The Indy Denver Matchup: How 31-24 Happened

First of all, thanks TJ for the Gut Reaction! Really appreciate reading those after the game.

I put together a little piece analyzing the game after it concluded. I wanted to get all my thoughts on the keyboard before I forgot them later. Forgive me for misspellings and mistakes in grammar. Please read and I hope you enjoy!

Lets start by talking about defense. If a defense is playing a typical 3-4, it usually looks like this: http://cdn.bleacherreport.n...

The Indianapolis defense under Chuck Pagano usually lines up like this as well. As a matter of fact, they ran this package over 50% of the time in the preseason against the Saints in Week 3 (https://docs.google.com/spr... ). They want to be simple, effective, and want to be as simple as possible. No miscommunications, little reading to do, and beat teams with just one look.

For those who don't know what the 3-4 Okie is, it works a lot like the Denver defense. The linemen are head up against their blocker in which the ends both play a 5 technique while the nose plays a zero tech. The linemen two-gap, or stack and shed against one blocker and hold ground against two blockers while the linebackers scrape the edges to seal up any leaks in the defense. The coverage behind them is either a Cover 3 or a 2 man under, the two defenses that Peyton Manning is least comfortable beating. The linebackers are best at flowing to the ball and the Colts don't like to blitz a lot. They are a lot like the Broncos more than most 4-3 teams are.

The Colts don't use this as their primary defense however. They do something a little bit different than most teams in the league. Instead they shift their three linemen two techniques over to the strong side and leave their weak-side end in a nine technique. This leaves them with this alignment (and fig. 1 for side view): http://baltimoresportsandli...

Even though this is the Bills alignment, it shows a trend in the league. The defense in an Okie front looks the same, except the linemen are shifted towards the strong side. "Why?" you might ask. The purpose is to reinforce the strong side of the line so it is harder to run against while betting that teams don't run into their weak-side B gap, or that huge whole in between the one and the nine tech. Teams like the Chiefs in last year's playoffs, decided to attack that open gap by running misdirection and counter runs through the gap. It worked successfully, until Indianapolis adjusted by slanting their Nose tackle towards the weak-side B-gap.

The only rule of that defense is to always align your linemen to the strong side of the formation, unless you are blitzing. If you don't follow the rule, you get burnt.

What the Broncos did on Offense (Unit Jumbo package):

The Broncos decided to opt for the same. In an effort to take advantage of the hole, the Broncos aligned in their Unit Jumbo set (fig.1) (http://static.nfl.com/stati.... [Note: If you replace the Saints fullback with Emmanuel Sanders at the Z, the Broncos ran this like the Saints did in the pic.] The used their two tightends to force the Indianapolis defense to determine a "strong-side" or where to put their linemen. Then, the Broncos decided to run counter in those sets and try to take advantage of the weak side B-gap.

In total, the Broncos ran more than 65% of their plays through the Unit Jumbo package, the most probably since the Tebow era. In addition, counter runs dominated Adam Gase's playcalling as he called that particular run an average of four out of five times (80%) throughout the game. The Broncos did not gain a lot of yards running through that gap, but it was able to set up great play action down the field, as Julius Thomas converted on a corner to the end zone for his second TD of the game and a cross behind play-action on his third. During the beginning of the game, this proved to be effective even though the runs didn't produce a lot of yards.

But just like the Kansas City Chief playoff game, the Indianapolis Colts adjusted and the Broncos continued with their game plan. The Colts executed far better in the second half, holding the explosive Broncos offense to only seven points. Far less than their 24 first half dimes.

No quarrel should be with what Adam Gase decided to do. It was their game plan and that is what you are supposed to do. It did after all net 31 points despite an offside recovery by Indy and proved to be successful. Gameplans are meant to last the whole game, especially if you go up by 17 because of it. So many other teams take advantage of that gap and that's a large reason why the Indianapolis Colts find themselves behind after the first half. The Broncos did so and played mildly conservative by continuing to run the counter and develop the intermmeadiate passing game.

Don't be mistaken. This was not "Foxball". This was "Gaseball" and to suggest otherwise would be a hasty generalization.

