to game hoping his current style of play calling will find a way to work. That type of coordinator does not deserve a spot on a team as many other OCs from other teams always come up with new concepts or plays or even steal from other teams and incorporate in their own offense. With Shurmer none of that is true because he lives in a bubble.
3. Teddy=Lock?
My initial thought after the game was that Teddy was really good in the 4th quarter and does not deserve blame. However, this performance felt too similar to some of Lock’s last year where he started out poor the first 3 quarters and played a very good 4th quarter. The Chargers and Falcons games from last year are good examples. The offense with Teddy is supposed to be in 3rd and manageable as many believed Bridgewater would put us in better situations on first and second dow. However, that has not been the case the last 2 weeks against respectable opponents as the broncos were 2/12 on third down. Steady Teddy was anything but steady. He still deserves credit for rallying at the end but he was brought in for consistency. The broncos offensive line played pretty well in pass protection against the Steelers only giving up 2 sacks against that ferocious Steeler pass rush. On plays when Teddy had time, he would only throw 5 yards on a 3rd and 10. The Broncos need to take more chances offensively. Playing it safe and winning the turnover battle because of it does not mean anything because that brand of football does not lead to scoring. Next week against the Raiders, if Teddy does not play well for 4 quarters, as fans we may have to do a hard re-evaluation of Lock’s 2020 performance and ask how much of that was him, which some of it was, but how much of it was on the coaching.
Positive:
4. Court Making Strides
Sutton started a little slow but finished of with 7 catches for 120 yards with a clutch TD in the 4th to shorten the gap in the score. He seems to be getting his legs under him once again and hopefully continues when Jeudy makes his return.
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