The Best-Timed Bye Since There Have Been Byes

by Ted Bartlett on Oct 22, 2008 3:31 PM MDT Comment 28 comments

So, it's been a rough few days. The taste of Monday Night is still strong with me, and still disgusting, and I think we all learned some lessons that night. I think it is important to take away the right ones, though, so that will be the purpose of this post, to discuss what I think those lessons are.

1. Our offense is one of the best in the League, but has been turning the ball over way too much lately. The fundamental indicators are there which show the quality of this offense. Our offense almost never goes 3 and out, which is the best way to tell how an offense functions. The turnovers must stop, though.

2. The benefit we enjoyed from relatively good roster-wide health over the first 5 weeks of the season can't be counted on anymore. Tony Scheffler and Brandon Stokley have been missed in a huge way over the last 2 weeks, and the game Monday really got out of hand once Champ got hurt.

3. Our defense is flat-out undertalented, and needs a large boost in that area this coming offseason. There is no need, however, to change coaches. Bob Slowik is not to blame, and is doing the best he can with what he has. You can't make chicken salad out of chicken feathers, but he is trying. The best thing this team can do is stick with Slowik, and let him conceive of a defensive framework, and program plan, for the years to come. As much as stability has helped the offense, the lack thereof has correspondingly hurt the defense.

4. I, and others here, have been too optimistic. That said, the world has not ended. We got routed in a game on national TV, but it was a case of a game just getting away from us. To me, if a lot of stuff is going to go wrong, it might as well all be in one game. The events of that game, though, in and of themselves, have no bearing on future events.

We still have a 4-3 team, which is in first place. Let's not lose sight of that, even if it is clear that this thing will be more of a struggle than we thought a couple weeks ago. Coming out of this bye, maybe some stuff gets figured out, and our team plays better for a couple weeks, in a couple of winnable games against Miami, and at Cleveland. That's something we can be optimistic about.

This is a Fan-Created Comment on MileHighReport.com. The opinion here is not necessarily shared by the editorial staff of MHR

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I dunno man. There is talent on the defensive side of the ball...

more than enough talent to be better than DEAD LAST! In both passing and rushing defense. Good God man! I think we lack enough talent on defense to be a top tier defensive unit…but dead last and we shouldn’t be looking at the DC to should some of the responsibility for that horrible showing?

I dunno…I am not sure I am willing to give Slowik a free pass.

Oh, and I agree with everything else. lol

If God is not a Bronco fan, then WHY are sunsets Blue and Orange? - Jon Tollerud 5/22/08

by Tim Lynch on Oct 22, 2008 3:48 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

If anything, I would like to see Wade Phillips come in.

Not only would he bring awesome two-prong evil toad spirit juju power, but he runs a 3-4 and could work the same wonders on Jarvis Moss that he did on DeMarcus Ware.

*Breathes into bag. At least I'm not a Chiefs fan. At least I'm not a Chiefs fan. At least I'm not a Chiefs fan. At least I'm not a Chiefs fan.

by papigrande on Oct 22, 2008 3:58 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Never, Ever

want to see him on the Broncos sideline again. Would rather see Mike Nolan.
I learned a lesson in the USN, you can never go back. Once you leave stay gone. Its not the same as you left it.

somethings wrong, Trying to conquer these fears i thought were gone. And it's been so long, I'm dying to live in a world i don't belong

by broncfanstuckinsd on Oct 22, 2008 4:01 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'd rather go after Greg Williams....he punked Favre in the Super Bowl. ;-)

Even if Shanny has to guide him around like a blind shepperd.

If God is not a Bronco fan, then WHY are sunsets Blue and Orange? - Jon Tollerud 5/22/08

by Tim Lynch on Oct 22, 2008 4:44 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

zappa do you mean former DQ Greg Robinson ?

from the suprebowl XXXII 1998 he is currently coaching the syracuse orangemen In up state
NY . having another rough year . writers are hinting that the program is groing tired of him.

by broncosfaninphilly on Oct 22, 2008 5:47 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

lol....yea. opps.

dur

Who is Greg Williams then? lmao

If God is not a Bronco fan, then WHY are sunsets Blue and Orange? - Jon Tollerud 5/22/08

by Tim Lynch on Oct 22, 2008 6:55 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

DC for JAX

"It's all over Fat Man" - Tom Jackson to John Madden 1977 AFC Championship Game

"I love your analysis of our team. Its kinda like watching a spider monkey trying to figure out a jar of peanuts.. you know whats going on.. you know whats in there, but to actually figure it out, is just a bit beyond your mental skills..."
- Bronco Dano

by DesertBroncoFan on Oct 23, 2008 12:58 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

