O.K. you all, I have to admit I saw very little of game until the end. However I liked the fact that we came back to win, which is a huge confidence builder for the team and Jay, but it wasn’t exactly what I expected.
I didn’t get to the Keys until late Thursday evening, after traveling all day, so help me here. I missed 90 percent of the game and saw the highlights but I need your feedback as an overview of the (REAL) game.
Chime in here so I get a better feel.
On the tournament end, I took the Celebrity division (Grand Champion title) and took the title back at the last event of the year from Wade Boggs. Bill Hurst (another old Baseball player) was in it to the end and Bruce Melnick the astronaut and few other challenged to no avail.
The radio show if you listened was a blast and went well in promoting the charity event which raised over $1.5 Million this year alone for Cystic Fibrosis. That money buys a lot of science and hopefully a cure soon.
I look forward to your comments.
COOP
Tags: Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos
COOOOOOOOOP!
Were ya been? thought you fell in or something. You missed the most Ballanced attack the O Coaches called all year, 28 run plays 42 pass plays. You missed Winborns 13 solo tackles, and Woodyards 10. You missed Paymah and Bly makeing great plays. You missed Kuper opening up some holes we havent seen all year. You missed Cutler on called bootlegs, Hillis, Jackson, Graham, and ROYAL! ! ! ! What a great comeback! !
Of course you missed some bad stuff to: injuries, penalties, and they still cant owne the TIME OF POSSESSION!
All for a Great cause GOOD JOB! I’m glad you guy’s raised so much money! Congrats on beating those sissy baseball players ! ! !
You are a grand champion! ! ! If you ever need a fishing partner give me a shout. My best friend is a fishing guide up in Steambout Springs for Bucking Rainbow Outfitters. He could take us to the tail waters of Catamount Res. they got some Bruders in there!
What do you think of the of the recent signing of A. Hayens, M. Hagan, T.Bell, and bringing up P.J Pope for the practice squad?
I personally feel it’s Great they brought back Tatum, he was one of my favorites! Haynes could free up Larsen some. What do you think?
I would have to aree with everything Monodono said. But i am still really scared about our rush D. Even though they played very well in the Clevland game, i still think its going to hurt us aganst later games and beter competition. what do you think, if anything, we can do to help the D out and give this team ashot.
Your the man Coop!!!
It was great to have Tony Scheffler back as he and Jay connected on the first play of the game for 39 yards! It’s obvious how important Scheff is to our offense. This play seemed to set the tone, as our offense played well overall considering we didn’t have a starting tailback in the second half. FB Peyton Hillis did a great job filling in!! Our offense got going in the 4th qtr with Jay and Eddie Royal hooking up on a 93 yd pass play!! On defense, Dre’ Bly had a big time strip and our offense quickly turned this into 6 pts as Jay hooked up with Daniel Graham on a 28 yd scoring play! Jay took the team 80 yds on the last drive and hit Brandon Marshall with an 11 yd scoring pass to take the lead with 1:14 left. Jay had an 18 yd scramble on this drive. (Great job of managing the clock as well). It was a great comeback and it good to see the Broncos pull out a gutsy win!!
I am going to give you an HONEST evaluation of the game. It may not be well liked, but it will be REAL. Here is my summary.
Basically, we moved the ball well like we usually do, but we missed a lot of opportunities in quarters 1-3. Jay Cutler ended up having great stats, but we were very fortunate that there weren’t at least 3 or 4 more interceptions. He threw a couple horrible “rookie-like” throws that should have been intercepted. McDonald, the Browns CB, dropped a very easy interception in the 4th quarter that would have ended Denver’s hopes. Scheffler had to tackle a CB and get an interference call to prevent another interception on a poor decision. Cutler actually threw the ball on the run across his body to a guy that was perfectly covered. He also threw a ball up for grabs to Nate Jackson that the defenders made a poor grab at. Nate made a great catch, but it too could have been intercepted.
