The Monday Mommy: Broncos Midterm Report Card
“We will take a look at all facets of the Denver Broncos and assign a grade based on their on-field performances heading into their much needed bye week. While a record of 7-1 is certainly desirable and in theory should be worthy of A’s across the board, that is not the case with this Denver Bronco team.”
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We are officially halfway through the 2013 NFL season folks.
It’s the time to assess what has happened thus far in the first eight weeks and look ahead to where the team is going in the form of mid-season conferences or meetings, if you will. We will take a look at all facets of the Denver Broncos and assign a grade based on their on-field performances heading into their much needed bye week. While a record of 7-1 is certainly desirable and in theory should be worthy of A’s across the board, that is not the case with this Denver Bronco team.
Some things such as injury are beyond the control of the players themselves as well as the coaching staff, so will not be taken into consideration when assigning grades to each specific aspect of the team. Here’s a look at my Broncos midterm scores as they sit right now heading into the bye week.
Offense
The people in place to protect arguably the best quarterback in the game, Peyton Manning, have had a rough go in the injury department. Early season impairments to Dan Koppen, Chris Kuper, Ryan Clady and Orlando Franklin have taken the next man up theory to a whole new level. Denver signed left tackle Winston Justice as damage control in mid-September and together, this group had done a surprisingly decent job of guarding the team’s most precious asset up to the Jacksonville game in Week 6 where some of their weaknesses were exposed.
The game against Indianapolis was by far the worst performance to date by the o-line, with the Colts focusing their pass rush on the inexperienced tackle Chris Clark, overloading him with confusing blitzes. Through eight weeks, Manning has been sacked 11 times with 61 yards lost on those sacks. For a guy of Manning’s age and mobility, those 11 sacks are way too many and could prove costly if they continue over the course of the regular season.
Peyton Manning started out the season in non-human mode. He went the first four games without throwing a single interception and compiled an astounding 16 touchdowns in the process. Since then he has somewhat come back down to earth and through eight weeks has thrown for 2,919 yards, 29 touchdowns and six interceptions. Though his passing had seemed wobblier than usual in the Colts game, it was discovered that Manning was dealing with some ankle injuries, inhibiting him from throwing with the amount of power he normally would have.
The Broncos receiving corps has been a mixed bag thus far. While there are a slew of crazy talented wideouts and tight ends on the roster, they have all had their share of problems along the way through the first eight weeks. A case of the dropsies has plagued the receivers, with Eric Decker and Wes Welker being the ones it has affected the most. Demaryius Thomas has seemed lackadaisical in the past few games, not running complete routes and just seeming off. A huge issue that I have with these guys this season is their attitudes on the field. On almost every play, instead of running their routes to the fullest, Decker and Thomas have been immediately getting up and looking for a flag before actually going for the ball. A time or two is fine, but it seems like it has been happening all game long on every offensive pass play.
The Broncos backfield has been a positive surprise so far this season. During training camp there was concern that no starter would emerge and that the running back by committee would falter in the Manning led offense. Veteran punching bag Knowshon Moreno has done his homework and transformed himself not only on the field but off as well, racking up 457 yards rushing, 287 receiving and nine touchdowns, making him the clear starter in the backfield. Second-year back Ronnie Hillman and rookie Montee Ball have struggled with ball security this season frustrating not only the team but fans as well. Rookie undrafted free agent C.J. Anderson made is regular season debut on Sunday coming back from injury and rushing for 22 yards on four attempts. Anderson looks to be the front runner for the change-of-pace back spot, easing the minds of folks concerned about the backfield down the stretch.
Offensive Grade: B
Defense
The first seven weeks of the season were pretty grim for the Broncos defensively. The game against Jacksonville in Week 6 was the only time an opponent scored under 20 points and they barely squeaked in with a 19. Currently, the Broncos sit at 30th against the pass allowing an average of 299 yards per game in the air. With linebacker Von Miller in detention for the first six games, the pass rush was minimal and even in his return game versus the Colts, Miller made little impact on the defense.
The secondary gave up way too many third-down plays and were getting beaten in coverage. Stupid penalties also plagued the defense early in the season and guys like Kevin Vickerson and Malik Jackson needed a time out or two to think about what they had done and what they need to do to not make the same mistakes moving forward.
Something finally clicked in this defense halfway through the Washington game in Week 8 and they made a positive move towards becoming the teacher’s pet. The Broncos were attacking Robert Griffin III in a way we hadn’t seen so far this season. The defense accounted for 13 hits on the Washington quarterback, three of them for sacks. The secondary came through snagging four interceptions, with one of them taken to the house by Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. (We will not take points away in the grade for his ridiculous showboating from 40 yards out, but it is certainly noted).
If the defense continues to play at the level they executed in the second half on Sunday, they may not have to do those extra credit assignments that were so badly needed earlier in the season. Also, if Von Miller can keep his nose clean, continue to improve and get to mid-season form quickly, he could avoid more detention and lead this Bronco defense to the post season without having to rely so much on Peyton Manning to take care of business.
Defensive Grade: C
Special Teams
Denver’s special teams has been up and down this season as well. Trindon Holliday has had his share of success with two kick returns for touchdowns, one against the Giants and the other versus the Eagles. He has also had his usual issues with ball security, but we overlook those for the most part since he’s such a rock star on the returns. Other standouts on special teams have been David Bruton with a 35-yard run on a fake punt against Jacksonville and linebacker Steven Johnson who blocked a punt for a touchdown against the Eagles.
The overall tackling could be improved on kickoff and punt returns but that’s pretty standard for all NFL teams. The kicking specialists haven’t really had to work too hard this season as the Peyton Manning led offense has been putting so many points on the board they haven’t really had to punt or kick field goals as often as most.
Special Team Grade: A-
Coaching Staff
John Fox has been somewhat of an enigma so far this season. He challenges when he shouldn’t and keeps the red flag in his pocket on plays that are clearly worthy of taking a look at. The play calling in that Indianapolis game was puzzling as well. Why they continued to run Knowshon Moreno up the middle when it clearly wasn’t working makes very little sense to me or anyone for that matter.
However, on Sunday against Washington, Fox manned up and went for it twice on fourth-down, usually unheard of in his conservative game plan. Hopefully we witnessed a new ballsier John Fox who will now grace the sidelines moving forward. One who is willing to take risks and chances, considering who the Broncos have under center, it isn’t such a bad idea.
Coaching Grade: C-
While some may think these grades are on the harsh side for a team with only one loss, we can’t turn a blind eye to the issues that have occurred in the first eight games. If the defense can continue on this upturn and not have to rely on Manning and the offense to bail them out every week and the team can manage to stay healthy, I foresee higher grades on the final end of season report card. With the bye happening this week, let’s hope these guys keep in line so we don’t have to deduct points for conduct.
I’m looking at you Von Miller.
