Broncos Individual Player Grades For Week 3 vs. Bucs Revealed
Week 3 featured such an embarrassing loss for the Denver Broncos. Denver's travesty of a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was so bad, even the cardboard cutouts got up and left the stadium.
There is no excuse for what the Broncos put on the field and that is in acknowledgment of all the injuries the team has suffered. Denver still has talent on the roster, but it was defeated before the game even started.
Instead of dwelling on the miserable and shameful performance, let's get to the grades.
Each player starts with a grade of 50, and the grade will either get raised or lowered based on each snap, and the player's impact on the play.
Normally, each week, the accompanying video is about the MVP for the week, but this article is different. Instead, the video above focuses on the dud of the week. Make sure you check it out at the top of the page.
The Good
Garett Bolles | LT: 84.3
Bolles is finally showing consistency play-to-play and series-to-series. OL coach Mike Munchak has done a great job getting through to Bolles and improving his technique. It isn't all perfect, but he is getting better.
There still needs to be timing with Bolles' left guard when it comes to passing off blocks, but those issues fall more on the guard (I'll explain later), and Bolles is left to clean up. He did get called for a hold, which was a terrible call. It was actually a perfectly executed trap technique that locks the defender’s arms. It is a technique used by many tackles around the NFL and perfectly legal.
Shelby Harris | DL: 81.4
Harris got after the quarterback with decent consistency and did well against the run. Denver is playing him to what suits him best and it’s working. It would be nice to see him get off blocks a little quicker to get pressure faster, but he keeps driving. Most of his wins are working the blocker out of position instead of winning with a move. Still, it was a good game and Harris was one of the few players w| ho played well.
Melvin Gordon | RB: 79.5
Gordon only had 12 touches for 36 yards against Tampa Bay, but his work as a blocker was great and that's why he earned such a high grade. His technique was good and consistent and he picked up the right rusher time and time again. The Bucs blitzing forced Denver to keep him in to help a lot which hurt his ability to impact in other ways.
Michael Ojemudia | CB: 81.1
It was a good bounce-back game after a bad performance against Pittsburgh. Ojemudia really showed his stuff as a tackler and was far more aware of teammates positioning and his own. This was a tough matchup, and he did give up catches, but he didn't let them really break through his defense. He used the boundary to aid him, which is what good corners do. This was a good one, but I still want to see this level of play, or better, more consistently.
The Bad
Dalton Risner | LG: 22.7
Someone needs to teach Risner how to handle stunts and twists. He seems to have hit a wall and has taken a few steps back from his rookie year. This game was terrible and Risner continues to show his complete inability to properly handle stunts and twists. On one play, Bolles was waiting for the pass off, but Risner never let the block go.
He finally did after Bolles was pushed out of position, by Risner, and Risner had to try to use his back to block the inside stunter. The quarterback was sacked all because Risner wouldn't pass off the defender. He does this in the run game as well on combo blocks.
There is no trust from Risner and he is trying to do everything himself. His failure to properly pass off blocks led to Drew Lock getting hurt, and if he isn't careful, it's going to lead to someone else getting hurt.
Josey Jewell | ILB: 37.0
It was a rough day and a tough matchup for Jewell. He was out of position multiple times which led to big plays for the Tampa Bay offense. Communication seems to be an issue, coverage was an issue, his bad reads against the run was an issue, and his tackling was an issue. Jewell did not look like an NFL player out there vs. the Bucs.
Lloyd Cushenberry | C: 22.8
Cushenberry is in way over his head making the line calls, though the lack of communication from Jeff Driskel hasn't helped whatsoever. Cushenberry is constantly lunging, putting himself off balance, giving the inside lane, and just whiffing on blocks repeatedly.
Give him the Jets game to step it up, and if he doesn't, use the extended time off to make changes to the O-line. It might soon be time to move Graham Glasgow to center where is better, or insert Austin Schlottmann. Cushenberry isn't ready.
Justin Simmons | S: 39.9
It wasn't a good game from Simmons for multiple reasons. He was beaten for a touchdown, misread a few plays, and was often out of position. On one deep play, though, Simmons actually played it really well, but just got beat by the throw.
Denver seems to keep changing how its using him instead of letting him do what’s best, but if he wants that big deal, he needs to prove the team can rely on him to do more than he has.
Other Noteworthy Grades
Noah Fant | TE: 55.8
Fant was on track to be the MVP for the game, before the second half happened. Tampa Bay started putting him in bracket coverage and shut him down. His two drops and bad blocking lowered his grade significantly as, without those two drops, his grade would've been in the mid-80s.
Alexander Johnson | ILB: 40.2
Regression seems to be the theme with a lot of the 2019 'stars' with Johnson looking half the player he was last year. There seems to be no control over his playstyle which is easily exploited. Johnson plays recklessly and it really backfires against the defense. Him being the voice of the defense doesn't seem to be working either.
Jerry Jeudy | WR: 57.1
Jeudy made some plays but he has failed to meet expectations. His route running, which is his strongest strength, was just mediocre vs. Tampa Bay. They tried using him as a decoy, but he didn't know what he was doing, which made the decoy part not work. It's been rough adjusting to the NFL for the former Alabama star and it may be partly because he doesn't know how to handle losing and is getting in his own head.
Bryce Callahan | CB: 40.5
At least he is playing, right? Callahan, in each of the last two weeks, has barely missed 'The Bad' grades for defense. For knowing the defense, he looks brand new to it with his terrible positioning. He is feisty and it shows against the run, but his coverage has been terrible. Denver is thankful he is playing, though, and the money the team spent on him isn't a complete waste.
Follow Erick on Twitter @ErickTrickel and @MileHighHuddle.