We had plently of injuries, so you have to credit the backups for stepping in and doing an OK job. Defensively, we were about as poor as a D could get. We made Brady Quinn look like a hall of famer on his 1st start. We played slightly better on D in the 2nd half, but not much. We were fortunate that Kellen Winslow had a horrible 4th quarter, or we would have lost. Winslow committed a bonehead pass interferece penalty that negated a big 3rd down conversion for the Browns in the 4th quarter. After his mistake, we received a punt instead of the Browns being in field goal territory to ice the game. The next play was the big one to Royal.
The Browns got the ball back and continued to move it with ease, but Dre Bly stripped Kellen Winslow of the ball after he already had the 1st down. The Browns were in our territory and our D wasn’t doing anything to slow them down. Dre made a nice play. The next Denver offensive series saw Jay making another horrible pass that Nate Jackson somehow caught. I believe this was also the series that Jay threw another bad pass to McDonald of the Browns. Instead of both balls being intercepted, we got lucky and the drive continued. Graham caught a 28 yard TD pass to get the lead. The Browns D also helped on that one missing a couple of easy tackles on the 3rd down grab. If they would have tackled Graham correctly, we wouldn’t have even had the 1st down, yet alone a TD.
The Browns went right down the field and scored a TD.
We got it back and had a very nice drive ending in a Marshall TD pass.
After Winslow dropped a 4th down pass, we officially ended the game.
It wasn’t pretty. We were lucky. Jay made some really bad decisions, but the Brown’s defense bailed us out with poor play. Our D was awful, but the Browns screwed up enough in the 4th quarter for us to get back in it.
I love Denver, but that is what REALLY happened. The Browns gave us this game. Sure, Jay and the boys kept fighting. Jay did play well most of the game, as did most of the offense considering we had no RBs left. We had a few drops earlier in the game that could have help put more points on the board. I think Cutler is a great QB, but I have to be honest. He won offensive player of the week, but could have easily been ripped apart by the media if the Brown’s defenders would have caught any number of potential easy picks.
A win is a win, so we can be happy about that. However, we aren’t making significant strides. We didn’t beat a really bad team because the bad team defeated itself. We were even worse, just more fortunate.
I will give Jay some credit though. He threw about 5 or 6 absolutely horrible balls, but the rest of his throws were amazing. It is all about decision making right now. He still makes a lot of bonehead throws that good teams will capitalize on. He was lucky this game, but if he doesn’t learn to throw the ball away, it could get ugly real quick.
That is my honest assessment of the game. I know people will be upset about it because they will say I’m being negative. That’s not true. I absolutely love the Broncos and have confidence in Shanny, Cutler, and the offense. Sorry D, but 9 games of poor D doesn’t build confidence in you. I don’t even see any hope in the D. I am just honestly evaluating the game. It was an exciting win and Jay did lead this team in the end. Despite that though, we were lucky and fortunate that the Browns blew this game. We took advantage like good teams should, but we still didn’t deserve to win.
rustycletis ….Dude that was a book. Everyone knows our defense is bad. We really cant fix it until next season by draft pics and free agency. I was impressed with Winborn and Wesley and think with a few improvements at the Mike, safeties, and d-line position we will be on the verge of something special…..West Coast
West Coast: Sorry for the book, but I felt like somebody needed to be honest about the game. Do you understand why we have made zero impact trades on defense this year. I realize our defense is really banged up now, so trading might not help at this point. However, we have struggled all year long. I think most people agree that our 1st team LBs are good, and so are Champ and Dre. We need help at the safety position and on the line. We have plenty of extra picks from trading Foxworth and others. Why aren’t we using these picks to get a proven lineman or safety? I realize the D is struggling all around, but we don’t need to be the Baltimore Ravens. I would settle for a mediocre defense. We would be a true contender with a poor defense if our offense stays healthy. As it is, we have one of the worst defenses all around that I have ever seen. Help coaching staff.