What the Broncos did on Defense:

Jack Del Rio presented his "Top 5 Defense" on the Sunday Night stage as well. In his confident self, Del Rio pushed the pennies in the first half by running his personalized Under Front defense with multiple coverages behind it. This proved to be very effective at creating tip balls and physical play by all three levels of his defense. In the first half anyway.

Before I go any further, I have to say this about Jack Del Rio: He hates creating tendencies in his defense. Hates it. His defense ideally would be an impossible one to prepare for because Jack would have multiple coverages called on every down and distance situation. On first down, offenses would have to prepare for his two man under, his Cover 3, his Cover 2, and his Man Free. On second and medium, they would have to prepare for his Cross Fire 3, his 2 man under, and his Man Free. So on so forth, you get the point. He wants to mix things up so offenses can't guess what he is running. Create turnovers by confusion.

In addition, he wants his guys to be the most physical team to ever take the field. Emphasis on physical. They must knock the ball loose, jar receivers from receiving a catch, control the line of scrimmage, and make runningbacks wish they never run through the A-gap. Take for instance the QB sneak to Andrew Luck, he tried to sneak it on fourth down up the middle and was driven back by four Bronco defenders waiting to put him into the turf. Fourth down conversion not completed, obviously.

Simple but complicated. Neanderthal in its physicality, sophisticated in its structure. That's the character of Jack Del Rio as well: He is fiery on the field, but smart in the film room. He emphasizes the discipline of playing the Under Front to his players, while taking them out if they make one mental error. The perfect balance is the essence of Jack del Rio.

In an effort to not show his hand to future offensive coordinators and to not create tendencies, Jack del Rio called Cover 3, Cover 1, 2 man under, blitzes far and wide, and used multiple fronts out of the Under Front base in his scheme. He called everything and even was confident enough to default the defense to Cover 3 against the Indianapolis "Trips" formations. This only worked for so long however...

After midway through the fourth quarter, the Indianapolis offense figured out his schemes and keys. The Colts decided to run their Trips formations and run Cover 3 beaters throughout the second half such as Flood, Sail, Four Verts Cross, and many more. Jack, trying hard not to expose his best defense for future offensive coordinators stayed to his play card as the Indianapolis Colts brought the score to within 7. The Colts got the ball again with three minutes left to go in the game and Jack decided to adjust to the Colts with his best defense and his secret weapon.

He called his "2 man under" (fig.2): (https://coachgarner.files.w...

He ran this with one adjustment, the corners were to press all receivers and stick to their man. Plain and simple. No extra pass rushers and have seven men covering five receivers. Trust your defensive line in applying pressure on Luck and give your defensive backs all the support they need.

After the adjustments were made, the only rookie corner shined in the system. It was none other than Bradley Roby, former Ohio State Alum who excelled in press coverage his junior year of college. He defended Reggie Wayne on a deep fade before the two-minute warning and made the "game-saving" swat on fourth and six against TY Hilton. The play of the game by far, he received lots of congratulations from the sidelines and enormous support from his teammates. Jack Del Rio sighed relief as he was hoping for one of his players to come up with a big play in the system they were most comfortable in.

But if you were to ask Jack Del Rio, he absolutely hates one thing about this game: He exposed a tendency in his defense. If the game is tight and he absolutely needs a coverage and front to win the game, he is going to his 40 Under Stack 2 Man Under Press. That's the one he feels most comfortable with and it's the one the Broncos players are the best at running. Now when teams play the Broncos and they are down one score, they are going to practice on beating the man coverage of Jack Del Rio's defense. They'll run Mesh patterns, Stick/Flats, Flood Z-Squirrels, Curls Z-Turns, Three Verts, Four Verts, Double Posts (Dino), you name it. And Jack is going to have to either develop his other coverages so he can trust them in the future, or work on his 2 Man Under scheme in hopes it is enough to prevent a game-winning drive.

Whatever it is you know one thing, Jack is one of the only "big-picture" defensive coordiantors in the game. He is not a Dan Quinn or a Rob Ryan type that only runs one or two defensive sets daring coordinators to challenge them with their pre-prepared plays. He is humble enough to accept that multiple coverages can create more turnovers if called in the right situations. And so, his sophisticated side comes out.

Teams like the Seattle Seahawks are like the Roger Clemens of football, they dare you to hit their fastball and don't attempt to hide what's coming. They pitch to get the batter out at that particular time.

Jack Del Rio is like Greg Maddux. He has a multitude of pitches to get them out at the plate that time and get them out the next time around. He calls defenses like Greg Maddux pitches, he tries to get batters out when they come up to the plate at all three to five appearances.

He calls defenses in preparation of future matches.

Tis the art of Del Rio.

Nice stuff, as usual, Dubs. Thank you.
I still can't help noticing that almost every game is a cliff hanger since Fox showed up. Perhaps the Broncos need to adjust to increase their leads in the second half instead of just sitting on a lead and hoping to hang on ? This game was perfectly representative of what Doug often complains about. The Broncos get a lead, then go into a shell. Good teams figure out how to keep scoring. Don't they?

Thanks!

To answer your question, I think the Broncos only play their best defense when they have to. Because if they played their best defense all the time, it would do two things negatively for them. One, it would create tendencies and two, it would expose looks on film for their future opponents. I'm not in the film room or anything but if I had to take a guess, that is what they are doing.

As for what I am in favor for, I would rather stomp on the other team's throat and put up another 21 on them before the game ended so I left no doubt about who would win the game. But that is just me.

The Broncos are trying to win the Superbowl 18 games down the road so maybe their more long-term thinking might benefit them. We'll see how it plays out.

" I would rather stomp on the other team's throat and put up another 21 on them before the game ended so I left no doubt about who would win the game. But that is just me."

No, that is just all of us.

I really appreciate your schematic breakdowns, Dubs, and always learn something from them. I can understand Del Rio´s hatred of revealing tendencies, and I think it´s a valid way to approach the DC position. However, other great DC and defensive-minded coaches, like Tony Dungy, preferred predictable schemes because they thought execution was the key, and simplicity helped in that regard (not unlike Peyton´s offense in Indy). So while I find Del Rio´s preferences understandable, I also believe his personnel should influence his choices. This remark isn´t particularly about yesterday´s game, but in general, if factors like loss of depth were to affect the D, I hope Del Rio would be adaptable enough to consider maybe emphasizing execution more, and trickery a bit less, if that was for the best.

The other thing I wanted to say has to do with what you call Gaseball on offense. You say "gameplans are meant to last the whole game", as if it was an incontrovertible fact, and there I cannot agree with you. If the other team has adapted, why wouldn´t you do the same? Isn´t that Peyton´s greatest strength, dissecting a defense in that computer brain of his to detect any weakness? Wasn´t the San Diego game two years ago won in such an incredible fashion because of a new approach in the second half? Adjustments are the name of the game in the NFL, between seasons and during games. If your offense splutters for 2, 3 drives consecutively and you can see it´s because the defense has changed the way they play you, why would you play into their hands?

Those are some good questions you raise. I am not too sure. I'll think about them over the next couple of days while I am watching tape to find the validity of them though.

Looking forward to it!

Dubs, that was a nice piece of writing.

The topic that Goeland and Carsonic bring up is a good one. After all, the coaches are studying images and making adjustments constantly, every quarter. At half time, you have your whole O or D group together. It's the perfect time to put in your key adjustments. Other adjustments will only involve 1 or 2 players, but they can be equally essential to the success of the team's running or passing game.

Sorry for the sideline - it doesn't change how good your piece is.

Doc

You didn't do anything wrong, haha. Thanks for the compliments Doc.

2nd paragraph = my thoughts/questions exactly.

Your perception does not match reality. The Broncos' average margin of victory last season was over 17 points, and only 3 out of 13 wins were decided by 8 points or less (i.e. one score).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

Yeah, KC (7) and Dallas (3) were two of the three regular season wins with a margin of victory that was within one score. It seems that we expect the Broncos to win every single by multiple scores, and if they don't, then, dammit, that's not good enough!

I saw last night's game as a positive. They played poorly in the second half and still beat a very good team with an outstanding QB. The defense looks good, in my opinion, and the offense is the offense, which just happens to be one of the best ever. 31 points in a "bad" game.

19-0.

Wow, amazing analysis and so soon after the game! Do you write your own column somewhere? I love this kind of football coverage and the mainstream sports media so rarely takes us into the film room.

Very cool!

Much appreciated!

To answer your question: No, haha. I am about as diligent to writing as a child is to listening. It lasts only for a short time, if it happens at all.

Whoooo that was a great read. Excellent stuff Dubs!

Grateful for the win, really disappointed that our D-line couldn't get more disruption against a makeshift Offensive front. I know Luck has great strength/mobility and is the reason for some of those non-sacks, but even the pressure seemed lacking in general. Guess I need to cut back on the Kool-Aid. (Yes, the goal line stand was awesome.)

The D-backfield OTOH was pretty impressive. Nice to see Rahim doing his thing. And who isn't loving young Roby? And if Irving stays healthy, our linebackers will do just fine as well.

Looks like Trent Richardson has received the TLC needed to help him finally become a high draft pick worthy RB. Ball, on the other hand looked rusty. Glad to see him break a few tackles and make a few plays, but he looked hesitant at times.

I did love JT's reaction to being single covered on the touchdown. That would make a great GIF.

Our running game, when they know we are going to run is abysmal. And yes, Fox Ball is back and it depressed the hell out of me.

Maybe all those inaccurate passes by Manning had a bit to do with it also. He was way off compared to his usual accuracy.

The accuracy issues were more noticeable late in the game, though, when the entire offense had lost all its rhythm, and the predictable playcalling let pressure mount unnecessarily. All his incompletions in the first half were drops, as far as I remember, excepting the 3 ones to DT in the red zone, which were caused by disrupted timing and routes, and precautionary trajectories (like the one to Caldwell in the last series; had it been DT on a good day, his bigger size would have made it a catch).

DT dropped 8 balls last year and caught 92 on 142 targets for a drop rate of 5.6%, which is pretty good. Last night he dropped a few, but it was very uncharacteristic. Players with a higher drop rate than DT last season include Brandon Marshall, Vincent Jackson, Reggie Wayne and Wes Welker. For comparison, Calvin Johnson, the indisputable best WR in the NFL, dropped 5.1% of his targets.

As for "who the heck knows #10", here is what the ESPN beat writer had to say: "The Chicago Bears reeled off more than 400 yards of offense and converted 42 percent on third down, yet they came up short in overtime 23-20 against the Buffalo Bills, in part because Jay Cutler continues to be Jay Cutler. "

WAY too many dropped passes (see what I did there).

Also, the playing field is ridiculous. First game of the season and the turf is absolute garbage, what is going on with that? The Broncos need to pull a Patsy move and replace that field with artificial turf over the bye week.

concur wholeheartedly

I'd heard that the turf was in bad shape, but I wasn't even remotely prepared for what we ended up seeing yesterday. Looks like absolute garbage.

Any idea what the hell happened? Looked great in the PS against Seattle, looked great a month before that for the Man U/Roma match.

I agree, I mentioned this yesterday, but that turf is supposed to be world-class. It's a hybrid grass/artificial mix and it looked horrible. Reggie Wayne almost broke himself on it.

I don't appreciate all these Patsy comments......

The Colts needed plenty of... Luck. Literally.

Onside kicks, lucky "tipped ball" bounces, and "he bumped into me a little bit and our shoulders touched that one time" pass interference calls are all markings of desperation.

The Broncos also had a few balls bounce their way on Sunday. Isaiah Burse's fumbled punt and Julius Thomas's fumble, which were fortuitously recovered by Bradley Roby and Bubba Caldwell, respectively.

Yep. That's my point. The Colts spent a great deal of time in the contest hoping for a miracle to drop from the sky. Luck threw interceptions by making poor decisions and throws. As always both quarterbacks made errors, but Luck was the one that made the big mistakes--or just fell victim to great defenders making plays.

Either way, the team that hoped something magical would save them was clearly Indy. The Broncos were and are the better football team and that's why Denver has a mark in the W column.

Obviously, I'm happy for the win and we saw some nice stuff from the Broncos.

