A 4-1 start pleases Javon Walker, The offense’s inability to generate consistent results, however, rankles him.
“We’re happy to get the win, but it’s frustrating,” Walker said in the locker room Monday. “I know I’m frustrated, because I’m used to scoring points, used to having a little bit more opportunity to put us in position to score — myself, Rod (Smith) and the other receivers — but I’m thinking (that) it’s still the early season, a lot of big games coming up. We’ve got to do something. We can’t keep saying the same thing every week, (that) maybe we’ll find (our groove).”
“We’ve got to do something.”
The fact that his offense faced one of the stingiest defenses in the league on a daily basis in training camp and continuously throughout the regular season only magnifies Walker’s frustration with the offense’s output.
“Our defense is a great defense, and it makes going into these games even easier — especially for me — when I’m going against a defense like our defense in practice because you’re not going to find one that’s better than that,” he said. “So I feel like going against our defense, we’ve already faced the best, and when you’ve already gone against the best in practice, it makes the game even easier (to) where I think we could attack more. That’s just my opinion.
“Like I said, I’m a competitor, so I feel like any time that I’m out there and I can make a play, I feel like it’ll put us in position to score and then I’m going to live by that and stick to it. I feel like any time I can get the ball in my hands, something good can happen, and I think more points can be scored, but like I said, I’m just executing the plays that are called right now.”
He later added: “The only thing I can be accountable for is myself, and I just know the attitude I take towards the game, and when I’m out there playing, I just know sometimes I’m in the zone to where I know I can make plays, and I feel like if we take advantage of that, I feel like big things can happen — along with the other receivers. We all feel the same way and we all talk about it, so we’ll just come back in practice this week and see where it takes us going into Cleveland.”
Walker’s frustrations — and those of anyone on the offense — were understandable to Head Coach Mike Shanahan.
“If you’re not frustrated, then you won’t be in this business for long,” Shanahan said. “Our offense is used to being one of the top, and when you’re not, you go back, look at yourself and try to figure out why and you work on those things to make sure that by the end of the seasons, you’re one of the top teams.”
And when asked whether one-on-one chats with players who are “starting to simmer” were necessary, Shanahan dismissed the notion.
“Not at all. Starting to simmer? I think sometimes you (the media) take things out of perspective,” he said. “You have to be there, you have to be on the sideline, you have to be in the press box. That’s the nature of this job.
“You want guys who want the ball,” Shanahan said. “Because a guy expresses to you (media) who has made a number of big plays that he would like the ball as much as possible, Javon is mad at himself that he missed that slant route that could have kept the drive going in the second series of the third quarter. That may have been the difference of us scoring. So Javon knows in the back of his mind, he better take advantage of those situations when the ball hits him in the hands.”
Tags: Javon Walker, Oakland Raiders, Offense, Wide receivers
walker is right. Our offense has got to find its groove soon, because once we start playing teams who have high scoring offenses our defense might hold them but not enough for our offense. Plummer has to be able to throw more confidently in the pocket, needless to say he’s a hell of a threat when he rolls out, but he can’t do that every play. If plummer can hold his ground in the pocket, then we are a force that no team can match. ONWARD ORANGE CRUSH!
Thus is true…our “D” is prolific, but we cant keep winning games unless we open up that playbook and take some chances. Since Shanny is so confident in our “D”, why dont we take the shots if we know our “D” can bury us out of a hole if need be. All I know is that we do need more Offensive output if we want to consider the Broncos as a team a major threat to take the tittle. GO BRONCOS!!
I don’t know whether it’s conservative playcalling or just a lack of comfort and confidence in the offense. Jake looks very indecisive in his throws (even the 3 step drops) and looks like he’s lost a little of his confidence he had the past 3 seasons. I agree that we need to open up the playbook a little more and show some of that creativity that Shanahan is known for. If QBs like Alex Smith and Rex Grossman can fire it downfield and find the open man, why can’t Plummer? He’s done it before?
