Week 1 Game Recap: Denver Broncos 10, Miami Dolphins 34

What you need to know

Denver Broncos

This was such a poor game from the Broncos’ offense that it was simply jaw-dropping. It went from bad to worse for the Broncos all game long. They lost Mike Anderson early in the game to a rib injury. He is reported as day-to-day, but local Denver reporters who were with the team reported that Anderson was in extreme pain and they question whether he is truly day-to-day or whether this is a more serious injury. Keep an eye on this as this could be the opportunity Tatum Bell has been waiting on. On Bell, he found a few wide open holes in the first half for some big gainers, but the run game was ineffective in the second half, partly due to poor play by the offensive line and partly due to the Dolphins running up the score forcing the team to pass more. The run game was stuffed in the red zone and in all short yardage situations.

QB Jake Plummer opened up the game looking lost on what to do against the Dolphins defense – he opened the game 0 for 6 and did not complete his first pass until 9:26 left in the second quarter. After he settled down, he found his receivers unable to catch his passes – especially Ashley Lelie, who had only two catches on 15 target and allowed a lot of well thrown passes to simply go through his hands. Plummer actually played better than his numbers reflect – he was very good at getting outside the defense on the Broncos’ designed roll out and bootleg plays and finding the open receiver, and he was extraordinarily good at keeping plays alive, He escaped at least three sure sacks where he was in the grasp, avoided several more with his legs, scrambled for positive yardage, and the Dolphins recorded only one sack all game long. Do not attribute those numbers to the offensive line – Dolphin defenders were in the backfield chasing Plummer all game long.

The receivers gave him little help – Rod Smith and Lelie combined for only nine catches on 26 targets. Meanwhile, TE Jeb Putzier was targeted 12 times, and though he caught seven of those passes for 67 yards, most of that was in garbage time when the Dolphins were allowing the underneath pass across the middle.

Miami Dolphins

To open the game, the Dolphins’ offense came out a little bit better than most expected they would look. After opening drive jitters that resulted in a fumble, the Dolphins strung together two time consuming drives that stalled and resulted in easy Olindo Mare field goals. What was killing the Dolphins offense in the first half of this game is what killed them all preseason long – before the snap fouls.

Frerotte was simply outstanding in this game. He was efficient and accurate, completing 24 of his 36 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns. He received very good protection from the offensive line through out the game – the Broncos had no sacks. The unit’s run blocking efforts, however, were not particularly noteworthy. Frerotte’s downfield passing lived up to the billing – he was very good at finding the deep receiver and it appears that the downfield pass has returned to the Dolphins’ passing game after a five-year absence. Expect Frerotte to be a hot waiver wire item this week in your fantasy football league.

WR Chris Chambers was clearly Frerotte’s favorite with 15 targets, including most of Frerotte’s attempts at the end zone. Chambers is a weapon the team will exploit this year as he also had a huge run on a reverse. Do not overlook the WR2 in this offense – Marty Booker may have been the surprise player of the game. He was extremely efficient - on only six targets, he had five catches for 104 yards, including a game-breaking 60-yard touchdown catch on a beautifully thrown ball by Frerotte when Booker barely had a step on the defender. Booker then turned on the afterburners to outrace two defenders to the endzone. Meanwhile, Frerotte was effective at finding the underneath receiver when the downfield targets were covered. Randy McMichael had a good game, catching six of his seven targets for 55 yards and a touchdown.

The Dolphins’ run game mostly sputtered, especially in the first half. HC Nick Saban is using a lot of different looks in the run game, but rookie Ronnie Brown was given the lion’s share of the work. Brown was mostly stuffed in the first half, but in the second he made some runs that showed why he was the #2 overall selection in the draft. Instead of being stuffed for no gain, he would create on the run and make positive yardage. He was also significantly better than a rookie should be at picking up blitzers, blocking, and catching the ball. That said, fantasy success from the Dolphins running game this year remains questionable – their team statistics in this game were artificially inflated by Chambers’ huge run on a trick reverse. Saban mixed up the back often and did not use Brown very often in the red zone. Sammy Morris had the team’s rushing touchdown.

