A Critical Look at the Denver Defense

[Davidson Deac II]

33 minutes ago, ickmule said:

"CAR’s defense is really good, but most of those INTs by Palmer and even Wilson in the divisional round were absolutely terrible decisions."

 

Never mind that it could have been great positioning by one of our defenders. These assclowns have never watched football with an open mind. 

 

That and lots of pressure from our pass rushers.  The first pick6 Wilson threw was mostly due to pressure on the passer.  Several of Palmers picks were due to pressure and/or them being way behind and being forced to throw. 

[Bronn]

Okay I am going to be that guy... but maybe I am misunderstanding something...

Are you discounting that the fact that Denver's D played against these offenses might make them look statistically worse after the fact (ie. end of the year rankings?)

This would indicate that the Panthers didn't necessarily face better offenses, only that they gave up more offense to the teams they did face.

I'm as big of a Panthers homer and fan as anyone, but I think these stats actually reinforce the point that Denver's D might be better, at least statistically. (Because, the teams they faced ended up with lower offensive rankings)

Am I not interpreting this right?

[cgarsmoker]

I'm fine with saying the Dener defense is very good but I don't see them as miles ahead of Seattle.  They were able to get pressure on Brady only rushing 3 and 4 guys because the Pats don't have a balanced attack and abandoned any attempt to run the ball.  We are the most balanced team in the league and I just can't see them dominating and shutting us down.  I'm saying it now.....we will move the ball against them.  

[NanuqoftheNorth]

Denver is putting all their eggs in one basket... defense, even though the difference between the Broncos and the Panthers D adds up to less than two touchdowns over the course of a season. 

Remember how often the Panthers went into a passive defense mode this season after jumping out to huge leads on their opponents? 

If the Panthers D had not gone into passive mode so often, how much better would Carolina's defensive stats look?  A touchdown or two?  I suspect significantly more than that.

Is the difference on D really that significant in the outcome of the SB?

Both Kansas City and Seattle held their opponents to less points than Denver and where are they now?

Arizona, Minnesota and Houston were only a few points behind Denver on D and where are they now?

What about the offenses?

Points scored by Panthers vs those scored by Denver, 500 vs 355, a differential of 145 points!

Seems rather significant, unlike the puny defensive differential.

Now take this into account.

The Panthers on at least 5 occasions this season throttled back on offense for a significant portion of the game due to having insurmountable leads.  In reality our offense is actually much better than the official stats indicate. 

Because Carolina has throttled back so many times this season we are only now seeing their full capability on offense and defense in the playoffs. 

On the other hand, Broncos cannot find a higher gear on offense, even with an outstanding performance by their defense  they barely won against an injury decimated New England team. 

Bottom Line:  The reality is Carolina is vastly superior on offense and at least the equal of Denver on defense.  The best the Broncos can hope for is to prevent another disaster like they experienced against the Seahawks two years ago. 

In that respect, I don't like their chances.

[Moorgan]

3 minutes ago, NanuqoftheNorth said:

Denver is putting all their eggs in one basket... defense, even though the difference between the Broncos and the Panthers D adds up to less than two touchdowns over the course of a season. 

Remember how often the Panthers went into a passive defense mode this season after jumping out to huge leads on their opponents? 

If the Panthers D had not gone into passive mode so often, due to building insurmountable leads, how much better would Carolina's defensive stats look?  A touchdown or two?  I suspect significantly more than that.

Is the difference on D really that significant in the outcome of the SB?

Both Kansas City and Seattle held their opponents to less points than Denver and where are they now?

Arizona, Minnesota and Houston were only a few points behind Denver on D and where are they now?

What about the offenses?

Points scored by Panthers vs those scored by Denver, 500 vs 355, a differential of 145 points!

Seems rather significant, unlike the puny defensive differential.

Now take this into account.

The Panthers on at least 5 occasions this season throttled back on offense for a significant portion of the game due to having insurmountable leads.  In reality our offense is actually much better than the official stats indicate. 

