Keys to beating Denver?

What does everyone think?

For me, on defense I think it will come down to making Manning have move around in the pocket. They don't need to blitz heavy, they just need to collapse it enough to where he has to take a few steps. Our interior D-line will be key and I think lots of inside stunts with the ends and OLB's might do the trick.

Manning is old, and his weak arm takes him a really long time to wind up and step into the throw. He can't move in the pocket, even worse than when he was younger. If you force him to reset his stance I think that will get you a sack.

On offense I think with Ben not being to go deep we need 'old reliable' Heath Miller to move chains for us. As impressed I was with the back up RB's I think Denver will shut the run game down easily.

 

Not settling for field goals

 

Keys to beating Denver?.........Here they are!!

 

Defense can not sit back and be passive even a wounded Manning can pick that apart. They have to attack from all angles that will create pressure and turnovers. At the same time they have to maintain their responsibilities if they open cut back lanes the rb's will gash them.

Offense must attack the Denver defense and they must make them die the death of a thousand cuts work the short intermediate routes, not so many WR screens this time though. plus run the football.

 

That's what I have been saying since Saturday....Need to put Denver on a early long field, and don't let Manning get comfortable back in the pocket early on. He will be likely rusty early anways, but maybe with some all-out pass-rush at him we can force a early TO and get a easy score. I really think barring a lot of TO's by either team, I think the first team to 21 wins the game.

 

The D. Plain and simple. The D must step up in a big way in this game and minimize the big plays and get a turnover or two. Even if he plays, Ben is banged up and I don't think we can rely on another huge comeback like last time.

That said, I'm SICK of hearing about how resting Manning is. Last time I checked, he was pretty rested at the beginning of the season and sucked! I'm not saying he's going to suck now, but is he really any more rested now than he was back in week 1 or 2?

 

I think we need to collapse the interior pocket, but I'm not sure blitzing is the best option here. A veteran the likes of Manning will know where it is coming from, and where to go with the ball. He'll find the open guy for the easy throw.

A guy with a noodle arm will look for the easy ones...

If we do blitz I think it needs to come from the ILB up the middle to get him off his spot.

 

Emulate the Chiefs game

 

Score more points than they do

 

Crazy talk. Does that ever work?

 

Truth is the Denver O-line is dinged up and is not very good right now. I really think the Steeler defense could shock us all and get lots of pressure on Manning and force some errors and INTs. We get one crazy play like a pick-6 or kickoff return TD and we could upset these guys. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

I think the key to the game is going to have to be in the trenches Both offensive and defensive. With Ben hurt and possibly no Williams no Brown it will be critical that the offensive line protect Ben and really blow up some guys to open holes for the RB's. Same for the D Line. They are going to really need to push Denver's O line around. If they can do that we can shut down their run and that opens up the linebackers to get to Manning. Do that and I believe we have a good shot at winning.

 

Their OL is just bad. We need to try to get to manning and break on the short routes to get a turnover or two. If we can force Manning to hold onto the ball just a second or two longer than he wants, we could have a big game defensively. Osweiler was able to move around and escape against us last time, but Manning is a statue back there. If we pressure him he will look for a place to go down without taking a hit or he's gonna make a bad decision. One or the other. Both are good for us.

A lot of our offensive strategy will have to do with the personnel available to us. It's gonna be tough if we have to go without a single one of the banged up players we have (Ben, Brown, Dwill), let alone two or all three of them. It will obviously make it easier on us if we can run the ball with a little success like we did against cincy.

Win the turnover battle. Win the line of scrimmage. Win the game.

 

On offense, we need quick passing. If Ben takes a hit, the game could be over right there. So Ben has to stay untouched.

The defense has to play like it did in the second half the last time we played them, for the whole game.

Simple as that.

 

Every time.

 

Problem is the pressure packages they bring. A lot of the teams that beat the Steelers are able to collapse the gaps and clog the stunts. This may be the game where they need to just rely of pushing the pocket straight back in Mannings face. Big Dan might see the field with orders to destroy!

 

Have Todman return kicks. Wheaton is no more than a placeholder and we need Todman's reckless explosion back there to give us an edge in that department. As for punts, if Brown is out, we just need someone who can cleanly field the ball, maybe William Gay. This game will be tight and we need any advantage possible and to also avoid silly ST turnovers.

Keep Dupree on the field early to see how "on" his game he is. If he responds well he has the ability, like Shazier, to take over the game on defense. If it looks like he's going to have a "rookie" game, then plug in Moats. But I think Dupree should get at least the first 3 series.

Assuming Ben can't throw and yet still plays, I think we should target Martavis heavily in the underneath passing game, shielded by the TE's. If he can break that first tackle he can score from anywhere on the field. Once he breaks a few for solid yardage I think we can sneak in a sneak play or two that hits paydirt.

Regardless of the screens to Bryant, I think our offensive gameplan should be ground and pound. Their defense is built more on athleticism so we may be able to push them around. Have to be careful of TJ Ward, but most of the other guys I like our matchups. Really wish we had Nix for this game. Having our OL move forward also negates their edge rushers, and Cody Wallace's pass protection issues.

 

Ben needs to throw the ball away and not take unecessary sacks

 

What Kicks ? There will be no Kickoff returns by us. Not only does Denver have a booming Kicker...but the altitude alone will make the ball sail all the way to " Golden Colorado " I mean it won't matter if we have Brown back there...Wheaton...or CASEY HAMPTON!!

 

Gotta be ready. Maybe their dude shanks one.

 

Big dose of TnT?

 

Get to Manning. Hit him - often. We need to rattle him.

 

But don't hurt him. Put him on Chicken Street and take advantage of him Ha!

 

The D is going to have to make plays.. Shorten the field for the offense, possibly score. The problem is, if the offense is really struggling to gain first downs, the D will be on the field for too long. As the game progresses, that will catch up with them, as they're also dealing with the altitude. This could be one of those games where they play their hearts out, but eventually wear down and out. This is going to be tough, there's really no other way to put it.