Denver Broncos and Bye week coaches film analysis

When there becomes a World League of Football where it's all stars from the NFL versus teams from other countries, I'd go with Peyton Manning as this team would field a super elite OL and run game. His football IQ is frightening.

However, I will repeat what Rodney Harrison has said before:

"You don't beat Peyton Manning with scheme, you beat him by jamming his receivers and roughing him up and pressuring him"

Willie McGinnest last year mentioned 2 or 3 things you need to do to beat Manning, and the one I remember was that he did not like pressure from his right.

Watching tape of Manning under pressure and not getting his way is to watch a QB experience a meteoric drop. Doesn't even look like the same guy. His drop is so dramatic I'd rank it as perhaps the worst of any top 20 starting QB in this league. Kaepernick at his worst still looks Montana cool compared to Peyton.

We all saw how effective this surgeon was in the Super Bowl, and even teams like Indianapolis, San Diego and New England have gotten to him. Do you think any of these teams can compare to our D at full strength?

In a weird way I kinda enjoy the fact that it was a blow out -- after all, he didn't blow out the defense he almost faced in February.

It's gonna bring some unnatural overconfidence to Denver in a SB rematch, and we all know what the real deal is and learned lessons about how good he is against 8 mean in coverage.

If you think about it, it's more or less a blessing in disguise. You either have the horses to execute this very simple game plan against him or you don't. Guys like Brees, Rodgers, Rivers it's worth putting in the fancy schemes in.

Aldon Smith flipped to the left side, Lynch from the right, Willis on Julius Thomas, Bowman free to roam........I ain't scared.

Wow Brock looked bad on that clip. He must still be hurt or really rusty, it took him 10 yards to recover on that double move.

This was the back breaker that pretty much put the game away as DEN completes a 3 play, 86 yard drive. First play was the DThomas 49 yard catch and run. Then an incomplete pass. Then..

3Q 2nd & 10 (DEN 28, SF 10)
49ers in nickel. 6 blockers versus 6 in the box.
DEN: Inside zone


TJE gets combo blocked. Dial gets combo blocked. Once Dial is handled, the RT (orange) moves to the second level and will target Borland. The TE will come across the formation to block Lynch.


Once TJE is handled, the Center (red) will move to the second level to target Wilhoite. Reid comes up.


Wilhoite gets sealed to the inside.


Bethea tracking the RB.


37 yard TD


Without knowing the defensive call (DL assignments), it seems like when TJE gets shoved aside, things began to crumble on this play. If TJE holds his ground, Wilhoite might be kept clean and has a chance to stop this from happening. Does Reid show any urgency?

Originally posted by dtg_9er:
^^ Every OL has neutralized the niner pass rush this year! It's hard to believe that missing Aldon Smith means no pass rush but that seems to be the case. I'm amazed they couldn't manufacture more with the athletes they have...but then, many were injured for Denver...Oh well...two weeks to get healthy and hopefully they'll let A Smith back early. I didn't believe we needed to draft a pass rusher in the first round this coming draft but now...maybe!

Of course losing Aldon means no pass rush. That was the one thing missing from our defense for years. We draft Aldon and there it is, a pass rush and a elite defense. We have great players all around but Aldons pass rush is what put the D over the top. As much as i love guys like Willis and Justin, Aldon is the key to this defense and has been since he stepped on the field.

Manning Struggles vs 4-3 defenses more then he does 3-4 defenses. 49ers shoulda brought pressure but instead played soft and got walloped. I totally put this shameful loss on Fangio. He didn't bring any pressure, no exotic risks just your typical 3 man bull rush with Justin and had the CBs playing 8 to 10 yards off. Heck I promise most any of us coulda had 3 to 4 td passes vs those coverages & lack of pressures.

Originally posted by thl408:
This was the back breaker that pretty much put the game away as DEN completes a 3 play, 86 yard drive. First play was the DThomas 49 yard catch and run. Then an incomplete pass. Then..

3Q 2nd & 10 (DEN 28, SF 10)
49ers in nickel. 6 blockers versus 6 in the box.
DEN: Inside zone


TJE gets combo blocked. Dial gets combo blocked. Once Dial is handled, the RT (orange) moves to the second level and will target Borland. The TE will come across the formation to block Lynch.


Once TJE is handled, the Center (red) will move to the second level to target Wilhoite. Reid comes up.


Wilhoite gets sealed to the inside.


Bethea tracking the RB.