Because Carolina has throttled back so many times this season due to large leads, we are only now seeing their full capability on offense and defense. 

On the other hand, Broncos cannot find a higher gear on offense, even with an outstanding performance by their defense  they barely won against an injury decimated New England team. 

Bottom Line:  The reality is Carolina is vastly superior on offense and at least the equal of Denver on defense.  The best the Broncos can hope for is too prevent another disaster like they experienced against the Seahawks two years ago.

So much this. I may be an idiot, but last night I made a $100 bet with a guy and I gave him 10 points. I really think we win going away.

[Don137]

Denver was in a lot closer games than the Panthers. The Panthers played against the clock instead of their opponent in the second half of some games. If they kept the throttle going the offense and defensive numbers would be a lot better. I don't think the defenses are as far off as the media and Bronco fans are making it out to be.

With no tomorrow after the Super Bowl I really doubt Panthers will let off the throttle with a lead in the Super Bowl. Don't need to protect against injury and play the clock when guys will have 6 months to heal. I don't see Manning making as many mistakes as Palmer but I do expect at least a two TD win.

Very excited my buddy was in Vegas for work and he was able to get me Panthers -5.5.

 

[MVPccaffrey]

A critical look at the Bronco's offense:

 

[cgarsmoker]

 

4 minutes ago, Don137 said:

Denver was in a lot closer games than the Panthers. The Panthers played against the clock instead of their opponent in the second half of some games. If they kept the throttle going the offense and defensive numbers would be a lot better. I don't think the defenses are as far off as the media and Bronco fans are making it out to be.

With no tomorrow after the Super Bowl I really doubt Panthers will let off the throttle with a lead in the Super Bowl. Don't need to protect against injury and play the clock when guys will have 6 months to heal. I don't see Manning making as many mistakes as Palmer but I do expect at least a two TD win.

Very excited my buddy was in Vegas for work and he was able to get me Panthers -5.5.

 

I said it in another post, Ron Rivera went for two after we were up by more than 20 points against Arizona.  I think that's his way of saying he isn't taking his foot off the gas anymore, regardless of the score.  

[!stUp]

Ok, I'll ask the question. Guys, have we faced two guys like Ware and Miler this season? ( or players that are pretty close). From some of the media types I've been listening to (Corey Miller for one) are saying these two could reek havoc on our offense.

[Bronn]

Just now, !stUp said:

Ok, I'll ask the question. Guys, have we faced two guys like Ware and Miler this season? ( or players that are pretty close). From some of the media types I've been listening to (Corey Miller for one) are saying these two could reek havoc on our offense.

FWIW most would say JJ Watt is better than both combined, and he was a ghost when we played the Texans.

[VerticalThreat]

When people say "our offense is unlike anything you've seen", I don't think opposing fanbases understand what we mean. Usually you're either explosive (high scoring) or ground and pound (clock draining). We're both. I thought we were one or the other, but now over the last 2 playoff games, we're both at the same time.

It's insane. We're a big ugly offense with the athletic ability of a world class sprinter. Our offense is built like our QB. 

[!stUp]

Just now, Bronn said:

FWIW most would say JJ Watt is better than both combined, and he was a ghost when we played the Texans.

I've also heard that KC runs a similar offense to us, and had success this year against Denver's D.

[Bronn]

Just now, VerticalThreat said:

When people say "our offense is unlike anything you've seen", I don't think opposing fanbases understand what we mean. Usually you're either explosive (high scoring) or ground and pound (clock draining). We're both. I thought we were one or the other, but now over the last 2 playoff games, we're both at the same time.

It's insane. We're a big ugly offense with the athletic ability of a world class sprinter. Our offense is built like our QB. 

This...

 

[Bronn]

1 minute ago, !stUp said:

I've also heard that KC runs a similar offense to us, and had success this year against Denver's D.

TBQH I give Seattle's defensive front way more credit than I give Denver's, and you see what our line was able to do against Seattle twice.