Mile High Sports
Week 10 of the NFL season is upon us, which means that it’s time for our weekly Denver Broncos Mailbag series. Broncos Country sent in their questions and asked whether or not Denver’s defense got exposed or if it was a letdown game and much more.
If you’d like to be featured in our weekly mailbag series, stay tuned on Mondays on social media for the prompt from @CodyRoarkNFL.
Was this game against the Ravens the one letdown game for the defense, or are there hidden flaws? – Patrick Long on Twitter.
Great question, Patrick. I don’t personally believe the Broncos defense was exposed the way a lot of people are suggesting. Denver’s defense ran into arguably the league’s most dangerous offense (Lions in the conversation, too), and it showed. The Broncos’ game plan was to stop the run game factor from Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry, and they came out doing that early on. Jackson had several plays where he carved Denver’s zone, and man-defensive looks up in the pocket, but he became more problematic as a passer when he extended plays outside of the pocket to his right. In a handful of those big plays, it’s extremely tough to ask your secondary to cover for as long as they had to in some instances.
Denver also struggled with tackling and bad angles on several big plays, and in the second half, they got worn out by Henry on the ground. The Ravens offense is legitimate, and while the Broncos’ defense suffered a letdown, I don’t believe that they were exposed. Like every defense, they do have some flaws, but Baltimore is the real deal, and they capitalized against Denver’s game plan.
With all the problems at tight end, why is Donald Parham still on the PS? – Tim Wenz on Twitter.
I’ve been curious as to when the Broncos may give Donald Parham a look during the regular season, but I’m not sure if that’s going to happen at this point unless there is an injury. Parham’s size could help Denver right now, but because the Broncos have been a heavy user of 12-personnel, they’re getting good contributions from Adam Trautman and Nate Adkins as blockers.
Certainly, the Broncos offense needs a boost from the tight end position in the passing game, but Lucas Krull is Sean Payton’s one option, and he wants to see more of him. I wouldn’t mind if the Broncos found a way to elevate Parham a few times this season to see what he can offer. He has three practice squad to gameday roster elevations left, so it should be something they look at.
Why does it seem like Denver’s zone D is awful – Spokes95 on Twitter.
It wasn’t good for them on Sunday, but the issue they ran into defensively was the balance of trying to stop the run and defend against the Ravens’ weapons. Denver struggled in man coverage against Zay Flowers, and they...
