Diagnosing the Problem: Stand Pat, Mr. Bowlen

I think you’re spot on. Re-tooling was a term thrown around here, and we certainly did a nice job of masking holes on this team through free agency, signing veterans at key positions who could contribute in the short term while you build for the long term. It’s a great strategy, IMO, and because we were so healthy last year, it worked for us to the tune of 8 victories. This year, those key vets have been injured, and we have been battered and bruised as a whole. McDaniels will be criticized, but I think he’s got to grow just like any other newcomer to this league.

I am proud of our team and the decision makers who make thing happen. I say “stay the course”!

Is what will make the future Super Bowl victories all that much more enjoyable.
Ugh Stop the pain.

but take issue with some of the major points.

McDaniels has proven that he has a great deal to learn on many fronts. Things such as the ongoing 12 men on the field penalties are inexcuseable and yet continue. Also, the first and second round draft picks are simply horrible. Play calling, first and fourth quarter impotence, and overall confusion on both sides of the ball are all coach-centric problems.

That being said, I agree that we should stay the course and improve with each game.

Excellent post. Rec’d.

Something I was happy to see for a momentary diversion here in the office.

Two things struck me: (1) saying this rather starkly “wholly lacked any experience within their new positions.” is a good reset to remember where these guys started from, and (2) I’m far removed from the KOA’s, KUSA’s and whatever there beats the airwaves with Broncomania, but it would seem a good time for Pat Bowlen to come out and publicly support his guys, and the direction he perceives things to be headed.

that agreed with you but it was in August when we thought it. People called me a pessimist, and other not so nice things when I said I did not think we would even win 8 games this year. I did not know it would be THIS bad however.

While I do agree we have found some decent talent in the last 2 years, I think it is just that decent. We need more than decent. We need great players. I see 3 so far out of the last 2 years. (McBath, Ayers, Thomas). I almost put Walton in there but not yet. Other than that, the players we have are tier 2 starters or decent backups. opps I forgot about Cox. Make that 4 great players for the future. (I think it has to rank up there as one of the better late round picks at least as it looks so far). I am sure I have overlooked someone but you get the drift. There are making strides in this area faster than was happening before.

If it were not for the Money, I would say start over and I did vote for start over but in reality, We have to give them a chance. I for one wonder about the psyche of this team with a coach who will pull you out and MF you to death if you make a mistake and you may never see the field again (look at Hillis and his fumbles and Quinn lining up wrong) Players will not go for that for very much longer IMO.

However what concerns me is that since the coach and GM are so young, are the qualified enough to know what a good foundation is and what is not.

From you quotes of Xander, I sure hope they do know,becasue if they are going down the wrong path it can take years to undo.

I agree with the major premise…give McD more time…but the question is how do you measure improvement?

I want to see this team get better and this year I’ve been watching them get worse. Josh needs to do something quick to get some Ws on the board. I don’t care what it is, but completely “staying the course” isn’t kosher to me. Let the OC call plays, bring in a consultant, switch QBs…do something that makes the most sense (which I’m not qualified to say what we should do…I’m not a coach..I just don’t want status-quo).

may not know they are going down the wrong path because of their youth. I feel at this point it would have been prudent of Bowlen to have a mix of youth and experience ie experienced GM and youthful coach. Just my opinion at this point.

Fantastic work Tim, I agree with everything written here.

This is certainly the low point of the season.
It is tough to remember how well we played against the Jets, hopefully this bye week will be a refresher of sorts and some players will get healthy (like Goodman, who clearly was playing with half a leg).

Any sort of improvement and sign of life would be a welcome change at this point, the rest of this season will be very interesting to watch unfold.

IF I didnt know better I wouldve thought you were still blaming Shannahan for this mess. The fact is Shannahan left major pieces of the puzzle for Mcd to both build around and trade for assets. I’m not going to defend all his drafts because I dont think they were that great either, but 2009 was a major cluster bleep of a draft. I just dont think you can sugar coat that anyway but to admit it was. The trades have left a lot to be desired as well. 2010 looks promising but its still very early.

You know, everyone talks about the 32 players let go. From 2000-2008 Matt Millen made 66 picks. 11 players remain on the Detroit roster and 6 were from 2008. That is called leaving the cupboard bare. Royal, CLady, Doom, DJ, Champ, BMarsh were all luxuries that MCD had coming in. Thats a solid core if you ask me.

Look man, I like your work, but i really think this letter shifts blame from where the major faults are instead of tackling the problems dead on. This team was never going to be that great this year.

1 – I also believe McX need to be given more time to show what they can do and

2 – There is no other option than to stick with McD. None.

