The View From Broncos Land - Uneven Performance, But an Easy Win

[The Frankish Reich]

Here's what I'm seeing and hearing in Denver: this one was never close, the outcome was never in question.

 

1. Manning was never touched. No sacks, no quarterback hits. So much for the vaunted defensive line of the Bills.

 

2. Broncos ran it down their throats when they needed to. My take: both teams averaged 4.6 yards per run, but with the Bills behind early, the Bills ran it 16 times and threw it 57 times. 57! Meanwhile, I've heard "Peyton Manning, Game Manager" a couple times already. Broncos: 29 runs, 20 passes.

 

3. A weird stat line -- watching this one it did feel like the Broncos were in control almost from the very start. Look at these stats and tell me what you think the score should have been:

 

Total Plays: Bills 77, Broncos 49

Time of Possession: Bills 33:29, Broncos 26:31

Total Yards: Bills 415, Broncos 306

Yards per carry: Bills 4.6, Broncos 4.6

 

Hmm, so I guess it was the turnovers? Not really.

 

Bills 2, Broncos 2

 

So was it the penalties? Well, kind of.

 

Bills 11-98, Broncos 5-45

 

Or was it the Sacks/QB Hits? Absolutely.

 

Bills 4/6, Broncos 0/0.

 

Was it the coaching? HELL YES! That 4th and 2 punt after the Bills spent their timeouts (wisely) to keep about 6 minutes on the clock, down 2 touchdowns, was about the wimpiest AND stupidest move you're likely to see. I immediately said, "no way the Bills get the ball back twice in this game." And I was right. (And don't even think about bringing up what turned out to be the worst onside kick I've ever seen)

 

Consensus around here seems to be that the Bills accumulated stats because, as a practical matter, this one was in garbage time from the first Broncos drive of the second half. That's why CJ Anderson got 21 carries and only 58 yards (2.8 avg). And that's why Manning only needed to throw 20 passes.

 

Let's face facts: the "finesse team" just manhandled us. We've still got a long way to go.

[Max997]

I can't believe how Marrone continues to punt in that situation down two scores.

 

SD did same thing tonight...coaching not to lose

Edited December 8, 2014 by Max997

[Doug Flutie Band]

The game was never close.

 

The Broncos were up 24-3 in the 4th quarter, and the Bills rattled up some garbage time stats.

 

The Bills defense played great today, but the offense did nothing when it still counted.

[mannc]

I can't believe how Marrone continues to punt in that situation down two scores.

 

SD did same thing tonight...coaching not to lose

This sort of game day decision is the number one reason Marrone needs to be fired.

[BuffOrange]

 

 

Let's face facts: the "finesse team" just manhandled us. We've still got a long way to go.

 

Umm no.

 

What do Orton's junk time stats have to do with 58 yards on 21 carries?

 

 

 

[The Frankish Reich]

This sort of game day decision is the number one reason Marrone needs to be fired.

Using those timeouts early, when the Broncos had the ball, momentarily tricked me into thinking Marrone is smarter than his vaguely constipated but otherwise blank expression would lead us to believe. That was smart: stop the team that can otherwise use up the max time between plays from doing so; when you get the ball on offense, you can use means other than timeouts to conserve game clock. But having done that, you've for sure put all of your eggs in the next-drive basket. YOU CAN'T PUNT THE BALL BACK TO THEM. IT IS VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO GET 2 MORE POSSESSIONS. YOU CAN'T STOP THE CLOCK AGAIN WITH THE TIMEOUTS YOU JUST USED! Really, it is so idiotic that I wonder if anyone is thinking at all. Or maybe they just wanted to cover the spread (which they did)

 

Umm no.

 

What do Orton's junk time stats have to do with 58 yards on 21 carries?

Orton put up 355 yards passing because the Broncos gave him the short passes. The Broncos running stats looked worse than their running game actually was because everyone knew they were trying to run out the clock and the Bills D just had to stop the run. The point is that the stat line (that some folks here seem to think signals a moral victory) looks weird because this game was effectively over so early.

[BuffOrange]

Orton put up 355 yards passing because the Broncos gave him the short passes. The Broncos running stats looked worse than their running game actually was because everyone knew they were trying to run out the clock and the Bills D just had to stop the run. The point is that the stat line (that some folks here seem to think signals a moral victory) looks weird because this game was effectively over so early.

That's just bull. Nobody is disputing Orton's # were junk. Their defense is better than our offense; who didn't know that before the game?

Again, that has nothing to do with 21 for 56. It's Peyton freaking Manning, in case you haven't noticed the last 14yrs he's not handing off vs a defense that's selling out vs the run just cause he's up 2-3 scores except maybe the last possession.

