Broncos vs. Vikings, August 11th, NFL Football Write Up

in #nfl6 years ago (edited)

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Case Keenum was the starting QB. I don't believe he got any drives after the first, as to protect your starter. Makes sense to me. (I will attempt to report this as unbiased as possible. The author is a NY Giants fan but that's only 1 team, there are 31 other teams out there to be reported on. Here goes nothing or maybe something.)

Broncos ball first. Something about Jake Butt, and this is, where if you had to make a Beavis & Butthead joke, that you'd make it. I couldn't help myself. Andy Janovich, was mentioned, as the starting fullback. Booker, who apparently is expected to be the starting RB week 1, hit a nice run through the gap. A few yards, nothing more. Quicly became 3rd & 8, and an overthrown pass ends this drive, punt by #1 on Broncos.

With no time wasted, the Vikings complete a rolling ground catch, & the game is moving forward nicely after this. Should be noted that this is Cousins first time playing an actual NFL game with the Vikings, traded from the Redskins. Simply for people that aren't aware of this, but I'm sure most NFL fans already know that. Singleback formation, nice throw to Diggs on the left side. Followed by a screen to Murray but this came back to haunt them as a flag was thrown, holding offense, 5 yard penalty. Next is an excellent handoff to Murray who gains 21 yards and makes it look easy. Not that it is ever easy though.

This was actually the first game for Bradley Chubb, officially in the NFL, & I think it's super fitting that his name is what it is. Said something funny at some point about how he enjoys stealing the QBs towels as to get in their head. Kind of like Lupe saying "I no scare." Next comes a great run from Murray again, 21 yards, no problem there. Kinda strange he had back to back 21 yard runs. Maybe it's the universe saying this was meant to be? Who knows.

At this point the Vikings are well into Broncos territory, across the 50 yard line & driving further. Cousins hits the FB on a nice throw. I happen to think the FBs should be used more as they are basically a combination of a TE & a RB. After this comes one of the nicest plays I've seen so far- a huge sideline streak route from Cousins to Diggs, to prove his worth. Next Cousins fakes a pass and hits Murray on the RB route. 1st & goal now.

Denver able to hold their ground defensive-wise on the next play. Should be noted that Von Miller got the call that he wasn't playing this game, probably to keep him healthy in the future, you don't want to play too many of your stars in the preseason, you already are aware as a coach, of who can do what. Next Cousins hits Diggs for an easy quick slant into the endzone, everyone probably assumed he would do a run so he changes that up. Carlson nails the extra point, as the tallest kicker in the league they said. 7-0 Vikings, 8:15 to go in the first half, time for a beer break.

Skip to 2nd & 6 Broncos. The throw should have been caught but bounced up into heavy zone coverage, easy INT for Vikings. Don't give the defenders this opportunity or they will use it to their advantage.

Siemian comes out with a handoff to RB Thomas for a clean 7 yard rush up the middle. I loved the look of it. Singleback formation on the next play, almost looked like the same exact call as the one before only this time it went to the left instead of the right. After this an easy TD ensues off a nice 16 yard outside sideline route., very well executed. Carlson puts through another extra point. Forbath kicks off, & I sure hope he took four baths before this game for extra good luck. The return comes to about the 22 yard line. At this point the Broncos have less than 30 yards I believe, while the Vikings have over 100 yards. Who will win? Your guess is probably as good as mine.

New RB on the scene hits a decent gap, nothing too noteworthy but you take 4 yards where you can get them. 2nd down Broncos. Attempted screen pass goes awry, 3rd & 6 afterwards. Lynch rolls out left for a play attempt, pass overthrown by a bit, 4th & out. Punt sails to about the 25 yard line. Almost missed the catch on the return.

Vikings ball. Right away Siemian hits a nice sideline streak route to Coley.

