Offense was not built on the passer alone, and Jay Cutler’s immediate success or struggle as the Broncos’ starting quarterback may well rest as much upon the legs of the men lining up behind him as the prodigious right arm the rookie has only been able to brandish in practice the last three months.
In two of the Broncos’ last three games, Denver’s running game has failed to amass 65 yards. The team hasn’t had a 100-yard rusher since Mike Bell went over the milestone against Indianapolis on Oct. 29.
That’s just five games ago, so it might not seem like very long in the grand scheme of things, but for the Broncos and their historically prodigious running game, it seems like an eternity — particularly when their tailbacks have struggled to find running room in the weeks since, collectively averaging 64.5 yards a game in November — with more than half of their 258 yards for the month coming in the 35-27 loss to San Diego.
“We’ve just got to fly around a little bit more,” fullback Kyle Johnson said. “I think we got it, because historically we run the ball well around here and we’ve had glimpses of running the ball well in 2006; I think we’ve just got to smack some heads and find something that works. Denver can usually do that, and I think at running back, we need to show a little more explosiveness and break that last tackle to make a 5-, 7-yard gain into a 25-yard gain. Get the crowd excited, and let the line know they’re working for something that they’re achieving bit by bit.”
And if Cutler is to succeed, the Broncos will need more from their tailbacks.
“They’ve got to take a little pressure off that quarterback as well as all the other positions,” Head Coach Mike Shanahan said.
Having Tatum Bell back in the lineup will help. After missing three of the last four games, the third-year tailback — and the Broncos’ leading rusher so far this season — expects to return Sunday after grappling with turf toes for the past six weeks.
“I’m back — back starting,” Bell said Monday. “I’m not 100 percent, but good enough. I can play without worrying about it.”
“I think Tatum will be back,” Shanahan said. “I think our backs are in a little bit better shape than they have been.”
Bell didn’t expect to be out of uniform last Thursday, however.
“I was surprised, because I had a good practice a couple of days before we left, and I was starting everything off,” he said.
And if Bell returns, he — like his other teammates — will likely have as much impact on Cutler’s performance as the rookie himself.
“We all need to step up,” wide receiver David Kircus said. “To say we’re going to put it all on Jay’s shoulders is a false statement.”
Tags: Cedric Cobbs, Damien Nash, David Kircus, Jay Cutler, Mike Bell, Running backs, Tatum Bell
Dear Mr. Shanahan,
I am not important enough for you to even wipe your
nose with a printout of my writings–still I will
address this directly to you, not just as a Plummer
fan, but as a Broncos fan. We now have the offense
and defense that you have built from the ground up
with no Dan Reeves/Wade Phillips leftovers outside of
a couple players you reshaped to fit your schemes.
You have the fresh new quarterback you wanted,
replacing the guy who only a year ago had the best
regular season any Broncos quarterback has ever had.
It’s all in place.
You get this year to break in Cutler—okay,free pass,
playoffs or not. Next year is 50/50 depending on how
ready Cutler is–and that isn’t on Cutler, it’s on
YOU, Mr. Shanahan, but still, you’re okay as long as
you’re 9-7 or better. BUT, by the 2008-09 season–if
you are a worthy coach and Cutler is a worthy
quarterback–the Broncos should be ready to go to the
Super Bowl. If the team does anything less than put
up a close showing (no blowouts) in the 2008 AFC title
game, I submit that the post-Elway Shanahan-era is a
well-dressed failure and that you were simply a
talented but lucky offensive coordinator who happened
to have a Hall of Fame quarterback who had avoided
career-altering injury; the greatest tight end in
history (Shannon Sharpe, who took up the position
under the advice of Dan Reeves;) a Wade
Phillips-trained defense (he couldn’t run an offense
to save his life, but Wade’s defenses were always
respected, and he’d spent two years teaching the
Broncos D before Shanny showed up;) and most of all,
the miracle that was Terrell Davis’s
all-too-short-but-sweet career dropped into his lap.
Harsh? Yes. But Broncos fans have been a lot harsher
to Jake with a lot less to work with. Sorry to say it
so bluntly, Mr. Shanahan, but you get paid millions of
dollars to guide a team to the Super Bowl. By
dropping Jake Plummer from the starting lineup, you
are effectively blaming him for the entire season (and
by default, for the entire post-Elway era as well,)
which of course is what the fans have been doing all
along anyway. You aren’t blaming an inconsistent
defense (I leave Champ out of this remark.) You
aren’t blaming your yearly game of “running back
bingo.” You aren’t blaming your receivers, your
coaches, or the hot dog vendors. You certainly aren’t
blaming yourself, coach. You are blaming Jake
Plummer. Bravo. Run with that for a couple years.
But if you can’t get there with Cutler, Mr. Shanahan,
then maybe you can never get there again.
Love,
LetPlummerPlay.com
Wow, pretty intriging LetPlummerPlay. But all Broncos fans really need to unite and back the players who are playing. Im a die hard Plummer fan and am saddend to see him get the bench treatment, but im also very excited to finally see Cutty do his thing. We expect nothing less then the best here in Denver and I hope that our winning traditions continue for years to come. Im not saying I dont agree with you LetPlummerPlay, cause you have valid points, but I also agree with Shannahan. He is one of the best coaches this leage has to offer and I put my trust in him as well. Time will tell definite…
-tha jOKER
It’s definitely NOT just Jake. The irony is that if the vaunted Broncos defense had been able to hold the lead vs. San Diego, Jake would still be in there. And Shanahan had more faith in Plummer than he did the Broncos ‘D’ against the Chargers – which lets you know he doesn’t have a whole lot of faith in anyone right now.
Ever notice that Rod Smith is almost NEVER open anymore? Walker is about the only guy who ever gets open – so who are you going to pass to? We need someone with quick feet, speed, and a good knowledge of the field to come in and get open once in a while. How about lining up Plummer in the slot like an Antwaan Randell-El? As long as it’s time to experiment, might as well try this – it opens up all kinds of possible plays. Maybe Plummer can even return kicks – he sure can’t be worse than Cecil Sapp or some of the other dregs who can’t beat anybody in the open field. (If Cecil Sapp doesn’t get caught from behind against the Chargers, Jake is still the QB.)
I think bringing in Plummer for some plays where he could be a throwing threat or a receiving threat that they’d have to take seriously would be a good move. As long as we’re gambling, might as well go for it. Can’t be worse than the sorry lot of receivers we have now.
I have to agree with LetPlummerPlay!! Putting Cutler in now, when we are 5 games away from the playoffs and having to adjust the offensive line at this point of the season is BS!! I have always stood behind Mike S., this is the first time I have ever questioned a decision he made-he is a great coach but I am so disappointed with this one!! I am a huge Plummer fan!! Plummer is a great quarterback and more people are supporting him right now then even he is probably aware of!! Yes he has had made some bad mistakes, but all players have thier good days and their bad-the guy got us one game away from the Super Bowl last season for god sakes-give the guy a break!! The entire offensive line has made some crucial mistakes this season-but that is what comes with new players-give it a year or two and this team is going to go to new heights and Plummer would be the one to get it done!! No one would even care right now except for the fact that we lost two games in a row-who cares-get over it and move on!! I love Elway, he is a god, but lets face it-even he didn’t start out his career that well, and how long did it take him to get us a Super Bowl win-you didn’t see his job being threatened or pressured did you? No, because he had support of his fans and the TEAM!! If everyone would just lay off of Plummer and let the poor guy just play some football-maybe this season would have had a better outcome so far. I am going to the game this Sunday and as bad as it sounds I really hope Cutler chokes so everyone will shut up about him and let Plummer play!! Maybe this is Plummer’s last season with us, maybe it’s not but regardless I think he has earned the right to finish this season as the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos. I believe in Jake Plummer!!
Its amazing that I have not heard anything about the lost of Gary Kubiak, the real mastermind of the PAST broncos offense. Who ever is calling the play needs to take responsible for the poor offense this year. I dont just watch football but I like to analyse it too. The offensive play calling has been terrible. Example, in the past if the bootleg did not work early in the game they would work the offense so the bootleg would work. This year they quit on it too early or not try it at all. People need to recognize that this years lack of offense is not jake’s fault. We have always been very productive with jake at QB. Why isn’t it working this year. We will miss you Gary Kubiak. Take note Broncos coaches.
Broncos fans please wish, hope, and pray for our team to get into playoff.
BRONCOS fans, you will LOVE this, check it out, a great comparison and a good laugh.
http://nowayelway.blogspot.com
Dude, if you ever want anybody to take you seriously, you have to stop the Elway- Plummer comparisons. I’m not down on Jake. There are several of teams who would trade their starter for Jake in a second. Jake will start for another team next year if he leaves the Broncos, and will win games for them. But, Elway made the ring of fame, bypassing the waiting period. 1st ballot Hall of Fame. 5 Super Bowls, 2- wins. Don’t kid yourself about Terrell. Don’t get me wrong, Terrell was great. But Elway was great with or with out Terrell. Terrell, he went 0-4 without Elway and then got hurt. Other teams hated Elway for what he did to them, and what he could do any second. Plummer hardly stikes fear in the hearts of opponents. And, this may be the first and last time Plummer and Hall of Fame will be mentioned in the same sentence. Whether Cutler stinks or is great, or Jake stays or goes, pleeease leave Elway out of it. If stats were most important they wouldn’t keep score.
It’s amazing how the blame game gets thrown every which way. The QB switch isn’t about putting all the blame on one guy, it’s about mixing it up and changing the teams chemistry. This switch is about one thing…SPARK! What if benching Plummer and putting Cutler in provides that spark? The entire team gets it together and begins making the plays on offense and defense. The same happened in Dallas, their problems were not all Bledsoe’s fault, but benching him helped provide a spark that has brought inspired play on both offense and defense. It’s easy to continue to beat a dead horse for the rest of the season, but it takes courage to drastically change a teams roster. And I truly feel this change will inspire the entire team to dominate. Cutler will make mistakes and screw up, but even if he plays as bad as Plummer has this season I think that the rest of the team will play inspired and mask the mistakes Cutler will make as a rookie. Much like the rest of the team covered for Plummer’s mistakes through the first six games of the season. My point is, Plummer has played as badly or maybe even worse than other rookies in the league this year…so why keep beating that dead horse when we have a rookie that is our future and could come in and play just as bad as Plummer has? If were lucky Cutler will play at least a little bit better than Plummer has, if not we have the same situation we had with Plummer. I think I would rather have our future in there playing and learning even if it means the result of which would be the same if we had kept Plummer as a starter. Makes sense to me anyways.