I dont know if its me or not, but doesnt it seem that we are passing way too much. There are times when I ask myself, “what are we doing in a 4 wide set?” Thats not us. we run. Since thats not us, our offense struggles. Thats whats going on. By all means, Javon and Rod, are great but we are not a great passing team. We run and then pass. This is just my assesment of our lack luster offense. Through it all though, ILL take the wins.
Sounds like Javon isn’t on the same page as Mike Shanahan’s conservative playcalling. WRs in general love to put up huge numbers. As a matter of fact, offensive players love to put up huge numbers. However, Mike Shanahan should discuss his strategy and game plan with his players. This will allow the players to understand that he will be conservative and rely on his defense to keep teams out of the endzone once the Broncos are ahead. Then again, it may not be Shanahan’s strategy and the offense is simply struggling.
It’s nice being 4-1. I’m sure Shanahan will put the Broncos in the best position to win games.
Javon is 100% correct. I think his inability to “put his finger on it” is code for “I have an opinion, but I’m not going to say.”
Could we be seeing the beginnings of the “team” demand for a change at QB that Shanny said he needed to switch to Cutler?
4-1 is great, but Jake hasn’t been.
The offense has had just a few games to get to know each other 10 of the 21 players being NEW this year, along with a new OC/Assistant Head coach.
Might be a while before they all get on the same page.
First things first: WE BEAT THE RAIDERS!!!
We’re 4 and 1 and our defense is stellar- as in the best in the AFC!!!
However, I am a bit concerned with Walker publically criticizing Shanny’s gameplan… “I just execute the plays that are called right now”… Hello, Javon?? What else are you gonna do? execute the plays that AREN’T called? Clearly this was a weakly veiled shot at Shanny using the media as his vehicle… sounds like another ‘disgruntled’ WR,huh? I mean, am I mistaken, or didn’t Walker catch a 50+ yard pass from Plummer last night?
This is his first year with a new offense, he needs to keep his mouth shut and make plays when he’s thrown to… He’s a great talent, but we don’t need the divisiveness in the locker room…
What the h*ll is bronco mtnman talking about?
First of all, Walker said he CAN put his finger on it, not he CAN’T..
there was no ‘code’…. but he’s talking about the play calling… it was a shot at Shanahan, not Plummer-
I guarantee you that Walker, or any other WR in the NFL for that matter, is well aware that a rookie QB, no matter what his name is, is going to struggle out of the gates- there is no way he is hinting that he wants Cutler to step in mid way thru the season when the team is 4-1…
and when did Shanahan ever say that he will let the team decide who he starts at QB? did I miss the press conference when Shanny handed control of the team over to the players? I mean come on now!
Mike Shanahan is the smartest man in the NFL imo. It’s taken me, a stubborn Bronco fan who goes berserk after every loss, a long time to accept the coach’s wisdom, but I have. All I can do is try to guess why last night was such a snoozefest. And I think it was designed that way by the coach himself.
After Cleveland this Sunday, it’s time for revenge. Revenge for three years of playoff losses (in the venues opposite of the playoff games). Indianapolis comes to town. After that, we go to Pittsburgh to relieve ourselves of the heartbreak that has lingered since January.
So when the crappiest NFL team comes to town, WHY GIVE ANYTHING AWAY? Shanny called it like the first quarter of a preseason game. The only big play they have to look at is the classic Jake-Rolls-Left-He-Could-Walk-Ahead-For-The-First-Down-But-He’ll-Go-For-The-Kill-Instead. It’s my favorite play, and they’ve seen it before if I’ve seen it before.
I’m guessing the Broncos offense lights it up like they haven’t all year for those two weeks. Coach is just keeping his gameplan quiet until then.
Great points, K_TempesT!!! I hope you’re right, ’cause I’m worried about that Colts game.. and the Pitt game too…. What does ‘imo’ mean (as in, “Shanahan is the smartest man in the NFL imo”)?
We should all be content with our winning ways, right now. If we were winning games 28 -24 consistently, the media wouldn’t be talking about our defensive struggles,,, it would be talking abt how good our offense is. The biggest story in the league right now, should be how awesome our D is playing. We shouldn’t be making excuses for our offense. If/and/or when our D gives up 2 td’s in a game this season,,, we will see the playbook open up and our offensive players to play with more urgency to keep pace with whatever the scoring dictates. Our team is now based on D and i have no problem with that.
