The Common Thread In The Losses

by SethGrandpa on Nov 23, 2008 11:10 PM MST Comment 18 comments

The Broncos lost the game versus the Raiders when Hillis fumbled inside the 10 on the first drive. That sounds stupid, but hear me out...

If you look at at 4 of the 5 game the Broncos have lost, they had a turnover on the first series of the game via fumble or INT. Usually they are moving the ball with ease when the turnover occurred. The one exception was the Jacksonville game, where they waited until the 2nd series to turn it over. All but one time (today) the opponent scored on the following possession. In all of these games they've just looked out of sync after said turnover.

Did I use some semblance of the phrase "turnover" enough?

Let's go to the "tape":

Week 4 vs KC: After KC drove down and got a FG on the first drive, Denver received the ball. On the 2nd play of the drive Culter hit Royal for a 20 yard gain, but Royal got hit and fumbled. KC recovered the fumble and advanced it to the DEN 26 where they were able to get a FG and take a 6-0 lead. The Broncos offense never got clicking after being amazing for the first 3 weeks.

Week 6 vs Jax: The exception. Denver scored with extreme ease on their first drive to take a 7-0 lead. However, on the first play of the 2nd series Cutler scrambled and fumbled the ball. Jacksonville recovered and got a FG. While the Broncos were leading 7-3 their offensnse lacked rythem from that point on. The Jags rolled off 17 straight points and Denver didn't reach the endzone again until the 4th quarter.

Week 7 vs NE: Well first off, Cutler hurt his finger on the first play of the game, banging it off the helmet of a NE defender which didn't help. But Andre Hall was the real problem for the Broncos. He fumbled on the first 2 series, both when Denver was in FG range, and both lead to early NE FGs. 6-0 Patriots, only to get much, MUCH worse in time.

Week 9 vs Mia: 3rd offensive play of the game, Cutler throws an INT leading to a Miami FG. Oh yeah, then Cutler threw a TD to the other team 2 drives later. Cutler did his best Jake Plummer impression and the Broncos lost 26-17.

Week 12 vs Oak: Broncos are moving the ball up the field in what looks like the start of a blowout at home when Hillis, lined up at FB instead of RB, seems to be startled by being too close to Jay and never gets the handoff that hits him straight in the chest. Throw in some shanks by Mr. Prater and instead of essential winning the AFC West today, the Broncos drop their second inexcusable game to a terrible division opponent.

Gah...it's so very, very frustarting. This team's offense seems to be the most momentem driven group I've ever seen, and when they screw up early it sets the tone.

Of course, KC is #2 in turnovers and turnover differential and still is horrific, which is really where the rules of logic are violated.

Luckily for the Broncos, Chargers really suck. I really wish the national media would pick up on this. If they keep on talking about their playoff chances they really need to talk about Oakland's chances figuring they are only 1 game back of SD at this point.

That said, if the Broncos turnover the ball early they seem to be screwed.

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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It's so simple.....

….and yet we stll can’t fix it.

by broncofan91 on Nov 24, 2008 12:37 AM MST reply actions 0 recs

Yep, that about sums it up.

I just hope that sometime the Broncos can stop turning the ball over in the redzone.

"It doesn't dissipate" ~ Mike Shanahan

Cutler's 4th qtr/OT game winning drives: 6

by weazel on Nov 24, 2008 12:59 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Re:The Common Thread In The Losses

Disagree… Mike Shanahan is known for his first 15 scripted plays.. they always look good in the 1st series against a week opponent but the Broncos are one of the worst in making game-time adjustments. Also SD doesn’t suck, they just have a lot tougher schedule. I hope SD makes the playoffs because if the Broncos do, it’ll look like a preseason game instead of a playoff game. Shanahan can’t draft anymore, his defense is one of the worst every year. His RBs are chumps & crooks from the street… His wins are generally by the narrowest of margins, by a bad call or a no-call or by fluke. What an awful team! Time to bring in Bill Cowher & rebuild a physical football team like football should be played !!

by Indiandood on Nov 24, 2008 6:40 AM MST reply actions 0 recs

C'mon man

I see you’ve just joined and so I’m concerned I’m replying to either a) a troll or; b) someone who’s so frustrated they’ve joined. I respectfully assume it’s the latter.

If you’re serious that Shanahan has terrible drafts then you’’re living in the past. Save that comment for 3 years ago. The past three drafts have been amazing and are going to be the basis for a long term turnaround. The young guys are performing incredibly well. The thing that is holding them back is admittedly poor drafts + three years ago and some misjudged free agent splashes. They are striving to overcome that and one of the only reasons they are competitive has been MS’s coaching ability.

The defence is 2 years bad now but you have to remember that in ’05 they had one of the better defences in the league and in ’06 they had that incredible TD prevention streak where they were being compared to the greats. They wore down in the end through offensive weaknesses but they were good. To say they are one of the worst every year is taking the last 2 years and spreading it unfairly against some fairly decent past teams.

