Broncos Vs Chiefs II - Post Game

Well guys it was another tough lose and this was one of the hardest loses to stomach as we were in this late but we threw the game away. But I have to give my Broncos credit because they showed me what I wanted to see and did what I asked. In the preview for this game I stated that I wanted to see our boys fight tooth and nail to the end and be in this game. Which they did, both teams were fired up and really went at it. Did you see Richardson on the sideline? You could see there was pressure in this game, both coaches wanted this one. The other thing I wanted to see was hope, some glimmer that there is something there for the future. And there was, Decker, Moreno, Champ, young DBs, the offensive line, these are some things that we can take away from this game and look forward to. I also think this game helped McD keep his job for next year, he had his guys prepared and they fought hard, they just struggled to execute it. The biggest plus was that they didn’t get blown out. Also did you see McD’s father? Could he be with us next year?

Lets review what some players did in the game:

Offensive line – Was really good in opening holes for the run game and really helped out Moreno. The offensive line wasn’t great in the pass though, let in 4 sacks, two of which came from a defensive back, who I believed came through unblocked on an overload blitz. The other two sacks were by Hali, who is an underrated pass rusher. His second sack he beat Clady with a good move. Then made a great play on the ball off the ground after sacking Orton.

Orton – He was flat out terrible today and that happens, everyone has that bad game once and awhile and Orton had his today. He finished with a stat line of 9/28 for 117 yards. He regularly under threw the ball which ended up hitting the ground and missed timed a number of other throws. He could have been picked off a number of times too. He was off today and had a slow release but that happens. I also do understand the call of McD to put the ball in Orton’s hands late in the game then call runs and hand it off to Moreno. The head coach is meant to trust in his quarterback and trusts his QB to get the win for him. Orton just was terrible in the clutch, not making any throws. This lack of success may play in McD’s mind, may not trust Orton as much anymore and may throw in the Tebow? More on that later.

Receivers - did nothing today and all finished with terrible stats, but this is due in large part because Orton was ineffective. Decker looks good though, gets out of his breaks quick and slows surprising speed, plus he has great hands, hope to see more of him in the future.

Moreno – flat out balling. Dude was on fire today, finished with 23 carries and 161 yards, didn’t get a TD as we could not convert and Orton wasn’t helping him get the ball close to the redzone. This is the Moreno I remember seeing from his college highlights. I talked about it last year, Moreno looked slow and out of shape. He lacked game conditioning and was slowed by injuries. But this year he has over come the hammy problems and may finely be healthy and it shows. He has shown impressive speed out of his cuts and makes a number of guys miss. This is the player we wanted week in and week out when we drafted him. Moreno looks good going ahead. He carried the load today but maybe needs a quick change of pace back to help him out in the future. Also something interesting I came across, check out the comparisons between Moreno and TD, did Bobby Turner have some influence with this pick?

Royal – Dude you got to catch that sh#t, good thing Cox was there to cover it. Maybe Royal gets pulled from return duties for the next game and Cox gets a chance or Squid?

Defense – They played really well today. They weren’t great, but made a number of key stops. But they allowed the Chiefs to get over 150 rushing yards on them. They did managed to get a little pressure on Cassel.

Champ – flat out balling. This is why we should resign this guy, is still the top CB in the league. He said it today that the last game they played against the Chiefs that he was distracted and Bowe had a field day then. Today Champ came to play and flat out dominated Bowe, who did not get a single catch all game. Cox loves Champ and would like to see him stay. And I believe Champ hasn’t lost anything and still got more than enough speed to play the game. So resign him but work out a good deal with him. Maybe less money at the back end with a lot of performance boosters in it if he does change to safety.

I was impressed with Cox, he was solid, made a lot of open field tackles. Saw some of Squid too, like to get these guys more involved. Bruton was good too, but made a bad read on the Chiefs TD pass, bit on the run when he could have gotten the sack.

DJ Williams – He really impressed me today with his tackles, hit hard and showed great technique. I really like DJ, just needs to be more of a leader or needs someone to complement him more.

Joe Mays - hit Moeaki hard again, love some of that, and shows our team has some toughness. But the thing holding him back is his coverage, still struggles in coverage.

D-line - Hasn’t been too bad lately, they do play much better when Vickerson and Jamal are in there. Bannan played well today and is steady, doesn’t always play with a low pad level though. But there is something there to build off, but will need to draft DEFENSE in next years draft.

Referees – Need to comment on these guys as I think they made some bad calls. There was a lot of holding, saw it a lot on our defensive line, probably was the same for their guys. I don’t mind they didn’t call it, lets the game play out, and it was a physical game. I thought the call on DJ was incorrect, I think DJ didn’t have enough time or space to be able to pull out of the tackle and was committed and hit the guy fairly. If he hit the huge TE Pope instead of McCluster the penalty probably isn’t called. I think DJ made the right decision and because the ball was right there. Was the right thing to do, bad call. The other bad call was the shovel pass that Orton did to Moreno that was called down. Orton was still standing up when the ball was released, and Moreno would have gotten the first down. Was a really bad call and changed the game. If it is a correct call the Broncos get the first, are in better fielded position and could have changed the overall result of the game. What I don’t understand was that there wasn’t a challenge? Could McD have challenged the bad call and instead of playing the ball at the sack 7 yards back and a loss of downs, have a replay of the play back at the previous down, I am unsure of the ruling? But these two calls really were bad and changed the game.

Well guys with that loss it effectively knocks the Broncos out of the playoffs, if we won out the rest of the season we would only get a record of 7-9, the Chiefs (who lead at the moment) record is 8-4. So we can’t finish first, therefore I think it is time to start playing for next year. Get an extra 4 weeks working towards next year. This means getting the younger guys involved. The young DBs, WRs (Decker, Thomas (when healthy)) and of course Tebow. Yes I think it is Tebow time and I think it is now. Orton has shown he can’t lead late and is not good in the clutch. It is time to see what Tebow has and let him build some chemistry with guys like Decker and Thomas. Let him make mistake now instead of next year.

For those that are hesitate or don’t want Tebow here is a few points that you may find interesting. With Orton at the helm I think the Broncos struggle the rest of the year, we saw it today, Orton holds onto the ball to long and struggles under any form of pressure. Even with Moreno carrying the offense he still struggled. I think we have seen the best of Orton and won’t see much more from him.

Another point that is made: Tebow may struggle and his confidence will be wrecked or his mental state will be affected if he gets sacked too much aka Joey Harrington, lots of potential but never could do it. To this I say that Harrington was on a terrible team, not like the Broncos who have some talent. And Harrington didn’t have the support Tebow has here, the McD brothers. Plus it is Tebow, I can see him struggling, I can see him starting all the remaining games and losing every single one. But then comes out next year and dominates it. Why? He is Tim Tebow, this isn’t a guy that you can affect his confidence, he isn’t a confidence player. He is a guy that completely believes in himself and his ability, and if he does struggle he works harder, tries to get better, to raise himself above. I think playing Tebow now could be the best thing, he will struggle, train and practice harder for next year and flat out dominate it next season, that is my prediction.

Oh and McD and Haley hugged after the game and bit of a love tap on the head by Haley haha.

That's it from me ~ Aussie Out!

Pictures from NFL.com and DenverBroncos.com