Beating the Broncos/Recipe for beating Broncos (Merge)

[Jason_]

Stop the run and force manning to beat us with his weak arm is a good plan. I also think our defenders should get their hands up every play because manning passes can be tipped.

 

no...it's not

[Coffeedrinker]

He passed for 123 in his first Super Bowl win the year before. He as #6 in passing yards that year too. But like I said, you're right they won both of those superbowls by passing all over the field and Davis had no factor on the outcome.

Good job pointing out my stat mistake (from memory 20 years ago) instead of addressing the point. Who wins super bowls by throwing all over the place with old QBs?

There was no point to address because your premise was based on something that was not true.  Also we are not talking about a SB, we are talking about a divisional playoff game and plenty of "old QBs" have won playoff game throwing the ball.  Three, I already addressed the point when the OP asked.  Four, your point doesn't make any sense, yes the Broncos had a strong running game and that helped them beat the Packers but are you really trying to say that had the Packers "let" Elway throw at will the Pack would have won?  5, if your point is as valid as you think then why must you try and put words in my mouth?  I never said, hinted nor implied TD had no factor in the outcome.  Six, you seem to be of the belief that since the Broncos ran the ball so well that Elway was not capable of throwing the ball and that is just not true as he showed in his last game.  Seven you seem to be portraying that same thought to Manning, that since the Broncos have become more of a running team lately that Manning is not capable of throwing the ball.  Eight, our very own Andrew Luck (who struggled as much in December as Manning) just showed this past Sunday that even if a QB struggles in the later part of the season, they can still come and have an excellent playoff game.

[Coffeedrinker]

Which was my issue with this thread. Belittle a poster because they say don't let a team run on us and try to make them pass. According to some people it's stupid and never works especially with a great Qb (thus the elway comparison who did exactly that).

Additionally, I did not belittle the OP, he/she asked what people thought of the idea and I told what I thought of the idea....

 

Also, you think you have something with the Elway comparisons but I think you are missing one crucial fact in that comparison.... the Elway and the Broncos freakin' won all those games.

[Mitch Connors]

There was no point to address because your premise was based on something that was not true. Also we are not talking about a SB, we are talking about a divisional playoff game and plenty of "old QBs" have won playoff game throwing the ball. Three, I already addressed the point when the OP asked. Four, your point doesn't make any sense, yes the Broncos had a strong running game and that helped them beat the Packers but are you really trying to say that had the Packers "let" Elway throw at will the Pack would have won? 5, if your point is as valid as you think then why must you try and put words in my mouth? I never said, hinted nor implied TD had no factor in the outcome. Six, you seem to be of the belief that since the Broncos ran the ball so well that Elway was not capable of throwing the ball and that is just not true as he showed in his last game. Seven you seem to be portraying that same thought to Manning, that since the Broncos have become more of a running team lately that Manning is not capable of throwing the ball. Eight, our very own Andrew Luck (who struggled as much in December as Manning) just showed this past Sunday that even if a QB struggles in the later part of the season, they can still come and have an excellent playoff game.

I'm at my work and can't look up espn stats but elway passed for like 600 and 700 total yards in those post seasons. They didn't win through elway those post seasons. Today, now, at this moment Anderson is playing better than manning and they'll run through him unless we stop them and make manning pass. That's the point and it hasn't changed since the Broncos/rams game this year, since the op posted this, since td won those games for the Broncos and Elway.

As far as old men QBs if you're as aware as you seem then you know full well what is being said about manning, his arm and his game the last part of this year. the Broncos want to beat us with the run and limit manning as much as possible.

[Mitch Connors]

Additionally, I did not belittle the OP, he/she asked what people thought of the idea and I told what I thought of the idea....

Also, you think you have something with the Elway comparisons but I think you are missing one crucial fact in that comparison.... the Elway and the Broncos freakin' won all those games.[/quote

True they won those games. Just like we beat the ravens in the divisional round the super bowl year. Is it your contention that manning won that game? If there's one person in the history of the nfl that understands the value of Anderson this post seasons it's elway - he lived it.