 

Edited December 8, 2014 by BuffOrange

[NastyNateSoldiers]

 

Using those timeouts early, when the Broncos had the ball, momentarily tricked me into thinking Marrone is smarter than his vaguely constipated but otherwise blank exp<b></b>ression would lead us to believe. That was smart: stop the team that can otherwise use up the max time between plays from doing so; when you get the ball on offense, you can use means other than timeouts to conserve game clock. But having done that, you've for sure put all of your eggs in the next-drive basket. YOU CAN'T PUNT THE BALL BACK TO THEM. IT IS VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO GET 2 MORE POSSESSIONS. YOU CAN'T STOP THE CLOCK AGAIN WITH THE TIMEOUTS YOU JUST USED! Really, it is so idiotic that I wonder if anyone is thinking at all. Or maybe they just wanted to cover the spread (which they did)

 

 

Orton put up 355 yards passing because the Broncos gave him the short passes. The Broncos running stats looked worse than their running game actually was because everyone knew they were trying to run out the clock and the Bills D just had to stop the run. The point is that the stat line (that some folks here seem to think signals a moral victory) looks weird because this game was effectively over so early.

Yea the game was over early, really really early. The game was over before the game even started .When the refs put on there Broncos jerseys. U can practically see the orange underneath there uniforms...

Edited December 8, 2014 by NastyNateSoldiers

[The Frankish Reich]

That's just bull. Nobody is disputing Orton's # were junk. Their defense is better than offense, who didn't know that before the game?

Again, that has nothing to do with 21 for 56. It's Peyton freaking Manning, he's not handing off vs a defense that's selling out vs the run just cause he's up 2-3 scores except maybe the last possession.

I agree our defense played well, and that that was a big factor in Manning's "off game." But if you saw our D line dominating (or even regularly beating) their O line, you must have been watching a different game.

[Dan]

 

Using those timeouts early, when the Broncos had the ball, momentarily tricked me into thinking Marrone is smarter than his vaguely constipated but otherwise blank exp<b></b>ression would lead us to believe. That was smart: stop the team that can otherwise use up the max time between plays from doing so; when you get the ball on offense, you can use means other than timeouts to conserve game clock. But having done that, you've for sure put all of your eggs in the next-drive basket. YOU CAN'T PUNT THE BALL BACK TO THEM. IT IS VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO GET 2 MORE POSSESSIONS. YOU CAN'T STOP THE CLOCK AGAIN WITH THE TIMEOUTS YOU JUST USED! Really, it is so idiotic that I wonder if anyone is thinking at all. Or maybe they just wanted to cover the spread (which they did)

That's exactly what I was thinking. I know that if they didn't convert that 4th with 6mins left, it was game over. But, if they punt it away the chances are next to none that they'd get the ball back twice... needing 2 scores. So, you have to go for it! But, Marrone took the safe way out and guess what? We only got the ball once more.

 

Broncos fans were convinced from the outset they would win. Had Buffalo won, I'm convinced half of Denver would have committed suicide. The certainty of their victory was never in doubt. Because it was Buffalo, plain and simple.

[BuffOrange]

I agree our defense played well, and that that was a big factor in Manning's "off game." But if you saw our D line dominating (or even regularly beating) their O line, you must have been watching a different game.

Not dominating = manhandled!

[The Frankish Reich]

Yea the game was over early, really really early. The game was over before the game even started .When the refs put on there Broncos jerseys. U can practically see the orange underneath there uniforms...

It's fair to talk about bad calls, but when we get into this kind of talk I feel like fans are descending into Raider-style self deception. And that's a recipe for consistent losers.

 

Not dominating = manhandled!

They ran for 133 yards, much of it when everyone knew they were going to run. I thought our front 7 was supposed to stop them cold. They won most of the battles, and all of the important ones (3 rushing TDs). And their D line did dominate our O line, although we're used to that part happening.

[billsfan714]

The official penalty yards dont tell the whole story. Sure it might be a 10 yard holding penalty on a interception return in the stat line but actually it was a 40-50 yard penalty. I might be a 5 yard penalty on defensive holding but when you had 3rd down stops that turned in ticky tacky call that gave them a new set of downs and 7 points instead of 3, thats a big difference. The D holding them to 306, well we all would of taken that before kickoff. Orton was gutless and off. Those were the 2 biggest factors in the game.

[Prickly Pete]

Here's what I'm seeing and hearing in Denver: this one was never close, the outcome was never in question.

 

1. Manning was never touched. No sacks, no quarterback hits. So much for the vaunted defensive line of the Bills.

 

2. Broncos ran it down their throats when they needed to. My take: both teams averaged 4.6 yards per run, but with the Bills behind early, the Bills ran it 16 times and threw it 57 times. 57! Meanwhile, I've heard "Peyton Manning, Game Manager" a couple times already. Broncos: 29 runs, 20 passes.