In spite of what the “FIRE MCD!” fans want, Bowlen is not going to fire McDaniels and pay him (for the next 3 years including this one), Shanahan (through 2011) and a new coach and staff next year. Won’t happen.

I’ve been getting so sick and tired of the cut and run comments everywhere else. While the season so far has killed me to watch, the hints of promise McD has shown as a coach could easily be more than worth it down the line. I love his overall system and general theories on what types of players we need. His gambles, while seeming to keep coming up short, are what I’ve always been longing for in a head coach, and his passion for the game is more refreshing than a cool cup of the kool-aid I continue to return to MHR daily for.

I have stopped watching games this year because I don’t beieve we have the ability to win games the way we are playing. That saddens me. For my health it is better to not watch right now.

I also am very dissapointed with the way the team plays right now and don’t endorse where the team is going right now. I also think Josh needs more time to build his team, one more season to turn the corner. If he hasn’t turned the corner by the end of 2011 then it will be time to move on.

Agree with your message to stay the course. Hell ya! But this 2-6 record isn’t Shanny’s fault. It’s simply a product of a great discontinuity that took place when Bowlen showed Shanahan the exit.

In hiring McD, Mr. Bowlen made reasonable gamble on a long-term future. You simply don’t turn at this point. Great things are not achieved easily.

We are just a very young and inexperienced team. Its hard to admit that to vets like Dawk and Champ and Williams, but it’s true. Hopefully the team gains the needed experience and makes a run next year. Who thought the Rams or Bucs or Chiefs young teams would make such quick strides? Hopefully we can follow suit

And I agree, while I’m not happy with how this season is going, I realize that great teams are created easily or quickly. Look at the dynasties of the last decade, Indy, NE, and Philly, they struggled for 2-3 seasons before rising to the top. McD has made mistakes, and I don’t approve of everything he’s done, but with any coach, you need to give them time, and MHR agrees with you it seems, and they did during the off season as well, with 78% saying 3-4 seasons. Link.

And just a bit of history, since 2005, there have been 23 coaches who got a second season. Of those 23, only 9 improved in their second season, that’s 39%, 1 stayed the same, 4%, and 13 got worse, 57%. It’s actually the norm for a coach to regress in their second season.

I am not advoacting removing McDaniels yet, but the issue is that Mr. Bowlen has stayed the course and things have not gotten better and prospects are dim moving forward.

The fact is that like it or not, the management system is essentially the same as when Shanahan was here, basically the HC calls all the shots, there is no checks and balances. This system has not worked well in general in the NFL, somehow Mr. Bowlen needs to change the system if he expects results to change.

The other issue is that McDaniels is trying to be too many things at once, head personnel man, head coach, and OC. Honestly, he needs to hire someone to be the OC and allow him to focus on the team. He needs to coach the coach.

I look at it like this, and OC or DC is alot like a manager, they worry about day to day production, how to be more effecient, etc.

HC is more like a CEO, they need to have a grand vision and be able to work with their managers in achieving this vision. He needs to allow someone else to run the day to day stuff and get more involved in coaching the coaches.

Staying the course is not the way to win or build a great franchise, staying the course is leading us down the path of NFL insignifigance.

I didn’t vote in the poll…because my choice isn’t there. I think its ridiculous to consider firing McD at this point. I believe he should be given 1 more off-season to tweak his system to match the strengths of his players. I also believe he should get 1 more shot at the draft and 1 more training camp. Then…it is do or die time for McD and his system. If next year, we are below .500 at the bye and we are still playing mediocre ball…we cut bait at that point. If we are at .500 or better, then well…we are making progress and that deserves acknowledgment.

Tim Lynch, I couldn’t disagree with you more. Frankly, your piece is so full of unadulterated man-love for the prime subjects that I felt a bit like a peeping-tom while reading. Your contention that Xander has improved the team through the draft and free agency is ludicrous and omits some notable failures.Then we have the highly over-rated head coach Josh McDaniels with his poor game planning, motivational and training skills and a play book that has been repeatedly “exposed” by NFL defensive coordinators of varying talent levels. While apologists such as yourself craft op/ed pieces portraying the HC and GM in the best possible light, you conveniently forget that the the gaudy personal stats and drama-queen antics, which have become a feature of the McDaniels tenure, utterly fail to translate into success for the franchise. After two years and a complete make-over, McDaniels has failed to deliver more than mediocrity. How much time should we give a coach who has delivered steadily DECREASING returns for a franchise that was, not so long ago, widely recognized as a top draw and serious competitor? Pat Bowlen will stick with this Dimwitted Duo through 2010 given the strong possibility of a lockout in 2011. However, in trading the franchise bottom line for quality of product, Mr. Bowlen is risking the patronage of the fanbase. At this point, it can be truthfully stated that even Mr. Kaiser put a better product on the field than what we’re seeing now.