Right on K_TempesT. As Bronco fans, we all want to see the Broncos CRUSH the raiders. Shanny is obviously going conservative, but with Indy & Pitt (our demise the past few seasons) coming up – I got no problem with him not diggin too deep into the playbook. I understand Walker, but he’s getting his shots and when Indy comes to town, I’m confident he’ll see why we brought him here.
I was thinking about our offense and through week 5, our opponents had a combined record of 14-5 (pretty sure). We’d faced the Patriots and Ravens – both known for their defenses. The Chiefs defense, until yesterday, have shown they’re much better than in seasons past. I think our offensive “problems” this season have been a combination of facing good defenses and shanny not wanting to open up his whole playbook. I mean come on, 3-13 last night he runs bell on a draw. For most teams that’s an obvious passing down, bell gets 7 (not enough for the 1st), but now teams watching film have to think about bell on a draw on 3rd & long. I hope I’m right and shannys doing some baiting. GO BRONCOS!
When asked whether he could put his finger on what ailed the offense, Walker replied: “I can put my finger on it, but I just run the plays that are called.”
I think that the players in general know why the offense is truncated. The players see thrugh the facade that Shannahan shows on his trut towards 16. I have a feeling that he is waiting for his players to come to him about it. But like loyal bees athletes put their trust on the coach. It is time for the leaders to make a stand and just say what they are really feeling. I know that they want to win now for the older vets but I think even those guys are getting tired of this. What would have made this situation less complex would have been to make Cutler the no.3 guy and they kept Van Pelt.
I am loving the denver d right now only allowing 1 td in 5 games, and i think Javon walker can express anything he wants too…I think even though we are getting wins i would like to see more td’s..Jake plummer putting up less than 150 yds in last two games and 1 td pass is not good enough…Jake does need to be more confident in and out of the pocket…….and to what delux says about denver passing too much, im not sure hes watching the Broncos…we never use 4 wr sets..always 2 te 2 wr and fb rb…i would love to see a 4 wr set especially against a raiders team with no cb’s…Denver for life…..
Was anyone watching Jake last night? With the exception of two passes, he was on target. And what did Shanny do? Quit throwing the ball. 18 passes. That’s it. And someone is going to harp on him for throwing for less than 150? As a Bronco fan, I love the fact that we’re 4-1. But in the same breath, as a Bronco fan, I could almost care less to watch right now – I’ll read about it on nfl.com the next day. The story is more exciting than the gameplan.
Broncos are 4-1 and they have a great defence, why should anyone be complaining?
The Broncos offense is doing what it needs to do, in the games they are playing at that time. Against the Patriots, we needed some big plays in the passing game, and we got them. Against the Ravens, we needed some big plays out of the running game, and we got them.
Against the Raiders we did what we needed to do. We have won our last three games, two of them against playoff caliber opponents, by DOUBLE DIGITS.
Will we need to do more? Yes. Will we? I believe we will.
TSG
http://www.milehighreport.com
I think what invert plays from fiction is whether or not we can fit in or not. The broncos offence is facing that similar remedy and has already been set up for the next game. When the time is right Denver will ignite and explode with expursion to the point that we were ready but for waiting the right time to do so. I think with big games coming up we will put up more points including the wielded colts in which they can’t stop the running game or Seattle in which they struggle on offense or how about Cincinetti in which they are becoming public enemy#1′s calling title.
The “braves” are starting their war song, the “Chiefs” are worrying also. All must rally ’round the Totem Pole which has lost a notch or two.
Sorry about my little chant above. Shanny calls conservative plays. The receivers are starting to moan publicly. Shanny is loyal to Jake, but how long is this gonna last? After a while the players become frustrated because they know there is an arm on the bench. Loyalty to Plummer is what Shanihan is thinking, but when the players start fussing that loyalty begins to turn both by the players and finally by the staff. All the sudden a 4-1 team becomes frustrated, and then what happens?