No ID

The broncos have no real identity. I feel they need to either be a passing team or a running team. I say right now the strength of denver is their passing. I would like to see Denver come out in a shotgun formation with one back and 3 wr’s. And mix up the TE with Graham and Sheff. Make their opponents come out playing a nickel. Denver can run effectively out of the shotgun. Lets face when Denver was real succesful early it was thru the passing game. I know the defense blows right now, but just go to a 3-4 and try and hold teams to 24 points a game and expect the offense to score 28. If they commit to a certain type of defense for the next 3 years it will work. Like in 1995 Denver went in with a certain type of defene mindset and in 3 years they won a Super Bowl

somethings wrong, Trying to conquer these fears i thought were gone. And it's been so long, I'm dying to live in a world i don't belong

by broncfanstuckinsd on Oct 22, 2008 4:00 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

I think Denver's problem is over reliance on the pass.

We aren’t playing a balanced game. We have the best running system in the world, and aren’t using it much at all. The pass game would improve tremendously, and the turnovers slashed, if we emphasized the run game a little more (in my opinion).

Once teams saw our over use of the pass game, they just nuetralized it.

"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe

by Steve Nichols on Oct 22, 2008 4:22 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

I believe

that the playcalling has gone stale. In the first 3 games defenses were on their heels, but now they are not. He needs to send Royal Deep and have some mid rang crossing patterns. But the thing is Denver has no ID. If its passing or running

somethings wrong, Trying to conquer these fears i thought were gone. And it's been so long, I'm dying to live in a world i don't belong

by broncfanstuckinsd on Oct 22, 2008 4:31 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

The only position I think we really are severely underalented at is safety.

Calvin Lowry, Marlon McCree, and Marquand Manuel ain’t cuttin’ it. Granted, they are having to be relied upon to make too many plays because the front seven continuously lets guys pass through them, but I think that is more of a scheme problem than anything. Also, those three have missed far too many tackles. To miss one or two tackles is one thing, but to miss enough that Tony Kornheiser actually notices you are missing tackles is unacceptable. Holding an opposing RB to 7 yards instead of 50 is the point of having a safety, and our guys let the RB blow by us every single time they get through. Then we have to count on Champ to make the play 45 yards downfield. That, my friends, I unaccept.

*Breathes into bag. At least I'm not a Chiefs fan. At least I'm not a Chiefs fan. At least I'm not a Chiefs fan. At least I'm not a Chiefs fan.

by papigrande on Oct 22, 2008 4:04 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Kornholer noticing anything related to the game

must be because their spotter wrote it on a note for him to repeat!

"It's all over Fat Man" - Tom Jackson to John Madden 1977 AFC Championship Game

by DesertBroncoFan on Oct 22, 2008 4:16 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

On the other hand...

…this is what you get when you stick a safety in the box and expect one safety to make every tackle that comes his way. For every tackle that Lowry made and missed, seven people in front of him missed. We are missusing our safeties, then blaming them.

I wonder what would happen if each safety had only half of the field to cover, and could focus on coverage because the front seven was doing their own jobs? Safeties are not typicaly run stoppers at any rate. Even with the missed tackles, I have a hard time blaming Lowry when he had the second most tackles on the team.

Again, “For every tackle that Lowry made and missed, seven people in front of him missed.” Just think about that for a moment. Who is really at fault there? We have a severe issue with the front seven. We can blame the safeties, we can blame the offense, but at some point when are we going to point the finger at the guys who don’t stop the run, and can only get to the QB when they rush 8 or 9 guys (like in the Pats game)?

"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe

by Steve Nichols on Oct 22, 2008 4:28 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree with what you're saying, but....

We are misusing our whole defense. Our front seven is always in the wrong spot, and we are relying on our safeties to cover for them. But still, our sefeties, with the possible exception of McCree, don’t have any talent. Right now I’d rather have Foxworth in there at safety than Lowry. He at least could hit and tackle consistently. Marcus Thomas has shown development this year, and could be our monster DT. DJ, Boss (assuming he stays healthy), and possibly even Moss could head a good linebacking corps for the next few years. The only thing we’re missing is a guy on defense who can hit, run, cover, and tackle at the safety position like Steve Atwater or Dennis Smith used to do.

*Breathes into bag. At least I'm not a Chiefs fan. At least I'm not a Chiefs fan. At least I'm not a Chiefs fan. At least I'm not a Chiefs fan.

by papigrande on Oct 22, 2008 5:29 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

And Lowry was let go by Steve Fisher

He is a good coach with a great eye for talent. i think we can all agree that TEN misused him, but it seemed to me that it came from A)injuries to players in front of him, and B) being outperformed by draft picks.

