Broncos Preparing To Scale Back Sad Offense
September 20th, 2024
So Todd Bowles’ teammate for four years in Washington, a guy who knows Bowles and the Bucs well, also is a Broncos great who hosts a popular sports radio morning show in Denver.
If you haven’t guessed yet, it’s retired guard Mark Schlereth, the FOX Sports NFL color analyst.
Schlereth was on his Denver show today (104.3 FM) talking about how mismatched the Broncos will be against the Bucs on Sunday.
Of the Bucs defense, Schlereth explained “they’re almost a backwards pressure unit, where they really lay off on third-down pressure. They really bring it on first and second.”
Schlereth added that the Bucs typically roll to a soft zone on third down. He said the key to moving the ball on Tampa Bay is throwing on first down if you can pick up blitzes, make quick throws and use diverse route concepts. But Schlereth then dropped the critical nugget for Bucs fans. “At this particular point in time, there’s no reason that any of us should have faith that the Broncos can do that.”
Amen.
Schlereth is confident reports of the Broncos scaling back their woeful offense this week for struggling rookie QB Bo Nix are true.
“So two things that you’re going to see: I think you’re going to see a lot more static formations, where they just line up and go through the cadence and snap the ball. Just very much static, make sure that you eliminate motion,” Schlereth said of what he expects from the Broncos on Sunday.
“The other thing is, let’s not motion across the formation and bring extra defenders into the box — because we haven’t been able to figure out how to block those guys.”
Schlereth added that he believes the Broncos substitute a lot less on offense and production (or lack thereof) will drive personnel changes in-game.
Can the Broncos hang with the Bucs? Schlereth says there’s no chance.
“I think the Broncos are going to take one on the chin again this weekend. I think Tampa goes in there and wins — 10-point win, something like that,” he said.
Maybe the Broncos can run against the Bucs and help Nix? Joe doesn’t think so after listening to Hall of Fame Broncos running back Terrell Davis.
On the same radio show, Davis eloquently explained that the Broncos’ run game is struggling mightily with many small details and those kinds of full-unit fixes take several weeks to repair.
Ira Kaufman’s Talks Broncos-Bucs Matchup, Dissects Liam Coen Comments, Running Game Future, Game Predictions & More
September 20th, 2024 at 6:14 pm
Sounds like good news- hate Sean Peyton
September 20th, 2024 at 6:15 pm
It’s the NFL and human nature to be over confident when coming off a bug win and welcoming in a team everyone is already shoveling dirt on.
This game is a huge trap. Payton is a P-rick who has the Bucs’ number. And we have a lethargic sloth missing a leg starting at RT.
Otherwise, Mrs. Lincoln loved the play.
September 20th, 2024 at 6:29 pm
Stop wit these over optimistic waves…..This is the NFL. We aint no powerhouse yet after only 3 games and the Stainks are lurking.
September 20th, 2024 at 6:33 pm
Sean Payton pulled a Jon Gruden and dismantle the team. Got rid of Denver best players, just to bring in his own players.
He made his bed….now lay in it
September 20th, 2024 at 6:33 pm
Agree with HC Grover on that front… You never know in this league and we certainly haven’t arrived yet. Although, I could also see us going 5-0, so let’s hope!
September 20th, 2024 at 6:34 pm
if we blow this team out sunday like 38-10, we might have to reconsider our little chuckaneers and the power rankings
September 20th, 2024 at 6:56 pm
Bucs need to stop playing down to the competition. Get up on them fast and don’t let up.
September 20th, 2024 at 7:00 pm
I hate this game..
It’s got TRAP written all over it.
Bucs seem to always over look an easy win and crap the bed.
I also think Bake tries to force balls this week to Evans which might cost us.
September 20th, 2024 at 7:26 pm
I can see Baker pushing the ball to Evans to get that 1000 yard season further along. He did that heavy last year to start the season.
Take what the D gives you and steamroll the Broncos!
September 20th, 2024 at 7:38 pm
HC Grover Please keep posting because they need help. Stop talking like this team like is unstoppable. Uncle Ira already said it. We have a September team. If you can’t run or rush the passer you get exposed you know kinda like last year after that 3-1 start. Please chill out with the over the top optimism. Eagles, Falcons, Saints, Chiefs then come with the big talk.
