Broncos Thoughts and Musings - Giants Week

by Doc Bear on Nov 23, 2009 12:30 PM MST

Friday, ten days ago, an upstart proved that they are serious about taking down a champion. The Denver Nuggets invited the LA Lakers into the Can and requested that they bring their lunch. They promptly took their lunch, ate it in front of them and gave back the bag, filled with wrappings and trash. The final score was 105-79 and it wasn't even that close. It was the kind of statement that puts a conference on notice - we're here, we're serious, and the road to the Finals is going to run through the Rockies. Deal with it.

What was most interesting to me was not just the extent of the victory, but how it was achieved. There are lessons here that every team needs to learn if they want to become serious contenders for titles and honors, and that includes the Denver Broncos. The Nuggets brought together a cohesive strategy and a handful of tactics in a way that bears on every effort in every sport. Even on the NFL...

Let's set the stage. Here are the principles they used to take down the LA Lakers:

Find the master. Every team has a guy that can kill you, and generally, he's their star, their Big Ben Roethlisberger, their Philip Rivers. If you're playing the Giants, it's Eli Manning. You have to find him and shut him down. In this case, the Lakers were without Pau Gasol, but they still have the man who brought them the Trophy last season - Kobe Bryant. He's been as welcome in Colorado as your funny uncle at a kindergarten pageant, but he's one of the best in the world. The Nuggets countered him with a can-you-believe-it performance for Arron Afflalo who Kobe wore like Spandex throughout the night. Bryant still managed to score a dozen in the first half, but was held without a point in the second half and was never a factor at all after the halftime break. Bryant can also kill you with assists and king-making, but that night he was confounded at every turn.

Stop the apprentice. All good teams have at least one serious playmaking relationship. If X isn't working, Y will bail you out. With Pau Gasol out, the Lakers counted on the play of rising star Andrew Bynum. Young by any standard, Bynum already has the potential to be a 20-point, 20-rebound player, night after night, to wear out good defenses and change games. Nene Hilario showed the young man the advantages of leverage and speed over weight and height. Interestingly, from a less-aware viewpoint, Nene didn't have a great night, scoring 13 and only bringing in 6 rebounds plus 4 assists. It's a measure of the job he did that he only had 2 personal fouls. This is a classic example of the weaknesses of stats, though, as Nene's constant harassment of Bynum drove the player out of his element and out of his mind. Bynum still achieved 19 points and 15 rebounds, but he never managed to get the right plays at the right times and his efforts went for naught. By the way, if you're playing the NY-G's, it's the running game.

Defense wins championships. A few short years ago, Carmelo Anthony was starting to look like he could fall into an afterthought of history. Coming in third in the 2004 Draft behind LeBron James and a future stiff, Melo was being referred to as one of the best pure scorers in the game, but a player who was incomplete at best - lacking focus, defense and the ability to change a game by making your entire team better. That's a rare and key skill. Michael Jordan used to be able to go 3-for-20 on a bad night but achieve 10 assists and still ruin the game for the opposing squad. Melo couldn't take his eye off the stat lines long enough be that kind of player. But when he worked with the USA Basketball squad and saw, firsthand, how things were different for Kobe and LeBron, Melo vowed to make the changes in his game to close the gap. At this point, he's matured into the true leader of the team for the first time in his career. His assists are up, his defense has become highly effective and all three steals that he snared against LA broke their back at key moments. It didn't hurt that his scoring has also matured. Anthony now plays inside out, driving to the basket with more authority than ever before and creating space for his teammates. His outside game is as good as ever and the result is a player who looks, acts and plays like a champion. That gold medal that the USA team brought home has had an effect on Carmelo that can't be described, and can't be missed when he plays. Averaging 30 points a game has become an after-effect of his game, rather than its purpose.

Depth, Depth, Depth. The Nuggets picked up Afflalo in the offseason to replace Dante Jones, a tenacious defender with problems scoring consistently. Many fans booed the decision and asked just how the Nuggets were going to replace Jones' scrappy skills. Those questions aren't being asked any longer. The acquisition of Ty Lawson, who will become a star in his own right, and the return of JR Smith to the lineup has permitted the gold rock team to play two powerful lines in multiple combinations. In any sport, the guys who get headlines are essential, but the guys who fill out the team win for you when things are tough.

