My Issues With The Broncos

Ok folks,

I am going to step out on a limb and disagree with Jake about the Broncos game a bit here. I have two main problems with the game (hint: none of them are Jake Plummer).

1) Why did they change from man-to-man secondary coverage after the 1st quarter? Seems to me that when they played man-to-man, the defense was batting away passes, and almost picking them off. Under the zone coverage, which I think was used from the 2nd quarter on, Pittsburgh could gain 6 yds on a whim! Hence the conversion of just about every 3rd and long...

2) Why did Denver stop calling aggressive plays? Best example is to compare the following scenarios:

Denver faced 4th & 1 at midfield, down 10 points in the 2nd quarter. Denver went for it, and got it; all while running the risk of giving Pittsburgh half the field. Smart play? Probably not, but aggressive.

Then, later that same drive....4th & 3 from the 5 yd line. They kicked the field goal instead of going for 3 yds and a shot at a touchdown. What were the costs here compared to the previous 4th down? If you fail, Pittsburgh has to go 95 yds, instead of 50. Denver was at home, they really needed 7, not 3. The whole game would have been different with a score of 10-7. Each team would have made different choices. Denver needed to stay aggressive, and because they didn't, they paid for it later through desperation passes that led to turnovers.

Is Jake responsible for throwing the bad passes? Sure, but force him to throw enough and eventually he'll get picked off, anyone will. Pittsburgh knew Denver had to go to the air for points, and they defended it very well.

Also note that Plummer didn't roll out much until the 2nd half...reminds me of week 1 vs Miami. Denver finnally showed up in the 2nd half and the damage was already done.

When Plummer rolls out, he's very effective (15 TD's, 1 INT). Why not call for him to roll out more in the first half? I think the coaches worried far too much about interceptions on the run. This is where Jake had trouble in the 04-05 season. However, they seemed to have cured him of that in 05-06. They relied on him rolling out all year. The coaches called aggressive, risky plays all year long, and it got them this far. Why did they stop now?

I don't think the Broncos nation can lay this all on Jake Plummer unless he made these passive choices. If he was taking plays from the coaches, then its not his fault in my mind.

I am also going to agree on the point that had Big Ben been healthy all season, the game could have been in Pittsburgh.

Comments, as always, are welcome. Especially to debate Sports, Econ and politics.