What you ought to know

QB Jake Plummer, Pass: 22 - 48 - 251 - 1 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 3 - 18 - 0

Plummer looked lost early in the game, but even after he settled in and was able to start finding open receivers, he had absolutely no help. Dropped passes were the name of the game all day long – especially from Ashley Lelie downfield. That said, Plummer was extraordinary at escaping pressure. He avoided three sacks when he was in the grasp of a defender, even though it was his only sack that resulted in Jason Taylor’s 85 yard touchdown on a fumble recovery. He also scrambled three times for 18 yards and was as good this year as any previous year at getting outside the defense on planned roll outs and bootlegs. He did have a few really poor throws – especially on one interception which was all Plummer’s fault. He overthrew the receiver – or the receiver broke off the route and Plummer saw the Miami defender and thought it was the receiver – because the pass looked like it was intended for the Miami defender. Even if a receiver was in the area, Plummer’s pass probably would have been either intercepted or well defended.

RB Tatum Bell, Rush: 13 - 47 - 0, Rec: 1 - 13 - 0 (4 targets)

Bell got his opportunity early due to an injury to Mike Anderson. He was good enough in the first half to take advantage of one very big hole in the Dolphins defense for a 30-yard run, but he was mostly stuffed by the Dolphins while running between the tackles. He had only 13 rushes all game long as the team was forced to abandon the running game in the second half. Bell was unable to gain any yardage on two runs from the from the three yard line and he was stuffed on a fourth and goal call. On a key third and goal from the one in the second half, Bell was again stuffed at the line.

RB Mike Anderson, Rush: 4 - 5 - 0

Anderson had only four carries before leaving the game due to a rib injury.

RB Kyle Johnson, Rec: 2 - 21 - 1 (3 targets)

Johnson played well, though he only saw the three targets in the passing game and no rush attempts. He scored the team’s only touchdown on a fourth and goal pass in the flat where he seemed to be simply uncovered. He also appeared to have been uncovered on his other catch – a 19 yard reception also out of the flat.

WR Rod Smith, Rec: 7 - 90 - 0 (11 targets)

Smith played like Smith always does – he made tough catches with defenders draped on him, he had diving catches over the middle, good route running to the outside. However, he was well covered on most plays, and was unable to get away from Dolphin defenders in the red zone.

WR Charlie Adams, Rec: 2 - 35 - 0 (3 targets)

Adams was the most efficient receiver and he handled the kickoff return duties. He had a big gainer for a first down catch, but, after on that same drive, a pass intended for him was picked off.

WR Ashley Lelie, Rec: 2 - 17 - 0 (15 targets)

This was probably, as Lelie himself described it, the worst game of Lelie’s pro career. Not only did he have a lot of easy passes simply go right through his hands, but the Dolphins defenders had very little problem getting a hand up and destroying Lelie’s concentration on the ball. And, he was unable to escape Dolphins defenders with his route running – Lelie had two offensive pass interference calls against him, one of which was an obvious use of his hands to get past a defender that occurred right in front of the official. No, he didn’t make the catch on either offensive pass interference call. Lelie’s lack of concentration and poor route running negated his ability to outjump Dolphin defenders on a few well thrown passes from Jake Plummer deep downfield.

TE Jeb Putzier, Rec: 7 - 67 - 0 (12 targets)

Putzier had very nice statistics in the game, but most of those receptions came near the end of the game when the Dolphins were playing deep and giving up the underneath passes over the middle of the field. Still, fantasy owners of the player can take comfort in 12 passes going his way, given the history of the Broncos’ pass-catching tight ends.

TE Stephen Alexander, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (4 targets)

Alexander is a blocker not a receiver, so it was surprising to see early targets to him. He made only one catch on four targets, and Jeb Putzier was the primary tight end receiving threat.

