Sunday, September 18, 2011

The Main Keys to the Game -- Cincinnati @ Denver 9/18/11

If our Broncos want to get their first win of the season, we are going to have to see a lot of improvement over the game against the Raiders. The Broncos may have only lost by 3 points to the Raiders, but it may as well have been 57-14 with how terrible our game looked all around. Many familiar problems surfaced against the Raiders, such as our inability to stop the run, our inability to run the ball and the mistakes of Kyle Orton as Denver is driving towards the end-zone.

The season is not yet lost for Denver, but it's certainly not looking pretty. Here are my three Main Keys to the Game if the Broncos want to come out of week two with a win.

1. Offensive line's play needs to not be offensive.

In my opinion Denver's offensive line lost us the game on Monday Night. The line had 7 holding penalties called against them (but only 5 were accepted). The offensive line also could also not block for the run to save their lives, the Raiders were able to get off nearly every block and the line couldn't create any holes for our running game. Finally our pass blocking was atrocious. Orton was sacked five times and hit and pressured many more. The Raiders were finding ways through our line all over the place. Against Cincinnati Denver's offensive line needs to play together as a much tighter group. Hopefully this will be easier because the Cincinnati defensive front is not as physical and talented as Oakland's was. But if the Broncos want to win today the line's play needs to improve. JD Walton especially needs to improve his run blocking and create holes in the middle of the line. With an improved run game, Orton should be able to make more happen on passing plays when we have a dual threat offense.

2. Defensive line's play needs to not be offensive.

Our defense allowed too many running yards against the Raiders. Honestly though, we should have expected just as much with out an improved defensive front. Cendric Benson on Cincinnati is a big threat and has the potential to run up a lot of yards on us. If we can stop Benson and Cincinnati's run game then we should be able to get enough pressure on rookie QB Andy Dalton who is starting his first NFL away game to force him into mistakes.

3. A fire should be lit under Kyle Orton.

Orton was terrible against the Raiders. Yes, the offensive line didn't give him any help....but he also didn't help himself in any way during the game. He made costly mistakes on promising drives, turned-over the ball on a fumble with no pressure on him, and was inaccurate on his passes. If the offensive line's play improves I think Orton will improve his accuracy when he has more time to throw the ball. But Orton played his best against the Raiders once the fans starting calling for Tebow. Orton needs to be very aware of the competition behind him at QB and play like he deserves the job. He can't just play well at the end of the game once fans are already frustrated with him.