Five things we learned from yet another Broncos loss

Vance Joseph continues to lead his team to history.

The wrong kind. As Adam Malnati said on the MHR Radio Recap, Joseph has embraced the trait that no matter what you do, you go all in on it. In this case, for Joseph it’s to show how incompetent and pitiful he and his team is. As I said in my post-game column, Joseph couldn’t play a coach in a TV commercial let alone actually be one in the NFL.

The supposed “leader of men” has led the Denver Broncos to one of the worst seasons in franchise history. Amidst the first seven-game losing streak since 1967, Broncos Country is left to wonder “what’s next?” As it stands right now, the Broncos (3-8) would pick No. 4 in the NFL Draft and it could get as high as No. 3 if the New York Giants lose one more game. Denver is tied with the Indianapolis Colts at 3-8, and the two teams meet in Week 15. The Broncos are ahead of Indy because of strength of schedule. At least Joseph led Denver to the tie breaker over the Giants and could do the same with the Colts.

Here are the five things we learned from the Broncos 21-14 loss to the Oakland Raiders.

Denver’s quarterback in 2018 isn’t on the roster

Regardless of how you feel about the quarterbacks, to see a young man lose control of his emotions on the sideline pulls at your heart strings. But that moment reflects how poorly John Elway and his organization have handled Paxton Lynch.

The Broncos botched this young man’s future from the moment they traded up in the first round to get him. Who knows if he could have shaped the future of this franchise had it shown some backbone by going all-in on him in August 2016. Instead, Denver put its chips on a guy who may not even play in the NFL next season. However you slice it, that’s a PhD in how not to handle a quarterback situation.

Regardless, the starting quarterback in 2018 isn’t even in the building. Lynch should continue to start and play the last five games of the season, but will it really matter? There’s a chance, but Lynch would have to show more than flashes in the last five games (if he’s even healthy and the coaches put him in situations to succeed that play to his strengths. They didn’t do that again on Sunday).

What Elway should do is sign a quarterback in free agency or trade for one, and also draft one with this high pick. Some more advice for Elway: We can hope you’ve got the “big” quarterback thing out of your system. You whiffed on Brock Osweiler and because of how poorly you handled the last two seasons, you did so on Lynch. Time to reevaluate what you like in quarterbacks. Let me dumb it down for Elway even more: That means they don’t have to be tall.

Joseph is a lame duck head coach

There was a moment captured at the end of Sunday’s game where even Joseph knew his fate. You could tell by his body language that he knew he was done.

But as I said in the post-game column, it makes no sense to make a move now. Get the most out of this awful hire, the best possible pick in the draft, and then move on.

The question that follows is: Who should Elway target? I have a few ideas. Jim Harbaugh may be looking for work since he can’t beat Ohio State. Whoever it is, it needs to be a disciplinarian – a true leader of men. Someone who can control the personalities in the locker room, and that’s a trait this current head coach does not possess.

Man, the offensive line is so bad

I’ve been watching football this week with my mom, a lifelong Broncos fan. Just prior to kickoff on Sunday, she suggested looking for signs that the offensive line has no clue what it’s doing. And she was right – there were plenty of them. After 11 games, this unit still has no idea what to do or who to block.

Whether that’s a result of a change at offensive coordinator or it’s just bad players in a bad scheme, that’s your own personal flavor. But the man responsible for this is the guy who has gone cheap on the offensive line from the second he took the job in 2011. The Broncos haven’t had a good offensive line since Tim Tebow. The lines for Peyton Manning were clearly masked by Manning. It’s a great luxury to have so you can go cheap on the position, but it shows a willful ineptitude to plan ahead. And that’s what makes no sense.

Not until the current GM got an offensive line did he win anything. Instead of Mitchell Schwartz at right tackle, he goes after Donald Stephenson. Instead of one of the multiple, expensive, right tackles this past offseason, he signs Menelik Watson.

Elway needs to make the offensive line a priority. Whether that’s free agency or trade, the cheap route will no longer cut it. The addition of Ronald Leary was good, but Denver still needs another guard and a right tackle. Meanwhile the book is still out on Garett Bolles, which is expected with a rookie left tackle. If the offensive line doesn’t improve it won’t matter what Denver does at quarterback.

Domata Peko and Jamaal Charles deserve better

Peko played in his 123rd consecutive game on Sunday. It’s the longest active streak by a defensive lineman in the NFL. That is remarkable and should be applauded. He plays with so much emotion and pride, two qualities in short supply for this team. There’s now a chance he could miss time with a MCL injury (the results of his MRI haven’t come back).

Charles, meanwhile, had one freakin’ carry and two receptions. I ask again: Why is Charles on the roster? You have a weapon on offense who still can make plays and he’s relegated to the sideline. Meanwhile, the leading rusher for the Broncos on Sunday in Oakland was Lynch. That makes a lot of sense.

Both Peko and Charles deserve better than this.

At the very least, Elway should do Charles a solid and release him. Give the running back a chance to sign on with a team that isn’t scared to use him.

LOL Kansas City Chiefs

As the Broncos drown in a seven-game losing streak, the LOLChiefs are doing their best to keep pace, and, with it, lose the AFC West. So much for that fluke win to open the season. Broncos Country joked that was the Chiefs’ Super Bowl. Looks like we weren’t far off.

Since Kansas City played the Pittsburgh Steelers and were 5-0, its gone 1-5. Hopefully this ends the madness that Andy Reid is a good head coach, which he’s never been.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Chargers look like the best team in the division after an 0-4 start. As I said last week, what the hell happened to this division?

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