Shanny is loyal to nothing and noone but winning. We have witnessed him cut players and make changes without care to salary cap or tenure. If he felt that Jay Cutler gave us the best chance to win RIGHT NOW he would make the change.
The issues we have had scoring the past two games on offense are not due only to Jake. The weather was pitiful against the Ravens, and against Oakland, we should have had 17 on the board in the 1st half, but Sapp drops a sure TD, then the fumble on a punt return take a possession away in the third quarter. This team has always took the air out of the ball in the 4th quarter with a lead, and we were up double digits…
The coaches are going to call the game the way it is being played…It’s not all Jake, at least the past two weeks…
TSG
http://www.milehighreport.com
Im wondering if maybe the departure of Putzier took away some of our offense. I like Alexander but it just seems the Broncos have lost a big target for Jake to go to. Sooner or later they are gonna have to get a third reciever to take the pressure off the line of scrimmage.
The Broncos see alot of 8 man fronts on the defense.. I think a good third reciever would exploit this and make the defense pay for selling out against the run.
I’m happy with a 4-1 record.. But sooner or later our offense is gonna have to at least keep the defense off the field.
I agree with those who side with Shanahan. I think he is a great coach maybe one of the greatest and sometimes I think he is a lot smarter than we give him credit for. This is a tough league and it is very hard to be as successful as he has been. Being such an offensive minded coach you know he is dieing inside trieng to figure out what to do with Plummer. I think he is doing what he has to to win games. This in mind I still think we got a shot to be great this year and our future is bright with Cutler. I see a trade for Plummer at the end of the year and a really good draft so just be patient championship shall return to Denver, home of the greatest fans on earth.
I think we should all be happy that the Broncos are 4 – 1 after the way they started. Walker has a great point about the offense facing one of the very best defenses in the NFL on a day to day basis. After that any defense they face in a game should be easier to handle and score on. Its like Cutler said after the Lions game in the preseason, the games are easier than practice after facing the Denver D. That worries me about this offense.
As far as Cutler starting this year, I think that would be stupid. Look at how many rookie QBs were ruined by the pressure of starting as a rookie, as compared to players like Carson Palmer or Donovan McNabb or Phillip Rivers, who sat for a year or more learning the game and the WHOLE offense first. A rookie never gives you a better chance to win, especially in a complex offense like Shanahan’s. He says it takes until the 3rd year in the offense to really get to know it. Even Peyton Manning went 1-15 when he started as a rookie. I know, Matt Leinart has looked good his first 2 games and Ben Roethlisberger set a standard that will probably never be matched but those are the only 2 I can think of, can’t you?
Also, people seem to forget that since Jake has been here he has the highest winning percentage of a regular starting QB in team history and that his stats for his career are almost indentical to Elway’s after their first 9 years. Jake will do just fine if they give him time to throw and the receivers stop dropping the ball so often when it hits them in the hands.
We probably should be doing more 3 and 5 step drops and getting the ball out faster though, and rolling Jake out more often of course, instead of relying on an occasional long strike downfield for our total offense. At least they aren’t throwing 5 yard passes on 3rd and 10 like so many teams seem to do lately. We should try more designed runs for Jake too, he seems to pick up a lot of yardage that way and it gives the other team more to think about.
It would help too if the line could blow people off the line of scrimmage once in a while in short yardage situations instead of relying so much on finesse and having the running backs run into a pile a couple of yards behind the line of scrimmage. I know Shanahan has historically been against it but have they ever thought of leaping OVER the pile once in a while, like Ladainian Tomlinson did on Sunday? Or can our running backs not jump?
As you all know Im not a jake fan. If we lost to the raiders I would have a new pair of snake boots. Get the F*%K off jakes back! the balls are coming out but WR’s cant hold on. & what about Sapp#37 a for sure TD !! Yeah I belive someone needs to lite a fire under the offence’s ass and get them on the same page. & Mike’s play calling is a bit conservative but Y not, the offence cant exicute Half the plays called. & Mikes a coach not a DADDY for the BRONCOS. He is loyal to no one. But to the DENVER BRONCOS & himself.