I do not understand some posters that think Brian Xanders is not a good GM. He has done excellent work with Dawkins, Goodman, Hill, Williams, Vickerson, Bannan, Lloyd, Gaffney plus working out very good compensation for Marshall, Cutler, and Sheffler.
NAH, this TEAM neeeds to finish the plan.

1) Have the courage to do what he thinks right at the time he chooses. Personally, I think that is to stay the course for at least this year. How would you all feel if the team went 6 – 2 in the second half?

2) Not panic after less than 2 years. After all, how long did he stick with Coach Shanahan after it became obvious that we were going downhill vs getting back to the glory years.

3) Not throw away potential for emotional disappointment.

Rec’d to Tim

A revolving door of coaches is not the answer, staying pat solves that issue. I posted lat week that a Napoleonic Regime also is not the answer but it seems that Bowlen is most comfortable in this situation. It looks like we are on a fast track of rebuilding a decent offense into a decent offense and a crappy Defense into a crappy defense. Meanwhile watching our team go 4-12 the last 16, trading picks for players who aren’t playing….hmmmmmm?

Who is worse McD the coach or GM?

The Pats are gaining draft picks from suckers like McX and The Vikings. AND they are still leading their division.

While I agree we are certainly in a rebuilding mode now, I’m really disappointed in this teams inability to close a game out. This team is better than it’s results show. Now sure how to change, it is what it is I suppose. I give through 2011, but if this team isn’t progressing then somethings got to change, and that would most likely be the coach.

just want to say my co-workers for the most part were jackasses today. One is a Squealers fan but she taunted me anyway. Sometimes, people aren’t smart.

let’s get Randy Moss /s/ nobody

I’m surprised by the results of your poll, to be honest. When I left my computer last night, MHR was still a riot. If this poll was put up on Sunday, it would be closer to 90% no. Overall, I’m proud of the way that most of MHR has been able to quickly put their emotion and knee-jerk reactions on hold in favor of more rational opinions.

Of course, there are always outliers, but the fact that almost 70% of the voters said “stay the course” is very encouraging to me.

Although I still think you miss the mark on Shanahan. He had a potential winner in the works, just needed some better depth. Don’t forget that season we had 7 RB’s on the IR, and half our defense missed half the season! Firing Shanny was a bad move, made worse by the loss of Cutler and Marshall and Sheffler and Hillis (Shannahan had little trouble with those guys, and I think he would have developed Cutler much better than Lovie and Martz have in Chicago).

I’ve never liked McDaniels, and I still don’t. Still, the best chance the Broncos have to beceome one of those teams that win regularly (unlike the Raiders, Browns, Lions, or Redskins) is to stick with your coach for more than a couple years. The tools are there for future success – we just need organizational stability, especially as these 2 new team-builders do their work.
Look at our tools:
QB – Orton, playing well, and Tebow able to contribute now (plus potential future starter)
RB – Moreno, if he stays healthy, runs very well.
OL – very young starters: Clady, Walton, Beadles. Clady is one of the leagues best already.
WRs – need I list the good things here? Amazing group, best depth in the league.
CBs – young talent (Thompson, Cox, etc) and Champ is still one of the best
LBs – tons of talent (DJ Williams, Mario Hagen, etc) and when Elvis gets back, that’s an elite unit
DLine – needs some work, I’ll admit – but it’s hard to tell with a 3-4 front.
Safeties – Dawkins = Leadership. That is a BIG thing – it’s what the D lacked in ‘08 after Lynch was cut. It was the biggest improvement last year, and we really missed him vs Oakland. But, he’s getting old.

Additions of bulk on Oline and Dline (or development of talent) and some minor adjustments, plus talent development of players on the team – add better depth at RB (especially power runners) and a good TE and the Broncos could be a pretty good team in a year or two

has bad years no matter what we shouild be 4-4 but the refs costs us NYJ and SF games some of u might say sour grapes but 4-4 wouild gave us a change DO NOT WATCH P T I they said denver will not win athoer game which is silly because we can win 4 or 5 more games this year yes we are done but we can play spoill in 10

In reality there’s not a game on the remaining schedule that we can’t win.

This was a much needed and a well considered post. I know it’s very hard for people to keep a balanced perspective in hard times especially with the MSM driving such a negative message for the current coach. However for those who view more than the immediate outcome who also understand that things can get worse, your analysis is accurate and timely. Rec’d and thank you. And for those who thought this post was throwing Shanny under the bus, I just don’t see it. This was a very fair and rational piece.

Stay the course, but bring in help to mentor Xanders and McD…and for crimanees sake……START THE ROOKIES!

Rome was not built in a day, no?