By Nick Gustafson
Six weeks into the season the Broncos were playing dominant football and held wh
at seemed to be an insurmountable 3-1/2 game lead over their division rivals. However 3 weeks later it is a much different story and the Broncos now have the same record as the San Diego Chargers atop the AFC West. The Broncos have looked like a different team after coming out of their bye week. The offense remained lethargic, but the once dominant defense couldn’t stop a 4pm buffet rush at the local senior citizens home. The first two losses after the bye week were somewhat dismissed as they came against a tough Baltimore team and the defending Super Bowl champs; note that both teams were dominated by the Bengals in successive weeks. This week’s loss against the lowly Redskins cannot be put into that same category. Fan’s wanted to believe that the Broncos would pummel the Redskins and get back on track just in time for this weeks battle for AFC West supremacy with San Diego. Instead the Broncos hold only a ½ game lead on the red hot Chargers, who come rolling into Denver this week after reeling off 4 straight wins. In what seems to be an odd replay of last years collapse the Broncos and Chargers are on the same track, but headed in opposite directions.
McDaniels believes his team is a Super Bowl contender right now and has made personnel moves to prove it. McDaniels has released two talented young players and replaced them with veteran talent at, or possibly past, the end of their careers. Mitch Berger has been next to horrendous since signing with Denver and after a masterful 16 yard punt this week, has shown almost no improvement. Jack Williams, a talented young corner and starting nickel back for Denver this year, was claimed by 4 teams on waivers after being released. Ty Law has been serviceable in his limited duty replacing Williams thus far, but both of these moves show that McDaniels is not building for the future. He has replaced 2 young players who were immediately picked up and starting for their new teams, with 2 veterans who were unable to find back up jobs anywhere in the league.
Perhaps the success from the 6 game winning streak had Coach McDaniels feeling that he could do no wrong. Perhaps he thought that he had to tweak the roster just a little in order to ensure playoff victories. The fact remains that if the Broncos fail to make the playoffs this year both of those moves will be viewed as very large mistakes. The chances of Ty Law and Mitch Berger remaining on Denver’s 2010 roster are very slim. Coach McDaniels chose players he believed would help his team win right now instead of ones that would help the team win in the future. The problem is that the Broncos aren’t winning right now. The Patriots built championships upon the backs of veteran leaders and McDaniels appears to be trying to do the same, but something has gone awry.
Through the first 6 weeks of the season the dominance of the defense was attributed to the veteran leadership and their wealth of knowledge of the game. If their age was the reason they performed so well through the first six weeks of the season, it stands to reason that it may also be at fault for the recent collapse. The players haven’t lost any knowledge of the game; they are just being outplayed right now. The Defense has been bullied in the second half of games and unable to get off the field in critical situations. None of the savvy veteran players that we have collected were let go from their previous teams because they had too great of an understanding for the game, but rather they proved to be a liability to their teams. With each passing year there was one more weakness able to be exploited by opposing teams. That weakness was covered by a better understanding of the game that allowed them to disguise their vulnerability, but ultimately it was revealed and preyed upon. Let’s hope that the Broncos weaknesses haven’t been exposed or that they can at least find a way to disguise them again. If not it is going to be a long second half of the season and I think most fans would agree that the mid-late season collapses are getting “Old.”
November 16th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
I have been claiming the Broncos were no good since the start of the season, so no one can say I am a fan who “jumped off the bandwagon”. Even if we win this weekend making it past the first round of the playoffs looks like a stretch. Its sad when Orton is the best QB you have and he is injured. Its like going from Jermain to Tito.
November 16th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
from the mouth of a babe (leila) – “hold on to the damn ball denver!!”
nice reads ;p
November 17th, 2009 at 9:56 am
Well said, but I’m still hopefull that they can turn it around. The only reason they got to 6 and 0, was the defense. What happened to the run D?? If they don’t figure out how to get off the field instead of giving up 8 minute drives, the fat lady may as well start singing…
Guff
November 19th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
I was listening to 104.3 the fan the other day, Alfred Williams put it best when he said they have gotten out of their routines. I blame the bye week. Somewhere along the way they had settled in to a rythm that held them together for the first 6 weeks, the bye week through that routine off and they have been unable to get it back. Guys that would go out 3 nights a week and party are not doing that now, the guys that stayed home, have decided to go out and party and vice versa. They need to get back into a routine and keep it for the remainder of the season.