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.
Denver Broncos Week 10 Mailbag
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 struggled in zone coverage, too. Denver’s played a lot of zone this season and have been just fine. They just ran into a well-balanced offense that gave them some matchup problems because of their ability to run the ball well and throw it.
In all honesty, I’m not worried about Denver’s defense in the long haul after this game.
With Sean Payton wanting to give Audric Estime more reps, do you think he gives us a needed spark for the offense? And would you project him to be RB1 by season’s end? – NewType_JK47 on Twitter.
Hopefully, he can provide a spark. We won’t know until we see more looks and more reps. The Broncos run game has been far too inconsistent for Payton’s liking, and I understand his approach of getting nine weeks in of a sample size. Payton wants consistency and it hasn’t happened yet, but maybe sprinkling in Estime can help establish that. Regardless of whether or not he gets more looks, Payton doesn’t necessarily have a RB1 philosophy and loves to rotate backs based on the personnel looks the opposing defense comes out in, field position, or down and distance versus giving it to an established player the way the Ravens do with Derrick Henry, or how the Pittsburgh Steelers do with Najee Harris.
Are you surprised at how well the Denver Broncos have done so far? Or did you expect this level of success? – Ed Helinskin on Twitter.
Hey Ed, great question as always. I’m honestly not surprised at how well the Broncos have played so far this season, and that stance remains the same from when I said it live during training camp on air for Mile High Sports. I think Denver has a lot of young talent and a lot of talent that has yet to be completely molded just yet.
While Denver has been solid, they’ve been inconsistent and haven’t played their best brand of football yet. For them to be at five wins at this juncture is impressive, but I’m curious to see how they respond from the Ravens game against another tough test like Kansas City. These are two games that most penciled in as losses once the schedule released, but if Denver can get one of these next two games (@KC, vs. Atlanta), I like the position they can put themselves in down the stretch.
Do I think the Broncos would make a run in the playoffs if they made it? I’m not sure that would be the case, but anything more than the eight wins they had or a postseason appearance with all of the circumstances surrounding this team last offseason would be a huge success.
Which is a more glaring priority for the Denver Broncos in the offseason: Running Back or Tight End? – Graham Tiedke on Twitter.
I’d say both have great value and importance this offseason, but Denver has a lot of pressing needs. They’ll need to figure out what the long-term picture is at left tackle with Garett Bolles’ deal expiring. The Broncos need to add a playmaker or two at wide receiver. With Javonte Williams’ contract expiring after this year, the Broncos could look at Estime, Jaleel McLaughlin, Tyler Badie, and Blake Watson next season. Tight end is definitely a priority, and Denver needs to add a receiving threat at the position, but we’ll see what their approach is today at the deadline.
Why do you think Sean Payton said that we need to better around Bo Nix but then he continues to keep playing Lil’Jordan Humphrey when he keeps making mistakes. Why do you think guys like A.T. Perry and Donald Parham haven’t been activated yet? – Wil on Twitter.
This is a great question. I think the balance and struggle from a coaching perspective (I’m sharing mine here) is that you’re in a position where you have a winning record, and you’re trying to establish consistency on offense while balancing different personnel issues. If Josh Reynolds hadn’t injured his hand and landed on IR, we could have seen the Broncos already start making some personnel shifts. Humphrey’s a good perimeter blocker, but certainly, the turnovers the last couple of weeks are wearing on Payton.
Reynolds can return after the Chiefs game this upcoming Sunday, and it wouldn’t shock me if we see some shifts afterward if the same inconsistent struggles continue. Perry has 6’5 size and deceptive speed at 205 pounds, and while he’s a developing player, why not look at elevating him for a few games with the three allotted elevations he has just to see? Part of that is the coaching staff having confidence in where these players are at throughout the week at practice, but your question is something I feel like we’ll have an answer two within the next three or so weeks.