Denver Broncos: Time to Pull Out All the Stops On Offense
If there is a week for the Denver Broncos offense to show up,this would be the one. The Saints offer an opportunity for the offense to be a big contributor to a win…
Nov 6, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Trevor Siemian (13) passes the football against the Oakland Raiders during the first quarter at Oakland Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports
For the second week in a row we are seeing the Broncos line up strength on strength and weakness on weakness. Obviously last week did not quite go in our favor in either of those match ups. The big question then becomes can we do anything this week to make sure last week doesn’t happen again? I want to dive in again to see what our offense can do to help ease the burden on our defense. There is no doubt about it that our offense has to do more for us to stand a chance in any game. There is no getting around it; this offense has been terrible most of the year.
The good news for this week is they are playing a defense that could help remedy some of those issues. I thought the same thing last week though and we saw how that worked out. Still it always comes down to execution. Teams can have the perfect game plan and if they cannot execute it like we saw last week then we get the results that leave us all wanting more.
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Before we get to looking at some of the X’s and O’s of the game here are just a few quick notes to be thinking about. The Saints rank 30th in total defense giving up 408.5 yards per game. They also rank 30th in points given up per game at 29.8. In the passing game they rank last with giving up 300 yards through the air. On the ground they are 19th with surrendering 108.5 yards per game. Just like last week the Saints rely a lot on forcing turnovers as they rank 9th in total takeaways.
One final thought before we start breaking down this Saints defense is to look at some key injuries. As of right now Stephone Anthony has been ruled out. He has struggled some this year and has struggled with injuries. Still he is a highly athletic linebacker that when he is on his game has a lot of promise. Dannell Ellerbe is listed as questionable for this week. He has not played much at all this year because of injury. So even if he does play one has to wonder if he is in football shape. Michael Mauti is listed as out for this game leaving that linebacker core pretty depleted. When you throw in last week they put James Laurinaitis on IR for the year again it leaves that Linebacker core looking a bit questionable.
Sep 18, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Trevor Siemian (13) hands the ball off to running back Devontae Booker (23) in the third quarter against the Indianapolis Colts at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
The Run Game: Formations/Scheme
The Saints run a very basic 4-3 defensive scheme. They do however have a little more unique defensive front than what many teams run. Size wise I would say they almost run with 3 defensive tackles and 1 defensive end. This could be on purpose for two reasons. This helps them get the 4 most talented defensive lineman on the field and helps them in the run game. While they haven’t been great against the run they are better in that category than against the pass. The Saints do help counter using such big guys by trying to bring the blitz. In fact they blitz the 2nd most in the NFL at 38.2% only behind the Broncos.
Now how did other teams attack the Saints formation wise? I saw a lot of teams try to spread them out. There are a few reasons for this. The first being the Saints have not been a great tackling team this year. So spreading them out allows a team to get players in one-on-one situations and see if they can break a tackle for a big play. The second that I will talk about more in a bit is with the DL being a bit on the bigger side they have sacrificed some speed allowing for RB’s to hit some holes and do well for big gains. Finally the Saints do not do a ton pre-snap of moving around so a QB can get a good idea of what is getting ready to happen if they do actually start to move a bit.
Oct 24, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos running back Devontae Booker (23) celebrates with running back C.J. Anderson (22) after scoring a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Houston Texans at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos won 27-9. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
The Run Game: Plays to Run
As I said earlier the Saints run with a bigger front-4 than most teams in the league. They have actually had decent success at stuffing the run up the middle. Teams are averaging less than 4 yards per carry when running in between the guards. Compare that to the average being around 5 yards per carry when running to the outside. From what I could tell the Saints struggle with holding the edge and just do not have the speed to stop teams from picking up big yards when running to the outside. What I’m hoping to see is a very healthy dose of the zone sweep plays that in the past have worked so well. We need to make those big defensive linemen have to run sideways instead of up field and take away their greatest strength in strength.
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Another play that I would love to see happen is the jet sweep with Emmanuel Sanders. We have run this play a few times a year with him. There might not be a better team to bring it out again against than the Saints. Like I said they struggle with speed and holding the edge and Sanders with the ball in his hands can have a big day both running and receiving in this one. Throw in then this also sets up future plays in the game where we run the fake jet sweep and run it up the middle in the hopes that the linebackers have decided to chase Sanders around the edge. This would be something especially around the goal line that I think could have good success opening up a nice lane for a touchdown.