37 yard TD


Without knowing the defensive call (DL assignments), it seems like when TJE gets shoved aside, things began to crumble on this play. If TJE holds his ground, Wilhoite might be kept clean and has a chance to stop this from happening. Does Reid show any urgency?

No way Borland should have gotten blocked by the backside tackle. Trust your reads and go, man!

Originally posted by WilliamDonovan:
Of course losing Aldon means no pass rush. That was the one thing missing from our defense for years. We draft Aldon and there it is, a pass rush and a elite defense. We have great players all around but Aldons pass rush is what put the D over the top. As much as i love guys like Willis and Justin, Aldon is the key to this defense and has been since he stepped on the field.

Sad you lack confidence in the players and coaches to the point of believing it impossible to create pressure without Aldon Smith. Seems J Smith and Lynch have brought pressure in past games so I'm not sure where your vision comes from, but I'll disagree and say they could hadve they planned correctly.

Does Aldon make a huge difference? Yes, but the fact that Borland and Lynch applied pressure would also seem to refute your assumption. Hmm...

Manning attacked the middle early which ended opening up the sides hurry back willis and bowman

It looks like the 49ers got caught in a defensive line stunt. TJE is slanting out and Brooks looks like he's shooting the tackle guard gap. The donkeys run right at TJE as he's taking himself out of the play. I say lucky call.

Originally posted by dtg_9er:

Originally posted by WilliamDonovan:
Of course losing Aldon means no pass rush. That was the one thing missing from our defense for years. We draft Aldon and there it is, a pass rush and a elite defense. We have great players all around but Aldons pass rush is what put the D over the top. As much as i love guys like Willis and Justin, Aldon is the key to this defense and has been since he stepped on the field.

Sad you lack confidence in the players and coaches to the point of believing it impossible to create pressure without Aldon Smith. Seems J Smith and Lynch have brought pressure in past games so I'm not sure where your vision comes from, but I'll disagree and say they could hadve they planned correctly.

Does Aldon make a huge difference? Yes, but the fact that Borland and Lynch applied pressure would also seem to refute your assumption. Hmm...

Hate to say it, but the proof is in the pudding. When Aldon isn't in the game, we struggle at consistently getting to most QBs. We have been lucky so far that most of the time our coverage has held up, or the opposing QB missed some opportunities. When Manning has that much time, he rarely misses an opportunity. He is almost robotic when it comes to recognizing where he needs to go with the ball. When Smith comes back, he is going to bring so much attention to the blind side, that Lynch and Brooks will benefit on the opposite end.

Originally posted by TheRatMan13:

Originally posted by dtg_9er:

Originally posted by WilliamDonovan:
Of course losing Aldon means no pass rush. That was the one thing missing from our defense for years. We draft Aldon and there it is, a pass rush and a elite defense. We have great players all around but Aldons pass rush is what put the D over the top. As much as i love guys like Willis and Justin, Aldon is the key to this defense and has been since he stepped on the field.

Sad you lack confidence in the players and coaches to the point of believing it impossible to create pressure without Aldon Smith. Seems J Smith and Lynch have brought pressure in past games so I'm not sure where your vision comes from, but I'll disagree and say they could hadve they planned correctly.

Does Aldon make a huge difference? Yes, but the fact that Borland and Lynch applied pressure would also seem to refute your assumption. Hmm...

Hate to say it, but the proof is in the pudding. When Aldon isn't in the game, we struggle at consistently getting to most QBs. We have been lucky so far that most of the time our coverage has held up, or the opposing QB missed some opportunities. When Manning has that much time, he rarely misses an opportunity. He is almost robotic when it comes to recognizing where he needs to go with the ball. When Smith comes back, he is going to bring so much attention to the blind side, that Lynch and Brooks will benefit on the opposite end.

Reread the posts: "Of course losing Aldon means no pass rush" is hyperbolic nonsense. Is A Smith a great player? Yes. Does losing a great player mean reduced production? Most of the time. Does it mean NO PRODUCTION? Not unless the team forfeits.

Originally posted by ElephantHaley:

Manning Struggles vs 4-3 defenses more then he does 3-4 defenses. 49ers shoulda brought pressure but instead played soft and got walloped. I totally put this shameful loss on Fangio. He didn't bring any pressure, no exotic risks just your typical 3 man bull rush with Justin and had the CBs playing 8 to 10 yards off. Heck I promise most any of us coulda had 3 to 4 td passes vs those coverages & lack of pressures.

