Passing 1st downs 12 8
Rushing 1st downs 7 6
1st downsPenalties 3 4
3rd down Efficiency 2-9 4-12
4th down Efficiency 0-1 0-0
Total Plays 63 56
Total Yards 355 268
Passing 180 140
Comp-Att 16-30 15-26
Yards per pass 6.0 5.4
Rushing 175 128
Rushing Attempts 30 28
Yards per Rush 5.8 4.6
Red Zone 2-6 2-5
Penalties 11-93 8-67
Turnovers 3 2
Interceptions Thrown 3 2
Possession 31:24 28:36
Solely from these stats which do you think the Broncos are and which ones do you think the Steelers are?
And if you guessed that the ones on the left were the Denver Broncos you are completely WRONG! They are the better statistics of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
And while everyone is giving the Broncos praise of their great great great win last night, I say ‘Not so fast?’ The Steelers really didn’t do anything they usually do. Roethlisburger took 11 snaps, the #2 guy on the depth charts (Bryon Leftwich) played a little at the end of the third quarter and Charlie Batch is the Steelers equivalent of our very own Bubby Brister played quite a bit. Dwyer and Mendenhall were unstoppable on their 18 combined carries. Given a steady dose of their 6.8 and 5.6 ypc, and the Broncos would be more battered than a one legged rodeo clown.
The offense wasn’t much better. They got their one first half first team offensive touchdown with the help of 2 ridiculously easy to call 15 yard unnecessary roughness calls.
I'm expecting quite a bit of this this year.
But I’m not all negative this morning. There is one positive. (Its not the sure fire connection that Tebow and Decker established that will be the Elway-to-McCaffery, Young-to-Rice, Pops-to-ME (That’s right Matt, you could never stop the button hook. Nor the button hook and go) of the Broncos future.) It is Lance Ball. He played within himself and when he saw a hole he made the cut that got him there. He was little flash, but over the years reading the zone right and making a cut will make you vastly successful in this offense. He is a solid #2 or 3 back in this system.
Overall the Broncos didn’t play that well and 6 wins could be a success this year, but I like the improvement and the direct McDaniels is taking the Broncos.
[Food for thought... If the Broncos start out 1-6 and loss to Oakland at home. Tebow could start his first game on another continent against the 49ers. It is a legitimate possibility.]
First of all, nobody can conclude anything from NFL preseason football. Guys that are trying to make the team are trying their hardest, but they are in the game with a mish mash of players. Veterans, unless they know they are on the way out or have no chance of getting picked up by another team, are trying their not-to-get-hurt hardest. Don't mistake my pondering here - I'm not advocating a longer NFL season. Football is SO much different from other sports that we don't want to get to a point with a longer season where teams and players take games off.
ReplyDeleteHard to tell how the Broncos will do - sure hope that I'm right about preseason not being an indicator of the season - OR you may be right about getting a "quarterback of the future" some playing time. Tebow needs to start looking like an NFL QB instead of a college defensive safety. Sure he has "guns" (kind of reminds me of me), but all he is doing is encouraging the NFL linebackers to clobber him. Get a jersey that fits and use the mobility to get space to make a throw. Tebow won't last a full game if he doesn't change his style, and not his throwing style.
BUT, most importantly for this comment, the reason that you were a success in the "Pops to me" conncection was my ability to read the defender and my quick release. When neighbors would look over the fence, they thought that my name was Marino and you were Duper! Of course, there was the "eye contact" that the QB and receiver had. And, the "no mauling" rule. Those were good times!!