I agree with alwilson56 on the fact that the lack of production from the tight end position is killing the offense this season. When has Shannahan ever had such anemic production out of this position? Even in his days with SF the tight end was unheralded but crucial. Although Tony Scheffler seems to have promise, I’m worried that his blue collar image might not be enough to make up for a lack of athleticism, which all the best tight ends (eg Gonzalez, Gates, Shockey) have. Indeed, even a steady but surprisingly athletic player like Putzier was enough to settle the happy feet and questionable playing IQ of Plummer on 3rd down. Although the lack of good replay production on TV broadcasts doesnt let us see if Plummer’s been missing open receivers downfield, it seems that Plummer keys in on one player, and doesnt go through all his reads. Either way, this bend but dont break defense–who hasnt proved that it can consistently get pressure on opposing QB’s with its front 4–will not be able to save us in every game, namely against teams like the Colts in the playoffs (who will likely have home field again). So i hope the people who think this slow start on “O” is a part of some sort of master plan are right, because Plummer sure doesnt seem right, for whatever reason.
Javon is all class, and he can say what he wants, because he knows how to go about saying. It’s nothing like you would hear coming from T.O. – god bless him – a year or two ago. If it smells like sh*! and looks like sh*!, then you don’t have to taste it to find out. In other words when there’s a possible problem, you have to be able to recognize it, and talk about it. Otherwise you’re destined to repeat said problem.
Now, is it just me? Or are there people in this town and on the coaching staff who are pretending not to know or notice about Jake? I was trained by watching him last year to flinch when he rolled out and let the ball fly. Too often, sailing over the targets head and near or into a defenders hands. To his credit he has been nailing that bootleg this year, but you don’t have to be an expert to notice that the broncos are struggling on offense this year, and if you’ve been a broncos fan for any length of time, well, it ain’t the running game. I would say what jake may have against him is that we could use a little bit more of a short passing game that involves the backs and tight ends, which has been nearly non existent to this point in the season.
Studying the Broncos during the time we’ve had Jake, with the exception of that Pro-Bowl season where we seemed to find a great fit for him and others in the offensive scheme, we win INSPITE of Jake Plummer. If Jake Plummer doesn’t screw it up TOO BAD, then we have a shot to win the game. I’m sick of the defense, and the running game carrying us, but somehow Jake Plummer is the only one in the spotlight. Our spokesperson. I get pretty angry when I think of the playoff win over New England where we abandoned the running game, got lucky as hell with the special teams play and turnovers on Defense, and escape with a win. Note here that Jake played atrociously, and that Mike and Tatum didn’t even get a chance to shine, when everybody knows what were good at, and what got us to the playoffs in the first place. I breathe a sigh of relief and look forward to Pittsburgh, and am getting real damn excited because we don’t have to play Indy. Imagine my surprise when our gameplan is to go back to the same dumb crap that lost us the game the week before. Where’s the respect for the running game that is our bread and butter. Our lifeblood.
So we enter this season with a running back rotation, and I’m wondering why we shouldn’t platoon Jake and Cutler the way we did the Bell’s. Honest, I really think I’ve touched on something here that nobody’s ever tried to do. I agree it’s risky to start a young QB, although Jay seems to be more poised than many QB’s at this stage in one’s career. We could break the young guy in, and Shannahan can still have his occasional dough-eyed, tender moment with Plummer.
Having said all this, I will say that I think Shannahan is one of, if not the, greatest minds in football with many other great qualities to compliment his knowledge of the game. I will also say that if there’s one thing I like about Jake, it’s that he’s not a loudmouth. He doesn’t blame other people when we lose. He doesn’t go on about himself if we win. He tends to do the opposite of those two things if anything, but what’s admirable about him is that he’ll take it for what it’s worth, and hit it again next week with a solid effort, you can count on him for that. And of course we all love it when that happens because we can absolutely annihalate any team in the league when that happens.
I’d love to see Cutler play, but we have to stick with Jake this year, and hope he, Shannahan and this new O.C. (Dennison?) can get it together before it starts costing us wins.
I’m having a great time this season:
Art Shell’s back!
