Watching the Chargers-Seahawks game on NFL Rewind. With the Broncos-Seahawks rematch coming up Sunday everyone is talking about if the Chargers provided the recipe to beat the Legend of Doom. My first reaction is that all the Chargers did was do what they did in almost all of their wins last year...hold the ball forever and protect their defense, which wasn't very good last season.
Right off the first possession for Seattle though I see a different Charger defense. OLBs Melvin Ingram and Dwight Freeney (both missed most of last season and never were on the field at the same time) made big plays. Ingram breaking in to the backfield stopping Robert Turbin for a loss then Freeman sacking Russell Wilson for a loss in back-to-back plays. Ingram picked up another sack on the Seahawks next drive. Chargers kept the pressure on Wilson all game and held him to 18 yards rushing.
The Chargers D also had a great series to seal the win. Seahawks tried the jet sweep to Percy Harvin that got them a TD in the first quarter, but the Chargers dropped Harvin for a loss. Pressure on Wilson made him flip the ball to check offs that the Chargers immediately stuffed for no gain on the next two plays. Last pass on 4th by Wilson had no chance. Rivers then took 3 knees and the Chargers kicked a FG to make the final score 30-21.
The question though, was did the Chargers show how to beat the Seahawks?
Well I saw a lot of things that the Broncos like to do that the Chargers were successful with. Mainly, bunch receiver sets and wide receiver screens. Chargers also went to a lineup with 3 receivers to the left with Gates lined up in a normal TE position on the right side of the line. This put Richard Sherman to the opposite side of the field from his normal position on the right side of the defense. If they split Gates out, then I believe Sherman would pickup Gates as a WR. Gates caught several passes out of this formation, including his first two TDs. I can see the Broncos going to this formation to put their talented TE Demaryious Thomas with the whole right side to work with against LBs and safeties. Will be interesting to see if the Seahawks have an answer for that.
What I saw that I don't believe the Broncos can duplicate is the way Phillip Rivers was able to escape pressure and the versatility of the Chargers' running backs.
While Rivers' mobility is sort of an oxymoron, he was able to escape the pressure several times to make plays including 17 rushing yards. On the last two TDs to Gates, Rivers escaped what could have been sacks before hitting Gates for the TD. Peyton Manning, at this stage in his career, doesn't have the same escapablity (is that a real word).
While RB Monte Ball is a talented back, he isn't a great pass blocker which was why he lost the starting job last year to Knowshon Moreno. All 3 of the Chargers backs (Ryan Mathews, Danny Woodhead, Donald Brown) can block, catch passes, and are good runners. It made it tough on the Seahawks to key on what the Chargers were going to do by what personnel was on the field. Ball also has just 5 catches through two games and C.J. Anderson has 0 catches so far this season. In this game alone, the Chargers RBs caught 9. WR Malcolm Floyd was shut down by the Seahawks secondary, but the Chargers RBs more than made up for it.
The one thing I really question about the Broncos is their ability to pressure a QB when they have to. Yes, I know that they signed DeMarcus Ware and Von Miller is back from injury. I also know that they recorded 5 sacks in Week 1 versus the Colts and 3 against Kansas City in week 2. The numbers are there, but in both games, with a big lead, the Broncos' D had a hard time putting pressure on the QB allowing both Andrew Luck and Alex Smith to bring their teams back with a shot at winning/tying the game at the end. Give the Broncos defense credit for preventing those scores, but it seems to me like living on the edge. Also, consider that both Indy and KC have offensive line issues.
I'm not saying I think the Broncos can't win. That's a very talented club in Denver that deserves to be the favorite to be the AFC Champion again this season. I just don't think the Broncos can duplicate the "hold the ball" formula the Chargers used to beat the Seahawks. To use a baseball analogy, the Chargers are built to hit singles and doubles. Besides Wes Welker, the Broncos have home run hitters.
The Broncos can win, they just need to do it their way and not try to duplicate someone else. On offense, there is no physical reason they should have been shut down like they were in the Super Bowl.
Mike McCoy was asked after the game what the Chargers did to beat the Seahawks, he said, "We played our game."
I think San Diego did well in throwing some new things at Seattle. Hopefully it is something Denver can use. If anyone can figure it out it would be Peyton...well of course they didn't during the Super Bowl. Still I do think there is something there. The one thing you can't do is not throw to one side the entire game as Green Bay did. I think you need to take the defense out of their game, not let them take you out of yours. Good job by San Diego. I saw about a quarter of the game while the Rams' game was delayed and San Diego looked good on offense and defense. I do think Denver's defense, at least on paper, can pressure Russell Wilson. We'll see. The game will be on TV here so I'll get to see how it plays out.
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