As an additional point, Kenyon Martin has begun to remind me of Dennis Rodman, crazy tats and all, even if he doesn't have Rodman's Op-Art coifs. He's got the same kind of toughness, that won't-give-an-inch meanness that often determines champion squads. He's not as crazy as Rodman and dresses better, if less flamboyantly, but there is an elusive sameness to their approach to the game. K-mart isn't a superstar - he's the kind of player that makes superstars possible. Not to mention trophies....That kind of in-your-face, no-one-likes-us attitude has always had a place in my heart. There's another team in Denver that needs to remember this. The Broncos had players standing on the sidelines who weren't personally affronted by how badly they were playing. That's going to lead to some offseason firings, and it should. If you aren't infuriated by losing badly, you don't belong in the NFL. Some men are going to lose their jobs.

The Lakers had obtained Ron Artest for many reasons, but one was certainly to take Carmelo out of his game. It was a fond, faint hope on Friday. By also taking Bynum out of the game, the Nugs shut down the Lakers fall-back position. Sure, great teams find ways to win. The Lakers should have been able to find a guy to step up and pull them back into it, but the Nuggets were just too deep, too strong, and too incendiary on this night. Emotion can never be discounted, and on this night it was all on the side of the home team. But, that ability to be emotionally invested in winning had its roots in a long period of trial and error, effort and failure, learning and application of the principles of winning.

The whole LA/Denver game reminded me of the 2001 SB between the Greatest Show on Turf and the upstart New England Patriots. The Rams had destroyed New England in their regular-season matchup. Bill Belichick and his comrade, Ernie Adams, had worn out their eyes ripping apart film for a single weakness, and they found it in an unusual place - Marshall Faulk. By taking out a different piece of the attack than just the primary - whether Kobe (you attack Bynum) or Kurt Warner in this case - the Pats were able to disrupt an offense and steal a Super Bowl Championship that few believed they could win by applying that same principle. Those same Patriots were expert at execution, too and they wouldn't have won without it. What bothers me the most is that I can't even pick out who the Broncos were supposedly keying on. The lack of effort was that pronounced.

The last score off the Lakers for Denver was from 5'11 point guard Ty Lawson slashing through three Lakers and throwing down a resounding dunk on the 7'+ DJ Mbenga. It put the exclamation point on the evening and clinched the Nuggets' level of domination. But that domination had a price that also plays into this - for years, the Lakers have owned the Nuggets. The Nugs have had to change, grow, experiment, develop, and constantly train in order to reach a level that will permit them to contend for the Championship. It's been a hard road, and they aren't there quite yet, but later this year, they could be.

Carmelo is a very different player this season and he's a perfect example of what I'm talking about. He's gone from a 19-year old who carried too much baby fat and a huge smile into the NFL and grew into a hard-bodied, seasoned player with an attitude and massive shoulders. The smile is much more reserved and the baby fat is long gone - Carmelo now travels with a personal trainer everywhere he goes and his physique has undergone a transformation rarely seen since the comics turned a scientist big and green. His attitude has evolved from a young man who expected things to be easy to a mature competitor who expects to have to prove himself, night in and night out. Since Melo accused the team of giving up in the 2008 playoff series against LA, he's changed everything in his life. His attitude, diet, workouts, approach to the game, and his ways of leading his team have all come far.

To me, that fits in perfectly to what the Broncos and their fans are experiencing. This isn't an easy time. Victory will come back, and it will, amid constant striving, repeated failures, and ceaseless effort and introspection. It isn't easy; it isn't won by getting teams on an off-day or off-night. You win it by playing better than the other guy. Right now, we're not doing it.

We need guys reading that above list and applying it. They need to find the QB, stop the guy he gets the ball to, and play defense. It's not obscure. They need to find their leaders - to play tougher and start playing smarter as well as more disciplined ball. Perhaps, almost certainly, some of the player material for that is going to come in the offseason, because some of this is, to be honest, personnel. I'm not going to point fingers at anyone today because I don't see it as being helpful. Too many guys are making too many different mistakes. I think that McDaniels and company did everything that they could in one offseason, and I think that it's going to require some player upgrades. Right now, this is still a team that has to play perfectly if they want to win. They don't have the depth yet to afford them mistakes, and some of those same personnel that were playing smart are making a lot of mistakes. It's still a long way from here to where we will need to be to contend. That's a tough one, but it's how I see it. When I listened to Brandon Marshall talking about guys on the sideline who weren't upset by the game, it shocked me.

