The skinny on the Chargers/Broncos game this week comes down to some temporarily broken instant replay equipment, a terrible Referee call and an unbelievable (Let's call it what it is, Mile High Magic) 2 point conversion.
We'll take it, but Chargers got robbed
Call it whatever you want Broncos Fans but we did get a gift. Referee Ed Hochuli will go down in Broncos lore as the man who blew his wad just a millisecond too soon. Not the kind of wad blown in the bedroom with just his disappointed unsatisfied wife as the victim but in front of millions of people on national TV. I think if Hochuli had his choice he would have taken the early whistle with his wife, clearly this was a "blown" call which he freely admitted afterwards.
Under the rule as it stands the ball did belong to the Broncos because he did blow the whistle before the ball was recovered (Another bad rule that should be amended by the NFL Rules Committee) by the Chargers. The mistake Hochuli made was thinking that Jay Cutler had tried to complete a pass (See the infamous "Tuck Rule") and that his arm had gone forward. It was such a bang, bang play that he didn't give himself the opportunity to quickly think about what he had just seen before he made the call.
It was clearly a human thing to do, he was part of a Referee crew that had basically chased the Broncos and Chargers up and down the field for 59 minutes in a high scoring quickly paced game. In that highly charged atmosphere it would be very easy to make such a mistake. Hochuli is one of the best Referees out there and he wasn't on the take by gamblers taking the Broncos to win, of that I'm sure.
In Close Games you create your own Luck
Long time Broncos fans can attest to this first hand. First of all you have to put yourself in a position to be lucky, then you have to get lucky. Call it Mile High Magic, call it blind stupid luck but when you're the beneficiary of such a gift I don't care what situation you are in or how righteous and fair-minded you might proclaim yourself to be you always take it no matter what.
Mike Shanahan or any other Coach for that matter wouldn't say "Gee Whiz Ed, you blew that one Pal; lets' give the ball back to the Chargers it's the fair thing to do." No, no way, there isn't a single instance where this has ever happened in pro sports why? Not every single bad call or play missed on the field can be reversed, it's impossible when the human element is involved. The games would all come to a halt or drag on for an eternity if every play was reviewed or if we let camera's and computers be the eyes of a human game. Consider also, that most of the time even human Referees and Officials do make the call right almost 90% of the time which isn't bad for humans.
We're all well… human. Some of the greatest moments in sports history have come on blown calls or players inside the game making boneheaded mistakes. Such is the case with this game. Okay you put this all aside and say…
WOW! What a Great Game!
Jay Cutler is the Man! He not only started the game great he finished it even better. He proved to Broncos Fans he was no quitter and that just because he made one bad play, he wasn't about to give up on the game. Last week the Raiders highlight reel belonged to WR Eddie Royal this week it was all Cutlers. By seasons end I see Cutler in the Pro Bowl as the AFC's best QB statistically. Whether he has all the wins with those stats will ultimately be decided by a terrible Defensive Unit that most improve. More on that in a minute.
I think all Broncos fans would agree this was the greatest game Cutler has played in up to this point in his short career. The wonderful news is there is surely many more to follow. Jay threw the ball 50 times completing it 36 times for 350 yards, 4 TD's and 1 INT. The last 2 completions he made were the most impressive. The Touchdown throw and the 2 point conversion sealed the deal and completed an incredible comeback engineered by Cutler and the great hands of Royal the Super Smurf Rookie. Have I said that Royal has great hands already?
Brandon Marshall caught 18 of those 36 passes (1 for a TD) setting a new Broncos team record once held by the great Rod Smith who had 15 in one game. Any doubters about Marshall not being ready to carry the mantle as one of the elite Super Star WR's in the NFL were torched in this game.
TE Tony Scheffler another great hands man for the Broncos had a fantastic game too with 6 catches for 64 yards and 2 TD's.
Again, this can not be overlooked, the OL of the Broncos gave Cutler all day to get the ball down the field which he did with confidence and pose just like last week. Even with a healthy Chargers LB Shawne Merriman in the line up I'm not so sure the outcome would have been much different. "The surprising start of this young offensive line may be the biggest story early in this NFL season for the Broncos."
Going for the 2 Point Conversion
Honestly I was screaming my head off at the TV cussing Shanahan up one side and down the other for being an idiot. I was still pissed at him for trying to throw that crappy screen pass to Marshall when the Broncos had the ball near the 10 yard line on that 3rd and goal.
Then having the incredible luck of getting the ball after the fumble only to have Cutler throw a TD to Royal, then not kicking the extra point to send the game into OT? WHAT THE HELL WAS HE THINKING?
Before I had a chance to even get over my first massive heart attack they ran another play to Royal and BAM he catches the ball for the 2 point conversion and the improbable win. Only 7 times in NFL History have NFL Coaches gone for a 2 point conversion to win a game and only 2 times has it actually worked. Shanahan raised the odds thanks to the nerve and skill of Jay Cutler and the hands of Eddie Royal.
Bottom line, I'm glad that Shanahan went for 2, I think had we lost the coin flip in OT we'd of lost the game too.
Eddie Royal gets mobbed after catching the 2 point conversion.
Cutler and Royal walk off the field heroes after the terrific Chargers win.
Defensive and Special Teams still on page One
Now it's time to address the negative aspects of the game. One would think that an Offense that spots you a 31 to 17 point lead at the half against one of the best Defensive teams in the NFL should have been enough right? No, sorry it wasn't and without a great OL performance and Cutler's arm the Broncos tremendous offensive effort would have been all for not.
The Broncos did get a little pressure on QB Philip Rivers early in the first half but in the second he was unmolested throwing the ball down the field with ease. We won this shoot out game no thanks to a DL that still can not generate any pressure at all on a QB. Even with a full house blitz, still no pressure on Rivers, at least not enough to stop him.
I was amazed how many times Champ Bailey got beat in this game and even worst yet was the play of CB Karl Paymah. He was torched every time he was on the field. He was responsible for a big TD pass thrown over him as well as interference penalty that put the Chargers in position to score another TD. If I'm Defensive Coordinator Bob Slowik I go back to the drawing board on the pass D and it wouldn't include Paymah.
It wasn't just the pass the Broncos couldn't defend; it was against the run too. If someone told you that LaDainian Tomlinson was held to 26 yards on 10 carries and no TD's you'd say that you'd effectively stopped the Chargers running game and would get a win right? WRONG!
Unfortunately that wasn't the case because another Super Smurf Kick Returner & RB Darren Sproles racked up an unbelievable 317 all purpose yards on the bad tackling and a slow to react defense and special teams units of the Broncos. Sproles ran a 103 yard return back for a TD and 66 yard catch and run for a TD in the game as well. Every time he touched the ball the Broncos let him go for big yards.
The Broncos may make the playoffs this season but if they don't start playing better run and pass D in addition to better special teams kick coverage they could be 1 and done.
Random Notes on the Game:
Jay Cutler schooled another all pro cocky CB in week 2. This time it was the Chargers Antonio Cromartie, who said at the start of the season he hoped to break the single season interception record of 14 set by Dick "Night Train" Lane in 1952 in a 14 game season. Cromartie got beat on almost every play that was directed at him. He was responsible for committing 4 stupid penalties that really cost the Chargers field position and points. So much for his egotistical bravado and records, I bet he rather have the W in the win column instead.
The running game just like in Game 1 was an after thought for Shanahan. Selvin Young had a quite 79 yards and a long of 49 but so far Shanahan has been interested in going on top whether short or deep to move the ball. So far it's worked well but I think he should have tried to slow the pace of the game down a little once they got the commanding lead on the Chargers. You can't eat a big juicy steak every night, once in while you have to throw in a boring salad okay Mike?
LB's DJ Williams, Nate Webster (Who both had a good game in Week 1) and first time starter Boss Bailey contributed very little to a run or pass defensive that was just awful. None of the Broncos DLmen even deserves to be mentioned by name this week.
To the D's credit I will say they at least kept the Chargers to 2 FG's on their final 3 possessions of the game.
Cautiously Optimistic
I'm happy with 2-0 start, because I predicted the Chargers would sweep the Broncos this season. We really are playing with house money early. If we can find a way to beat the Saints at home and we get a win at Kansas City (One of the losses I predicted for the Broncos at the start of the season, doubtful now although we do have trouble when we go to KC) the following week we are in the driver's seat at least for the first half of the season.
What a great 2 weeks of football Broncos Bros' and Girls !!!
I look forward as always to your comments and opinions on the game.