You guys are missing the point…With the Elway comparison, we meant to say…if you guys were around blogs in 1993, then you should have been calling for Elway to be benched. You would have been calling for Maddox to be given a shot, after all, Elway was playing terribly, had just lost 2 monday night games and the team was at 3-3…They were horrible and Elway had done nothing but lost 3 superbowls, therefore a SPARK should have been provided in 1993….A change should have been made according to you guys and hey who knows right? If they had put in Maddox the Broncos may have won 6 super bowls instead of only 2 from 93-99….RIGHT?
So for everyone who thinks we needed a spark and this was the way to do it, I would never TRUST your decision making, because you are all the same people that would have benched Elway to start Maddox.
Elway is probably my second favorite player of all time, but without the previously mentioned names like Sharpe, Mccaffrey, Smith and Davis…Elway would look a lot like a guy named Jim Kelly at worst, or Dan Marino at best.
Had we not drafted Cutler, had we allowed Jake to play HIS type of game, this team would have gone one step further than they did last year, but now, at this ever critical point in the season, we put our faith in a proven loser (just ck his record) and throw the hail mary in the air….
Good thinking Shanahan, good thinking.
I totally agree with TLynch…the move Parcells made with Romo in Dallas now makes him look like a genius and I think the same can happen for us with Cutler. I give the utmost respect to Plummer, but I think the team needs something to give it a “jumpstart”. Before I go…has anyone besides me ever closed their eyes and envisioned Laurence Maroney in “blue & orange”. He was available when we moved up for Cutler, and if that is our pick, then I believe Jake looks as good as he did last year and this conversation about who’s to blame for our offense (or lack thereof) doesn’t take place! But hey, I dream a lot. Go Broncos! Good Luck, Jay!
Has anyone been watching the games lately? I am disapointed that Jake has been benched, but no one has said anything about the team play as a whole. Jake has been struggling all year until the Colts game. He started out struggling and then it was like a light switch come on and ther he went. The running game was doing well. The Colts came out in the second half and made a mockery of the defence. They still have not recovered from that. Tackling has been absent. Normally great tacklers have not been doing the basics like rapping up on a tackle. It seems that they are more interested in stripping the ball than making the tackle. I really think that Shanahan needs to give up on the prevent defence because it didn’t work last year and hasn’t worked this year either. Lets look at the defensive line as well. How many times have the front four got pressure on the opposing teams quarterback this year? Not very many, the pressure has been comming from the linebackers, defensive ends and safetys. The defensive line needs to get it done better.
Lets address the offensive line for a momment. Has any one noticed that the blocking schemes are not working any more? Could it be that the other teams have figured out how to defend the chop block? If the offensive line was getting the job done the running game would be there but it is not. The running backs have not combined for a hundred yard game since the Colts game.
Lets look at special teams. We are last in field position this year after a punt or kickoff. We are starting our drives from 80 yards away while we are allowing our opponents to start 20 yards closer.
Is this change good for the team? Maybe. Maybe this change will get the rest of the team to play better. I feel that the problems are more that just at quarterback and this may just be the jolt that the rest of the team needs to play better. Maybe Shanahan needs to look at replacing other players as well.
Why bring someone’s collegiate record into the discussion? Was Ryan Leaf a winner? How about Archie Griffin? We could probably bring in dozens of names of “can’t miss” players who bombed out. Bottom line is Shanahan and his coaches are at every practice and meeting and having been a coach for 26 years you can feel when a team loses faith in themselves, their coach, or a team “leader”. So you take a chance that a spark will get the team out of a funk and you turn out to be a goat or a genius depending on the outcome. This can also work well for the incumbent that loses his job….remember Jim Plunkett? All I’m trying to say is don’t overlook chemistry, and this move definitely is not the end of JP’s career.
I say we will be seeing Plummer in Houston w/Kubiak next year.
I don’t have a lot of time right now but I wrote a report on the inconsistancies of the Denver Offense and Defense and i’ll just sum it up here.
1. It is not Jake’s fault. We’ve heard this all before but when you really think about it, it isn’t.
Let’s think back to the Games were the Offense has really sparked, I’m talking 24+ Point Games, (Basically starting at the Indianapolis Game). Jake Moved the pocket, he rolled out, he had time to set his feet and move. Jake Plummer is a run-and-pass quarterback and when you don’t use him on the move you’re just using him wrong and that’s just stupid. The games where we’ve lost is when Jake drops back 3 or 5 step drops. Jake is NOT a drop-back-and-pass quarterback!
Also, the Offensive Line -should be ashamed- of themselves. Jake had no-time to set his feet or to set up his throws even when he did drop-back-pass (even though he shouldn’t have been). Offensive Line, Jakes woes fall 80% on you.
Recieving Core, I’ve checked the stats and half of Jake’s interceptions this year went off of DROPPED PASSES. The Interception at Kansas City? Alexander dropped that one right into Ty Law’s hands.
(Theres more but thats summing it up for the offense)
As we know the Defense is just as much to blame as the offense.
DEFENSE WHAT HAPPENED?
We started out with a legendary season, 1 touchdown?
