Film Room: Analyzing Broncos NT Mike Purcell's Terrible Showing vs. Browns
The Denver Broncos have severe issues all across the team — from personnel to coaching. When the Broncos took on the Cleveland Browns in Week 7, their run defense was once again exposed.
The Broncos are down their top two linebackers and that's right where the Browns targeted their rushing and early passing game.
It didn't help anything that nose tackle Mike Purcell had a rough game against the Browns, but he's played poorly over the last few weeks. He's usually such a stout run defender and seeing him fail as often as he has makes it seem like there is something deeper going on.
We know he had a finger injury in Cleveland, though when it occurred we cannot say. However, when analyzing his tape, there are a few possibilities to explain what's going on with Purcell, and hopefully, this film breakdown helps give a better idea of that.
Play 1: First Quarter | 13:55
Situation: 1st-&-10
Purcell is lined up against the right guard as a 2-technique. His job is to watch the inside lane of the RG while being wary of a cutback by the ball-carrier. This rep is against Wyatt Teller, who has quickly become one of the best guards in the NFL.
In the rep, Purcell is doing a great job with the footwork to match the stretch. He gets himself into a good position and then loses sight of the ball-carrier, where the play falls apart. Purcell takes a brief pause to check the cutback, which was just enough time to leave a slight hole open.
Purcell does catch on and get back into the hole, somewhat, but is unable to grab hold of the running back. With no defender within 20 yards of the line of scrimmage in front of the running back, it was an easy 20-yard gain. This was the Browns' first drive when they showed they could live with plays cutting through the middle of Denver's defense.
The brief pause by Purcell wasn't necessarily the wrong thing to do since he does have to be cautious of the cutback. However, he has to make the read a little quicker and get into the hole. In this case, Purcell's arm tackle attempt wasn't enough, but he has strong hands and as such, this is a play he usually makes.
Play 2: First Quarter | 8:26
Situation: 2nd-&-5
This time Purcell is lined up as a 0-technique face up against the center. There wasn't anything wrong with Purcell on this play, but bad luck after making a good play. Before he can make a play on the ball-carrier, Purcell gets tripped up over the left guard's legs and ends up on the ground.
Purcell does an excellent job of clogging the running lane before he trips. He did a good job here, and his teammates helped him out by finishing the play instead of letting it go sideways, despite the missed tackle from Malik Reed. Shamar Stephen ended up with the tackle after a yard was gained.
Play 3: Second Quarter | 14:53
Situation: 1st-&-10
Purcell is again lined up as the 0-technique, which means he is facing up against the center. He is double-teamed by the center and left guard and gets zero push. However, he quickly reads the screen and gets into position to make the play for a loss of yards.
The running back stiff-arms Purcell and forces a missed tackle. With how much the Broncos defense had struggled this game, these are the type of plays you can't afford. Part of the issue with Purcell's play over the last few weeks has been his inability to finish plays, as illustrated here by him missing the tackle.
Play 4: Second Quarter | 14:12
Situation: 2nd-&-6
Lining up as the 0-technique faces up against the center, this time, after a brief engagement, Purcell stunts outside and gets himself in a position to make the stop. However, the guard was able to stay in a good position, and Purcell finds himself reaching with nothing to show for it.
Purcell over-set himself to stop the outside run, which wasn't a terrible decision. However, he has to be more prepared for the cut inside than he was here and be ready to drive through the guard to make the play instead of trying to reach around him. As a defensive lineman, Purcell can't give the opponent such easy choices because of poor fundamentals.
Play 5: Second Quarter | 13:34
Situation: 3rd-&-1
This is the play after the previous one, and the issue is pretty much precisely the same. Purcell doesn't stunt this time, but he shows his strength to move the center out of position to get into the running lane. However, he over-sets himself for the outside, leaving a void inside where he was.
The center did an excellent job of recovering on this play to not make things easy for Purcell, but he has to do better with his body positioning. There were multiple plays here that saw him reaching for the ball-carrier because his positioning wasn't good enough and failing to make the play.
When you have a downhill run-defending linebacker like Alexander Johnson, you can get away with this, but he's done for the year, and so Purcell needs to do more to help those around him.
The Takeaway
Since Josey Jewell went down for the season, Purcell has struggled, and it got even worse after Johnson's injury. Those two linebackers had enough talent to cover up his mistakes and make Purcell look good.
With them gone, Purcell can't get away with it, and Vic Fangio needs to change up calls to help out the poor quality Denver has at linebacker. Again, Purcell was injured this game and will miss some time.
Hopefully, he heals up well and can return to the form of a great run defender we know he can be. Denver needs him at his best with the injuries at linebacker.
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