Unfortunately, it's the kind of win that makes you a little nervous for the rest of the season. We've seen this before last season -- up by several possessions in the second half and somehow teams manage to make it competitive toward the end. The Patriots regular season and playoff games, the Chargers playoff game, etc.

The defense gives up a lot of big plays and the offense looks totally out of rhythm compared to what they did earlier in the game.

That said, who wants to be negative after a win? I'm happy and think the Broncos will school the Chiefs this weekend. After that, Seattle... and we can really see what this team learned from the Super Bowl loss. Go Broncos.

That was hard to watch.

Offense can't take their foot off the gas, lest they need to put together a drive late and have absolutely zero rhythm.

I agree. To add to the list, a 2012 contest against Tampa Bay should have been a runaway, but John Fox allowed the Buccaneers back into the game when he tried not to lose instead of going for the knockout.

The Colts (specifically that Andy Luck kid), are a pretty damn good team. Credit where it's due, denver hand a hard time getting pressure b/c Luck was getting the ball out quick. When he held it, he either (a) got in trouble or (b) was setting up a screen.

Indy's cover guys are talented, but they indeed lack a decent pass rush.

Their offensive line really had a gut check coming into this game because they looked shaky as hell in the pre-season due to injuries. Credit to their coaching staff and players.

Give the noob center, I'm really surprised the Broncos didn't stunt more elaobrately and frequently. Or effecitvely, anyway.

I am only going by memory here as I have not re-watched the game yet, but I think the Broncos tried and the Colts were ready. I seem to recall more than a few delayed blitzes or stunts designed to attack the A gaps, particularly late in the game.

What it looked like the Colts did was basically have their guards stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the center, and pack it all in tight. The stunters or blitzers (Ward often being one) basically hit a brick wall.

So i think it was a matter of effectiveness rather than frequency.

It was pretty much the reverse of last yr's game. I'll take it. Tbh, I am glad we're not peaking too early this yr.

I don't know what I expected from Aqib Talib, but it wasn't this. That guy is a monster.

I think some shout-outs are also in order for Julius Thomas' evolving work at blocking.My eyes saw him really do some good things in the screen game, which I hadn't seen before. Not the same as evolving on pass protection, but hey.

I was very encouraged by Talib as well. Hope he can stay healthy.

The problem with Talib has been that he only plays like that monster some of the time... and he's frequently inj. Let's hope that trend is reversed.

But I don't remember the 'good' Talib being this good, either.

I'm not the sharpest guy, but was generally familiar with the concept that he has trouble staying on the field. I hope Chris Harris gets health and Kayvon Webster grows up.

Loved seeing Talib out there. He played hard and the randem he built with Rahim Moore was awesome. And how about Roby? Guy was amazing considering it was his first NFL game!

Yeah, Talib also deserves big kudos after this game. There were at least two plays (that I can remember) that left me in awe because of how perfect his coverage AND technique to prevent the ball from being caught was.

When he prevented a TD by knocking a pass away from a crossing reciever, it brought up memories of Champ doing the same thing in the same spot on the field.

Orange Julius's third touchdown is one of my favorite football plays, ever. He was open by 3 yards the second the ball snapped.

Von Miller was rusty, but Gosder Cherilus still had his hands full with him all night. Von created pressure at times and Cherilus required help with him and the false start Miller drew from Cherilus to force a 3rd and 15 with three minutes left was a huge play down the stretch.

Brandon Marshall had an up and down night. He has to be smarter than to think he's going to simply bump a 260 pound hulk like Dwayne Allen out of bounds. He needs to wrap up all the time. On the bright side, the guy is in the right place a lot of time. He led the Broncos in tackles last night and he played every snap. I think the experience he's gaining with Trevathan on the shelf is invaluable. McCray, too, in his limited snaps last night giving Miller a rest.

I look forward to seeing what the entire defense will look like when Trevathan is back and Miller is closer to 100%.

Marshall's "bump" was weak and I'm sure he caught hell for it from Del Rio, but overall, I agree he did fairly well.

Wonder if he likes to stay at La Quinta? Effing classic! LOL!