It sounds good, but what does that mean? That means we’re losing by field goals. Denvers Defense (With Champ Baily exception) has just been terrible in open field, and only start to step up in the red-zone. Which is fine really, in the Red zone is when we need the defense, but if you’re not stopping them in the open field, when they get the field goal and kick it to our LEAGUE WORST SPECIAL TEAMS time and time again, that just doesn’t add up.
I understand that Jay Cutler might be starting just to add a Spark to the team, maybe to get some of you pathetic Lineman off your asses, but benching Jake is just a mistake, almost none of it is his fault. I know he made some bad decisions, what quarterback doesn’t?
Against Kansas City Jake Plummer threw for over 200 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT, and that was without rolling out and moving the pocket (Although I’d like to point out that his big gains were when he moved the pocket). Our running game ran for 38. Wait let me capitalize that. THIRTY-EIGHT YARDS.
You’re benching the wrong guy.
Actually to all people i need to say something… i´m not a Plummer fan. i´ve been thinking since his early years in Az, that he´s not a CONSISTANT qb, ok true he had a great 2005 season, but, how about this season?? and the season before??? take a look at the numbers check his rating… i don´t need to say that numbers talk, ok the loss with Colts not totally on his shoulders but in Shannahan´s defense front four, and against SD same thing; but hey more interceptions than td passes?????, that´s something to think about isn´t?.
It might not be the right move to sit down a veteran QB to start a Rookie but i think is more like a message to the team, but the only one that knows that is the coach.
Also we have to realize that the D is not regular, the front four are totally useles when it comes to pressure the QB, leaving the whole work to the corners and safetys but we dont have two 47´s or two 24´s and if you don´t put pressure on the QB, well in this league any Dback can be defeated including Champ or John.
And to the part that talks about the fatty guys up front let me say something
well as a comment to letPlummerPlay
HURRAY CUTLER IS GOING TO PLAY!~!~!~!~!
First of all I acknowledge what Letplummerplay.com says here. -I’m a Bronco fan from Norway, so i propably lack a lot of football know how – I am also a Plummer fan, but lately I have started asking questions about his form.
So I have a few questions.
1. If your starting quarterback shows a lack of form, should he still be playing the whole season? What is the reason og depth in the QB position if you never use this depth?
2. As a rookie, could not Jay Cutler still be a threat to opposing defences?
3. Mike Shanahan have watched Cutler on each workout this season, don’t you think he knows what this young QB could do?
4. With Jake Plummer’s pass completion of about 50% opposing defences don’t have to worry too much about defending the pass. This means it gets harder for Broncos to run the ball. If Cutler can convert on 3rd downs and also get some long completions in his first games teams will have to worry about his arm and this will open up the running game more.
5. Plummer has lost to the Chargers, Chiefs and Colts in the regular season. We can assume that if we go to the playoff we’ll be likely to meet one or more of these teams. Likely outcome based on experience of 2006 is we would be losing.
6. The QB is the most important part of an offence, If the offence isn’t working and you have changed around other bits of the offence, how long until you change the QB? It would be a matter of time, and why not do it when you have the longest time between games? It’s the perfect time for a swap seen in this regard.
7. Plummer has played under a lot of pressure this year after Cutler was drafted, and as we have seen previous seasons he doesn’t perform well under pressure. And if he can’t perform with a rookie back up, how will he perform in the play offs again?
8. Even if Jake Plummer seems like a very nice fellow, it’s not his personality you’re benching it’s his ability to throw the football. If it was personality that were to be the main factor he would play for a decade.
Looking at these factors I think the change of QB is the right thing to do now.
Good luck to Jay Cutler on Sunday, and also I wish Jake Plummer all the best.
And to all you lucky people out there who are able to go to the stadium and watch the Broncos live.
Propagandalf….
Please see http://nowayelway.blogspot.com so you can answer the question for yourself….The main question is “Should a coach bench a veteran quarterback who has ABSOLUTLEY matched and surpassed Elways numbers in his first 4 years….when he struggles a bit….and you have a young qb on the sideline…” If the answer to that is YES….if the answer is yes, we need a spark….if the answer is YES, because the FRESH guy on the bench gives us the best chance to win….if the answer is yes yes yes or yes again……THEN WE WOULD HAVE BENCHED ELWAY IN 1993!!!!! That’s all there is to it…..We would have put in Tommy Maddox to give us the better chance since Elway just plain SUCKED in 92 and 93….but I’m so tired of trying to show all of you, why this was the WRONG decision…I now say this, MAYBE if we HAD benched ELWAY, MADDOX could have been the Culter of the 90′s and as I said before Denver would have 6 rings instead of 2….because I’m sure, Maddox was better than Elway as you are all SURE CUTLER is better than Plummer!
You never GO with an unproven talent in the NFL with 5 games to go….But on the other hand there was no need to draft Cutler either…..LISTEN UP EVERYONE, if you don’t see this coming….MIKE SHANNAHAN’s days as Denver coach are nearing an end….Cutler will ruin this season for us, and next year will not win any Super Bowl….at that point Shannhan is going to move on and prove withouth Elway and Davis…he isn’t much….
Last bit of advice and this is for Mr. Pat Bolen, there is a coach, who lives in Los Angeles, many consider him the greatest coach of all times regardless of sport…He is a LEADER, A WINNER, a MOTIVATOR, everything you want in a WINNING COACH….He has 10 CHAMPIONSHIP rings as a coach and one as a player….that’s 11 PAT, 11…and though I know he would not coach the Broncos, he could probably give you some advice….PLEASE
GOOGLE HIM PAT, his name is Phil Jackson.
LetPlummerPlay..
Ok. I see your point there. I tried opening the link earlier but it wouldn’t open so i hadn’t read it before my last posting.
I agree with you that Shanahan now are in a way blaming the seasons shortcomings on Plummer. However as we can read in TMQ http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=easterbrook/061128 it seems like it’s a trend in the NFL. And it’s not a good one.
The head coach is paid to take responsibility for results, and I’m sure Mike Shanahan will (he must) take blame if the the Broncos doesn’t get to the play offs. Especially if this QB switch goes badly.
Like I wrote in my posting I think there are a lot of points that one have to think about when it comes to such a dramatic change of the offence. There are no easy answers, but at least on monday we’ll know if this change was a very bad decision!
You have a right go at Shanahan, and maybe rightly so, but how long would you want to see Jake Plummer behind the center? If he still can’t produce, if his slump of form continued into next season, would you ever bench Jake Plummer?
First things first, I love jake plummer… but I love the Denver Broncos much much more. We cant win games if we are turning the ball over as much as we have been as of lately. Granted the interceptions aren’t all due to something that Jake has done. some of them have been good throws, but don’t get caught and end up getting picked off by the defense. The fumbles however are all on Jake.
I have to agree with this article. All the problems with our offense isn’t just who is under center, it is actually a chain reaction of problems that center around the running game, which, I am ashamed to say, “stinks”.
After we traded Portis for Champ, (which was the best trade I have seen in a long time), Coach decided combine the explosivness of Tatem Bell with the power, downhill running of Mike Anderson. It not only worked, it worked well. Better than anyone expected.
For the idea of the running back tandum to be a success, there must be a great balance between the two. We gave that balance up after we let Mike anderson go.
You see, Anderson’s ability to pound the rock between the tackles wore defensive fornts down in the early part of the game. This allowed Tatem to break off huge runs later in the game, because the Defensive line was beat up and tired. This also made the defensive front a little slower…which in turn allowed plummer more time to throw the ball on pass plays, and also allowed plays to develop more and gave receivers more time to get open. This year, we came in without a power back, and really just had a couple of outside runners. Granted Mike bell put up huge numbers against Indi, but they have the worst run defense in the league.
Without a running back that can punish a defensive front, the front is just as strong and fast in the second half as they are the first. This makes blitzing and getting pressure on the quarterback pretty easy. When the QB is under pressure, he will be much more likely to make mistakes and turn the ball over.
Shanahan’s ‘just throw anybody back there’ attitude hasn’t really worked out this year, because we lack that powerful inside running back. I just hope that Ted Sundquist and Coach Shanahan will take this into account when going into the 07 draft. From what I understand about the Lelie trade, there is a possibility that we could end up switching first round picks with the Redskins, depending on how each team stands at the end of the year. Regardless of how that works out, denvers first round pick in 07 needs to be used on a bruiser, a powerful running back that has good size and speed. I know we need a good safety to replace John Lynch when he decides to retire, but thats the one thing that this draft is full of. Zbikowsky from Notre Dame would be a great second round pick. He has good size and we know how tough he is, he’s a golden gloves champ and in the off season fights in pro boxing matches and wins.
Back to round one though. Granted Adrian Peterson will probably go pretty early, there is always the chance of getting a guy like Marshawn Lynch, and could definitly get a guy like Tony Hunt. But denver and everyone else for that matter, should be foaming at the mouth over Michael Bush. This kid has it all. The only running back in the NFL that comes close to his size is Brandon Jacobs, but Bush is a lot faster and a lot more versatile. He played quarterback in high school and won the Kentucky Mister Football Award.
We could be looking at the next LT, here. I may be getting ahead of myself here but this guy is way under rated.
Jay Cutler is supposed to be the next great Quarterback in the NFL. He has the arm of Brett Favre, the anticipation of Peyton Manning, the release of Dan Marino, and the coachability of Tom Brady. Almost every champion quarterback has had a stud in the backfield. Favre had Green, Brady had Dillon, Aikman had Smith, etc. They also all had great number one receivers. Denver has the receiver, the QB, and now all that is missing is the running back. If bush enters the draft in 07, whoever passes on him will be regreting it for many years to come. I just hope that denver does whatever it has to do to be the one to get him.
My theory: It’s a mistake to place blame on either the offense or the defense.
The fact is the Broncos lack of offense caused the Defense to shoulder the burden of winning. Defensive wins worked for quite a while but when you play one of the toughest schedules in the league this year, you’re simply going to run into teams that will beat you from time to time if your offense isn’t clicking. So blame the offense right? Wrong…well sort of.
The problem IS on offense but it’s not really their fault. Think about what happened to the offense prior to the start of the season. First, we got Walker on Draft Day. Great move but it also caused some dissention with “another receiver” and I’d suspect that it made just a few other receivers a tad nervous. Then, knowing there’d be a tough time coming from that, we add Cutler. Also a great move but let’s be honest… Shanahan handled that poorly. From the beginning, he should have been crystal clear that Plummer was the starter this year and any other year until he stopped performing. Instead, Shanahan was all “The best player will start at QB this year, whoever that is.”[Not an exact quote but the gist is correct] So this immediately sets up a QB controversy to go with the WR controversy. Then just for good measure, he names Mike Bell the starter in preseason knowing full well that we were already going to be adjusting to the loss of Anderson. So let’s add even more controversy at RB. Major controversy surrounding EVERY skill position on offense. No offense could jell(sp) will all that going on. Of course the offense struggled. They struggled enough that the defense had to step up. Which they did for every game until Indy. They simply couldn’t stop Indy’s offense. Who really has?
So then we lose to Indy. The defense is weakened a bit by the Indy loss. Still, we go into Pittsburgh and win. The offense has awakened a bit. We get into the SD game and are leading by a substantial margin and the defense seemed to just pack it in. It was a shocker but the worst was only having 4 days and then go on the road to KC.
The schedule makers didn’t exactly do us any favors. Think about what that stretch looked like at the beginning of the year…Indy(best record last year), at Pittsburgh(SB winner last year), SD( who many were picking this year), at KC(where we always struggle and also on a short week), and then home against Seattle( the NFC Super Bowl representative last year). That’s a brutal schedule to go along with having already player in NE(perennial contender) and home vs. Baltimore(also a pick this year).
We’ve played one of the toughest schedules and are 7-4 despite having a non-existent running game and an average to slightly-above-average performance from our QB. Remember, this offense is built for the run, not the pass. Plummer’s job has NEVER been to light it up. The running game has been our offensive weapon. It’s MIA. So I’ll tell you what, let’s bench our QB, right?
Hmm, why does that sound familiar? The problem is A so I’ll take out B and sort out the reason later…
The sad truth is that Shanny simply put too much uncertainty on offense. Plummer responded poorly. Note: Most people say this is a natural trait with him. Knowing this, why would a head coach deliberately place him in this position?
And those defensive breakdowns? Watch the Indy and SD games again focusing solely on what the defense does after halftime. You won’t see much pressure on the QB(5 or 6-man fronts), you won’t see much blitzing on passing downs, and you won’t see much defensive movement(jumping into/out of the line, innovative sets). Coyer apparently likes vanilla after halftime. It’s no wonder those two teams ate us up in the second half.
So….dump the QB, right? Personally, I’d suggest lighting a fire under the RB’s and encouraging the defense to do what they do best through the WHOLE GAME, not just the first half. And also…if Smith doesn’t have it anymore, then he doesn’t have it anymore. I love the guy but put somebody in there that is a threat.
Finally, how do you stop teams when they are always starting on their 40 yd line? Ernster’s punting has been terrible and special teams coverage? I’m not sure anybody told them the point is to tackle the guy as soon as possible while NOT racking up stupid penalties.
All-in-all, there’s a word for all of this. It’s called a team “funk”. They’ve been in a funk for 4 games. Maybe Shanny is right and Cutler gets them out of the funk. The problem here is that if Cutler loses his first game at starter, then we go into SD on a 3 game losing streak my guess is we lose that one also and then you’re talking 7-6 and a 4-game losing streak. Likely still to win at Ariz and home vs. SF but the Cincy game at home could become a tossup. That means possibly 9-7 and likely out of the playoffs. You keep Plummer in for the rest of the season and I’m guessing no worse than 10-6 and more likely 11-5. Here’s how I see it breaking down game by game….Plummer vs. Cutler:
Seattle: This is about our defense vs. Hasselbeck and Alexander. Either Broncos QB can likely get the job done but the question mark has to go toward the rookie starter not the veteran who got you this far.
@SD: A likely loss regardless which QB starts but I like my veteran QB’s chances over a rookie in his first road game
@Ariz: Either QB can win or lose this game. Perhaps a slight plus for Cutler given Plummer’s history with Ariz.
Cincy: Tough to call this game. Cincy is playing better. It probably depends more on our defense stopping Palmer and their offense than our scoring but I’d call this one a tossup on which QB can win it for us.
SF: Either QB should be able to win this one for us.
The score:
Plummer: 2 plusses, one minus, 2 even
Cutler: 1 plus, 2 minuses, 2 even
Plummer by .5(I’m giving Cutler a plus .5 for spark and future cosiderations)
If it were me, I would have started Plummer vs. Seattle and then started Cutler at SD(or at Ariz) fully expecting the first game loss but hoping that SD(or Ariz) wouldn’t have any idea what to really expect which might just pull out the win. Even if Cutler wins vs. Seattle, it still gives SD film to watch on him and that lessens his chances vs. SD.
Seriously, letplummerplay, your comments might get a few extra hits on your website, but they have no merit. Absolutely none. Comparing Plummer to Elway or Cutler to Maddox is a about as accurate as a drunken archer missing his trigger finger.
Elway was special, he had an athletic ability and knowledge of the game that was rare, if not singularly so. Maddox was a college sophomore that had questionable ability in both his arm and his mind. You comparison, while laughable, still had something right, and that was using Maddox as a variable. Wrong team and wrong Millennia though. Comparing Maddox, and his benching in favor of Rothlisberger, is more appropriate in this case.
