The big offseason question: How do we solve the Denver defense?

supafly said:

People here were in denial about the Broncos all year long. A few particularly over the top posters took it to a whole new level with some ridiculous predictions that weren't even close.

Playing at DEN is always going to be a tough out, unless Tebow comes back and plays QB.

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Follow along Supa. In actuality, the Broncos were NOT as good as the Patriots or Panthers--so those posters were actually spot on--then, however, the league did...something...to hand the Donks the Championship. It's all plain as day.

O-line play is always the key to success. Interior pressure is just as important as pressure off the edge so you need to be as solid up the middle as you do at the tackle spots.

They're blessed with the ability to pressure from all four spots and let the rest cover, so the biggest area to look at is the blocking.

From there, if you force them to start rushing 5 or 6 which the Panthers started to do towards the end of the third quarter, things will open up. Their linebackers are good but can be taken advantage of, and TJ Ward in space is just a gambler. Plus, you can attack Talib with quick twitch receivers, Ginn had him beat a few times last night but the pass wasn't completed, for whatever reason.

Stewart and Harris are the best players on the back end and Roby is developing well, but he's not covering Edelman successfully any time soon. I think you can beat them with a lot of power sets and bunch/stack formations. Got to be able to run though too, otherwise they'll be jumping the count all day. Which again goes back to the blocking.

Before all our injuries, we were unstoppable. Brady was on fire, Lewis was a major part of our O, O-Line played well and Gronk, JE, 'Dola were tearing it up and we were 10-0.
With that said, playing AFCCG at Denver, depleated O-Line, No running game, it came down to a 2PT Conversion for possible OT and a chance to win and go play Carolina which as you saw were pretty beatable. Drop a player here, Add a player there and go into playoffs Healthy Running on all cylinders and we're good. We aren't favored to win SB 51 for nothing.

XLIX said:

I have to confess: Denver scares me. They are still going to have a rock solid defense next year, and they're going to get a major upgrade at the QB position.

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Who is that major upgrade at QB you speak of? Brock and Peyton were essentially the same person, hence why they were both benched for each other.

We solve the Denver defense the same way we solved the seattle defense. With excellent play and coaching.

VectorPrime said:

The big offseason question: How do we solve the Denver defense?

Denver's defense is beyond for real. They are SCARY at rushing the passer and have two top cornerbacks. And they have a real good defensive coach.

What do the Pats need to do to this offseason to beat the Broncos IN Denver. I cannot emphasize that enough, we are playing in Denver next season. And it might be the Thursday opener which the home team has only lost once.

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That's easy. Stay healthy and hang on to home-field in the playoffs.

Next question.

Gronk said:

Have a healthy o-line to balance the offense out a bit and you win. Both really good teams, Denver D dominated the playoff game, muffed punt and some dopey ref calls in reg season, but in the end both those games were essentially coin flips. Nothing to be paranoid about. Draft, sign, and re-sign guys to make the best possible team.

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Not to mention Denver must have had horseshoes and 4 leaf clovers up their asses for the luck they had with injuries this year.. I doubt they'll get that fortunate next year, so the depth of the roster will actually come into play rather than their front loaded elite roster..

Its a gamble the way Elway built the roster, and its paid off so far

Nate Solder, Deion Lewis.

Are we sure that the Broncos' defense will be nearly as good next year?

First, they have a lot of key free agents on both sides of the ball. You have Danny Trevathan, Brandon Marshall, Malik Jackson, and most importantly Von Miller. And they has 2/3 of their starting o-line, top two RBs, kicker, and #3 & 4 WR up for free agency.

Even with a lot of cap room (not as much as it looks with the amount of holes they have), they are going to have to spend a lot of money to try to keep their team together. And a lot of their top free agents on defense will get offers elsewhere that will be more than the Broncos are going to be willing to spend.

And don't forget that DeMarcus Ware will be 34 next year and Talib will be 30. Both are at ages where they could see a decline.

Also, the Broncos were mostly very healthy this year on that side of the ball. Guys like Aquib Talib, and DeMarcus Ware all have histories of injuries. Can the Broncos stay healthy on that side of the ball again this year.

And lastly, how will Von Miller act when he is one of the highest paid players in the league next year? We have seen it a thousand times. A stud player gets a huge contract and they get soft.