1ST QT ENDS

2ND QT BEGINS
Nice roll out pass on left side. Followed by a run to the left, but Broncos stuffed the offense with better defense, no chance of yardage here. Quick curl route with nowhere to go, maybe a few yards. 3rd & 8, announcers mention how Talib is no longer playing on the Broncos as cornerback, which is the biggest change to their defensive scheme. Siemian hits a nice pass in the middle of the field, most likely would have been an easy catch except for the illegal contact, which is an automatic first down via penalty. Almost dangerous contact here, lucky that nothing bad happened. New rule is no contact against head, for the players protection obviously.

This was followed by excellent rush from Thomas, gain of 9 yards, 2nd & 1. Driving nicely. Again another rush, from singleback formation, for an easy 1st down. Siemian afterwards attempts an ill-fated rush, no bueno, gets the sack. 2nd & 13, rush into the big boys, don't mess with the DL. Quickly 3rd down. Siemian quickly gets 5 yards but 4th down is upon the Vikings. Nice field goal set up, 17-0 Vikings. Under 10 minutes to go in the 2nd QT.

Mile high stadium back in action. Keenum does an interview. During the preseason, sometimes they like to show a player talking as the action continues in the background. Doesn't really show Broncos drive from here, so we will assume that they weren't able to get anything going for the moment, on that specific drive.

Vikings have ball now, on 3rd & 10. Siemian was able to complete a quick shovel pass to Thomas, nice gain of 11 for first down. I really am starting to think that Thomas has lots of potential, not only as a RB, but also as someone who is able to catch the pigskin when needed. Should be noted that before this happened, the Broncos defense almost forced a safety on the Vikings, was extremely close.

Vikings sell the run perfectly on a play action. The ball then gets tossed to the receiver, but it's tipped in the air. Bounced off some hands, & the Broncos take advantage of this opportunity for the INT. Things just got interesting with under 7 minutes to go in the 2nd QT.

Broncos attempt a nice singleback formation run. A decent 7 yard gain, that's all you can ask for on a play. Almost in the red zone already. Lynch looking for a TD, but the ball is knocked away in the endzone. Noted that it was thrown a bit too far inside, no bueno. Could have been a pick, lucky it wasn't. 3rd & 3. Broncos start with an inside zone run I believe, and it turned into a quick TD somehow! Very fun to watch. 17-7 after the easy extra point. Vikings winning.

Botched kickoff to Minnesota, but they almost lost this one. Starts with an excellent screen, literally the best play calling you possibly could do on a heavy blitz from the Broncos. Vikings make it look simple. They took this one all the way to the house, 78 Yard TD!!! That's what happens when you get impatient & blitz too hard. I've seen it a million times. Extra PT good, 24-7, under 5 left in 2nd QT.

Broncos ball now. For sake of time & details, I'll sum up quickly. Short pass, couple of yards, nothing notable. Drive ends on a run stuffed by the defense. 5th punt of the night, they mentioned. Now Vikings ball.

Starts from the 25yd line. Flag down, Jamal Carter was injured on this play, please pray for this man's expedient recovery. Vikings throw ball here, Broncos easily deflect, 3rd & 14 now. Next play was a decent connection, but must have not been enough. Turnover ensuing. 2 minute warning.

Things get interesting here. The Broncos punt return man McKenzie, takes this PR 78 yards all the way to the house, TD!! Excellent route, you could see the vision for how to get past defenders in this man's eyes if you looked close enough. Nobody really had any chance of stopping him. Should be noted that earlier in the game, a 78 yard TD also occurred. Strange to see it twice in same game. Extra point good, now Vikings 24-14. Broncos clawing their way back? Vikings starting to lose some steem? (Pun intended since I'm posting this on steemit).

Vikings look as though they simply want to milk the clock into the 2nd half. Broncos aren't having it though. End up calling all their timeouts here to save as much on the clock for another drive as possible, whether it happens or not. Keep hearing horse sounds because Broncos=horse, so it's pretty fitting for this whole Lupe project, for me to be talking about a horse related team. Broncos Defense shuts down any hopes of scoring more in the first half, punt to the horse team incoming.