Look, Cutler is a rookie and he is going to struggle at times. But he has more talent than Plummer could ever hope for, and he’s not damaged goods. Listen to all the experts around the league. Listen to Shanahan. Listen to veterans like Rod Smith, John Lynch, Champ Baily and Gerald Warren. Listen to the scouts. Listen to the old time SEC guys that think Cutler is special. These people have lived and breathed football at levels most fans can’t even understand.
Have faith in the only coach that has won a Superbowl for the Broncos. Have faith in the kid from Santa Claus.
Plummer bashers need to put themselves in his place. Your head coach says in the beginning of the season “the best QB will start”. Your RBs are inconsistant at best, your WRs are dropping balls, and not completing routes, your TE isn’t producing like he should… You go home and get to watch on the NFL network how you “should” be replaced by this rookie, the next Manning. Your “fans” are all blaming you for losing games. If I had to deal with that, my morale would be a little down also. Plummer was great last year, why have you given up on him so soon?
Also look at the defense…. Also very inconsistant. We had SD in the bag at the end of the half. Then they SCORE 27ish points!?!?!?! That’s right, I said SCORE… IE the offense didn’t contribute to that. The Defense forgot to come out of the locker room or something.
Some things that will happen by next season. If Cutler flops or not, Plummer will be gone. Hell, I’d be gone also if your team has no faith in you. I see no reason to not have faith in him coming off the 05 season.
I hope for the teams sake Cutler meets up to everyones expectations. If his performance resembles Plummers, then who will you blame?
I also hope you Plummer bashers are keeping up with the broncos site. You will read Cutler himself use words like “rusty” and “missing routes”… And that’s in practice.
I would never have called for Elway’s benching. EVER. I was 7 years old when I watched “The Drive”, and I’ve been able to watch just about every single come from behind magical performance that was John Elway. Maddox who? And I totally do not agree that Shannahan is on his way out…any Bronco fan know that he will be our coach for a long time. Pat Bowlen suffered along with us through those Super Bowl routes, and he wouldn’t be ignorant enough to dump the man who brought Denver two titles. Losing Elway and Davis killed us for years, but now we have rebuilt and we have all the tools of a championship team. All we need now is a reliable running back and the Super Bowl is ours for the taking. It could happen as early as next year if we draft right, but I am betting on the year after next so long as we draft an excellent running back in 2007. LetPlummerPlay is foolhardy…you like to beat a dead horse go right ahead. I would rather get the same ineffective, inconsistent play from a rookie first rounder than from a veteran on his way out of Denver.
My life is the broncos so hear me out.
Jay Cutler is extremely UNDERrated by EVERYone. people are complaining “oohhh he’s never won a championship, he won’t do anything for the broncos” but friggen open your minds! One: Vanderbilt is an extremly hard school to get into and they don’t give scholorships. You have to pay through the ass to get into that school. Two: A championship is not ONLY determined on the play of the QB. and Three: we need something new because Plummer has already thrown more picks than last eyar, seems to have lost the ability to win effectively, and make the difficult throw. If he folds under prssure because we drafted cutler then bring in the new boy. Plummer folded in the AFC Championship and he folded when we drafted cutler so Amen to cutler. Welcome to the team buddy.
Tlynch….. so when you get you’re great running back and Manning comes in and PICKS your offense apart like he was playing against a bunch of 8th graders….what will your running back do? Run out and tackle Manning? The Colts have had Denvers numbers for YEARS, they embarrassed us every time we played against them with Manning and so this year, under all the pressure, under all the scrutiny, JAKE puts up 31 points against their defense and what does our defense do to return the favor? They let Indy score 34! A great running back is not what we need, we need a MUCH stronger defense, better wide receivers and better coaching. We were right there last year, 13-3, and we slipped in the end…So we come back this year and finish what we started….because everyone knows you don’t fix what’s not broken….but Shannahan decided to blow that out of the water by drafting Cutler….I’m not beating a dead horse, I love the BRONCOS more than anything else in my life, but when I see them headed into a tail spin of disaster for years to come, I call it. This decision, actually the decision to draft an unproven QB so high, was the beginning of the end for this franchise….For all you who say Shannahan will stick around for a long time, well if he does it shows Bowlen doesn’t know what he’s doing….Who in their right mind would keep a coach around for THAT long with never getting back to the big game?
Shannahan ought to be thanking his lucky stars for John and Terrel, for he has proven nothing without them.
LetPlummerPlay needs to read Shanahans bio( see Team then Staff) Shanahan only had John and Terrell for 5 of his 12 years as head coach. And the reason he had Terrell was he picked him. With your kind of thinking nobody who worked their tails off just to get to the NFL ever proved anything if the don’t have a ring. Anybody who has made it to the NFL has proved a lot. There are a lot of Hall of Famers that don’t have a ring. Have they proved nothing? My suggestion to you is move to whatever city Plummer goes to and compare his stats with some other hall of fame QB
Yes, its true, we have faced some of the best teams in the NFL over the past few weeks. But we really haven’t beaten any one very good all season. 4 of the 7 teams we have beaten are under .500 right now. We barely beat the RAIDERS both times we played them. And we lost to another under .500 team in the Rams.
Yes it is true that we have more than one area to improve on before the start of next years season. As I said befor, I do think the most important is at the running back position, but lets look at the other positions.
Obviously we need to improve our defensive front. We have five defensive ends. One of which is Courtney Brown, who has only finished about 3 seasons in his career. Even when he plays, he really doesn’t get after the QB very much. One thing he is very good at is stopping the run. His trade value isn’t very high; maybe worth a mediocore draft pick.