They learned from their jets game. I think the Jets brought the heat and the Donkeys learned from that and did better against it against us. Fangio doesn't blitz much because he's had good results just rushing 4. Manning had the hot hand that night. Stuff like that happens. Like in basketball-- one night you are hot and drain 3 pointers after 3 pointers, the next night you go zero for seven.

Originally posted by dtg_9er:

Originally posted by TheRatMan13:

Originally posted by dtg_9er:

Originally posted by WilliamDonovan:

Of course losing Aldon means no pass rush. That was the one thing missing from our defense for years. We draft Aldon and there it is, a pass rush and a elite defense. We have great players all around but Aldons pass rush is what put the D over the top. As much as i love guys like Willis and Justin, Aldon is the key to this defense and has been since he stepped on the field.

Sad you lack confidence in the players and coaches to the point of believing it impossible to create pressure without Aldon Smith. Seems J Smith and Lynch have brought pressure in past games so I'm not sure where your vision comes from, but I'll disagree and say they could hadve they planned correctly.

Does Aldon make a huge difference? Yes, but the fact that Borland and Lynch applied pressure would also seem to refute your assumption. Hmm...

Hate to say it, but the proof is in the pudding. When Aldon isn't in the game, we struggle at consistently getting to most QBs. We have been lucky so far that most of the time our coverage has held up, or the opposing QB missed some opportunities. When Manning has that much time, he rarely misses an opportunity. He is almost robotic when it comes to recognizing where he needs to go with the ball. When Smith comes back, he is going to bring so much attention to the blind side, that Lynch and Brooks will benefit on the opposite end.

Reread the posts: "Of course losing Aldon means no pass rush" is hyperbolic nonsense. Is A Smith a great player? Yes. Does losing a great player mean reduced production? Most of the time. Does it mean NO PRODUCTION? Not unless the team forfeits.

On the - I think - 2nd Donkey TD, lynch had him dead to rights but if your coverage doesn't hold up a little bit, even a good pass rush won't get there soon enough for the rush to get to Manning. In that 2nd TD He basically took three steps and hit the TE on wr screen -I think- and TD. Even Aldon rushing from the strong side could not have done better than lynch. Pass rush and coverage work together. Having one without the other (in our case both were out) means a big day for the QB.

Originally posted by dtg_9er:

Originally posted by TheRatMan13:

Originally posted by dtg_9er:

Originally posted by WilliamDonovan:
Of course losing Aldon means no pass rush. That was the one thing missing from our defense for years. We draft Aldon and there it is, a pass rush and a elite defense. We have great players all around but Aldons pass rush is what put the D over the top. As much as i love guys like Willis and Justin, Aldon is the key to this defense and has been since he stepped on the field.

Sad you lack confidence in the players and coaches to the point of believing it impossible to create pressure without Aldon Smith. Seems J Smith and Lynch have brought pressure in past games so I'm not sure where your vision comes from, but I'll disagree and say they could hadve they planned correctly.

Does Aldon make a huge difference? Yes, but the fact that Borland and Lynch applied pressure would also seem to refute your assumption. Hmm...

Hate to say it, but the proof is in the pudding. When Aldon isn't in the game, we struggle at consistently getting to most QBs. We have been lucky so far that most of the time our coverage has held up, or the opposing QB missed some opportunities. When Manning has that much time, he rarely misses an opportunity. He is almost robotic when it comes to recognizing where he needs to go with the ball. When Smith comes back, he is going to bring so much attention to the blind side, that Lynch and Brooks will benefit on the opposite end.

Reread the posts: "Of course losing Aldon means no pass rush" is hyperbolic nonsense. Is A Smith a great player? Yes. Does losing a great player mean reduced production? Most of the time. Does it mean NO PRODUCTION? Not unless the team forfeits.

You definitely took my comment way too literal. Of course we can create a pass rush without Aldon, it's just no where near consistent enough against a guy like P. Manning. Against the elite teams, our defense really needs Aldon for a CONSISTENT pass rush. You're not going to make Manning uncomfortable by creating a pass rush once every few series, you have to consistently pressure him, and the only guy that does that on this team is Aldon.

when are you guys going to stop with this,, the game means nothing anymore. it was over to me as soon as the game was over, this game means nothing to us moving foward. my god we have paralysis by analysis here. in ten days our team will look no where near to the team that left the field sunday night,, therefore this is not valuable in my opinion