Lynch comes out swinging, with a nice 5 yard gain. Little things add up but doesn't quite seem to add up to much here. Next play is a throw away without any gains. Drive ends, 41 seconds left, punt to the Vikings. Vikings take punt across 25 yard line but not much more. Nice little play from them but you can tell they are keeping it in-bounds as to simply end the 1st half as soon as possible. Really to keep things moving along at a solid pace- no reason to force anything. Vikings up 24-14. Halftime.

2ND QT ENDS

3RD QT BEGINS
Sloter, who was with Broncos last year, is put to the test now, playing from the Vikings. Nice little 5 yard play, quickly 2nd & 5. Handoff to Brown, 3rd & short. Broncos defense shuts down the run up the middle. Loss of 3, Vikings forced to punt away. Ball almost dropped by Broncos on the return, but somehow turns into a nice gain because of this, maybe someone got out of position & opened the door for more yardage. Broncos not able to do anything so for the sake of time & the fact that nobody is paying me for these articles (yet?), I'll summarize. Vikings get ball back.

Sloter nice completion to Jones- sideline comeback route perfection, driving nicely now. Inside zone run up the middle. Broncos defense is suffocating the Vikings here, no yards at all. Illegal formation next, penalty declined, 3rd down already. Quick pass with tight coverage. Some yards were obtained by the Vikings. Fast forward to field goal. Score now Vikings 27-14.

Chad Kelly, who is a nephew of Jim Kelly, a hall of fame QB, starts this drive. Time to show your stuff. Doesn't do too much here until a play fake on 3rd & 4- a flag is thrown for pass interference, automatic 1st down. From here we get a perfectly timed screen play to the right side, a sideline tip toe. This gains about 16 yards total. Easy first down, driving now. Skip forward. Beautifully executed play from Kelly to LaCosse, the Tight End, on a sideline wheel route. Checked the curl route as the main read, wasn't fully open. Perfection, touchdown on this play. Now Vikings 27-21, Broncos staying competitive.

Vikings ball. Sloter, who the announcers mentioned was actually a WR before & is newer to QB position, gets 5 yards to keep the ball moving forward. Quick route from here, completion, no yards, 3rd & 5. Deeper slant route in the middle of the field, completed for 1st down. Handoff to Brown comes up with 6 yards, 2nd & 4. Reverses the route and tries again on the next play, this time 11 yards. Nice!! Another handoff to keep the clock running, no yards here, can't expect same play to work over & over again, the Broncos defense must have picked up on this.

3RD QT ENDS

4TH QT BEGINS
3rd & 15, bad screen pass, coverage must have noticed this happening before it did. Time to punt to Broncos. Barely anything on the return. Nice big throw here quickly, 30 yard line & driving. Outside run to the left, followed by a dropped screen play, already 3rd & 5. The Broncos really need this drive to go somewhere in order to have any hopes for winning the game. Awesome juggled catch here, didn't think it would actually stand any chance to be caught, fantastic really. Moments like these remind me why I watch this sport in the first place.

#81 comes up big, and as a 6'5 200+ lb receiver, you'd almost expect this from him. Followed by an excellent throw up the middle to a TE, couldn't bring him down. Was a perfect in-route right over center field, driving at the 40 yard line. This is followed by a missed jump ball, no bueno. 2nd & 10 quickly turns to 3rd & 5.

Kelly decides with great QB vision, to quickly rush the play for a QB scramble. Hits a little opening in the pocket on the right side for over 10 yards. I feel a score incoming, always been good at predicting football. Next play the Broncos are looking for the endzone, but the ball gets batted down. Here comes a RB draw play, doesn't fool the Vikings defense though, 3rd & 11. Vikings player #40 is injured. Sending all the love & prayers in the world his way for a quick recovery.

Perfection on a pass here, right as the QB was to be tackled, he managed to get the ball out for a quick throw, TD!! Penalty is called but was on Vikings, obviously declined. Extra point is bueno. Broncos take the lead for the first time in the game 28-27!