Which is why this game will run through Anderson unless we make them pass.

[dw49]

He did. I don't remember the game situation, though.

 

Manning wants to nullify pressure by getting rid of the ball quickly. If he throws 40 times, he'll probably only take 7-10 shots further down the field where he holds the ball longer than a couple seconds. So you only get a chance to really rush him 20-25% of the time, if it's up to him. 

 

That's why coverage is so important. If you take away his quick options with tight coverage, he has to hold the ball a little bit more, giving your pass rush time to push the pocket back a little bit. Maybe you even get to him. But more importantly, you get him to either throw it to well covered receivers, or you get him to throw a little high or a little soft because he's got pressure in his face. For all the talk about how the Seahawks got so much pressure on him, they only sacked him once, only hit him five other times. But no one was open, receivers were getting wrecked, and the pocket was collapsing quickly with mostly 4 man rushes.

 

Blitzing weakens your coverage. That's especially true of our defense, since we already struggle to cover the middle of the field (although Freeman was excellent against the Bengals). We couldn't cover Julius Thomas in the opener. I think we can work in some well-timed blitzes, but only sparingly. It's up to our four main rushers, wherever they come from, to get pressure.

 

 

IMO , you have to play press coverage as you say , plus do a decent job of disguising coverages. Blitzing won't get it done. This is a real tough game for the Colts to win. Even if you give the Colts a push in the QB category as Luck can make things happen with his feet and PM can't , we just appear to be over matched .

 

Denver has the superior D line , LBers , and DB's. Call the CB's a push if you want to get really generous. They also have the better O line , RB and receiving group. 

 

Colts have the better special teams.

 

Denver is at home. 

 

Can we win , yeah... but will need a great effort and a few breaks.

[throwing BBZ]

Big difference, the Pats took a few games to figure it out, but Brady wasn't hurt.  Manning is clearly hurt, throwing lemons off his back foot.  His short/intermediate passing game is still there, but when he throws it down the field they are ugly.   He has been this way for the past three or four games in the regular season, you just had to watch him. 

 

So I would say, try to limit the running game and passes down the middle.  Try to force Manning to throw it down it the field and it gives us the best chance defensively. 

 

 Give this guy a Colts t shirt. It really is this simple. He will throw some deep balls but he must throw inside of 20 yards to sustain a drive. Butler was a little iffy against the Bengirls. And Toler will have to Hold Emanuel a few times, the guy is just 2 quick.

 Denver will rush Andrew, unlike the Bengals, and ... Andrew is most likely going to throw up several bad passes.

 Will they catch them?

[B~Town]

Because when you are playing against one of the best ever to play the game, you don't force him to do what he is best at.  I like the Colts secondary but Toler, Davis, Butler and Adams will not be able to consistently stop Sanders, Thomas, Thomas and Welker.  And during this time when he has been "floating" a lot of balls he is still completing 66% of his passes for 250 yards per game.

 

No matter what the media says the Broncos will win or lose based on Manning's arm and it's not smart to gamble on the hope that arm will fail.[/quote

It is like you never watched manning in the playoffs .

[TrueColt!]

I can't wait til we beat Denver. 3 games left guys.

[Coltsman1788]

Peyton owes us a pick six at least. I saw him throw enough of those in the playoffs with a horseshoe on his helmet.

[BlueCollarColts]

I think a key here is... THIS CAN'T BE THE ANDREW LUCK SHOW. I know we all love Andrew, and he is fantastic, but he needs help for us to beat Denver. We need to establish a run game to help him out. Get Boom out in space and he can get us a whole lot of yards. The run blocking was some of the best i've seen from our offensive line all year on Sunday, and we will need plenty more of the same. 

[Coffeedrinker]

Because when you are playing against one of the best ever to play the game, you don't force him to do what he is best at.  I like the Colts secondary but Toler, Davis, Butler and Adams will not be able to consistently stop Sanders, Thomas, Thomas and Welker.  And during this time when he has been "floating" a lot of balls he is still completing 66% of his passes for 250 yards per game.