Over the next couple of weeks, I'm going to be hitting the film and looking at exactly who is standing out. I doubt that it will be hard to figure out, to be honest. There are plenty of reasons that we've been losing, and I think that it's worth taking a little time and talking about who they are. At the same time, I expect to find, simply, a pattern. Guys out of position. Guys getting ridden out of plays. Sloppy play. I already know that I've seen an incredible breakdown in tackling, that most basic of all arts. My own experience is that correlations matter, but that they also are made up of a lot of specific plays and because of that, I'd expect to see a lot of guys making errors and missing tackles. We aren't getting turnovers. We're playing like a different group. And the worst part is, it's a lot of guys.

I do understand that this squad hasn't played together long, but I also believe that the leadership that was present at the beginning of the year isn't reaching some people. It's all the cliches, over again, because they aren't really aren't cliches at all, but simply facts. If you don't do the fundamentals and bring your best game, this league will chew you up and spit you out. You can't loosen your focus. Discipline, on the field, is obviously not sufficient, and it's too many guys contributing errors for this team to withstand.

I've never thought that I had the answers when this kind of thing hits a squad. There isn't anything here that the same group of guys hasn't done right, six times already. I expected to suffer some problems this season, and I'm not shocked or horrified to see this one up close. I don't like it any more than anyone else, but right now I'll see what the film has to say. I'm downloading the play-by-plays and warming up the Rewind. The only way out is through.

If we stop shooting ourselves in the foot, this is a pretty good, although not-yet-great Broncos club. But, that outcome, the ability to reach inside and win, is the sum of a lot of little, smarter decisions. They have to look in a lot of mirrors and start talking to each other right. If they do, We could start winning again. To be honest, there is still only one game on the schedule that I doubt that we can be in if we get back to playing smart, and that's Indy.

Even there, it's still a ways away, and this is the NFL. These same guys can start playing like everyone hates them again, and if they do, maybe we'll pull out some wins. Some other teams can stumble. But could Indy?

He chuckles fiendishly as he rattles his keyboard....

Surely you jest. They've been well coached, well staffed, and for long enough to put things together. That's still in the future, for Denver. We haven't earned it yet.

Here's hoping that we will.

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Comments

who?

Maybe you won’t call out which players might be the problem, but I hope others will. Just because it probably won’t change how the office does their business doesn’t mean we can’t talk about it.

by tunesmith on Nov 23, 2009 12:44 PM MST reply actions

Bear will call them out

he has no problem doing that, as will the rest of the staff,a nd I have no doubt that Ted has a few names on a notepad as we speak. But rewatching and then rewatching again is key. NFL football often plays its cards close to the vest, and sometimes a play breaks down for reasons that aren’t obvious to a casual glance…it is easy to blame the LB who is laying on his back during the play after getting mowed down by two blockers, but is it his fault, or is it the fault of the guy who is chasing the play, hustling, making the tackle from behind, but who was, ultimately, not in his gap to begin with?

Em is right, there will be a host of inconsistency on the tape, and none of it will be jawdropping, just disappointing.

I also agree with Doc that the real heartbreaker is that this team isn’t rallying under these varying degrees of pressure. How bad does it have to get before they can do no less than their best? Before their focus becomes immutable? Some teams take so much pride in their work that a single loss drives them like a red hot poker thrust under the eyelids, they assume a fierce resolve that doesn’t end until the pain of that loss is vanquished with a win. Is 4 losses the key to the Broncos heart? 5? A miscommunication of a fundamental nature has occured between the coaches and players, and it may prove to be a lack of what is being said, rather than the content of the message, but I have my suspicions about what it is exactly, and I hope to get into it in the next day or so.

Well, I seem to have used all of Mr. Smith’s possible aliases, so I’ll just rec this post and leave it at that!

Precision in thought, concision in style, decision in life.

"That's MR.Styg..."

by Jeremy Bolander on Nov 23, 2009 12:59 PM MST up reply actions 1 recs

cough DJ cough

cough Champ cough gasp! Did I?

Verbose in style, dispersion of thought, procrastination in life.

The guy formerly known as ZAPPA

by Tim Lynch on Nov 23, 2009 1:24 PM MST up reply actions

Might be worse than you think.