The Raiders suck!
Broncos are 4-1 and possess the leagues best defense.
Trouble is, San Diego fans are probably thinking the same thing…
GO BRONCOS! LET’S BRING ANOTHER AFC WEST TITLE BACK TO DENVER! I LOVE THIS CITY!
I like what hall of famer had to say, except I’m confused about Putzier and Scheffler. I thought Scheffler was the undersized but athletic tight end, and what I remember about Putzier (mostly good things) is that he was everything but athletic. Nothing surprising about it. Excellent point about about the front four however. From what I hear, it’s common knowledge amond NFL thinkers that the line is the greatest place to impact the game, especially for the defense. Fortunately we have probably the best group of LB’s in the game and a hell of a secondary, that includes the leagues best at his position (Champ). We need that QB pressure from those guys, AND the solid work they’ve done stopping run thus far.
Guys I really think the broncos are holding out. That is the type that Shanahan is. He doesn’t tell his players. He has his own battles he faces every week. Why do you think he beats Belichik ALL the time. Because he takes pride in it. He wants to quietly take over the NFL. That’s why our team is the way it is. The only convincing game our offense has had all year is the game at New England. And look at last year where we were getting 30 point leads and blowing them like nobody’s business. Maybe he is testing the defense just to see how far they will take them. I just think this is all a setup by SHanny to win by deception. Another thing why is that whenever we could use a long pass to Javon Walker it happens. Hmm coincidence, I think not. Shanny’s got his team where he wants them. When Indy comes if the Colts score early (which they won’t) he’ll fire up the jets called our offense and have things going. Then it just depends on Jake to take care of the football which I believe he will. Week1 was a fluke just like last year. Only this year he doesn’t have to take the chance of losing when he can run the ball the whole game and waste the clock away.
I have to say overall I am really pleased with the Broncos performance. The defence is on fire, the special teams are doing their job and the Offense is not LOSING games. I agree 99% of the times with coach Shanny’s decisions, but there are two things that I can’t figure out. He likes small and quick offensive lines, for his run blocking shemes but he loses out on pass protection. I believe he should get bigger on the guards and center to handle those big defensive tackles ala (Sam Adams 350lbs) and quick tackles for the Freeney types. This lines would them have a better balance and would pass protect alot better just like the colts do. Also my big issue is at tight end. How can he let Jeb go, he is such a great big target with soft hands. We don’t have a very good tight end that can catch right now, Scheffler is not ready yet and Alexander is not consistant enough. Also get off Jakes back people, how many games has Mr. Cutler played in an Nfl pressure situation (0). Shanny knows what he’s doing there. Patience Cutler will have his chance next year. Now on defence my only worry is the D-line lets see how they do against the colts offensive line then we can call them great.
Anyway we shouldn’t complain too much with a 4-1 record!!!
Peace!!!!
Lots of great points and some stupid ones too… But come on people, neither OFFENSE nor DEFENSE are spelled with a ‘C’, (offence?). Let’s get it together…
Sikotik, some of your views are good but a little extreme. Reguarding the view about Javon “taking a shot” at Shanny when talking to the media about his frustration. I don’t know if he was “taking a shot” but he was probably just trying to get a point across. In my opinion he wasn’t “taking a shot” nor is he being a disgruntled reciever. All he is doing is showing his competive nature and passion to win. I know, I know we are 4-1 but just like us he is thinking of the future a little bit, and knows that this sort of offense will not win games when we go up to face the Colts, Steelers, Chargers, and the Bengals. Javon is not “T.O. like” when it comes to calling people out, he is a team player and just wants to succeed in this league. Oh yeah and for all of you who are talking about Cutler coming in for Jake, SHUT THE HELL UP! It is getting super annoying! As I have said many times before; Jake is not a stat guy, everyone knows that. But he is 35-12 with the Broncos and thats all that matters. No more talk about Cutler coming in unless Jake gets injured. Also, no more booing Jake I promise you are not going to persuade Shanny to change anything nor is it helping Jake play better so just shut your mouths. Good job defense! BEAT THE BROWNS. BUT KILL THE COLTS!