Our best pass rusher is by far Elvis Dumervil, who leads the team in sacks despite only getting to play in 8 games. He is tied with Lang, but Lang has played in all 11 games.
We do need a good aggressive defensive lineman, preferably a DT but a DE would also work. Whether it comes about in the draft or through a trade, we need someone there desperately.
We are also in need of some good depth at the safety position. Most people dont realize it, but we have been playing this hard stretch of a schedule without a strong safety at all. Nick Ferguson and Sam Brandon are both out for the season. They will be able to play next season, but there is also a matter of how many more years will John Lynch be around. There are plenty of good solid safeties entering the draft this year. As I mentioned befor, I think Zbikowsky from Notre Dame would fit in very well. He is not only tough and aggressive, but he has good speed to him as well. That fact has also made him one of the best return men in college football this year. Return men is also a place that we definitley need to improve on. We are dead last in the NFL when it comes to returning punts and kickoffs.
Rod Smith, as much as I hate to say it, is beginning to show his age. He has never been the fastest guy in the lineup, but he has always been the most reliable and sure handed. Now, it seems he can’t get open very much and has lost the ability to catch passes that he should be able to catch, some of which have been very costly. One guy that could come in and help our passing game out is a guy named Robert Meachum, a WR out of Tennessee. He has good speed, great hands, and most importantly knows how to make plays. He will probably fall to the second round, so there is a possibility of us grabbing him.
please post your opinions of areas of need and possible solutions.
I grew up in Colorado as a Broncos fan, it wasn’t always easy! It wasn’t the glory years for most of Elway’s career either but when he showed up it was electrifying to see his third and fourth quarter rallies. In retrospect we see that he elevated a mediocre team for most of his career mostly as a leader and have supporting cast at the end. Comparisons are not fair to Plummer as he is has strengths and weaknesses that aren’t comparable that comparison only shows ignorance to the game, Elway was Elway and there will never be another. Plummer is a great QB as pointed out, and would be an asset to many teams I don’t think he is done but you don’t get younger or stronger. I think that the only real problem for him is spending his peak forming and athletic years learning bad habits and developing a chip for his shoulder. He could work things out I am sure of it, last year was a glimpse at what he is really capable of, it is true that the pressure seems to effect him but he has shown that he can maintain as well. Ultimately it falls on what the coaches see in his weekly progression. More than the stats show it is how Plummer has looked through the season, he has been more uncomfortable this year, he isn’t showing confidence. It is something that is less tangible therefore not really quantifiable the numbers are what they are, it’s the way he looks while he plays, Jake is hurting, for lack of a better term. There are going to be hiccups until the reintegration of the offense is complete, missing Kubiak is obvious. Shannahan will pull it together, I know he will! I cannot believe he is taking so much flack, how can true fans be so critical? Of either of these guys? As a true fan you have to support these competitors WHEN WE WIN AND WHEN WE LOSE! I apologize for the shouting but that critical stuff is unnecessary and not conducive to spirit of the game we all love. At its root what I love most about football, and what I loved most when I played in high school are good plays. Good old fashioned well executed plays! Where the poise on the field exudes confidence and the thrill is carried on to the field! That is the beauty of the competition and pinnacle of play in football can that not be agreed? Bowlen is an excellent owner, Shannahan is an excellent coach, we are fortunate to be witnessing a highpoint in Broncos history and should be nothing less than proud to be a part of it as fans of the coolest football team!
Go BRONCOS!
I have been a Broncos fan for alwmost 19 years now and this is the first itme that I was glad to see them lose. Mike Shanahan doesn’t look comfortable at all. Something is wrong with him… I have been saying the whole season that Jake is not the problem and i stand by it . They wont win the superbowl with Plummer at qb this year but with Cutler at QB they might not even win another game. He should have sticked by the plan and let Plummer go at the end of the year. My assesment of Plummer is that he is a very good and competitive QB who can bring a team to the playoffs… He’s not Brady or Manning, heck who is….. Did anyone notice how many time Cutler got sacked or how much confidence Shanny had in Cutler’s passing ability. I remember the Bubby Brister, Frerotte, Brian Griese years when the Broncos were struggling to win 8 games let alone make the playoffs. There was a span of 3 to 4 years where man we sucked. In came Plummer and just like that the Broncos became at minimum a 10 win team and last year 13 win plus a conference championship. Only one team can win the Superbowl!!!! Before the 1997 season the Broncos had never done it. It took 32 superbowls, 32 plus years……
What Plummer gives this team is hope or a chance. And as fans thats what we ask for achance of our team to win.
Sorry Shanahan this time you are wrong admit it, apologize to the team and put Plummer back. Let Cutler start next year when he was sopposed to.
If Cutler plays broncos lose by 20+
If Plummer plays the game is a tossup… I prefer thechance of maybe winning..
All of you Plummer haters do know now Denver could have broke a losing streak against the Seahawks if Plummer was playing… The only thing sadder than Cutlers performance was Wilson getting hurt…. I just hope Wilson is ok, and is back to 100%. We’re gonna need him.
is-stopzilla-safe…
[...]Offensive Remedy: Not Just the QB « DenverBroncos.com[...]…