Go back and watch Eddie Royal and Clady. Those two can both play harder than they did yesterday.

Shannys guys.

This is my favorite website.

by McGeorge on Nov 23, 2009 1:49 PM MST up reply actions

Clady has been getting beat more than I’m used to the last few games. I’m not sure why that is, but it’s hard not to notice.

by Chibronx on Nov 23, 2009 3:39 PM MST up reply actions

Definitely DJ

I watched the highlights of the game again and almost every time it was DJ missing his assignment. Not a good thing. The same thing happened last week. He may be our top tackler, but he is making some poor decisions at times. He also is looking gassed and not raising his game in the 2d half. The Dolts were really keying on him.

by Endzone on Nov 23, 2009 4:41 PM MST up reply actions

I was watching the highlights

and again I saw Bailey chasing down and tackling. Usually by himself and making open field tackles. So he is hustling, is he missing an assignment ? I don’t know but he is following the tight end after he gets out of the gap and making the tackle. Now if he would sit a little tighter on the wide outs, maybe……

Opinions are like......, Well anyway, this is mine.

by Sean in Pa. on Nov 23, 2009 5:09 PM MST up reply actions

even without watching the film

I can agree that this has go to deeper than simple bad luck. Scores like this and a streak like this. Isn’t there only so much a coach can do? He can’t exactly reach inside every player’s core and turn on their “want-it” switch again. It makes me wonder who the Debbie Downer is in the locker room. Is there a cancer in the locker room? That’s why I really like what Brandon Marshall was saying, even if his frustration was misplaced towards Moreno. Winning brings a team together, losing can take them apart, but that’s also where you get to see which players are professional and which aren’t.

This also is a great illustration to me on how talent and scheme can mean almost nothing if you don’t have discipline and belief. Discipline and belief can really mean the difference between the best team in the league and the worst. And this week, Denver was the worst team in the league.

It just seems to me that McDaniels has lost the team a little bit, how does that even happen so soon and so easily? It’s got to be something in the locker room.

by tunesmith on Nov 23, 2009 2:07 PM MST up reply actions

Dang, styg

Saved me several paragraphs of typing…lol. Well said, too.

Moreno/Buckhalter in '09

by Doc Bear on Nov 23, 2009 4:03 PM MST up reply actions

I'm fine calling them out.

As I said – I plan to do the film work first. That’s the order that I prefer things in, for whatever that’s worth.

Moreno/Buckhalter in '09

by Doc Bear on Nov 23, 2009 4:02 PM MST up reply actions

A Favor

I was watching the game with a Vikings fan and he pointed out that a lot of the calls seemed to be phantom calls against us on Sunday. Could you take a look at the officiating and offer a grade for it?

by Fan in Exile on Nov 23, 2009 4:13 PM MST up reply actions

Glad to

Moreno/Buckhalter in '09

by Doc Bear on Nov 23, 2009 5:32 PM MST up reply actions

Will be interesting to see...

…but phantom calls did not equate to 32-3. Anyone watching that game saw that most of the guys in blue flat out gave up.

by ncm42 on Nov 23, 2009 8:12 PM MST up reply actions

Excellent work relating the Nuggets to this years growing pains.

I’ll admit that the Nuggets are my first love (hence the basketball related handle), and that’s probably because it is easier to fall in love with basketball. Just based on numbers alone, the game isn’t close to as complex as football. Throw in the fact that you can play basketball almost all your life (my father is 62 and still plays to this day!), and it is easy to see why I make so many snap judgments about a football team that are probably incorrect. If you figure the average kid plays maybe 4 or 5 years of football (I played 9), and they never get past the complexity of high school systems, it’s easy to see the resounding backlash at a sputtering team. Those fans might not be incorrect to be upset, they just don’t understand why, and therefore ruin the academic atmosphere of many message boards, not just the MHR.

As always I look forward to learning from you Emmett, as well as all of the MHR staffers. I’d love to know what’s happened in the last four weeks.

by legendarywalton on Nov 23, 2009 1:16 PM MST reply actions

Playing together as a team can be so elusive.

I really like your example of the Nuggets. Like you, I had no idea what the plan was yesterday. The execution was abysmal and the effort totally lacking. We’ll see what the leadership is able to repair for a team teetering on the precipice of disaster.

Imagination is more important than knowledge. A. Einstein

by Ponderosa on Nov 23, 2009 1:21 PM MST reply actions

good piece Doc,

though I really wish I had stopped reading after the basketball references….

lol

Verbose in style, dispersion of thought, procrastination in life.

The guy formerly known as ZAPPA

by Tim Lynch on Nov 23, 2009 1:24 PM MST reply actions

Nugs

While I was thrilled to see them handle the Lakers, I was equally as disappointed by their road effort against the Clip joint over the weekend. One thing they don’t seem to get right now: Bad road losses now mean they won’t have home court against the Lakers or whoever in the playoffs. Not good.

And with the 32nd pick in the 2009 NHL draft, the Red Wings select: Someone other than Ryan O'Reilly. LOL@Detoilet.

by Bob in Boulder on Nov 23, 2009 1:47 PM MST reply actions

You may have had some insightful observations

I, however, will never know. I tried to skim through the basketball analogies but they appeared to be endless so I had to give up before finding out whether you had anything worthwhile to say about football. Perhaps you could have arrested my attention if you had brought up parallels to bowling or curling or darts but it defies comprehension why you would make comparisons to what is probably the most unworthy of attention of all sports.

by warmick on Nov 23, 2009 2:14 PM MST reply actions

Emmit

For all of us who are unable to go through the footage, let me say up front I appreciate the work you put in and look forward to what you come up with. I had to watch yesterday’s game on an internet feed and I can tell you, it’s only a half step up from listening to a radio broadcast. It is really tough to pick out any detail of what’s going on. If only the ugliness could’ve been clearer…..

Hang on folks, road's a little bumpy in these spots.

by pubkeeper on Nov 23, 2009 2:34 PM MST reply actions

I loved watching that beatdown of LA

especially being in SD and they are such wagon riders it was awesome. The good think about the way the Nuggs are after that crap game against the Clips they came back and beat Chicago.
This Bronco team isnt the same as it was in the first 6 weeks. I dont know the reasons and I hope they get fixed. I am concerned about them, they are playing horrible and undisclined. Turnovers and penalties are killing them, and as it was proven yesterday no reliable back up QB. When Simms fumbled the ball he had Royal open if he throws the ball Denver will get a 1st down and who knows what happens.

- Dan Noreen.

by broncfanstuckinsd on Nov 23, 2009 2:47 PM MST reply actions

I enjoyed the breakdown of how the Nuggets were successful...

…and can’t help but to wonder if thats the heart of this slide, but in reverse. Its easy to wonder about heart; moxie; and breakdowns in discipline, but what it might come down to is that teams have figured out a few specific ways to beat Denver and the Broncos simply lack the talent and scheme confidence to win in a variety of ways. In other words Its not just a talent issue, but also also about being in transition.

On offense, the interior offensive line clearly doesn’t match what McD would like to do. They don’t have a burner that anybody fears over-the-top, which contributes to clogging up space for whoever is playing the slot and makes bubbles screens a harder proposition. Simply stated, it has become pretty easy to shut down the ‘bread and butter’ of this offensive philosophy right now, and while its fashionable to blame that on the QB, it goes much deeper than that. I highly doubt, for example, that McD’s perfect world includes having Eddie Royal playing primarily outside, and I believe he has a big future in the Welker role in this offense. But right now, he’s the best answer beyond Marshall outside.

On defense, they’ve got a game effort from the defensive linemen, but there isn’t a true pass rushing threat in the lot, so they are overly dependent on blitzing backers and sending S’s. SD did a masterful job of scheming Doom and the other LBs out of pass rushing, for example. Our nickel corner of the future isn’t quite ready, and thus we don’t have anybody to deal with good slot guys, and some of Nolan’s scheming that hid that early is no longer as effective. In other words, I think the coaches film has caught up with them and the Broncos don’t have the ideal personnel to be able to muster an effective Plan B.

I think the future remains bright and I can’t fault these guys for letting anybody down or not playing hard enough or smart enough. I am still very excited about the direction of this team and can’t wait to see how all this works when the personnel better matches the philosophy.

by PredominantlyOrange on Nov 23, 2009 2:47 PM MST reply actions 1 recs

WRs

Thanks for bringing that up. Before the season started, I tried (clumsily) to make the point that the Broncos continue to miss a downfield threat. I am now a big Brandon Marshall fan, but when you look at this team, you see him (big possession receiver) and a bunch of guys well suited to the slot. The Broncos’ depth at WR is superficial.

I also think you’re right on the bigger point that we’re seeing the offense operate at fractional capacity. They don’t have the horses for power blocking, they don’t have a field-stretcher, and they don’t have Eddie playing in his ideal position. This is the kind of thing people meant when they say putting in a new scheme takes time.

by Chibronx on Nov 23, 2009 3:46 PM MST up reply actions

Thanks, ChiBronx

I often marvel at how much we think alike and appreciate your positive feedback.

by PredominantlyOrange on Nov 23, 2009 4:09 PM MST up reply actions 1 recs

Good points Chibronx

I only disagree slightly on one point.

They don’t have the horses for power blocking,

While we certainly haven’t overwhelmed anyone with our running game the last four weeks I think there are some bright spots. We were pretty effective going over Kuper/Polumbus in the first drive. I may be wrong, but I think Kuper has played some Center. Perhaps we could have a Clady, Hochstein. ,Polumbus, Harris line that would have slightly more beef and yet could still zone block for a one-cut RB. Just a thought. Thanks for the comment.

It all starts in the trenches - HT 11/11/08
Leave the hateful vitriol to the uninformed - HT 3/16/09

by firstfan on Nov 23, 2009 4:16 PM MST up reply actions

That is supposed to be Kuper between Hochstein and Polumbus.

I don’t know how I lost a guy that size!

It all starts in the trenches - HT 11/11/08
Leave the hateful vitriol to the uninformed - HT 3/16/09

by firstfan on Nov 23, 2009 4:18 PM MST up reply actions

Good point. I still think the size and run blocking isn’t ideal, but buried in the filth of the last two losses is the fact that the running game has looked markedly better.

by Chibronx on Nov 23, 2009 8:19 PM MST up reply actions

Great Post!

The references really put it into perspective………all is not lost so go out and TAKE IT!!!!!!

by Whosbob89 on Nov 23, 2009 3:03 PM MST reply actions

My new favorite team-the Denver Nuggets

I do not follow the NBA or any of its players as closely as I do the Broncos and all the NFL players but for the last year and a half I have been searching for an NBA team.I had been a fan of the Seattle Supersonics since the days of Jack Sikma,Gus Williams,Freddy"Downtown" Brown and Slick Watts,whom my friend and I always tried to imitate with a stocking cap.Sadly,the Sonocs played their final season in 06/07 and I decided thatr I just couldnt follow them as the Oklahoma City Thunder,as I felt betrayed.

Though not a fan of the Rockies,Avalanche or Nuggets(particularly in 97 when the 8th seeded Nuggets beat the top seeded Sonics in the first round of the playoffs) because they play in the same city that my beloved Broncos play in.But as I was flipping through the channels a week ago last Friday,I saw the score against the Lakers and the dominance the Nuggets were exuding.I have always liked George Karl(the Sonics went into the tank when they fired him plus his son Coby played for Boise State and his father in law was from my home town of Nampa,Idaho).When Ty Lawson knifed threw three defenders in the closing moments of the game for a throwdown I just about fell out of my chair.I sent my best friend an email later that night proclaiming that I had a new favorite NBA team at the ripe old age of 44.

Thank you Nuggets!!!!

by OrangeCrush4082 on Nov 23, 2009 4:02 PM MST reply actions

Prepare for frustration my friend.

I’ve suffered through 11 win seasons. And if you’re a fan of consistent effort, last year’s Nuggets team was as close as you’re going to get in the NBA. They’re already taking nights off and it’s frustrating as hell.

by legendarywalton on Nov 23, 2009 4:10 PM MST up reply actions

A Laker fan responds, (and then returns to the Broncos problems....)

Kind of hurt to read a breakdown of a Laker loss in response to a painful Bronco loss (yep, there are Bronco fans who root just as hard for the Lakers)…in fact, last season the Lakers saved me from having a horrible sports year following the collapse of the Broncos…but your points were generally good ones, though one thing I would say is that in the NBA, with an 82 game season, every team is going to have bad nights, even in games that have some bigger meaning to them…Nuggets v Lakers is and should be a good rivalry for a few years….but I will also respond that a November win in the NBA is just about meaningless…lets talk in April and May, shall we?….when injuries, fatigue and pride start asserting themselves…When the Nuggets have some banners to hang from the rafters, we can talk, but until then…be clear, the road to the NBA championship goes through the Staples center, NOT the Pepsi Can….I know you were making a point, but that is just silly hyperbole….love ’em or hate ’em, the Lakers are one of the cornerstone franchises in all of sports…and they are defending champs and the team to beat until they are eliminated by another team…

That said…has there been any team in the history of the NFL so badly derailed by their bye week? Even when it arrived, I felt like the LAST THING the Broncos needed was a week off….it gave them a chance to exhale, to read press clippings, and to lose the pretty formidable momentum they had earned in weeks 1-6….I recall how long that 2 weeks was between Bronco games…I think they can do a course correction, and it is true that 6-4 at the beginning of the season would seem pretty good….but a 4 game losing streak, regardless of any other factor, starts to weigh a team down…it infects the little things…even the way the ball bounces….The Broncos got some good luck in September and October, which is just the sort of thing that happens when a team is winning six in a row…now, every yard seems a struggle, the defense seems ordinary, and the coaching decisions which seemed infused with genius early on, seem baffling or downright stupid….

However, I would posit that this team is neither as good as it looked while winning 6 in a row nor are they as bad as they have looked since…alas NOW is the time they could use a week off….a week to reflect, to exhale, to read their press clippings and get back to playing football instead of trying to prove naysayers wrong…

What if you don't know Jack....but Jack knows you?

by Hugo Norton on Nov 23, 2009 4:19 PM MST reply actions 1 recs

After the Giants game

They have 10 days off which is what they need

by NYCBronx on Nov 23, 2009 4:41 PM MST up reply actions

Absolutely

d they are defending champs and the team to beat until they are eliminated by another team…

Whoever you do or don’t root for, the Lakers are th class of the league until someone takes it from them.

Moreno/Buckhalter in '09

by Doc Bear on Nov 23, 2009 5:33 PM MST up reply actions

Pure poetry

Character may be manifested in the great moments but it is made in the small ones -- Philip Brooks

by KaptainKirk on Nov 23, 2009 6:04 PM MST reply actions

Nice article. The Broncos are a team who have been negatively affected by the bye week like no other team I have ever seen. Up until that point, it seemed like this squad was playing to prove all naysayers wrong, and believe me, there were plenty of them. During that bye, the press seemed to hop on the Bronco Bandwagon following the big win over SD. Ever since, it looks like the players are taking the field expecting to win and do well, forgetting the prime reason they were 6-0 was due to HARD WORK and DISCIPLINE. The short week I believe will actually help this team because it will get them a fast chance at redemption for their awful November play. Going forward, I expect to see more and more of Jarvis Moss making plays in Pass downs(seems as if he is getting in there a bit now-Ayers deactivated this week), i would like to see Chris Baker get a shot at NT if our run D continues to struggle…and looking into the future, with Champ Bailey losing a bit of his speed, wouldn’t he be an awesome fit into the safety position?…give him a shot at a lot more picks with his natural ballhawking ability

by knoepke84 on Nov 23, 2009 6:13 PM MST reply actions

Laker and Charger fan here...

I think youve made WAY to much of that Nuggets/Lakers game. Not to take anything away from you guys cuz you layed an ass-wooping on us but just remember, ITS A NOVEMBER GAME. We were without our second best player on an extremely tough back-to back and it was almost a guarenteed loss. Imagine if you took your second best player (Chauncey) off your team and came into LA on the back end of a back to back and played us fully healthy. ANd Aaron Afflolo is gonna be the new Kobe Stopper?? Please. Let me make this clear: Do not underestimate Kobe’s smarts in regards to adjusting to any type of defender. He WILL study this guy and find ways to score on him. He does it to everyone. And remember he had a bad groin that was CLEARLY hampering him that whole weekend. Dont get me wrong, I think you guys are CLEARLY the second best team in the West and I think you guys have improved, but so have we. And to say the West goes through Denver is really dumb on your part IMO. Peace

by desecrator09 on Nov 23, 2009 9:12 PM MST reply actions

Learn to live with disappointment...;-)

Moreno/Buckhalter in '09

by Doc Bear on Nov 24, 2009 2:14 AM MST up reply actions

Conspiracy theorists are saying

that ever since Jack Williams and Brett Kern had been replaced on the team, the wrong message was received by the rest of the team. I don’t know how much merit there is to this, but the argument is, that players are now more worried about their own individual performance than helping the team. I hope with a passion that this is not the case.