 

No matter what the media says the Broncos will win or lose based on Manning's arm and it's not smart to gamble on the hope that arm will fail.[/quote

It is like you never watched manning in the playoffs .

  Yes, I must admit I am thinking of Manning, not playoff Manning.

[Smash Mouth]

Additionally, I did not belittle the OP, he/she asked what people thought of the idea and I told what I thought of the idea....

 

Also, you think you have something with the Elway comparisons but I think you are missing one crucial fact in that comparison.... the Elway and the Broncos freakin' won all those games.

The comparison with the aging Elway is what scares me about this game.  Peyton is well aware of his football mortality and won't hesitate to rely upon CJ Anderson, throwing short quick passes and his defense.  He can get some chunk plays when he has to. This is a winning formula for the playoffs.  The question for the Broncos is can their defense dictate playoff games

[ÅÐØNϧ 1]

The Colts have the edge IMO  Peyton's best season ever he played wildcard weekend & the worst regular season defense carried the Colts to a SB win  rest has always seemed to lead to rust for 18 . The Colts have proven they can go toe to toe with the Broncos with a well rested 18 you don't have a running QB to worry about so stop the run make him beat you so our Colts may very well see a woobler turn into a pick six ..

[Jonathan24]

Lol what are you talking about?

Dallas are going to let Eddie Lacy run for first downs because they don't want Rogers throwing on 3rd down?

You are making no sense whatsoever. Of course you want to make the QB throw, otherwise the opposition will just run for touchdowns over and over.

Seriously, think about what you are saying.

 

according to what you said about teams wanting to make the qb throw that was what you were saying.

[jskinnz]

Heard two NFL guys this week talk about Manning and keys to the game. 

 

Venturi said the key is disrupting his receivers.  If he hits his back foot on the 3rd or 5th step and the ball is out, even with his diminished arm he can still torch you.  But if you alter or take away his first read and force him to reload, he does not throw out of synch nearly as well as he used to.

 

Gruden said that he does not do well with "trash" around his legs like he used to.  He absolutely needs a clean pocket - more than in the past - to be successful. 

 

So there you go - Football 101 - disrupt receivers and Manning and the Colts have a chance.

[Jonathan24]

From what im seeing most people think forcing manning to throw is a bad idea but you we really want them running the ball and having 8 to 10 min drives leaving our recently struggling offense with limited drives.  Not to mention the past to games how many balls have been dropped.

[ThatOneColtFan]

Will it be cold?

[Dark Superman]

I don't care how much people think Manning has slowed down.. Give him time to throw the ball and he will put up 40 in a flash with those weapons.. Doesn't help we don't have much of a pass rush either.

[runthepost]

You guys realize his thigh is probably better now so he will be able to step it his throws

[1959Colts]

The key to beating Denver imo will be if we can generate a pass rush against Manning.

 

When Cincinnati beat Denver the Bengals had success pressuring the QB. This was a very big game for Denver since playoffs home field was in jeopardy.

In this game Louis Vasquez was playing RT for the Broncos. Vasquez is a Guard, RT is not his natural position, and he struggled bad against Carlos Dunlap. 

 

The following Fox News article has a good breakdown:  

Broncos hope to secure first-round bye | Fox News

 

..."The lack of consistency has hurt but the bigger issue has been the athleticism or lack thereof, as the Denver O-Line has trouble getting to the second level in the running game, and Vasquez struggles mightily against speed on the outside as evidenced by Carlos Dunlap's big game on Monday night."

 

 

I was surprised to see how lousy the Denver O line played. The protection problems were obvious and John Gruden commented on Vasquez's poor play.

 

From my research, it looks as if Denver has moved Vasquez into their starting RT position and plan on playing him there. http://www.denverbroncos.com/team/depth-chart.html

 

There is no question Denver is a formidable opponent, with very few weaknesses. But just from watching the Broncos/Bengals game, one can see their RT was exposed.

