FANGIO SAYS VON MILLER CAN GET EVEN BETTER
Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller started temporary life without Bradley Chubb (torn ACL) in Sunday’s 20-13 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Miller played 64 of 70 snaps. He had two penalties, but 1½ run “stuffs” (gain of one or less yards) and two quarterback pressures.
“He was close (to Philip Rivers) a few times,” coach Vic Fangio said Monday. “I thought his rush was OK; I think he’s capable of better. But he was coming free some and did help the pass defense in that way. The run defense was up and down a little bit — he made some good plays (and) a lot of stuff was away from him. It was kind of uneventful.”
Per The Denver Post’s game charting, Miller had 43 passrush opportunities against the Chargers. He was singleblocked 25 times, chipped four times and double-teamed 14 times. Many of the double teams came when Fangio opted to rush only three (14 times), which made it easy for two blockers to track Miller.
But for the first game minus Chubb, Miller should be semiencouraged. Here are our ratings (1-5 scale) of the Broncos:
Quarterbacks (2.5): The Chargers rushed five or more players on only two of Joe Flacco’s 26 drop-backs (7.7%). The 70-yard touchdown pass to Courtland Sutton came against a five-man rush. Flacco’s interception was off a deflection by defensive tackle Justin Jones. On the next series, Flacco got away with his only glaringly poor decision, rolling right and throwing into traffic. Early in the fourth quarter, he kept a drive alive with a 6-yard scramble on third-and-4, but then took a sack that pushed Brandon McManus’ field goal attempt back to 54 yards (miss).
Running backs (4): Royce Freeman (33) and Phillip Lindsay (28) were joined in the backfield by fullback Andy Janovich (19). Janovich upped his work from nine snaps in his season debut against Jacksonville. The run game was cooking early. Lindsay’s first carry was 21 yards (one missed tackle). On the next play, he bounced outside for 12 yards and capped the drive with a 4-yard touchdown. He averaged 7.6 yards per attempt after averaging 3.9 yards in the first four games. Freeman also was effective (4.7-yard average).
Receivers (3): Take out Sutton’s big strike (his longest career catch) and there wasn’t much going for the receivers. Sutton’s other two catches totaled 22 yards and Emmanuel Sanders was targeted once (nine-yard catch) although he drew a 9-yard penalty on another target. On Sutton’s touchdown, he lined up inside of a trips left look. Sanders and DaeSean Hamilton ran inside routes and Sutton basically ran a corner route and benefited from a coverage bust.
Tight ends (3): Jeff Heuerman (37) played his second-most snaps of the year and opened the game with a 26-yard catch. The Broncos were in three-tight end personnel and Perryman bit on the play-action fake, leaving Heuerman uncovered down the right seam. Andrew Beck caught his first NFL pass (10 yards) and rookie Noah Fant had only one catch (6 yards). The tight ends blocked well in the run game. The Broncos had 25 plays with at least two tight ends on the field.
Offensive line (3.5): The good was gaining 191 yards on 32 carries (6.0-yard average). The notso-good were the three sacks allowed. Left tackle Garett Bolles (2.57 seconds) was beat by linebacker Uchenna Nwosu, who also forced the fumble. Right tackle Elijah Wilkinson was booked for two sacks (2.48 and 2.61 seconds) and three “bad” run plays. Center Connor McGovern had consecutive shotgun snaps with too much velocity on them — Flacco fumbled the first and recovered to throw incomplete and caught the second on his way to a completion. McGovern was effective as a run-blocker. Right guard Ron Leary had a penalty and two “bad’ run plays, but on the Broncos’ final drive he delivered blocks for gains of 32 and 13 yards. Left guard Dalton Risner had two penalties, but was otherwise a force.
Defensive line (4): Embarrassed by Jacksonville last week, the Broncos’ run defense responded against the Chargers, limiting Los Angeles to 35 yards on 16 carries. The playing time — (out of 70 snaps) Derek Wolfe 42, Shelby Harris 39, Dre’Mont Jones 25, Mike Purcell 20 and DeMarcus Walker 13. Purcell, lined up at nose tackle, showed good power and balance in the run game and had a knockdown of Rivers. Moved to defensive end in some situations, Harris had his most active game with three quarterback pressures and one pass game “stuff.” Walker had a quarterback pressure and two run “stuffs” in limited work.
Linebackers (4): Todd Davis and Alexander Johnson played all 70 snaps. Johnson was all over the field, flashing both positively and negatively. No doubt he can cover a lot of ground but as Fangio points out, learning the details of the defense is a work in progress. Johnson saved a touchdown late in the second quarter by tackling Austin Ekeler at the 1-yard line. In the second half, he intercepted a pass thrown by Rivers in the end zone. Rookie Malik Reed played 62 snaps, more than anticipated because of Justin Hollins’ first-half knee injury (14 plays).
Defensive backs (4): An interception by safety Justin Simmons for the Broncos’ first takeaway of the year. Holding Keenan Allen to four catches for 18 yards. No completions of more than 20 yards. The Broncos’ secondary in general and safety Kareem Jackson, in particular, were superb, but the four penalties are a concern.
Special teams (1): Not good at all. McManus missed a 54-yard field goal. Returner Dionate Spencer caught two punts inside his 10-yard line. And the Chargers got life thanks to a 68-yard punt return touchdown by Desmond King in the third quarter.