 

3. A weird stat line -- watching this one it did feel like the Broncos were in control almost from the very start. Look at these stats and tell me what you think the score should have been:

 

Total Plays: Bills 77, Broncos 49

Time of Possession: Bills 33:29, Broncos 26:31

Total Yards: Bills 415, Broncos 306

Yards per carry: Bills 4.6, Broncos 4.6

 

Hmm, so I guess it was the turnovers? Not really.

 

Bills 2, Broncos 2

 

So was it the penalties? Well, kind of.

 

Bills 11-98, Broncos 5-45

 

Or was it the Sacks/QB Hits? Absolutely.

 

Bills 4/6, Broncos 0/0.

 

Was it the coaching? HELL YES! That 4th and 2 punt after the Bills spent their timeouts (wisely) to keep about 6 minutes on the clock, down 2 touchdowns, was about the wimpiest AND stupidest move you're likely to see. I immediately said, "no way the Bills get the ball back twice in this game." And I was right. (And don't even think about bringing up what turned out to be the worst onside kick I've ever seen)

 

Consensus around here seems to be that the Bills accumulated stats because, as a practical matter, this one was in garbage time from the first Broncos drive of the second half. That's why CJ Anderson got 21 carries and only 58 yards (2.8 avg). And that's why Manning only needed to throw 20 passes.

 

Let's face facts: the "finesse team" just manhandled us. We've still got a long way to go.

 

Go f*** yourself.

[The Frankish Reich]

The official penalty yards dont tell the whole story. Sure it might be a 10 yard holding penalty on a interception return in the stat line but actually it was a 40-50 yard penalty. I might be a 5 yard penalty on defensive holding but when you had 3rd down stops that turned in ticky tacky call that gave them a new set of downs and 7 points instead of 3, thats a big difference. The D holding them to 306, well we all would of taken that before kickoff. Orton was gutless and off. Those were the 2 biggest factors in the game.

Penalties were a big factor, some deserved (Hughes and Pears picked up really stupid personal fouls), some probably not. Orton was definitely off. About the only bright offensive spot for me was the apparent decision to just get the ball into (or around) Sammy's hands in the second half to let our playmaker try to actually make a play or two.

 

Go f*** yourself.

I think someone secretly put a few bucks on the Broncos to cover!

[BuffOrange]

It's fair to talk about bad calls, but when we get into this kind of talk I feel like fans are descending into Raider-style self deception. And that's a recipe for consistent losers.

They ran for 133 yards, much of it when everyone knew they were going to run. I thought our front 7 was supposed to stop them cold. They won most of the battles, and all of the important ones (3 rushing TDs). And their D line did dominate our O line, although we're used to that part happening.

No, much of it was 1 play.

Christ man, watch any of the other 7 Denver home games. The D did a nice job.

It's ridiculous you think Manning is all about leading his RBs into a suicidal "Picket's charge" when there's a 200+ game sample that suggests otherwise.

[Prickly Pete]

 

I think someone secretly put a few bucks on the Broncos to cover!

 

Nope, I just think the Bills were screwed over. If you were to go through my posting history, I rarely complain about officiating, but today, any time the Bills had a chance to gain momentum, they got screwed.

[The Frankish Reich]

No, much of it was 1 play.

Christ man, watch any of the other 7 Denver home games. The D did a nice job.

It's ridiculous you think Manning is all about leading his RBs into a suicidal "Picket's charge" when there's a 200+ game sample that suggests otherwise.

The D played well. A decent offensive performance would have kept us in this game to the end. But when I hear about our "great" defense or "dominant" defensive line, or "the best front 7 in the AFC" I have to think people have just let their hopes get ahead of the reality. The Rams stopped the Broncos cold. The Seahawks did too, in the Super Bowl and then for 3 quarters this year. This is a good, solid, Top 10 type defense, but it's far from being a dominant defense. And really, zero touches on Manning is pretty piss poor for a team that was the subject of talk about breaking the all-time DL sacks record just last week.

 

Nope, I just think the Bills were screwed over. If you were to go through my posting history, I rarely complain about officiating, but today, any time the Bills had a chance to gain momentum, they got screwed.

Agreed.

[Prickly Pete]

Thank you.

 

I don't think they were outplayed. I think they played pretty evenly, but with critical calls killing any momentum, they couldn't compete. It was just enough to keep them out of it. The pass interference/personal foul was ridiculous, and handed Denver a TD. The phantom call on the interception likely took at least 3 points away. In a close match, those are devastating, especially psychologically, because it puts the team on the defensive.

[thewildrabbit]

The zebras knuckle bumping on a Denver TD, and then some of those mystery calls on the Bill INT returns. The refs taking payoffs now to throw games, or does Buffalo always get the crap end of the stick.