 

The biggest matchup may be our pass rush vs Denver's line...

And what Pagano and Manuski come up with to exploit it.

[The Fish]

I'm looking at it like this. The Colts D needs to be good in one of the phases of the game, preferably the run game, as that's likely Denver's primary strategy.

As far as the O goes, 30 points and longs drives are probably a must as some here have said.

 

It's doable, but it'll be a uphill fight. 

[1959Colts]

Weather forecast looks good:  http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=39.75&lon=-104.99#.VK2kqJV0yUk

 

Denver CO:

Sunday:

Partly sunny, with a high near 44.

Wind NNW 6mph

[ricker182]

We have to put Peyton on his back a few times early.

I'm not saying late hits, but hit him hard and often. He will get flustered.

We also have to capitalize on his "ducks". He will throw a handful and we have to turn a couple into turnovers.

Last, we have to bump DT and ES as well as throw JT off his routes. No disruption will equal easy completions for Peyton. He's all about timing. Throw that off and the game is in the hands of our offense.

[jbaron04]

I was trying to think of a defensive game plan that would work against the Broncos and I was thinking the Colts should try to make manning throw the ball. His arm is not what it use to be, he is floating a lot of his passes now and the running game has been winning them games lately. What do you guys/girls think?

I agree, stop the run and defend the short pass aggressively force peyton to make the long throws down the field, probly gonna be cold to and we call know w at cold weather does to old injurys

[lollygagger8]

Now that I think back, I remember the Steelers mentioning something about the altitude being a factor when Tebow beat them. I still think the team not actually arriving in Denver until a day before is a big mistake. 

 

I hope the coaches decide on Freeman covering J. Thomas instead of DQ (leave Jackson in run support) and Landry is not covering anyone one on one like the first game. 

 

Send TY and Moncrief deep, and use the RB's and TE's underneath against LB's. 

 

If they are getting pressure on Luck, roll him out! He's excellent at throwing on the run. Throw some slant passes, and keep throwing passes out of the backfield to the RB's. Both Boom and Richardson are great at runs after the catch. Anything but our horrendous screen attempts.

 

I wouldn't be upset if we ran some actual no huddle on the first drive. 

 

Run the draw play. It seems like that works well for our blocking. 

[Mr.Debonair]

Not buying the whole weak arm Peyton talk. We will have our hands full big time

[OLD FAN MAN]

need whoever plays nose tackle for use to get a  push and get in peytons face

[Scully]

We need to score early and get the running game going. Winning the time of possession battle and keeping the ball out of manning's hands is just as important as not turning the ball over and committing penalties. Our defense needs to get hits on Manning early, even if it's after he throws the ball. Anderson and Thomas both need to be contained as much as possible. And we can't give up the big play. We need a big day from our defense once again. Seems improbable for all of this to happen, but I hope our coaching staff puts together a good gameplan.

[akcolt]

D is going to be fine as long as Toler is good to go not sure how much that other stuff matters you are right we won't win if we turn the ball over I think we beat Denver it just a matter of how hard we make it on ourselves. I can't wait for that line to jump to 7.5 really shocked Denver hasn't got the hook yet at least not here

[Smonroe]

A simple thing like a windy, cold day, could help us immensely.

If we don't have to worry about Peyton going long we can stack the box, put pressure on him, and slow down the run.

[oldunclemark]

Have to run the ball...and keep the defense off the field..

....that's how teams win at Denver

...not only do you start losing a shootout...but you wear down due to the altitude..

Slow the game..shorten the game

[Coffeedrinker]

I was trying to think of a defensive game plan that would work against the Broncos and I was thinking the Colts should try to make manning throw the ball.  His arm is not what it use to be, he is floating a lot of his passes now and the running game has been winning them games lately.  What do you guys/girls think?

Man, I thought this was a dumb idea and stated as much but I was wrong, I don't know if the Colts really focused on stopping the run but they played man up and gave Manning looks that he likes to throw against and it won them the game. 

 

Good insight into the way to stop the Broncos.