With the 5th and 7th round draft picks that we have aquired from trades, I believe Shanahan will do somethin special with the new players he drafts. I think its a not brainer that the 1st and 2nd round picks will be for good, solid defenses player. Other than that, Shanahan will find another magical draft choice in a late round as he did with Hillis.
Other than that….. I t was great to see us comback against the Browns. After halftime I had doubts of us even playing well with Torain out. But boy did Cutler prove why we took him in the 1st round to be our franchise QB. And one more thing, HOW BOUT OUR ROOKIES PLAYING LIKE VETS!
rustycletis your right about most of the assesment you gave but…
you made real short of the 4 & out the D handed to the Browns on thier last possession, also the long 11 play drive the O had just before that which gave the D the opportunity to rest, reflect, and get it clear in thier heads and communicate exactly what they needed to occomplish. This is what the O has to do on a regular basis to help a struggleing D. Thats why TIME OF POSSESSION is so important in the game and a big part of why this young D is struggleing. Ther was a little more to it than The Browns blowing the game. Yes Winslow missed a catch but ther was good pressure that play and lets not forget the two other good defensive plays in that series. The D stood up on that last drive and did what they could. GO DEFENSE ! ! !
This was one of the best Offensively called games of the year but it to can get better. TIME OF POSSESSION owne it for once this year and give the struggleing D a better chance.
GO BRONCOS ! ! !
i think the match up against atlanta favors us
Bronco pass vs. Atlanta D – if Clady can do a good job against Abraham, Culter will pick apart their D, 3 TD passes -my prediction-
Bronco run vs. Atlanta D – well, not much of a running game this year with the injury bug, but Bell should be a good change of pace back for a few carries, i think he’ll break out one big one for 20+ yards
Bronco run D vs. Atlanta D – after seeing the young guys limit Lewis last week, im confident that turner can be held under 120 yards.. thats a high number but he WILL break out 2 or 3 big runs, should contain him otherwise IF Niko can play a game 300% better than last week, shouldnt be hard seeing he was the weak link once he got in
Bronco pass D vs. Atlanta O – Matt Ryan has been really solid, he is a rookie however, if we put Bly on White and give him some help over the top and send a linebacker on EARLY downs, should put them in a lot of 3rd and longs.. then just cross your fingers on that down
rustycletis…No worries. This is the place to vent. San Diego had a great defense and now look terrible with Merriman. There defense went from tops to bottom with only 1 piece missing. I think with a few more pieces to the puzzle we will turn it around next year. We cant trade this year because the deadline has past. This year Jay and the offense will have to carry us to the playoffs.
Bottom line we would not have won this game without Cutlers “Never say die attitude”!! That is the HONEST evaluation. Rustycletis- the heck with whatever the Browns did or did not do to win the game! Your novel comes across like you’re more disappointed the Browns didn’t win…
Coop. I have a question on the legality of a defensive strategy when it comes to punts and field goals. Can any of the defensive players be moving prior to the ball being snapped on a punt or field goal attempt? I ask this for a simple reason. If the answer is that it is permissible, then why not have two speedy defenders, one on each side line up on the line of scrimmage a fair distant from the end of each of their respective offensive lines and as soon as the center takes a position that makes it fairly obvious that he’s about to hike the ball start moving towards the offensive line? For maximum effect, the two defenders should stagger their starting in motion, so to speak, so that if one mis-times the snap, the other one won’t have to slow down. Zot!!! blocked punt/field goal.
Just wondering.
Hey Coop… I too thought you fell off the ends of the earth or something. I remember you said you were going to put up a blog about the game on Friday or Saturday and you never did. I couldn’t figure out where you went, glad you’re back though. And I’m really glad to hear the charity went well. Hope that money can do alot.
