The Broncos got the win, but we as fans have been none to pleased with our OL. I get it, it was not the prettiest of outings. But I think the major problem with OL analysis without actually watching the film is we seem to remember every bad play and not the good ones. I'll get more in depth in my analysis portion, but I felt slightly better about most of the OL's performance after rewatching each offensive play, with slow-motion.

Also slightly new to this edition was breaking the grades down by quarters and run/pass grades as well as a total grade. Thought this would make the post more interesting, and it took less time then writing out the recap of every play as I did in the preseason.

As always: I'm not the most knowledgeable on the subject so I may be wrong at times. I played a little and use what I learned from those days to analyze the film. If you see anything wrong or would like to corroborate my point, I appreciate any and all comments.

Explanation of the grades: I'm just looking to see if any guys made a glaring error that leads to ruining the play or makes an egregious error. If they do that, they get a "0" on the play. If not, they get a "1," which get added together and are then divided by the total plays. I can't get too deep into knocking everyone on the line for certain mistakes because I do not know what the coaches are asking for on a given play.

Grades

Bolles:

Game: Total: 61/67 (91.04%) Run: 29/30: (96.66%) Pass: 32/37 (86.84%)

1st Quarter: Total: 17/19 (89.47%) Run: 7/8 (87.5%) Pass: 10/11 (90.9%)

2nd Quarter: Total: 15/17 (88.23&) Run: 8/8 (100%) Pass: 7/9 (77.77%)

3rd Quarter: Total: 18/19 (94.73%) Run: 7/7 (100%) Pass: 11/12 (91.66%)

4th Quarter: Total: 11/12 (91.66%) Run: 7/7 (100%) Pass: 4/5 (80%)

Barbre:

Game: 31/35 (88.57%) Run: 16/17 (94.11%) Pass: 15/18 (83.33%)

1st Quarter: Total: 11/13 (64.61%) Run: 6/6 (100%) Pass: 5/7 (71.42%)

2nd Quarter: Total: 5/5 (100%) Run: 3/3 (100%) Pass: 2/2 (100%)

3rd Quarter: Total: 11/13 (64.61%) Run: 5/6 (83.33%) Pass: 6/7 (85.71%)

4th Quarter: Total: 4/4 (100%) Run: 2/2 (100%) Pass: 2/2 (100%)

Garcia:

Game: 31/32 (96.87%) Run: 13/13 (100%) Pass: 18/19 (94.73%)

1st Quarter: 6/6 (100%) Run 2/2 (100%) Pass: 4/4 (100%)

2nd Quarter: 11/12 (91.66%) Run: 5/5 (100%) Pass: 6/7 (85.71%)

3rd Quarter: 6/6 (100%) Run: 1/1 (100%) Pass: 5/5 (100%)

4th Quarter: 8/8 (100%) Run: 5/5 (100%) Pass: 3/3 (100%)

Paradis:

Game: 64/67 (95.52%) Run: 28/30 (93.33%) Pass: 36/37 (97.29%)

1st Quarter: 18/19 (94.73%) Run: 7/8 (87.5%) Pass: 11/11 (100%)

2nd Quarter: 16/17 (94.11%) Run: 7/8 (87.5%) Pass: 9/9 (100%)

3rd Quarter: 18/19 (94.73%) Run: 7/7 (100%) Pass: 11/12 (91.66%)

4th Quarter: 12/12 (100%) Run: 7/7 (100%) Pass: 5/5 (100%)

Leary:

Game: 35/36 (97.22%) Run: 16/16 (100%) Pass: 19/20 (95%)

1st Quarter: 18/19 (94.73%) Run: 8/8 (100%) Pass: 10/11 (90.9%)

2nd Quarter: 17/17 (100%) Run: 8/8 (100%) Pass: 9/9 (100%)

McGovern:

Game: 25/31 (80.64%) Run: 12/14 (85.71%) Pass: 13/17 (76.47%)

3rd Quarter: 15/19 (78.94%) Run: 5/7 (71.42%) Pass: 10/12 (83.33%)

4th Quarter: 10/12 (83.33%) Run 7/7 (100%) Pass: 3/5 (60%)

Watson:

Game: 60/67 (89.55%) Run: 29/30 (96.66%) Pass: 31/37 (83.78%)

1st Quarter: 16/19 (84.21%) Run: 7/8 (87.5%) Pass 9/11 (81.81%)

2nd Quarter: 16/17 (94.11%) Run: 8/8 (100%) Pass: 8/9 (88.88%)

3rd Quarter: 18/19 (94.73%) Run: 7/7 (100%) Pass: 11/12 (91.66%)

4th Quarter: 10/12 (83.33%) Run 7/7 (100%) Pass: 3/5 (60%)

Stephenson:

Game: 2/3 (66.66%) Run: 1/2 (50%) Pass (100%)

ANALYSIS

-I'll start out with the highest of notes, Matt Paradis. There's very little not to love about this kid and the way he plays the game. He's so technically sound and has a great blend of quickness and strength. He might not have the overpowering blocks that make the highlight reel, but you can always bet on Paradis getting on his man, moving him out of the way, and not letting him make the play. At the end of the day, that's all you can ask for.

-Surprisingly, 2 of the 3 plays I knocked him for were when he missed a LB while working up to the 2nd level(1st quarter, 9:39 and 2nd quarter, 10:05), something he usually thrives at. The 3rd was a boot where it appeared as though he might have tripped (3rd quarter, 6:18), but ultimately never got a hand on his man (the pass ended up being completed for a first down anyway). Out of 67 plays, that's as good of a performance as you can ask for.

-I'll go Leary next. This OL went from decent to bad in a real hurry, and my theory of why centers around this guy having to leave the game at halftime. The only play I knocked him for was getting beat by Bosa in pass pro after a good engage(1st quarter, 12:43), and there's no shame in having that happen once. As a whole he did a great job helping keep the pocket clean and cleared the way for some solid runs, something I expect we will continue to see. Get healthy big man, we need you!

-Now for his replacement, I feel bad for him. McGovern had 2 major things going against him in this scenario: 1. Coming into the game halfway through and 2. playing at a position he had very little experience in in this offense.

-I saw this early in the 3rd quarter, McGovern struggled in pass protection (3rd quarter, 12:09) as he barely got a hand on his man and looked as though he didn't even attempt a punch. Again in the 3rd (3rd quarter, 7:37) McGovern got swam way too easily on and probably should have been called for a hold. If he didn't hold, his man might make the play in the backfield. McGovern had 2 other "0's" in this quarter as well

-His pass pro got even worse in the 4th. On only 5 plays, he got embarrassed on 2 of them. The first (4th Quarter, 7:00), he got beat even quicker then Watson does, but luckily CJ sees this and prevents Liuget from teeing off on Siemian and buys just enough time for Virgil's 44 yard catch. The second (4th quarter, 4:53), McGovern gets blown back right into Siemian, and while Watson does an OK job of getting Ingram's rush to go past Siemian's drop, Siemian can't step up, has to move back, and Watson gets credited for letting up the sack. It was one of those cases where the OT does his job but gets credited with the sack because the interior doesn't do their job (As a note: I ended up giving Watson a 0 on this play as well)

-I'm not going to say McGovern can't play guard in this offense. I think playing Center all offseason then being thrown at RG is a tall task, especially in the first year of a new offense. Coupling that with having to come in cold after halftime, and I'm willing to give him some leeway.

-Garcia, I don't want people to take his high grade as him finally turning the corner. We've seen this before from him, and he tends to follow it up with a real clunker. But enough about the bad, the good was more apparent after watching the replay with some slow-motion. In those good games he has, he never makes great blocks that stand out, but in a poor man's Paradis sort of way, he just gets on his man and doesn't allow him to make the play.

-The one play I knocked him for was when Bosa was lined up on him on a pass play (2nd quarter, 9:23). As expected, Garcia barely got in the way. It ended up not mattering, as an untouched blitzing LB deflects the pass for an in-completion, but it's still not what you want to see.

-Barbre fared worse then Garcia, but not a terrible night overall. Like the rest of his guard mates, he had trouble with an edge rusher lined up on him (1st quarter, 10:13). In the same quarter, he gets beat to his outside shoulder, and his man is able to get a hand on Siemian as he throws an incompletion to Sanders in the end zone (1st quarter, 7:43).

-Barbre's pass blocking woes would continue in the 3rd quarter, as he inexplicably blocked one play as if it was a run and worked about 7 yards up field to a LB (3rd quarter, 5:28). He followed that up on the goal line where he let an interior lineman cross his face with ease (3rd quarter, 1:33). He ended up getting the guy on the ground, but he was about 2 yards into the backfield and shut down any chance of that run going inside.

-Now his grade might be lower then Garcia's, but I don't think he was noticeably inferior. He's still struggling in pass pro as he did in the preseason, but outside of his lone run blocking error, he was far superior to his competition in this phase.

-People might see Bolles grade compared to Watson's and say there was no way they were comparable, and I would agree with that. I'll get more into why that is when I move on to Watson, but Bolles was clearly the superior tackle, grades be damned.

-The rookie was faced with a tall task of drawing Bosa early and often in this game. It seemed to me in the first quarter Mike McCoy was weary of this matchup and called for 3 chips to his side in this quarter alone (compared to none on the right).

-He started the game off on a bad note by not getting a good chop block on Bosa, who stopped CJ at the line for little gain (1st quarter, 15:00). His second mistake in this quarter occurred when even after Huerman chipped Bosa, Bolles got chucked to the side like a pumpkin in November (1st quarter, 12:48).

-On the same play Garcia missed his Bosa in the 2nd quarter, Bolles saw his man back off the line and at the snap decided to kick inside to help his guard. The problem? That LB ended up blitzing. Bolles realizes too late and the blitzer has a free shot to tee off on Siemian (2nd quarter, 9:23). Luckily, Trevor sees this and gets the ball out of his hands immediately. Then, with 44 seconds to go in the same quarter, Bolles gets a poor chip from Charles (who barely touched Ingram) and the rookie tries to recover and ends up with a holding call. Watson's man gets the sack but I put that less on him then the Bolles/JC tandem. If they had executed their block, Trevor wouldn't be forced to evade Ingram right into #40's awaiting arms.

-I'm gonna end the negatives for Bolles right there, because I really wasn't too down on his performance. As I mentioned, it seemed apparent McCoy was planning on giving Bolles a lot of help against Bosa. As the game progressed, he appeared to need it much less then Watson, and once they started shifting the focus of the blocking to the right, Bolles play didn't deteriorate much. I was also a big fan of Bolles run blocking in this game. From the preseason tape, I was slightly worried he'd be a weak link in that phase, but he more then held his own. At the end of the night, I'm quite high on Bolles (even though he has some things to work on).

-Now to the part I've been dreading. I went to bat for Menelik Watson often after watching the preseason film. I understood his shaky pass protection history in Oakland, but nothing I saw against SF or GB made me think he would struggle mightily in it. Boy, was I wrong.

-I'm not going to get into each mistake he made in pass protection like the other guys. It was hard to miss it even during the initial watch. If I had to boil down why he played so bad (which is hard without understanding how the coaches teach certain techniques and what they are looking for on a given play) he looked to me like a Tackle who's way too afraid of getting beat to the outside.

-Often times it looked as though he would sacrifice technique just to not get beat to the edge by speed alone, and that's a recipe for disaster. That spin move Ingram continually used with ease came because Watson's feet never looked properly set in his kickback, and Watson's initial punch suffered often times for it. Ideally when you go to give that punch, you want to have timed it perfectly with your feet set so you can drive into it with a strong base, which gives it more power and doesn't cause you to lose balance. Suffice to say, Watson rarely did that, and was caught off balance by Ingram's perfectly timed moves with regularity.

-In fact, it got so bad, that in the 3rd quarter McCoy used an interesting wrinkle: He would have Watson kick inside and have the TE kickback to block the edge rusher(twice by Green, once by Huerman). You know it's bad when your OC would rather have a TE block the opponents edge rusher rather then your OT. And when I said I was much higher on Bolles, this is why, because given his performance, Watson's pass blocking grade would likely be even lower if he were asked to block the edge on those plays.

-HAVING SAID THAT. I noticed a funny trend in the comment section. Could be a knee jerk, but either way it was a HOT TAKE. "Our RT's last year were better!" I'm here to tell you that is simply untrue. While it wasn't ideal, Watson surely gave the Broncos the run blocking needed to lean on our run game to a big 24-7 lead, as I saw only one run play where Watson didn't get a clean block (1st quarter, 15:00)

-This is not to excuse Watson's performance. It was overall really bad. But to say worse then last year makes me think people forget we didn't have a RT who could run block or pass block. At least we have one who can certainly block one phase of the game.

-Final Watson point: I'm not ready to throw the towel in yet. What we saw Monday night did not reflect what I saw in the preseason. While he certainly wasn't an elite pass blocker, his tape showed he had the ability to effectively block the edge against most rushers. I'm obviously concerned, but I also don't think his pass blocking will be THIS bad all season long. I'm still bullish on his run blocking ability, but he has to substantially improve in pass pro or Siemian will get hurt.

Random Notes

-Virgil Green was an absolute stud blocking Monday Night. As I mentioned in my Watson analysis, he was asked a couple times to block the edge (against Bosa) and made the block effectively. If it weren't for that 44 yard catch, I might be campaigning for him to put on some weight and play OT.

-Heuerman was asked to block a couple times, and I came away pretty impressed. He was effective when chipping and he had a couple impact run blocks that caught my eye on the re watch (notably 1st quarter, 6:57). I know a lot of fans are ready for the Jake Butt era, but Heuerman showed me there might be a potential all around TE in him.

-Stephenson got 4 plays as an extra OL. Even forgetting his one whiff on the goal line, he didn't really impress much. Found it funny enough to mention he was open in the end zone on Siemian's TD run and looked like he was calling for the pass. Siemian wisely trusted his legs more then Stephenson's hands lol.

-After the game I commented a couple times that it didn't seem like McCoy kept some extra blockers on pass plays, but I tracked the numbers and counted 10 chip and help blocks by TE/RB's on the edge (4 for Bolles, 6 for Watson). Out of 37 designed pass plays, that's a respectable number but will likely need to be increased in the Chargers rematch and all 4 Chiefs/Raiders games.

-Noticed that this offense rarely (if ever) asks Garcia to pull, while they pull Barbre pretty often with good results. Don't know exactly why they do that, just something I noticed.

Parting Words

If you read this far... Thank you! That's all I have for this game. For those of you who read my previous editions, you might notice the format is changed. Please let me know if you liked this or any critiques you might have.

I know last week a couple people commented for pictures and videos. I didn't have any time this week to download the programs for that, but will do my best to get it this weekend before the Cowboys game.