How They Got Here, Weeks 1-4

Cory Puffett

During the next few days I will be going through the entire regular season and postseason for the two Super Bowl participants, taking notes on what stands out to me in each of their games on both sides of the ball. I’d like to share those notes with you all as I go.

Week 1

Denver Broncos (vs. Baltimore)

Defensively, the Broncos are sound. Even as they gave up yards and they dealt with their first contest sans Von Miller, they played well. The defensive line is great at blowing off blocks against the run. The secondary isn’t always in the best coverage but they don’t give up much over top and they are quick to react and limit YAC on underneath routes.

The offensive line got very sloppy late in the third quarter. Peyton had to roll out within two seconds of the snap several times, linemen were forced to hold because of laziness off the line, and they lost focus of the snap count and committed several false starts in the final 20 minutes or so of the game. They were very good up until then and that late-game sloppiness could just be the result of it being the first game of the season as well as the thin air.

Seattle Seahawks (at Carolina)

We all know how good Seattle’s secondary is, but in this game they got three or four drops by Greg Olsen to help skew the numbers even more in their favor. The run defense was concerning, but they forced a late fumble to secure the win. The defensive line does generate a good pass rush and that may be why they struggle (comparatively) against the run…in a word, over-pursuit.

A very underrated part of the offense is the athleticism of the receivers. They may not be the biggest or the fastest, but each one has a keen ability to track the ball and they rarely drop even the toughest catches. The biggest problem offensively in this game was the offensive line. Russell Wilson was forced from the pocket too many times. His ability to keep his eyes down field while instinctively knowing where the defensive linemen are around him is a big asset to this offense.

Week 2

Denver Broncos (at NY Giants)

This game deserves a lot of asterisks. Denver’s defense played very sloppy despite picking off Eli Manning four times and only allowing 23 points. The Broncos were penalized a total of 13 times for 132 yards, and ten of those penalties gave New York’s offense a new set of downs. They also gave up 362 passing yards to Eli. But they once again showed that opposing teams will find little success with screens and passes into the flat. Their defensive backs react too quickly.

On offense, Denver got off to another slow start. Peyton completed a big pass to Andre Caldwell on the first drive, but Montee Ball fumbled into the end zone and the offense stalled on their next few drives, thanks in part to about five drops in the first half. But Knowshon Moreno, still in the thick of a three-man battle for the starting RB job, twice showed how dangerous he is if the line sets the edge for him.

Seattle Seahawks (vs. San Francisco)

Seattle played sound defense. They allowed a long drive that resulted in a short field goal in the third quarter, but those were the only points they allowed all day. Even though the score was only 5-0 at halftime, it never felt like they were threatened. They shut down the run game early and only started to give up yards when Kaepernick started getting flushed in the pocket later in the game. The downfield coverage and reaction to Kaepernick scrambling allowed Seattle to limit how much damage he could do with his legs.

The Seahawks’ offense, though, was unimpressive for a second straight week. I understand why the offensive line struggles to block for Russell Wilson – they have to give him space between them to see down field. But that’s no excuse. The only reason Seattle scored 24 points in the second half of this game is because of some good punt returning by Golden Tate, big interception returns by Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor, and a lot of penalties against San Francisco, including several of the 15-yard variety.

Week 3

Denver Broncos (vs. Oakland)

When Ronnie Hillman isn’t busy coughing up the ball, he’s a very underrated running back. There aren’t many players who can wiggle their way through the trenches like he can. Montee Ball also did very well in this game, exhibiting elite vision and body control. Denver put on an offensive clinic for most of this game but had to settle for field goals more often than they’d have liked.

Defensively, the Broncos did a good job containing Terrelle Pryor and shutting down the edges every time he wandered out of the pocket. The speedy receivers for Oakland did well against Denver’s prevent defense later in the game, but outside of that the only big play from the Raiders came when Ihenacho and Rodgers-Cromartie tackled each other on a good throw and catch for Oakland.

Seattle Seahawks (vs. Jacksonville)

Seattle took their starters out with 2:30 left in the third quarter. Outside of one bad pass that was tipped and picked off, Russell Wilson played very well as the offense had it’s first truly good game of the season. Even if it had to come against Jacksonville, it’s a good potential kick-starter for the rest of the year.

The defense was very good until the fourth quarter when they softened things up some. The Jaguars spent the first 21 minutes of the game with negative yardage before finally getting some semblance of a running game going. Chad Henne’s offensive stats mostly came in the fourth quarter.

Week 4

Denver Broncos (vs. Philadelphia)

This was not the Eagles that made the playoffs; this was Mike Vick’s Eagles. But Denver still had to face the league’s best running back from this season, Shady McCoy. They did a great job containing him. He only broke one big run all game and had another nice play on a screen pass. Strong coverage down field forced Vick to try and beat the Broncos with his legs, but Philly couldn’t keep that up for long.

Denver’s offense again had a strong start and then cooled off for a while. They stayed ahead with a Trindon Holliday return touchdown and then caught fire again to really pour it on. Denver sealed it with a punt block returned for a score. Brock Osweiler came in for Peyton with almost 10 minutes left in the game.

Seattle Seahawks (at Houston)

I’m convinced Tony Romo played for the wrong Texas team here. Much like we’ve seen from the Cowboys, this was a case where Houston may not have been in position to win this game had Matt Schaub not been playing, but Seattle also wouldn’t have tied this game up if Schaub hadn’t been in to throw his fourth pick-6 in four games.

The Texans had at least 200 more yards of total offense than the Seahawks entering the fourth quarter, and held a 20-3 lead. Seattle had the ball and a 2^nd & 11 on their own 1-yard line when the fourth quarter began. They drove the length of the field, despite being called for OPI and a couple false starts, for a touchdown.

I give Seattle’s offense a lot of credit for that drive, but they really only won the game because of Houston’s incredible ability to blow games, as we saw from them all season. Schaub was picking apart Seattle’s secondary all game. His only bad through was Richard Sherman’s pick-6, and Seattle had a man in his face off play action on that play. As for Seattle’s offense, Russell Wilson didn’t play very well outside of that opening drive of the fourth quarter.

On that note, that touchdown drive was only made possible by Doug Baldwin, who I am convinced is the most underrated receiver in the NFL today. If you don’t believe me, check out this replay.

I’ll be back with Weeks 5-8 either tomorrow or Friday depending on how much time I’m able to dedicate to watching tape.