Post game notes - Broncos vs Bengals

Well guys week one is in the books. The Broncos came out of their first pre-season match with a loss to the Bengals. The Broncos started off great with a 14-0 first quarter and our first team looked in good shape. But of course there were mistakes made by everyone and there are things that the Broncos can work on in their next pre-season game against the Detriot Lions. Oh and Tim Tebow was there.

vs

	1	2	3	4	OT	Final
Den	14	3	0	7	-	24
Cin	0	17	6	10	-	33

Post game notes and observations from many sources:

Robert Ayers drew the double teams that would have almost certainly gone to Elvis Dumervil had he not torn his pectoral muscle. Ayers did a decent job in spite of the circumstances, and nearly got to Palmer once, but the Broncos didn’t mount much pressure in general, allowing Carson Palmer plenty of time to throw.

Marquez Branson found himself in a more prominent role than might have been expected, starting as the Broncos opened in a two-tight end set and playing into the fourth quarter as a tight end and occasional H-back. Absences played a role in Branson’s endurance; Richard Quinn sat out with an ankle injury and Spencer Larsen remained back in Denver because his wife gave birth to their third child. Congrats to Larsen and his wife.

Orton also gets plaudits for an audible that set up the second score; he quickly read the Bengals’ defense — which placed nine men in the box, expecting a run on third-and-1 — and responded with the quick out pass to Brandon Lloyd. Even if Lloyd doesn’t make Leon Hall miss, the play is a success because it put the Broncos in goal-to-go; the fact that Hall went flying and Lloyd cruised to the end zone was just a bonus.
Tebow will overtake Quinn as #2 quarterback soon, probably end of the preseason.

McBath was ok. Akin misses tackles like anything. Cox is one hell of a player. Looked very explosive on most returns and was very solid at CB. First team D looked good, Champ was on fire!

There was no shortage of vertical passing in this game. Kyle Orton threw three deep balls. One was completed over the middle to Gaffney on the first play of the game. He also threw one deep to Lloyd in double coverage, which we have already discussed. His third was another long ball to Gaffney, who was hit before the ball arrived. Quinn and Tebow also had their share of deep passes in this game. It could be an indication of things to come in the regular season. We talked about this in the offseason, but the pass protection needs to hold up so we can continue to see long plays like that.

Matthew Willis was targeted eight times, but only caught two passes.

The starting O-line was solid, Walton and Beadles were good.

Cornerback Champ Bailey was dominant in the first quarter against Bengals receivers Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco; he broke up two passes and stopped Owens on fourth down to snuff out the Bengals’ second drive.

Things I hear:

Mario Haggan is expected to be a three-down player at outside linebacker.
Brandon Stokley did not get a snap with the starters in Sunday's preseason opener. It doesn't look good for Stokley.
Jarvis Green played "sparingly" with the third team in Sunday's preseason opener.

Things I read:

In August rookie QBs should make mistakes
Enter the Red Zone
NFL news and Notes
What did we learn about Tim Tebow

Things I watch:

Rookie review
And if you missed it, Tebow's 7 yard run, his first pro TD.

 That is all I got ~ Aussie Out!