Fisher doesn’t part with a player without good reason.

But i agree with not focusing our dissapointment on Lowry. He is just one dude, and we have bigger fish to fry.

Mountains, forest, sea: these render man fierce, but yet do not destroy the man.

by Jeremy Bolander on Oct 22, 2008 5:58 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ted,

I agree 100% with everything in your post. You have nailed the situation with perfect clarity in my opinion, and I back your views on our team’s situation fully.

"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe

by Steve Nichols on Oct 22, 2008 4:04 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

I agree with sticking with Slowik

It’s not the scheme that has bad players missing tackles, being out of position, over running gaps, etc.

Enough good players should make the defense better. I also agree that changing the DC every year (or more) doesn’t create an identity other than being confused!

"It's all over Fat Man" - Tom Jackson to John Madden 1977 AFC Championship Game

by DesertBroncoFan on Oct 22, 2008 4:18 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

would things be diffrent or better if darnett williams was still here with two more years of experience?

I do but we will never know will we?

by broncosfaninphilly on Oct 22, 2008 5:57 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

I saw the first point and stopped.

A good offense scores.

I wish Cutler didn't have tunnel vision.

by broncodude793 on Oct 22, 2008 6:33 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Slowik

I agree that we should stick with Slowik, but, if we do change DC’s, we should go with Phillips. It can be a flashback to 20 years ago, when our defense sucked pretty bad. So, in the 89 off-season, Reeves fired Joe Collier, they signed Bruce Smith to an offer sheet(unfortunately the Bills matched), went on to sign DE’s Ron Holmes and Alphonso Carreker in Plan B, drafted Atwater the Assassin, and hired Wade Phillips. What happened next: The 89 AFC Championship, the best scoring D in the NFL, and a loss to SF and the Demigod(Montana) in SB 24. Now, I don’t think we will make that good of a turnaround, but we could see vast improvement on D under Phillips. It could be Deja Vu all over again. Just don’t promote him to HC 4 years later.

by PABroncofan on Oct 23, 2008 2:18 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

I think there are better DC's out there

For one Mike Nolan is available right now, there is Jim Mora, Jr who did a great job with the 49ers and Falcons. But I say lets see what Slo has at the end of this year

somethings wrong, Trying to conquer these fears i thought were gone. And it's been so long, I'm dying to live in a world i don't belong

by broncfanstuckinsd on Oct 23, 2008 11:48 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Mora is with the Seahawks and will be their HC when Holmgren retires.

But it would be funny to have the “Playoffs?!” guy.

How about Denny Green? “They are who we thought they were!!”

Or Mike Gundy? He’s a man, after all. He’s forty.

*Breathes into bag. At least I'm not a Chiefs fan. At least I'm not a Chiefs fan. At least I'm not a Chiefs fan. At least I'm not a Chiefs fan.

by papigrande on Oct 23, 2008 12:33 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

you have him

confused with his dad. Jim Mora, Sr is the playoffs guy when he was the coach of the Colts om 2001. No matter what they say about Gundy he has a good team at OKie St

somethings wrong, Trying to conquer these fears i thought were gone. And it's been so long, I'm dying to live in a world i don't belong

by broncfanstuckinsd on Oct 23, 2008 1:02 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Don'y I know about Gundy's team.

I’m a Mizzou fan. Ugh. Or should I say, meow.

*Breathes into bag. At least I'm not a Chiefs fan. At least I'm not a Chiefs fan. At least I'm not a Chiefs fan. At least I'm not a Chiefs fan.

by papigrande on Oct 23, 2008 1:14 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

well they got my buffs this week

so they will probably get back on track, unfortunately

somethings wrong, Trying to conquer these fears i thought were gone. And it's been so long, I'm dying to live in a world i don't belong

by broncfanstuckinsd on Oct 23, 2008 1:48 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Jim Mora, Jr.

was the Head Coach at Atlanta when Vick was first drafted.

"It's all over Fat Man" - Tom Jackson to John Madden 1977 AFC Championship Game

by DesertBroncoFan on Oct 23, 2008 1:14 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Jim Mora Jr. will be the Head Coach of the Seahawks next season

"I am not one of those who think that coming in second or third is winning." -- Robert F. Kennedy

by Ted Bartlett on Oct 23, 2008 2:39 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Optomism, after a debacle

Well, thats what I like to hear! Zappa told me once that I am the new Chairman of the LA LA LAND Board of Directors. Thanx to Zappa, for recognizing one of my “finer qualities.” Coaching, coaching, coaching……..

Need I say more? Back to the basics Men! HOLD ON TO THE BALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

by metalman5050 on Oct 23, 2008 7:57 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs