Mile High Report: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:



Around SBN: MLB Hot Stove: blogging the rumors, trades, signings Bar-right-arrows



spread the word

Kansas City Chiefs 33 - Denver Broncos 19 - Picking Up The Pieces

FINAL

Category Broncos Chiefs
Score 19 33
Rushing Yards
94 213
Passing Yards
352 157
Total Yards 446 370
T.O.P 26:37 33:23

REMEMBER -- MHR Radio coming up at 8:00 PM est / 6:00 PM mst

Hard to decide on a place to start, so I'll go the classy route.  A big tip of the MHR cap to the Chiefs, who campe out and played 4 quarters of inspired football.  Congratulations to their fans over at Arrowhead Pride who joined us for a great week of cross-blogging.

Now, for the game.  First, I picked the Broncos to win, and picked them to win big, but I can't honestly say I am "surprised" by the outcome.  The Broncos have had one of the winningest frnchises in football the past 40 years, and still we are only 13-35 all time in K.C.  Mike Shanahan has won alot more football games than he has lost as a Head Coach, but overall he is only 3-11 in K.C.  It just hasn't been a good place for the Broncos to play.  Worse, they rarely play well in Kansas City, whihc is why today's performance was so disappointing, if not surprising.

I have called 2008 "Year 3 of a 5 year rebuild".  There are several reasons for that, most notably the holes that exist in 2 of the 3 phases on the team - defense and special teams.  When there are holes on 2/3 of the team, the other 1/3, in this case the offense, better play lights out when the other two struggle.  That didn't happen today, with the offense turning the ball over 4 times.  This defense cannot make up for that.  For three quarters, the defense kept the team in the game(16-13 Chiefs), despite being on the field 8 minutes longer than the Chiefs defense(26:15 - 18:35).  I'll take that, but we can't expect the defense to hold out forever.

When the offense wasn't putting the defense in tough spots, it was the coverage teams, who seemed to allow big returns every time the Broncos scored in the 2nd half.  The Chiefs offense has trouble moving the ball, but when you give them a short field, when only a couple first downs are needed to get into FG range, that puts the defense in a tough situation.

Lastly, I won't mention any names, but I was bashed for saying the Chiefs had the advantage at Running Back in my "EDGE" post, and for saying the Broncos running game hadn't been as dominant as they needed to be as we moved through the season.  Well, today, you saw exactly what I was talking about.  This was a game where Jay Cutler was struggling and the Chiefs pass defense, ranked 4th in the League coming in, was doing a great job forcing the Broncos to make alot of plays to move down field.  The Broncos needed to be able to run the ball, first to give the defense a rest, second to control tempo and set up the passing game.  They couldn't do it.

The play calling left something to be desired as well.  I know Brandon Marshall can't fumble the ball in that situation, but we should expect a wide receiver to run like a running back.  Marshall is used to being tackled by DB's, not linebackers or defensive linemen.  He's used to being the strongest guy in any confrontation on the field, against linebackers and defensive lineman, he isn't.  Should Marshall have held on to the ball, yes.  Should the play ever been called in the first place?  Absolutely Not!!

There are many reasons the Broncos lost, and blame can go alot of different directions.  Keep this in mind, however, Broncos fans - the Broncos are 3-1 and no matter what happens the rest of the day the Broncos will be alone in 1st place.  If I had said before the season that the Broncos would be 3-1, in first place, after the first 4 weeks you would have been ecstatic.  Well, that is exactly where we find ourselves.  As bad as the Broncos played, this is only 1 loss.  We need to focus on what's next, including two home games.  Everyone must take a look in the mirror, players and fans alike, and evaluate who and what the Broncos are, but in the end, the Broncos are 3-1, in 1st place in the AFC West.  Not a bad place to be at all.

2 recs | Comment 88 comments | Digg!

Read Related

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Display:

Loss hurts a lot less if the Chargers lose to the Raiders

What is going on with that team

The Ralphie Report - Shoulder to Shoulder...All Colorado Buffaloes on SBNation - http://www.ralphiereport.com/

by irish1611 on Sep 28, 2008 3:30 PM MDT   0 recs

look at LT's stats...having a very rough year

The Ralphie Report - Shoulder to Shoulder...All Colorado Buffaloes on SBNation - http://www.ralphiereport.com/

by irish1611 on Sep 28, 2008 4:00 PM MDT to parent up   0 recs

Another Rivers INT..thats two on the day

The Ralphie Report - Shoulder to Shoulder...All Colorado Buffaloes on SBNation - http://www.ralphiereport.com/

by irish1611 on Sep 28, 2008 4:05 PM MDT to parent up   0 recs

If we didn't believe the numbers going into this week...

…I think today proved that we have the worst defense in the NFL by a large margin. I think the precedent has to be set that EVERYONE’’S job is on the line. We may have the worst defense the NFL has seen in years! I understand that the offense played terribly; however, the Chiefs are dismal on offense and ran for over 200 yards and scored 30+ points. We’ve proven that we’re not only terrible is pass coverage but in run coverage too. Another new DC after 2008?

GO BRONCOS!!!

by UnarmingMermaid on Sep 28, 2008 3:40 PM MDT   0 recs

I agree mermaid

  I hate that we refuse to blitz anyone .we need greg robbinson back.

by broncosfaninphilly on Sep 28, 2008 3:44 PM MDT to parent up   0 recs

I agree

at least he brought us a super bowl….with less/equal talent

by Sneaky Sean on Sep 29, 2008 10:01 PM MDT to parent up   0 recs

good bye 3-4 please !

     whats the deal switching to a 3-4 D it sux for this team when we need pass rush we drop 8 into
 coverage against a 30 something year old QB that cant scramble and get burnt for a big 1st down anyway. next game blitz blitz blitz blitz and then blitz some more !

by broncosfaninphilly on Sep 28, 2008 3:57 PM MDT to parent up   0 recs

NO NEW DC

We just need Mike to have a great meeting with the staff and straiten all this out.

by metalman5050 on Sep 29, 2008 9:45 PM MDT to parent up   0 recs

help !!!

  did we not draft eddie royal to return kicks . I understand he became an unexpected asset to our pass attack and mabey should not be at risk to injury .
    but we sorely need something more on KO and punt returns the one time we did
  use him today just before half time he almost broke one . we got a needed FG anyway he is being under used for his talent.

by broncosfaninphilly on Sep 28, 2008 3:41 PM MDT   0 recs

I totally agree

You’d think that Selvin Young was a valuable asset to our offense but he was back there returning kickoffs! WTF?! That’s the first time I’ve ever seen him do that!

That was after Russell had a couple of gos at it. That somersault was pretty impressive, if not totally beyond his control!

"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 Sep 30, 2008 10:46 AM MDT to parent up   0 recs

Selvin was in to try and make something happen, it should only happpen rarely

No word yet on why Hall was so limited yesterday, but it seems like he must have been injured.

If we are down to two RBs and one FB this early in the season, the running game will be toast. Pittman should be a 10-15 touch back, along with Selvin. Between the two of them, we barely have a whole back. And if we go against the numbers and run them both like they are going out of style, we may have ZERO backs by the time the bye rolls around….

If Hall is hurt, we could be in serious trouble…

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

by styg50 on Sep 30, 2008 4:14 PM MDT to parent up   0 recs

Sprained Wrist

for Andre (read it later in the day).

"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 Sep 30, 2008 5:47 PM MDT to parent up   0 recs

A telling comment on 850 KOA was Champ

Bailey’s interview where he said that he was disappointed in the way the team prepared for the Chiefs this week in practice. He said they didn’t do enough during the week to win the game…thats no good for a defense that has been horrible the prior 3 weeks

The Ralphie Report - Shoulder to Shoulder...All Colorado Buffaloes on SBNation - http://www.ralphiereport.com/

by irish1611 on Sep 28, 2008 3:43 PM MDT   0 recs

Agree

After the past two weeks, this defense should of been prepared.

"How do the berries taste Ralph?" Bart Simpson
"They taste like burning." Ralph Wigam
Broncoman

by Broncoman on Sep 28, 2008 3:49 PM MDT to parent up   0 recs

Our defensive line again was a no show

The fact we couldn’t get any pressure on Huard is inexcusable, especially when their starting LT left the game, this is a line that the Raiders destroyed, so I am very concerned with the D-line.

"How do the berries taste Ralph?" Bart Simpson
"They taste like burning." Ralph Wigam
Broncoman

by Broncoman on Sep 28, 2008 3:50 PM MDT   0 recs

I think we are the only team in the NFL that doesn't bring a little

pressure with the linebackers. We need to start mixing it up, showing variations other than relying on a 3 or 4 man rush with zone defense as the norm. The really sad thing is they wore our defense down…that is something our O should be doing to the other team. Just not a good game in all three phases of the game.

Good news is Nebraska lost last night and Raiders are leading the Sackless Bolts…

The Ralphie Report - Shoulder to Shoulder...All Colorado Buffaloes on SBNation - http://www.ralphiereport.com/

by irish1611 on Sep 28, 2008 3:59 PM MDT to parent up   0 recs

To be fair,

the Chiefs backup LT, Herb Taylor got all the playing time in preseason and the first game and did quite well.

by Vince D on Sep 28, 2008 4:27 PM MDT to parent up   0 recs

Today will hurt a lot less if the Chargers lose as well.

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

by Zappa on Sep 28, 2008 3:59 PM MDT   0 recs

Uh...

Worst. Defense. Ever. If we can make the Chiefs looks like they’re Superbowl bound, wow is that really not good. And it’s the entire defense. When we did put pressure on Huard (and we did at times) he was able to find an open receiver DOWN THE FIELD. They weren’t drop off passes to LJ. And we can’t stop the run. Other than that, we’re doing great on defense.

I hope that Jay realizes after this game that maybe, sometimes, when Marshall is triple covered he might pick another receiver or throw the ball away. I think all of his interceptions this year have been poor decisions, right? I don’t remember a tipped ball or anything.

Funny thing? We would have needed 34+ points (yet, again) to win this game. I guess the offense ain’t allowed to take anymore days off this year. Is this feeling a bit too much like last year to anyone else? Last year at this point we could have easily been 0-4 and at this point this year we could easily be 1-3.

by GaryP on Sep 28, 2008 4:00 PM MDT   0 recs

I thought 1994 was our worst defense ever.....2008 is a close second though

fader nation is a conquered nation

"Jerry Jones is Al Davis with a smile!"

The creator of the following names: conquered fader nation, Phyllis and his merry men

by mdierk on Sep 28, 2008 4:20 PM MDT to parent up   0 recs

Slowik needs to go to King Soopers and buy himself a game plan.

Either that or we need to bring back Jim Bates (just kidding.) Anyone know if there are any big free agent linebackers or DT’s available next offseason? Or a corner? Or a DE?

3-0.

by papigrande on Sep 28, 2008 4:21 PM MDT to parent up   0 recs

Yes, please head to Oakland Slowik

Gunther Cunningham in 09’ for d-cordinator

"How do the berries taste Ralph?" Bart Simpson
"They taste like burning." Ralph Wigam
Broncoman

by Broncoman on Sep 28, 2008 5:32 PM MDT to parent up   0 recs

Get a grip?

Our defense is the laughing stock (and floor mat) of the NFL…but apparently you’re okay with that!

GO BRONCOS!!!

by UnarmingMermaid on Sep 30, 2008 6:57 PM MDT to parent up   0 recs

If we never rush only 3 again, it will be too soon

Slowik needs to bring a minimum of 4, and preferably a different 4, on every down if we want a chance of stopping anybody.

by CoastalBronco on Sep 28, 2008 4:08 PM MDT   0 recs

What happened to the show blitz?

I thought we were going to blitz like it’s 1984. Did I miss something? Or are we showing blitz and then backing 8 guys into coverage. I’m a little confused as to what’s going on with that scheme.

3-0.

by papigrande on Sep 28, 2008 4:11 PM MDT to parent up   0 recs

I'm hoping we kind of do the opposite

of a few years back when we were blitz heavy and then layed off it near the end of the season

by Sneaky Sean on Sep 29, 2008 10:10 PM MDT to parent up   0 recs

8pm est 4pm alaska

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

by styg50 on Sep 28, 2008 4:12 PM MDT to parent up   0 recs

Thanks... Man, this is depressing.

You know what my team did on Friday? We went out and laid a similar egg against an unworthy opponent. We lost only our second regular season game in nearly four years (the other one was just this August.) And my coach was livid. I can’t imagine what it must be like on that plane.

3-0.

by papigrande on Sep 28, 2008 4:16 PM MDT to parent up   0 recs

3-1

we do that four times and we are playoff bound. The offensive problems are easily correctable and we will get back to dominating form.

Buckle your seatbelts for this defense though, we are back to not stopping the run (if anybody really believed we ever were)..

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

by styg50 on Sep 28, 2008 4:19 PM MDT to parent up   0 recs

this was only partly about the KC defense

they have fumbling around for three weeks unable to tell their butts from holes in the ground, but they got pumped up for this game and played tough and with heart. Our offense wasn’t prepared for that and they folded.

KC could be on their way to playing better, especially some of their underperforming stars like Derrick Johnson and Brandon Flowers.

But the only way our offense struggles continue is if they wimp out, and I just don’t see that happening. They are tough players who didn’t play tough today. i don’t expect that they will let their guard down like that again…

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

by styg50 on Sep 28, 2008 4:31 PM MDT to parent up   0 recs

I agree styg...............

We have to expect our offense to have a bad day here and there, afterall they are very young. I’m disappointed too, but I’ll take 3-1 and first place right now. I am way worried about the D though. I don’t claim to know the answers, but we either got horribly outcoached or we are more bereft of talent on defense than I thought. My personal opinion is that we aren’t aggressive enough on D, but we may not have the talent to be that aggressive either. I don’t know what needs to be done.

The player who thinks he can and the player who knows he can are two different players, which one are you???

by Broncofan on Sep 28, 2008 7:19 PM MDT to parent up   0 recs

"horribly out coached"

You R absolutely right about that, starting with Mike. He needs to address this situation in a big way instead of sitting back and telling the media that he has the best coaching staff in the leage! If it is all that great, then apparently we simply have bad players with no tallent on defense and special teams. Which is it?

by metalman5050 on Sep 29, 2008 10:01 PM MDT to parent up   0 recs

what gets me

and it has been mentioned before is shanny’s lack of concern

by Sneaky Sean on Sep 29, 2008 10:13 PM MDT to parent up   0 recs

maybe

he has a rabbit in his hat…although I don’t know what good a rabbit is in football. Unless its a VW and he runs over the other team.

by Sneaky Sean on Sep 29, 2008 10:17 PM MDT to parent up   0 recs

Very true

"How do the berries taste Ralph?" Bart Simpson
"They taste like burning." Ralph Wigam
Broncoman

by Broncoman on Sep 28, 2008 5:32 PM MDT to parent up   0 recs

well said

The quest is the Highway to the Danger Zone-Kenny loggins

by TommyTSlice on Sep 28, 2008 4:33 PM MDT   0 recs

Champ needs to be covering the best reciever

I am sick of seeing teams simply put their best reciever against our 3rd CB because they won’t move Bailey from his side of the field, it is so damn predictable. If we are expecting Jack Williams or Paymah to cover the number 1 wideout, then we are going to have the same result every week.

"How do the berries taste Ralph?" Bart Simpson
"They taste like burning." Ralph Wigam
Broncoman

by Broncoman on Sep 28, 2008 5:37 PM MDT   0 recs

3-1 is a Mirage...

We’ve all been following this team and maybe even watching the games: this is not a 3-1 team. When the offense plays at 100%, we’ve got a coin flip’s chance of winning games. If they’re anything off that, we’re dead. The defense is further exposed by terrible special teams play tilting field position against us. I still think our soft schedule affords us an 8-8 floor, but our limitations lead me to believe that my “2007 Cleveland Browns” prediction is spot on.

Here we go again: http://thefulldeck.blogspot.com/

by ejruiz on Sep 28, 2008 5:37 PM MDT   0 recs

I wouldn't say mirage

but there is definitely a huge difference between 3-1 and 4-0. This is a playoff offense and a defense that can get key stops. They are young on offense, so there is a beter than average chance that they will be their own worst enemy, and they are weak in some key defensive spots, so it is better than averae chance that the offense will need to perform in the 20+ points range to win games.

But if you look around the league, many teams are struggling in varied and sometimes wierd ways.

I say it hinges on our ability to stop the run. If we can do that, we are a legit playoff contender, as much as anyone else. But if we can’t you will be absolutely right: 9-7 or 8-8. Shanny seems confident that this team can stop the run, but after today, I am not sure at all….

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

by styg50 on Sep 28, 2008 7:50 PM MDT to parent up   0 recs

Champ better be on Joey Galloway next week.

"How do the berries taste Ralph?" Bart Simpson
"They taste like burning." Ralph Wigam
Broncoman

by Broncoman on Sep 28, 2008 5:38 PM MDT   0 recs

I'm a little concerned

that Cutler rarely seems to look at more than one receiver on a play. I know that he’s young and still learning to see the field, but it doesn’t seem like he’s even trying to go through a progression of reads. Am I off base here?

by Broncs Cheer on Sep 28, 2008 6:59 PM MDT   0 recs

not sure

every playcall has an intended WR, a guy whose route is set up and complemented by all the other action on the field. If Cutler keeps getting calls that feature Marshall, that is on Bates.

But Marshall stands out on the field too, and probably always looks open due to the mismatch issues he creates. I think you are right that Cutler can struggle with his progressions sometimes under pressure (while being stellar at other times: see SD), but I think a bigger issue is reading the defense and accurately diagnosing the zones. His picks have all been by crossing underneath zone players, and seem to be obvious cases of misreads. He also has had some great completions, dropped balls and errant passes that have thwarted or attempted to thwart deep double coverage: my guess is that the second player is a zone player that he misread most of those times, and he has been benefitting from tremendous WR play, his insane ability to put the ball in precise places, and of course, a little luck.

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

by styg50 on Sep 28, 2008 7:55 PM MDT to parent up   0 recs

Poor J

he just got off his game for a minute and because of that the team lost! now its all his fault? Put a team around this kid on the otherside of the ball, and just watch what happens then!!!!!11

by metalman5050 on Sep 29, 2008 10:20 PM MDT to parent up   0 recs

Just look at what we did for elway

brought in (or got lucky to find) a stud running back and brought in a big name d-lineman (neil smith) to help sure up an average d

by Sneaky Sean on Sep 29, 2008 10:21 PM MDT to parent up   0 recs

LOL

 no joke TD scored TD’s! Big time yardage. And the “ORANGE CRUSH?” It couldn’t be beat, at least not too often. LOL

by metalman5050 on Sep 29, 2008 10:24 PM MDT to parent up   0 recs

This one's on the offense.

This is what I was thinking when it was inevitable that we were going to lose.

but in the end, the Broncos are 3-1, in 1st place in the AFC West. Not a bad place to be at all.

Not bad for the first quarter of the season.

Our defense made some key stops last week vs. the Saints and made plenty of stops against the Chiefs holding them to FGs early. Guru says it best that we can’t expect our defense to hold out forever.

Our offense had a 22 and 33 yard FGs in the fourth quarter and at least one of those should have been a TD. Cut the turnovers in half and you take away the Chiefs first touchdown because that came on a turnover. The offense had their chances, just failed to make a play.

"It doesn't dissipate" ~ Mike Shanahan

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

by weazel on Sep 28, 2008 7:15 PM MDT   0 recs

Something noone has mentioned...

Maybe it was just me, but I thought Damon Huard played exceptionally well. He made some throws that were perfectly on the mark. I know he is an NFL quarterback, but the fact is that he was a second stringer making throws that some starters would struggle with. Heck, I thought he played better than Cutler did today. I know Cutler had better numbers, but Huard did his job (0 INTs) and got the stat that matters (a W).

As I was telling my friends, any time you have 4 turnovers you cannot expect to win. The fumbles were bad, but both of those were mainly the result of good defensive plays. One of Cutler’s picks (the one over the middle) was also a good defensive play, but his pick on the long pass was completely inexcusable. He threw on the run across the field into double/triple coverage. That is a downright horrible decision, even if you are throwing to B-Marsh. What makes it even worse was the fact that Tony Scheffler only had to beat the referee to get a touchdown. He was so wide-open that I could have made the throw. Not only that, but he was on the same side of the field as Jay, so it would have been an easier throw.

Jay has to work on his progressions more. He tends to stare down one receiver too much. He can usually get away with it because he can fit the ball through the tiniest crack, but when he has an off game, like today, that tendency just leads to interceptions. I think we have forgotten that he is essentially only in his second year as a starter, and that he was playing in college only three short years ago. I know I sure have.

The defense today was horrible, especially in stopping LJ, but I have to give them credit. They definitely did enough for us to win. Holding KC to field goals in the first quarter was the only reason that we were even in the game. If our offense had played anything at all like they did for the first three weeks, we would have won the game.

There are only three good things that I can take away from this game. One – the loss will hopefully prove to all of our young players that you can’t take a week off in the NFL. Two – hopefully the national media will forget about us for a while and we can fly under the radar for the rest of the season. Three – We have figured out a way to jump-start the offense if we come out flat. We looked really good running the no-huddle at the end of the game. I don’t know how much of that was KC’s D, but that was the best rhythm our offense showed all game.