That said, it’s as if we are living in an “alternate 1985” right now. Nothing is right: Biff Tannen owns everything, your mom has oversized implants, and Dr. Emmett is trying to figure out how to steal back to sports almanac.

Great Scott!

"All credibility, all good conscience, all evidence of truth come only from the senses." Friedrich Nietzsche

by Horsepower on Nov 23, 2009 9:26 PM MST reply actions 1 recs

That actually makes some sense...

…I could see some players feeling that, “hey, we’re successful, we’re buying in, and people are still getting cut.”

by ncm42 on Nov 23, 2009 9:28 PM MST up reply actions

Nice pep talk.........

.. but as long as SD has Rivers (the rumor is that he started eating horsemeat while growing up down south), we are in trouble. No previous SD QB has had as much fun beating the Broncos. He is one Hoculi call of being 4-0 all time in Denver, and a couple of those games were annihilations. We need to find a way to get into his head, probably with pressure and sacks like in the first meeting this year – he is vulberable to the sack/fumble combo. So what do we have in our secondary? – guys in their 30s who have all lost a step or two. Until we solve the Rivers mystery, it looks like we will be hoping for a Wild Card each year.

Also, losing one out of 82 games in the NBA season has no significance, whereas every game in a 16 game NFL schedule is crucial.

by ZigNate on Nov 23, 2009 10:35 PM MST reply actions

Thats funny ! He starting eating horse meat down south . Was he poor growing up ?

by broncosfaninphilly on Nov 24, 2009 5:06 AM MST up reply actions

Interesting thoughts

It isn’t a pep talk – just a series of reflections on the process of winning. However – While Rivers is very good and this didn’t minimize that in any way, we beat this same team, quite recently. We have the players to do that – if they play well.

Notice that I pointed out, this time and previously, that playing good teams (including SD) is in our favor. You don’t win by sneaking past people in the NFL. The Rivers mystery, as you call it, isn’t any mystery at all – we showed the solution earlier in the season, and your synopsis is pretty accurate, if partial. I just don’t share your pessimism.

Might just be me, but I don’t even comprehend the last line. Losing any game has significance in any sport – that’s why you track the wins. Shutting down the Lakers that way has considerable significance for Denver: Beating the team that you gave a stronger battle to last year in the playoffs than any subsequent team has great significance. Beating the team that you have to beat to take the conference? Always important. Just like the SD games.

Moreno/Buckhalter in '09

by Doc Bear on Nov 24, 2009 2:14 AM MST reply actions

“I’m downloading the play-by-plays and warming up the Rewind.”

What are these play-by-plays you speak of?

Is the Rewind just the re-airing of the game on NFL Network or is it something else?

I’ve always wanted to see the wide camera angle on a game that the coaches use. Is there a way to ever see that? The TV angle with the defensive secondary lopped off is annoying.

by damajackal on Nov 24, 2009 5:25 AM MST reply actions

What video do you use for your film analysis?

That’s the title I meant to put on my post. Inquiring mind(s) want(s) to know.

by damajackal on Nov 24, 2009 5:30 AM MST up reply actions

It is called NFL Rewind

You can get it from NFL.com. It costs $50.00 and you can watch all the games in 2008 and 2009. No commercials. You can replay just like you were using a VCR or Tivo. Each week, the games are available the following day.

Character may be manifested in the great moments but it is made in the small ones -- Philip Brooks

by KaptainKirk on Nov 24, 2009 10:30 AM MST up reply actions

Kirk's right

I use an oversize monitor and live with the slo-mo control at my fingers. While I, too, wish that I had more angle options, being able to run the same plays over and over, watching different players, really helps how you perceive the game. It gives me a chance to watch a single player throughout a quarter or half, for example, or to understand how Nolan and Nunnely drew up the twists and stunts. Coupled with Jeremy Bolander’s (Styg) excellent works on how to break down film by position, which are available through the site’s search function in the right hand area above, it changed the way I see the game.

Moreno/Buckhalter in '09

by Doc Bear on Nov 24, 2009 11:24 AM MST reply actions