September 20th, 2024 at 7:41 pm
I apologize for sounding like a broken record, but I don’t like nor trust Sean Payton. He’s a scu*bag who plays dirty. I was very surprised when I read that Denver hired him. I’ve always respected the Broncos. I hope the front office and owners have him on a very tight no-cheating leash. I understand the risk of the Bucs letting down their guard aka trap game. I’m more concerned with the cheating. There are Buc players who will be on guard over it, too. I want the Bucs to win decisively, and get this one behind them. Be careful, Bucs!
September 20th, 2024 at 7:41 pm
Broncos Preparing To Scale Back Sad Offense. Damn Joe, are you trying to jinx us ?
September 20th, 2024 at 7:50 pm
TBBF suggests a heavy dose of passes to TEs & RBs…..key to victory
September 20th, 2024 at 7:53 pm
It will be another 30 point game for the offense.
September 20th, 2024 at 8:09 pm
This is one of those “tune-up” games some genius on here love to pencil in.
Agree with the realistic comments about anointing us world-beaters after 2 games.
September 20th, 2024 at 8:15 pm
The Bucs have a storied history of making rookie opponents qb’s look like all pro’s,
And giving Sean Peyton a welcome home matt, and a lackluster effort Repeatedly.
September 20th, 2024 at 8:24 pm
I hope the Bucs players aren’t reading all of this and start believing they are better than they are. Traditionally we haven’t been good front runners and are much better as underdogs. We need an edge and all this talk of us having an easy win is going to take that edge away.
September 20th, 2024 at 8:33 pm
Joe…..I read you several times a day….week 3 is upset week…. dont put the win in the W columun….I’m sure your old football coach told you that.
September 20th, 2024 at 8:44 pm
Many/most of you are like a bunch of skittish dogs who have been kicked too many times. Sunday’s gonna go FINE. Baker will get 2-3 more td passes
September 20th, 2024 at 8:47 pm
A very tough stretch of games after this one – Eagles, Falcons, Saints, Ravens, Falcons, Chiefs, 49ers. If we’re still carrying lots of injuries, and Falcons and Saints are playing well, its possible we lose them all. We can’t let up at all in this match, gotta bank the wins to counter the tough upcoming schedule
September 20th, 2024 at 8:50 pm
We are not appointing ourselves world beaters. Our guys are prepared to play the games one at a time. The fans can be negative but the team has to be positive and confident.
Go Bucs! Stomp Denver!
September 20th, 2024 at 8:58 pm
Not sure if you listened to Ira’s pod yet. This Joe thinks this is a potential trap game too which is why Joe thinks the Broncos cover (but Bucs win). The other Joe is thinking big Bucs win.
September 20th, 2024 at 10:15 pm
Haha Beej. It’s very true. I’m nervous about the trap but too many things working in Bucs favor despite the injuries. Cross country early game into the heat. Broncos also missing their starting RT.
Bucs have too many weapons for the Broncos to make it a game on D. Hopefully the Bucs don’t have the same thoughts but this is a winning team, void of the locker room cancers of years past.
September 20th, 2024 at 10:51 pm
Don’t get so comfortable, we have let down a fan or two at RayJay. Get a solid win, get people healthy and concentrate on kicking Philly’s a$$ again.
September 20th, 2024 at 10:58 pm
Exactly
This team has felt different from years past all season. Im talking about culture here and it started in rookie mini camp.
This defense in the SECONDARY IS LEGIT.
Broncos don’t play well in humidity. Period.
Miami held a track meet last year.
Everyone calm down with the TRAP game nonsense.
That is college football.
Not a well run Bowles team. Lol
September 21st, 2024 at 12:35 am
I am concerned.
While 2-dash-0 is nice, thus team has not earned my trust at all.
This has trap written all over it.
Hasn’t earned your trust? The Bucs have won 8 out of their last 10.–Joe
September 21st, 2024 at 2:16 am
Well they’ve earned my trust. Can’t say this is a “trap” game because as Ira or Joe said on the podcast, this may be the worst team in the NFL. This Bucs team is a different kind of beast this year. I think we’ve shaken off the Brady stress and we are a team that plays for the man next to him like a band of brothers if you will. A brotherhood with a scary amount of talent on both sides. I sure hope it’s more than a 10 point win. We need an offensive confidence builder this weekend. Let’s go Liam
September 21st, 2024 at 2:33 am
I think this game will tell us A LOT about this team. Past Bucs teams ALWAYS play down to their competition, especially at home. So, if they can go and take care of business like they should, by beating them down HARD, then I’m going to say that they’re most likely, FOR REAL. Let’s just get outta there with everyone healthy, & the rest of the guys completely healed for this BRUTAL stretch of games beginning with Philly. We need EVERYONE healthy for Atlanta & the Saints!!!!
September 21st, 2024 at 3:32 am
Thinking like this is exactly how you lose. Hopefully the Bucs coaches are talking about how the Broncos are the best 0-2 team that ever existed.
September 21st, 2024 at 4:18 am
I don’t see the Bucs as a dominant team at all. I do see us however as a plucky, opportunistic team. That’s awesome, but dangerous.
The Broncos make mistakes on offense (as in 5 giveaways in 2 games … 4 INTs & 1 FL). The team has only scored 26 points in 2 games … 13 PPG average (and 4 of those points came off of 2 Safeties). They have ZERO passing TDs & only 1 rushing TD in 2 games … and that was by their QB. Their 3rd down conversion rate is a horrendous 23.3% (7-for-30), and their Red Zone TD rate is even lower at 14.3% (1-for-7). Even worse news for them, their penalties are out of sight (17-for-184 yards in 2 games). That’s a telltale sign of a poorly-coached team IMO.
On the good news side, they’re very good at kicking FGs (5-for-5). And their defense has been excellent IMO (only given up 39 points considering all the giveaways). They’ve held opponents to a 32% 3rd down conversion rate & only a 33% Red Zone TD rate.
Bucs can’t afford to take this team lightly. I agree with Cobraboy … ‘This has trap written all over it.’
September 21st, 2024 at 9:32 am
Once you start patting yourself on the back in the NFL, expect your teeth to get kicked in.
This is not 2023, Joe. It does not matter what happened last season.
This is a new season for every team.
“8 of the last 10” can be quickly erased, even in a season. Remember the Great Buc Collapse under Gruden. Early in the season folks were proclaiming a SB visit. Then what happened?
Nope. I’m Old School. I’m a “One Game at a Time” advocate. Go into every game with a chip on your shoulder and with something to prove. Because when you don’t, you get your ass whipped by an “inferior” team.
September 21st, 2024 at 10:44 am
Everyone calm down with the TRAP game nonsense.
That is college football…..BroncoBilly
Right!! The Bucs never play down to their rivals. And they are NEVER embarrassed by a rookie QB that nobody ever heard of before. Bronco, that has been the Bucs M.O. since I started to be sucked into the Buc Universe in 1978. Last week the Bucs won after most of us expected a loss. That is the Bucs M.O >>>unpredictable and surprising.
September 21st, 2024 at 11:59 am
Remember when unknown Heinike was Redskin’s QB and Buc casuals were convinced the Bucs would rip the ‘Skins apart?
They were lucky to escape a one-and-done.
Underestimating your opponent is the #1 sin in football.
September 21st, 2024 at 12:42 pm
I am cautiously optimistic about the Bucs’ chances against Nix and the Broncos. We’ve seen it too many times. After a big win, the players start believing the hype and let their guard down.
Over the years, the defense also has a tendency of letting second-string or rookie QBs look like All-Pro, All-World, Hall of Famers. We all remember Buc-killing QBs, such as Case Keenum, Derek Anderson, and yes, Paxton Lynch (Denver). His win against the Bucs was his first game! At least he left with a sunburn.
Go Bucs!
September 21st, 2024 at 2:04 pm
Never forget the gashing rookie QB Mitch Trubisky shanked on the Bucs.
September 21st, 2024 at 2:09 pm
Trick plays count too. There’s no trap games in this league. You’re talking about a team with two wins. Small sample size. They all draft from the same pool of players. Anyone thinks any team can’t win hasn’t been to many games. They gota out play them Sunday or they’ll lose.
September 21st, 2024 at 3:36 pm
The Bucs should handily win this game, certainly if they’re supposed to be a legit playoff team they should beat the hell out of Denver. But the NFL rarely works that way, or at least the Bucs rarely work that way.
I have a feeling it’s going to be a very frustrating game, but the Bucs, I think, will get a close win. I’d love to be wrong however and get a good, old fashion blowout. But Bowles doesn’t do that. He gets so conservative and scared, if he gets a 10-point lead in the 2nd quarter, he’s just going to try to sit on it and run the clock out, which makes pretty much every game a close one – so like a 13-10 win. Arians, meanwhile, he’d step on a teams neck and win the same 35-10.
September 22nd, 2024 at 3:30 pm
How handily Rod? You schmo’s havnt watched enough football in your days. Welcome to the NFL kids.