Next comes Vikings turn to stay competitive. Sloter quickly chucks the ball down the sidelines on a nice route, defender may have gotten to up in the receivers face, so naturally this draws a penalty flag for pass interference. Automatic 1st down. Driving now, over 30 yard line. Within FG range very quickly. Red zone incoming? Game is getting better as it's progressing further towards the end.

Under 10 minutes left in the 4th; excitement everywhere. Handoff to brown on 2nd down & 5, short of a Vikings 1st down. Nice rollout play action, caught low to the ground for very little chance of INT, 1st down on about 16 yard line. Red zone here we go! Inside zone handoff for about 5 yards, 2nd down. Brown with another run, nothing at all from this, 3rd down under 7 minutes. Denver calls timeout for whatever reason, they felt it was necessary here. Don't question their decisions, Vance Joseph's gotta do what he's gotta do.

Quick endzone fade route ends in a TD, man coverage was the wrong coverage here so it allowed for the bigger person to get open. 2 point conversion to stay up 7 points, worked perfectly, off the quick slant. Should be noted that I always try this on Madden whenever I decide to go for 2, they always assume run, which would cause the defense to stuff the line, so you throw over their heads. Easy money shot. Vikings 35-28.

Back & forth- Broncos turn. Kick return up the middle of field to about 25 yard line, nothing more. Chad Kelly comes out swinging but this may have backfired as a rookie move, as he throws a quick INT right into the Vikings arms. No worries though, live & learn, that's the way I see it anyway.

From here not too much happens the rest of the game. Already watched the other day, caught the replay though solely to pick up on some details that I missed the first time around. Brown possibly injured, please keep him in your prayers. He's a fine young player & will be much needed this year, as shown early on.

Quick slant to TE #87 for the Vikings offense. This keeps the clock running down, take advantage of this while you have the opportunity. Should be noted here that Cousins is the highest paid NFL player of all time, with $84M, all guaranteed money, over 4 years. Impressive! Screen then ironically cuts to Cousins yawning, probably getting late for him. Thought this was funny for some reason. I can't bother explaining to you my sense of humor if you haven't already picked up on it.

False start comes back on #78 I believe. Still in scoring range. Red zone very soon. Excellent run, turns 3rd & 10 to 1st down. Handoff to RB, nothing spectacular, calls a timeout to attempt to save what little time is remaining. Under 4 minutes left now.

#44 again with a nice handoff, spins & gets decent yardage off the run. Sloter, the QB, uses his vision to scramble up the left side & jukes out a defender. Right out of his shoes actually, you could see the shoes flying everywhere after this play but that's neither here nor there. TD ensues. Cheers!!

The rule was changed after last year, that if the ball simply breaks the plane while the player remains in possession, that it's an automatic touchdown, and the ground can't cause a fumble. Excellent rule, much props to the NFL for creating this. Will be needed & utilized many times this year. This exact rule could have changed the outcome of last year's Steelers vs. Patriots playoff game. No salt though, simply happy they realized the need for this. So basically Sloter dives, ball breaks plane, obvious TD, ball pops out, but still called a TD because of new rule. Nice!

For the sake of my own time, I'll go ahead and say that the game is over from here. I'll mention that the Browns won every single preseason game last year, and we all know how their season ended up. So in all reality, the preseason means very little, other than giving your rookies a chance to prove what talent they have, and also to give your veterans a quick shot at a game, without actually playing them too hard or worrying about a possible injury.

Game is officially over after a few more minutes. Final score, Vikings won, 42-28. Great game to watch, enjoyed every minute of it. I really thought that the Broncos stood a chance at a possible victory but the Vikings accuracy & defensive shutdowns really won it for them in the end. Looking forward to whatever games this week has to offer. Will do a community vote on which game to report on next. Stay tuned for more!! Hope you enjoyed my article!!

THE END

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