And you guys are unreal. You give me all the crap in the world for writing long comments around here but anyone else gets excused. Ah well, I’m letting it go. But anyway, rustycletis, loved that someone else around here other than myself and my football stud wrote a REALLY long comment. I saw that and laughed so hard. You see that my stud, their starting to give us a run for our money. Welcome to the REALLY long comment club!!! HA
As for the game, very interesting. It was like two different games in one. The first half for us was a complete mess. I thought ‘here we go again” but at the same time I had to remind myself that we still have a whole other half and if anyone can help bring us back to win its Cutler and his amazing leadership. Boy, did my prayers get answered. Something must have been said in the locker room at Halftime because out came an entirely different Broncos team (on both sides of the ball) and I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was awesome to see us come back motivated to win and do better and actually do that not just think it. Its one thing to say we can win but to go out on that field and actually do what you say – that’s what people are going to remember. Anyone can say we’re going to win but it takes something special like what we got in Cutler & Co. to actually go out there and GET the win.
Offense – turned out to be AWESOME!!!!! We weren’t that bad in the first half but we could’ve been so much better. And then came the 2nd half. Where did that come from?? Cutler was just incredible to watch. He brought his leadership to the table and everyone clearly got the message. We had to win this game. They all did their parts and look at what happens when you work as a TEAM – miracles happen. Down by 13, who knew we would come back and come back so strongly. I still can’t get over the 447 yards Cutler put up – I mean WOW!!! And I’ve never been so reminded of how Elway led us to a come back than what Cutler did for us on Thursday. Elway was known for being a 4th quarter come back QB – Cutler did that very thing on Thursday. And what really impressed me was how we did all that without a solid RB. Who knew we could have done such a thing? All of our guys kept leaving and not returning and I couldn’t figure out how they were going to make a come back. I would say we did a pretty darn good job for as many offensive people went out during the game on us. We handled that like it was no big deal. But whatever they tried to do at the end of the first half was the most confusing and “huh” moments I think I’ve ever seen. It all happened so quickly and my mind was just swimming. Whatever it was, it wasn’t thought out very well. Other than some bad plays and bad calls we prevailed and we earned this win.
Defense – stepped up to that plate and hung in there. In that first half they were on the field for so long and I was just hoping and praying they’d be able to make it through and not get physically wiped out. Quite a few of them (if I remember correctly) went out too and by mid-3rd quarter I was asking myself if we were even going to have a team left after all these injuries. But those young guys really stepped up and filled some pretty big shoes. They worked well together, and while on both sides of the ball there were mistakes they didn’t give up. I respect that alot.
At the end of the game, I didn’t even remember what happened in the first half. Its still a big blur to me… the only major part I remember is the 2nd half and our miraculous come back. Gave me chills. You missed a good one Coop. The NFLN is always replaying certain games during the week and as good as that one was, if you have NFLN you should tape it and watch it. Its worth watching. The first half will make you shake in your boots but now that you know some (or by now all) the details of the 2nd half – its still worth watching again to see what Cutler did to lead that offense all the way. I love that #6. Keep believing in him guys, he’s going to take us to where we haven’t been in a LONG time.
GO BRONCOS!!!!
I’ll be brief and successfully succinct. The Broncos had their struggles in this game, but they overcame them and found a way to pull out a tight game. That’s what the NFL is all about. Hopefully, we earn another victory against a really good Falcons team in the ATL.
I can’t remember who said this, but someone thought I was disappointed the Browns didn’t win. That is not at all true. Any win is great because it at least gives us that hope of turning things around. I was just trying to be honest in what I saw. As I said in my post, I think the offense and defense played better in the 2nd half. The offense was fantastic other than for about 7 or 8 plays. Some of those bad plays were dropped passes, which I can live with from time to time. However, I was more trying to get the point across that while Cutler ended up with great numbers and an awsome comeback win, it COULD and probably SHOULD have been different. Regardless of whether or not the Browns gave us this game, I am still concerned with a lot of the decisions Cutler is making. We have seen this for quite a few weeks now. He had 6 interceptions in the 3 previous games, and one on Thursday that could have been more. He plays fantastic for the majority of the plays, but then out of nowhere he decides to throw the craziest pass imaginable at the wrong time. I realize there comes a time when you have to make plays if you are down big in a game, but when he attempted some of these throws we weren’t down by much. So that is all I’m really trying to get across. I think we need to be excited over the win, but still concernced about the decision making and the D.