The Pats have to worry about themselves and improve in some areas. John Elway has a lot of work to do to get his team to be anywhere close to what it was this year. And I think the Pats anywhere near full health would have beaten them this season in both games.

JoeSixPat said:

I don't think you "solve" the Denver D - when playing in Denver. Indeed there's a reason why they limited ticket sales to Rocky Mountain zip codes.

That crowd noise was unreal when the Pats had the ball from what I understood, causing a good degree of confusion on the OL - which frankly needs to be better prepared for that scenario.

And the crowd was stone cold quiet when the Broncs had the ball.

If I were the Pats I'd do my best to make sure that the road to the Super Bowl goes through Foxboro

That D would have been manageable on the home field I feel

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Well we play in Denver during the regular season next year so this isn't avoidable.

Simple Jack's Brother said:

Who is that major upgrade at QB you speak of? Brock and Peyton were essentially the same person, hence why they were both benched for each other.

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If you think those two were the "same person" this year, then you must have been living in a cave the past 3 months.

Osweiler was the superior QB this year across the board in all QB stats (after adjusting for playing time). In a lot of cases it wasn't even close.

The 4th and 5th option have to be better. Their d is good enough to take out the first 3 at least long enough to get the rush home. White had 3 chances that he missed. Those chances have to be made. But as others have said a 2nd TE would be good too as he could block or occupy the safeties in the seams.

Todd Bradley said:

Health.

Simple as that. If this team was as healthy, I don't see why they couldn't have gone undefeated.

Add some new pieces in the offseason and the fact that we have no real big name FA of our own and we're in extremely good shape.

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True. What do you propose that they do to maintain a healthy team?

They aren't scary at all. We should handle them easily if we can get the OL issue fixed, which I expect to be the case in the offseason.

I don't think we're dealing with rocket science here:

Healthier Smurf WRs
Legit middle-deep OWR
Better OL play
Better run game

You would think the Broncos D would take a hit next season. However, they will probably cheat the cap again and resign everybody.

XLIX said:

If you think those two were the "same person" this year, then you must have been living in a cave the past 3 months.

Osweiler was the superior QB this year across the board in all QB stats (after adjusting for playing time). In a lot of cases it wasn't even close.

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If a 245yd per game, 10/6 TD/INT ratio and 61.8% completion percentage over 8 games constitutes a MAJOR upgrade at QB, then sure, I guess you're right. But I wouldn't, and don't think many here consider Osweiler to be a major upgrade. Sure he's better than Manning at this point, but who isn't? He doesn't scare me like a Joe Flacco in the playoffs or even Andrew Luck (prior to this dumpster fire of a season).

In my eyes, he's a less inbred version of Ryan Mallet with slightly better touch on his short routes. He holds the ball too long and can't connect consistently on passes beyond 10 yards despite having Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas at his disposal (see below). Also, may I remind you that Osweiler was benched for failing to score a touchdown against the Raiders.

*Pro Football Focus @PFF
Brock Osweiler is 21 of 49 (42.8%) on his passes targeted beyond 9 yards down field.
10:04 AM - 15 Dec 2015

PatsGirl2011 said:

This thread is funny. We won the SB last year.... lol. There needs to be a few tweaks on the offensive side, but I expect them to be overall solid in all three phases.

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Some think that it takes a running game to have a solid offense.

Simple Jack's Brother said:

If a 245yd per game, 10/6 TD/INT ratio and 61.8% completion percentage over 8 games constitutes a MAJOR upgrade at QB, then sure, I guess you're right.

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It is a major upgrade when you compare it to a guy with a 225 yards per game and 9 touchdowns against 17 INT's.

I'm not putting Osweiler in Canton, I just don't think you realize how atrocious Peyton Manning was this year.

VectorPrime said:

The big offseason question: How do we solve the Denver defense?

Denver's defense is beyond for real. They are SCARY at rushing the passer and have two top cornerbacks. And they have a real good defensive coach.

What do the Pats need to do to this offseason to beat the Broncos IN Denver. I cannot emphasize that enough, we are playing in Denver next season. And it might be the Thursday opener which the home team has only lost once.

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Rushing attack and deep passing attack. No need to reinvent the wheel. That is old fashioned offense that was very effective for loosening up great defenses.