PK Jason Elam 1 - 1 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 4 points

Elam had little opportunity to do anything in this game - he hit his only field goal attempt, which was a chip shot from the 28 yard line.

DEN Rush Defense

The run defense played well enough as the team’s outstanding linebacker crew was consistently able to track down the runner and get a hat on him. The run defense team also was good at stopping the Dolphins in short yardage and inside the red zone. The run defense was responsible for stumping good Miami drives in the first half that resulted in field goals instead of touchdowns. However, the run defense sacrificed a nine yard touchdown to Sammy Morris in the second half after failing to protect against a cut back run to the weak side. Containment defenders were completely sealed out by Miami blockers, but there was no run support from the safeties to prevent the touchdown.

DEN Pass Defense

The Broncos’ pass defense was horrible – Dolphin receivers were open all day long both up top and underneath – the Dolphin receivers were consistently able to get behind the defense. It did not help that Dale Carter – easily the team’s best cornerback – left the game early with a separated shoulder and Is not expected back for at least a few weeks.

QB Gus Frerotte, Pass: 24 - 36 - 275 - 2 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 3 - 2 - 0

Frerotte was outstanding in this game. He had great touch on his downfield passes and made very few mistakes. He was literally inches away from having made an outstanding touchdown pass to Chambers early in the game, who, on diving for the ball, barely landed out of bounds. His only interception, early in the second quarter, was his fault, but that was really his only miscue all game long.

RB Ronnie Brown, Rush: 22 - 57 - 0, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (1 targets)

Brown’s big pro debut was underwhelming statistically, though there was enough individual play that it is easy to see why the Dolphins made him the #2 overall pick in the 2005 draft. Saban was very comfortable going to him as he had 22 rushes, which are the numbers one expects from the primary back in a non-running back by committee approach. He was pretty much stuffed the entire first half, but he was much better in the second half. While his overall YPC was only 2.6, that number was brought up form a dismal first half on some tough nosed runs by Brown where he was able to create using spin moves and power running to get past tacklers. He had very little help from the offensive line in getting positive yardage. He was great in the passing game in the second half as he behaved like a veteran picking up the blitz and leveling defender stopping blocks. His one catch was for only four yards, but it resulted from beautiful concentration on a pass that was a little too far for him, but he got his fingertips on the ball, bobbled it, and then brought it in as he was falling down. Had the pass been on the mark, he may have kept his feet for a big gain.

RB Travis Minor, Rush: 5 - 17 - 0, Rec: 1 - 0 - 0 (1 targets)

Minor received most of the garbage time work, and he had a few rushes interspersed through out the game, but was essentially a non-factor.

RB Sammy Morris, Rush: 2 - 14 - 1

Morris had only two rushes in the game, but he made the most of them, especially his 9 yard TD run. The play was a designed cut-back with Morris heading left, but cutting back right – a play that suspended RB Ricky Williams ran with amazing efficiency in past years. On the cut back, the Miami offensive linemen had made absolutely outstanding seal blocks on the containment defenders, who had over-pursued the play. Morris easily galloped into the end zone since the Broncos failed to provide any safety support for the run defense.

RB Heath Evans, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (1 targets)

Evans had very little impact on the game.

WR Chris Chambers, Rush: 1 - 61 - 0, Rec: 5 - 40 - 0 (15 targets)

Chambers is the prime weapon in this year’s Miami Dolphin offense – especially with QB Frerotte’s strength being good touch on the downfield pass. Chambers seemed a step faster than almost all other players on the field as he was often behind the Broncos’ defenders during his routes. Though he caught only five of his 15 targets, there were several passes that were barely misses, including what was an absolutely beautiful effort at a touchdown pass. Chambers made the diving catch, but landed just out of bounds – had Frerotte put the pass an inch or two closer, it would have been a touchdown. Chambers was also the main target inside the 20 – sometimes on consecutive red zone passes - but Frerotte was unable to get him the ball. He had a huge 61 yard run, that would have been an 85 yard touchdown run except, in dancing down the sideline to avoid multiple defenders, Chambers’ foot just barely scraped the sideline. An official was right on the play and was looking directly at Chambers’ feet, so there is no question he did, in fact, step out of bounds.

