Other Sports Thread XII
 

Broncos season ends with a thud, but overall it was a success. So, what moves can EFX make to get Denver to the next level? Like it or not, Tebow will be around next year. Can his short/intermediate passing game improve?

Anyone with a clip of the Brady punt and the hilarity that ensues?

Definitely some holes on defense still. Still very weak at defensive tackle, which shows when trying to stop the run or anything resembling a consistent pass rush. Also not a gigantic fan of our safety corps. David Bruton, though I realize he's been battling injuries all season, simply isn't good enough to anchor it.

Also think we're still too young, too raw on the O-line. Wouldn't mind a little more veteran presence. At times protection broke down due to dumb mistakes.

As for Tebow, his accuracy and release need to improve. He can't just sit there in the pocket, got to make decisions quicker.

I'll also give McCoy the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the option. It was new to a lot of players, new to a lot of coaches...it needs to be executed better next year obviously.

Oh, and can we PLEASE get a freakin' kick returner who doesn't suck!?

I didn't even bother watching much after the half...what did Von Miller do that has everyone up in arms?

This from someone who's pretty new to the game:
Broncos have similar issues to Avalanche: Can't keep up the level. I'm sure it's mostly due to being so young, but if you can as a rookie (not official rookie, but rookie starter anyway) QB get to top-8 in the league, that's more than a good start.

Broncos offense seemed to be a light year ahead of their defense. They need help there, before they get a lot better there, they won't be able to progress. Allowing 40+ points in every other game when the season gets to the most important phase (like last five games) will destroy you.

The offense the broncos run really should be scrapped. What if tebow gets injured? You can't expect another qb to run the read option in the pros. This offense will only set back your team back.

He gave a player a cheap shot that started a brawl between about a dozen players. He got whooped pretty badly on the sideline.

Meh...so they scrap the read option, it's not like it's wildly different from a traditional handoff. The more traditional option routes they run will probably be scrapped next season anyway. They certainly didn't work tonight.

I suppose if Denver was to go and sign a more run-type QB to back up Tebow, Seneca Wallace might be a good idea if Cleveland's done with him.

They need a new offensive line.

No. Probably a couple better depth guys, maybe a better RT, but it's a talented bunch...very raw though, very young. We could use a vet like when Casey Wiegmann was dropped right into Denver's lap a few years back.

BTW, articles like this make me glad I'm not a Chiefs fan:

http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/14...nover-off.html

Their read option is pretty freaking weak. There's a few times Tebow could have plunged ahead for 3-4 yards and taken a hit instead of pausing when there was a defender between him and the RB. This is the problem with the option attack - if you're going to run it, be prepared to run it forward and get either your QB or RB hit. I thought there was GREAT hesitation on the option tonight. Don't believe me? DVR the game and look at it again.

Almost equally important tonight was the lack of defensive pressure against Brady. He is an incredible 3 step drop QB, which means that you have to have pressure from the inside. The Broncos NT's got exposed tonight. I don't care about Dumervil or Von Miller - the way to beat the Pats is to force Tom Brady out of his footwork of stepping up into the pocket. And we simply did not have the pass rush from the inside to do it. Crazy enough, Tom Brady isn't that good when he has to roll out or think about pass rushers - the Broncos really badly needed an inside rush and it wasn't there...All game long.

If you're gonna run the read option then you'll need at least 2 more college read option qbs as backups because someone is going to get hurt eventually. Thomas from oregon is entering the draft. He must be having problems with grades. There's no reason for him to go pro. He will probably go undrafted as a qb and is probably too skinny to play rb and can't see him being a wr either. Denver should pick him up as he's got great speed and can probably be picked up as a free agent if they are going all in with the read option for next year.

Fire McDaniels!

I've got nothing wrong with what Miller did. You don't know the whole circumstances because the only thing us fans saw was the little replay where they show miller shove the guy. (which was just not that bad that type of stuff happens almost every play). Its not like he took a punch at someone or tried to injure the guy, all he did was a two hand shove to the chest, that didn't even knock the player over.

You know what that Patriot had taken a couple of cheap shots at Miller during the play or previous plays or what if he was running his mouth in a blowout win. You don't know.

I for one am glad one of our players actually was pissed that they were getting their **** rocked. In playoffs past when we got clobbered by the Colts, 49ers, Cowboys, Washington etc. we just kind of moped around. At least Miller looked like he gave a **** by not letting the Patriots guy rub salt in the wound.

Hopefully the read option will not be as big of a play for us next season. I think that with a year of practice we can start to use that play less and less.

We need to build around Tebow for the time being. There are no QBs available worth it when we are going to pick. So let Tebow have a full year if we fail, we fail and move on if not great.

We need some offensive weapons. Demariyus Thomas is a star in the making (Brandon Marshall without the issues), but after that we are pretty weak at WR Decker is more of a #3 or slot/possession type guy, so we could use another WR. RB is position of concern McGahee had an awesome year but is old, would really like to get one of the top RBs in the draft. Also we could use a play-making TE look how much Hernandez and Gronk killed the Broncos we have that on our squad Fells sucks so does Rosario, that Julian Thomas kid is interesting but as NE showed us its not bad to have 2 playmaking TEs. Offensive line will be fine once Kuper is healed, they looked bad the other night but that was mainly due to Clark really sucking, the regulars looked fine.

On defense you got to make the DL better. Getting Ty Warren back will help but we need to find help there. We also need a MLB Mays can make big hits, but he is one of the worst middle line-backers I have ever seen. Our safeties still suck, Moore is awful, he can't tackle, Bruton is awful, #36 is awful, Carter seems ok, maybe he can get better, but really need a Dawkins type enforcer back there and we just don't have it. Corner is also a concern, Champ is Champ but Goodman looked old last night. For years we have been searching for someone to play opposite of Champ, we still don't have anyone.

Take the homer glasses off. He did not hit the patriots player in the chest. He hit him from behind. If Miller really cared about the game then he should've shown up in the 1st quarter instead of being a non-factor all game long.

I agree, you shouldn't take that **** from anybody. The Patriots have no class I just hope somebody kicks their ass next time they try to do something like that.

Here's the video for chet the guy with homer glasses or anyone else that thinks Miller pushed the patriots player in the chest.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-cant-m...-turns-hostile

Rosario is fine as far as 4th string wideouts go.

I think a wide receiver depth chart of Thomas/Royal/Decker is fine, though we might need some more size at that position. Not saying you're wrong, just that there are bigger needs.

I'm sorry it was the shoulder my bad :sarcasm:

You're crazy if you think that isn't a play that happens every week in every game. There was nothing wrong with it.

Once again you have no idea what happened prior to the shove. All you see is the shove, who knows if that guy took some shots at Miller previously. There was obviously a reason Miller went at him, we as spectators have no idea what that was. I highly doubt that a player with no previous indicators of being a dirty player would just go after someone unprompted.

And furthermore, if you think that Miller's "shove" was dirty, your just being plain stupid. A two hand shove is nothing in the NFL.

I'd put my money on him being a sore loser.

A class act like Miller, probably isn't a sore loser. Some guys on this team I'd say sure, but Miller is a class act. So I bet there was more to this than people think.

Do you know him personally? Wipe your chin buddy and stop slurping. Your manlove for miller is clouding your judgement.

He's been fined twice for dirty hits. Yeah what a class act.

http://blogs.denverpost.com/broncos/...sanchez/10876/

Wah. Wah. Wah.