I agree rustycletis. Jay has’nt made 100% steller decisions, all the more reason the TEAM should get thier running game going to help out. Ballance is were its at. But he sure did come up big in the numbers column. WOW!
Lynch4prez I like some of your match ups we’ll see how it plays out.
I think this P.J. Pope is poised to shock us all, and Tatum if he gets 1 or 2 big ones that would be great but I would be totally satisfied with 6 to 10 4yrd carries just enough to make the Falcon linebackers and Safeties think a little.
GO BRONCOS! ! !
rustycletis – I think that Cutler made great decisions and throws all game long. If you look back at the game, you can even see that he has begun looking though his second and third progressions. BTW – the interception was totally Brandon’s fault. That play was a wide receiver option and it requires that the receiver run up the field and cut inside or outside depending on the coverage. He has to make the same read as the QB. On that play, the hole was to the outside and Brandon cut inside into double coverage. He hung Cutler out to dry.
I also agree though that he has made some crummy decisions in the previous games. But when you get a QB tossing 40+ passes in a game, its gonna happen. Especially because we go down the field. We are not a check-down team.
Finally, How bad must the Browns fans hate us? What a terrible legacy they have against us. First “The Drive”, then “The Fumble” and now “The Pass” (referring to Eddie’s 93 yard touchdown).
For awhile that game was getting pretty tough to watch. When your down 13 or more points & have no RB’s & all second string LB’s in I was getting depressed!
Thank god it didn’t last for long! Finally the passing game opened up & we got the points we needed for a win!
The browns RB called out the entire browns team afterward, saying that some of them had given up with the lead they had. I wonder if any of the broncos guys felt a let down in the browns?
At any rate I was able to go to work & tease the guys about how the broncos won with no RB’s & all second string LB’s & no Champ!
LOL….
Pretty funny you all busting on each other but it actually helped me a little. I only saw the very end of the game and the highlights only give you so much…so you (long) story tellers get a hall pass this week.
I went AWOL in the Keys and everytime I tried to get on a computer at Hawks Cay, someone was on it….bummer. The charity event was a huge success as it is every year and beating the baseball guys made me overserve myself
) kidding…kind of?
Tatums back and I like it. From cell phone sales to the backfield in the NFL…gotta love it. Go baby!!
Tough week getting caught up and everybody say a prayer for Aaron Smith’s family as Aaron passed away this week at age 46. He played here in 84 and was a class-act, wonderful team mate, gentleman and a great Dad to two wonderful kids. We’ll all miss him. Sad, sad, sad.
On moving on the snap count, on field goals and punts…. might work but timing it and not being off-sides isn’t a win-win because it could creat a 1st down scenario versus the opposing team punting and that’s not smart and half the distance to the goal if offisides on a extra point then the team might say let’s go for two. More wrong than right and do that afew times and cost the Team and the head coach gets fired.
I like what I heard about the D and let’s face it. As banged up as we are I’m impressed we’re still holding down the fort…seriously, think about injuries around the league and what some of those teams look like right now. Like I mentioned…WIERD YEAR…really with teams that we thought had it going on..struggling and others shinning.
Catamount has bruders?? Never fished there, I’ll look up the guys shop on the web..tailwaters work for winter time…for this rookie in freshwater.
Anybody listen to the radio show?……..slackers!
) it was too funny! Our astronaut didn’t show so we labeled him Buzz Light Year, Lost in Space.
We’ll yak after Atlanta….and carry anything over we need to yak about if I missed something!!
Yes Bruders! ! ! and they do fish all winter, they did a show last year on FSN, or Altitude I dont remember which, but they were pulling out 5lb.sers on a regular basis. Checkem out, my friends name is Greg Schulz. 970-879-8747 888-810-8747 http://www.buckingrainbow.com