WR Marty Booker, Rec: 5 - 104 - 1 (6 targets)

Booker looked very good against a porous Broncos defense, as he was the most efficient Dolphins receiver and went for over 100 yards receiving. His play of the game was a 60 yard touchdown catch on a beautifully thrown ball by Frerotte. Booker barely had a step on the defender, and Frerotte laid a perfectly thrown ball right on Booker’s fingers. After stumbling once and looking like he might fall down, Booker regained his balance, turned on the afterburners, and outraced two defenders to the end zone. Keep an eye on the WR2 in the Miami offense as Booker’s claim to fame in Chicago was making the sure-handed catch.

WR Wes Welker, Rec: 4 - 60 - 0 (4 targets)

Walker had a great game as a role-player in the Dolphins’ offense. He was added to the team primarily as a punt and kick return specialist, and he did that job very well, displaying blazing speed and great moves in his return duties. However, in addition to that, he was used in the passing game, he caught all four of the passes that came his way, including a key 26 yard catch in the second half of the game that set up Sammy Morris’ nine yard touchdown run. Walker may be making a run at being the third receiver on this team behind Booker and Chambers. He displayed blazing speed.

WR David Boston, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (3 targets)

Boston made his return to the team, but was unremarkable. He may even see less time if the play of the other receivers continues as good as it was in this game.

TE Randy McMichael, Rec: 6 - 55 - 1 (7 targets)

McMichael looked great in this game. He was physically dominating as he ran over people, made two acrobatic circus catches that would have resulted in injury to most players, but that is McMichael’s game – he’s a physical, bowl you over, receiving tight end. He also caught a touchdown pass after being left uncovered by the Broncos’ defense. McMichael had stumbled at the line of scrimmage, and had actually fell down, but he popped right back up and ran uncovered to the left side of the end zone where he was wide open for Frerotte’s touchdown pass.

PK Olindo Mare 2 - 2 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 10 points

Olindo Mare played as a kicker was supposed to play. He hit both of this first half field goals to insure that two long drives were not fruitless. He hit all four of his extra points in the second half, and was not needed for field goal work as the Dolphins were efficient at getting six instead of three in the second half.

MIA Rush Defense

A huge early goal line stand by the run defense, including a fourth and goal stop, really set the tone for the Dolphins’ defense all game long – big plays on defense and a very tough scoring defense were what enabled this lopsided Dolphin victory. The run defense had some early problems that allowed Tatum Bell a few big first half runs, but the run defense eventually settled into the flow of the game. They had multiple stops in short yardage situations and the run defense was responsible for another goal line stand in the second half that, unfortunately, resulted in a score on a short fourth down pass from Plummer to the fullback.

MIA Pass Defense

The pass defense was simply stifling all game long. Many of Denver QB Jake Plummer’s passes were on the money and a combination of the defender making a great play and the receiver demonstrating less than stellar hands caused an incompletion. The Dolphins were great against the pass last year, and you should expect the same this year. The pass rush was outstanding. Dolphin defenders were constantly in the backfield harassing Plummer, and the team had only one sack because of Plummer’s incredible efforts escaping form the grasp of defenders – less mobile quarterbacks will find it much tougher to withstand Dolphin pass rushers. Finally, Jason Taylor. Period. He had a huge game rushing the passer – Saban moved him all over the defensive line and he was efficient from everywhere he lined up. He single-handedly ended the Broncos day by sacking Plummer, forcing a fumble, picking up the ball, and racing 85 yards for a touchdown late in the game, which was at a point in the game when the Dolphins were content to sit back and give up yardage underneath.