And to say they can’t make adjustment ignores the previous two games where they had good comebacks that showed a lot of heart.

I remain optimistic. This game sucked with a capital S but I refuse to let go of the optimism I had not 2 days ago.

I respect your opinion but I don’t agree with the generalisations you are making.

Darren Bennett... check
Ben Graham... check
Sav Rocca... check
Now if only we can find an Australian who can run and tackle in the NFL and show these Yanks what we're made of.

by orange&blue_aussie on Nov 24, 2008 8:12 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Can't draft anymore?

You have it exactly backwards. The Broncos drafted badly the first half of this decade. The last three drafts, however, have been good, especially 2006 and 2008, both of which border on spectacular. Surprised you didn’t know that.

"In the empty spaces - lacunae, vacuums, pauses, voids, black holes - new things begin. We are born anew from the unexplored space, the badlands, the outlaw territory." - Sam Keen

by spock on Nov 24, 2008 8:24 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

First, SD does suck. Except for SD playing IND and PIT, they play the same teams that we do, so their schedule is not that much tougher.

Second, unlike you I don’t hope that SD makes the playoffs. I dont’ expect us to win the SB, but I do want our team to get some playoff experience so they know what it is like. Therefore they will want to get back there.

Third, we have drafted better lately and expect Shanahan to go on defense in the ’09 dratt like we did on offense this year.

"It doesn't dissipate" ~ Mike Shanahan

Cutler's 4th qtr/OT game winning drives: 6

by weazel on Nov 24, 2008 8:40 AM MST up reply actions 1 recs

Crawl back in the hole, and put the rock back over your head, and go back to sleep. It is obvious that you just woke up from a long hybernation

by metalman5050 on Nov 26, 2008 8:05 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

There is a shoot out coming

This next game will be better. We overlooked the Raiders and it bit us in the butt. Now this overlooking of the raiders had better payoff in a big victory over a strong jets team. And this one is going to be a brawl between Jay Cutler and Brett Favre. Jay had better get his head out of his ass and stop worrying about the kicker missing fg cuz he had about the same efficiency as Prater. I hate the “gunslinger” mentality people talk about. It gets Jay into trouble way too much.
If weather makes this a run heavy game then we will lose, so pray for great weather, and for Jay to wise up( and Bates)

by Sneaky Sean on Nov 24, 2008 8:32 AM MST reply actions 0 recs

OMG

If they keep on talking about their playoff chances they really need to talk about Oakland’s chances figuring they are only 1 game back of SD at this point.

How embarrassing would it be for our division as a whole if the Raiders DID somehow pull off the divs lead. that’s too horrifying to even think about

by Sneaky Sean on Nov 24, 2008 8:35 AM MST reply actions 0 recs

They are certainly unable to overcome adversity early on.

Cutler needs a franchise RB….

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

by Tim Lynch on Nov 24, 2008 2:33 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

I second that

a good rb that knows how to run the most efficietly
i remeber seeing our rb having holes to run through and a bunch of blocked linebackers ahead ,with the right rb i think instead of getting 3yds ithink we could defintlry get 5or more

by RiG on Nov 24, 2008 5:08 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

I nominate LeSean McCoy.

I say trade our first founder, use our 2nd rounder and a newly acquired 2nd rounder on McCoy and Patrick Chung, and use our 3rd’s on Peria Jerry and someone else. Then pick up the safety from Wyoming in the fourth. But I’m getting ahead of myself…..again.

If Mike Shanahan were a hotdog, would you eat him? I know I would. Hell, I'd eat him twice.

by papigrande on Nov 24, 2008 5:15 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

rec'd

Win or lose, it's always it a great day to be a Bronco fan!

by Steve O' on Nov 25, 2008 5:34 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Something that bothered me

Was anyone else annoyed that it seemed that the whole offense was out of synch all day, including between plays? How many times did they get the play off with only 1 or 2 seconds left on the play clock? They seem to do so much better when they pick up the pace and force the issue on defenses, but yesterday they just seemed generally lost and confused. Including Cutler, of course. I really do wonder if his diabetes takes its toll sometimes. My mom is type 1, so I know what a reaction looks like, and he just looked out of it at times.

MHH: Shagging Dater one contributor at a time.

by Bob in Boulder on Nov 24, 2008 2:47 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

which is why I said Cutler needs a franchise RB to offset any bouts with his illness.

Type 1 isn’t going to dampen his desire to win football games…

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

by Tim Lynch on Nov 24, 2008 3:03 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Cutler has bad games sometimes

because he’s still young and relatively inexperienced. I don’t think his diabetes has anything to do with it.

"In the empty spaces - lacunae, vacuums, pauses, voids, black holes - new things begin. We are born anew from the unexplored space, the badlands, the outlaw territory." - Sam Keen

by spock on Nov 24, 2008 4:30 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs