Cut Blocks VS Denver? Lets Hope not

[Grid]

Denver next week... they already have 3 injured dlinemen under their belt this year.

With Seth Payne JUST getting back to his old self.. Gary Walker getting up there in years and just having signed a new contract.. and Robaire Smith, our youngest lineman and the guy that has been holding it all together in the trenches... we cant afford to lose any of these guys. And here comes Denver, the dirtiest oline in the league, desperate for a win after 2 straight losses.

Scary thought, lets hope our dlinemen come ready to play, but also ready to protect their knees :P

[Vinny]

I think they have broken two legs this year. Lepis broke someone's leg earlier (I think I am remembering some of my browsing correctly) and the hit by Foster.

[Double Barrel]

I thought about this at lunch listening to game highlights. Denver is a good team, but they have lost two in a row, and that makes them dangerous, too. With the great fan atmosphere for the home team in Denver (plus that crazy altitude...good for Chris Brown, tho'!), our boys will be tested while they try for the first ever three game win streak in team history.

But their cut-blocking scares me. Even if they don't actually get one of our d-line, you know it has to be on their minds, so they can't play full-tilt.

Maybe we should mix up blitz packages. Force the Bronco's QB out of the pocket, where the cut-blocking starts to be less effective, especially because it is a fine line between cut-blocking and chop-blocking when the defender turns his body in pursuit.

[WWJD]

I agree with what John McLain said about this. This is the NFL's fault.

The blocks are legal, the players are taught to do that within the rules set up and they get paid to do it. It's a very fine line here but it's not their fault if they are doing what they are paid to do and the NFL has stated it's a legal block.

Somebody said the other day that the NFL committee has already said they will look into changing this and that's good but too late for these players that are getting hurt.

It could also happen to a Bronco under the league rules. And it would be legal.

I understand the uproar though. It's not good to lose these guys with injuries and I never would want to see anybody get hurt like that. But it's legal. And there's the rub. It's not even a penalty.

[Double Barrel]

With that being said, WWJD, I'm surprised that more teams do not utilize the technique.

[WWJD]

Double Barrel,

I'm not sure but I think there are some teams that do blocks like that on certain plays. I heard that on ESPN.

I get both sides of the argument. I'm hoping they meet this offseason or whenever it is the owners meet, make the blocks illegal and then it won't be a problem anymore.

But I think Denver has done this for some years. I don't watch them much other than maybe MNF or ESPN games.

And you're absolutely right. A Texan could suffer a injury this upcoming game. That might happen. And of course we all think of Payne.

[Shotgun30]

Originally Posted by Double Barrel

With that being said, WWJD, I'm surprised that more teams do not utilize the technique.

Several teams use this technique.....if I was Denver I would keep blocking this way until someone changes the rule.....

[Andre_Johnson80]

MORA DRAWS DENVER IRE



In response to complaints regarding a hit by receiver Brian Finneran on Broncos safety John Lynch, Atlanta coach Jim Mora had this to say on Monday:



"That's good. That's fine. They had one last week that a lot of people in the league thought was cheap, so I guess what goes around comes around."



Mora, of course, was referring to George Foster's unnecessary cut block on Bengals defensive tackle Tony Williams, which knocked Williams out for the season.



The Broncos didn't respond well to Mora's remark.

Said cornerback Champ Bailey: "That's brutal. A coach shouldn't say those things."

Added safety Nick Ferguson: "That's unexpected from a coach. That's all I'll say."

Finally, linebacker Al Wilson said: "OK, if what goes around comes around, be ready then. I just hope it doesn't happen to any of his guys."

As a result of the hit, Lynch will miss two-to-four weeks with a stress fracture in his sacrum (we looked it up -- it's not what we thought it was on first glance).

Meanwhile, coach Mike Shanahan didn't criticize the hit. "It wasn't below the waist or anything --- it was a legal shot. He came after [Lynch], and it was one of those blind-side shots that kind of catches you off guard. It was a legal shot."

From www.profootballtalk.com

Lets prey this doesn't happen to any of our Oline

[chuckm]

Yea we have 2 goals this week: (1) Win, (2) Don't lose one of our DLinemen to a broken leg .......

[WWJD]

Much of football is mental.

If the D linemen are worried about certain blocks than the Broncos have already gotten in their head.

I think they'll just play ball and let the chips fall where they may. Players get hurt all the time by just making a misstep.

Like I said in a thread yesterday it's not the player's fault if the block is legal. He has been given an "ok" if you will by the league to block that way. And somebody else posted that some other teams do the same type blocking sometimes.

If it is "cheap" it's approved by the league. So there you go.

[Andre_Johnson80]

I think we will be just fine no fear and i see us getting the running game cruzin in this one DD has 100yrds and AJ of course slaps champ around a little also with 6-7 catchs