One final play that I hope the Broncos use again is some quarterback runs. I’m not talking about Siemian running the football 10 times in the game but on some of those 3rd and short type plays I wouldn’t mind him looking at his first option in the pass game and if it isn’t open just run for the first down. That was one of our best 3rd down plays in the opener against the Panthers. They never took into account the quarterback taking off for the first down. The Saints as I will talk about more in the pass play section drop off deep and leave a very open middle of the field. He doesn’t even have to take a hit just sliding after he gets the first down. We have to figure out some different ways to stop these 3-and-out drives.
Sep 25, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Denver Broncos wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders (10) celebrates the touchdown by wide receiver Demaryius Thomas (88) against the Cincinnati Bengals in the second half at Paul Brown Stadium. The Broncos won 29-17. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
The Pass Game: Formations/Scheme
If there is a game where Siemian should have a career game this would be the one. The Saints have really struggled against the pass. This is why scheme wise they play a lot of zone. I think they are worried about giving up the big play so better to try and keep everything in front of them. They are a bend but don’t break type defense in the hopes of forcing a turnover or a missed play by the offense.
As I said earlier they do blitz a lot as the front-4 do not generate much pass rush on their own. So I’m sure you will see the Saints try to dial up some blitzes hoping that Siemian gets confused and throws an errant pass. Honestly I do think if we can keep from turning the ball over we stand a very good chance of winning this game. In the 4 games they have won they have forced 10 turnovers. Counter that with the 4 games they have lost they have only forced 3. They have built into their defensive scheme to be aggressive in the hopes of winning the game off a big play. So in reality they are trying to play a zone scheme to help keep big plays from happening but play an aggressive style that sometimes allows for big plays to happen.
Formation wise teams have used quite a variety to throw at the Saints. They have struggled against spread formations and yet have struggled to protect the middle of the field against tight ends. My guess is the Broncos will run a lot of 2-running back or 2-tight end type formations. They view this as the best way to get the run game going. This will also test that linebacker group that could see 3 backups starting for the Saints.
Going with some of the big formations also allows the Broncos to help do some max protection when the Saints do decide to bring the blitz. They play a lot of what I call bail out defense. What this means is when the Saints blitz the secondary bails deep willing to give up the short completions. This honestly seems a bit counter to the point of blitzing as that allows the quarterback to get rid of the football quickly. They do this again though as the blitz hasn’t gotten home at a high rate.
Sep 25, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Trevor Siemian (13) throws a pass against the Cincinnati Bengals in the first half at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
The Pass Game: Plays to Run
This is a game that thankfully plays right into the strength of our wide receivers and more importantly quarterback. With the Saints playing a lot of deep zone that means the quick underneath routes are usually wide open. One play that I kept seeing over and over that we love to run is the quick screen to Demaryius Thomas. Plenty of teams had great success with running the screen game that I think we could see Thomas bust one for 40 or more yards in this one. Really the goal every week should be just get the ball in our playmakers hands and let them go make a play. This type of play again goes to the idea of trying to make one player miss and seeing what happens.
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Another area to attack would be with the drop off passes to our running backs. The Saints have given up the third most receiving yards to running backs this season. This is where the aggression of the Saints can work against them of hitting that running back screen play right over the blitzing players. Beyond just an actual screen though running backs coming out of the backfield have had success just running a route as many times the linebacking group for the Saints can get confused on who has coverage towards the sideline.
Now since the Saints play a lot of zone defense there are quite a few options to throw at them with our receiving core. One great option that teams have used is to flood a certain part of the zone with 2-3 receiving options making that one player have to decide which player to follow. The quick curl routes also work well in sitting down between two defenders. I am guessing we will a lot of the quick routes where most everything is completed within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage. Again the idea of letting our playmakers go make some plays and this helps in keeping better down and distances on drives so we don’t see as many 3-and-outs.
Oct 24, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders (10) celebrates a first down reception in the second half against the Houston Texans at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos defeated the Texans 27-9. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
One final area that I would be willing to bet we see a ton of in this game is the play action/boot leg type plays. Again when you have a linebacking core that is thin and hasn’t played a lot together you can get them to bite on the play action and see if something opens up over the middle. I am really hoping this is the game where we see our tight ends really have a big game.
The opportunities are there we just need to finally execute to see this offense come alive. Beyond just attacking over the linebackers though the play action has also opened up some chances over the top against this defense. Yes they try to play a scheme that doesn’t allow teams to get over the top but if you can get the corners or safeties to take a bad step they can give up a big play over the top. The Saints have given up the 6th most big plays through the air in the NFL. We need our offense to add to that total for us to have a chance this weekend to get things back on track.
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