Time for Broncos to fight for this season

COME ON, Broncos Country!

I can feel the weight of your despair all the way out here in South Carolina, and I am not appreciating that - it has been cold and rainy and miserable the past two days, and I blame you.

Snap out of it.

The Broncos are not playing anything close to good football right now.

I know that.

You know that.

Heck, THEY know that.

But it’s Patriots Week, my friends. This is no time to buckle under the pressure of being a fan of a struggling team and abandon ship.

On the contrary, it’s time to batten down the hatches, hold on for dear life until the storm subsides and offer whatever support we can to make it out on the other side.

After a four-game losing skid that has sent the Broncos cascading down power rankings with its 3-5 record, we find ourselves as fans in the midst of the five stages of grief.

During the game we were in denial this could even be happening. How could a defense so historic two seasons ago and back to elite status this season allow 51 points?

We were angry on Monday night. So angry, in fact, our fuming lasted until Wednesday. We blasted the Interwebs with our harsh criticisms and brilliant solutions - “Fire the Coach!”

We’ve bargained with ourselves, with a higher power, or just with rival fans on Twitter that we’ll do anything if this team could just win a game...or maybe even just score a touchdown.

And now we are depressed and ready to accept the reality of a losing season.

DO NOT EMBRACE THE TANK. (that includes you, Scotty!)

If you have been a competitive athlete - or just rock the house in Madden - you know deep in your soul that is a blasphemous thing to wish for.

No one who loves to compete in a sport wants to lose. Having fans and coaches and teammates believe in you so little that they would actually tell you it’s not just OK but is actually better to give up and just plan for next season should be banished to the Cleveland Browns. Forever.

3-5 is no fun.

Getting blown out is a total drag.

Listening to coaches and players be bewildered at their inability to get it together is frustrating beyond words.

But this is OUR TEAM.

This is a Broncos squad only a handful of players and coaches removed from the Super Bowl 50 squad.

I know, I know. That “handful” was an important bunch, and we are atoning for our sins (actually John Elway’s) when it comes to ignoring the talent gap under center while at the same time neglecting to shore up the offensive line.

So these five losses in just the first half of the season are our penance for thinking Super Bowl teams grow on trees and neglecting to find and/or develop a really good quarterback.

But now that we have accepted this state of the Broncos, we need to get over ourselves and get behind our team.

Do you want to tell Von Miller that you gave up on him after he pushes himself game after game, play after play, hold after hold to try and do something, anything, because he desperately wants to win?

You want to admit to him that you’d rather he just dance around the field and lead the Broncos to a devastating 3-13?

Even after he tells you this:

“We have some of the best fans in the National Football League, and we want to play in front of those guys. We want it to be loud. We want those guys to be loud and we want it rocking in there,” Miller said Thursday. “It really does create an advantage for us.”

You want to quit on the Broncos and be responsible for giving Tom Brady & Co. an easy win at Mile High and a one-way ticket to the AFC championship?

Fine. Cleveland is that way.

Even Broncos PR was off its “get hyped for the next game” Twitterfest. Was that really the best they could do?

I don’t like where this team sits any more than you.

I don’t like the fact that listening to these coaches makes me less confident in their preparation for this game:

“It’s different because it’s a matchup type of offense. [The Patriots] are going to find the best matchup for their team and exploit it. That makes them special,” coach Vance Joseph said Thursday after practice. “They’re going to find a weak spot and try to take advantage of it, so we have to know what that is and get there first. That’s our plan.”

I don’t like how the quarterback situation has been handled.

I don’t like how the quarterback position has been played.

I don’t like how our coverage of tight ends is generally nothing like “coverage.”

I don’t like that our running game just “runs up the gut” and therefore just “gets slammed in the dirt.”

Like many of you, I don’t like a lot of what is happening with this team right now.

But I like this team. I love the players. I love the history. I love the heart attack it gives me when they win in the last minute.

Mostly I love that they still want to win the next eight games.

So I want them to also.

“We have another great opportunity to go against arguably the best football team in the NFL,” Miller said. “We have a huge opportunity again, so you can’t stay caught in the past. We have a huge game coming up this week, and if we can get this one, it’ll be wonderful. It truly will be.”

Here we go, Broncos Country. It’s time to rally.

Ultimate Fan Guide

Ultimate ‘Enemy Fan’ Guide: Broncos will lose, but it won’t be easy street for the Pats - Mile High Report
A Patriots fan joins us for the first of a double-header this week on the UFG.

Ultimate Fan: Coming down to defense, the Broncos will be victorious - Mile High Report
C’mon...it’s the ‘Ultimate Fan Guide’ - which team did you think we pick to win? And if you don't read this, you're missing out.

Horse Tracks - docllv’s pick of the day

As Demaryius Thomas nears significant milestone, he reflects on experiences past and present with Broncos – The Denver Post
“I’m not a Peyton Manning or a Brock (Osweiler) or anybody else," Thomas said. "I lead by example, but if I have to speak I will because it’s simple. We do this for a living. We get paid to do this, so you should do your best every chance you get because it’s not always promised.”

TBT: Watch Terrance Knighton sack Tom Brady in AFC title game | Broncos Wire
Terrance Knighton sacking New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in the 2013 AFC title game is one of my all-time favorite sacks on Brady.

Horse Tracks

Broncos D out to prove that loss to Eagles was just a bad day - Denver Broncos Blog- ESPN
Long the strength of the Broncos, the team's defense was embarrassed against the Eagles. They must recover quickly with the Patriots coming to town.

Derek Wolfe, C.J. Anderson miss Denver Broncos' practice Thursday
The Broncos' health situation didn't get any better Thursday as Derek Wolfe (sore neck) and C.J. Anderson (illness) missed practice.

Tom Brady is ageless, arguably the greatest, but has troubles in Denver - Denver7 TheDenverChannel.com
Tom Brady refuses to age, continues to win, but Denver has always given him issues. 

Garett Bolles learning on the job as leader of Broncos' rookie class - Denver Broncos Blog- ESPN
Thrust into a starting role as a rookie, Denver's first-round pick has shown flashes of potential and also taken his lumps against elite pass-rushers.

Denver Broncos defense: Time to start worrying?
Denver's defense has long been the team's strong point, but a rout by the Eagles highlighted several concerns for the unit.

Who has the edge? New England Patriots at Denver Broncos – The Denver Post
Do the Broncos still believe they can win? A four-game losing streak -- with all the losses coming by double-digit totals -- has boiled frustrations in a locker room not accustomed to prolonged slumps.

Patriots claim TE Martellus Bennett on waivers - Pats Pulpit
He’s BACK!

Dallas Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott suspended upheld again after court denies motion
Ezekiel Elliott's injunction of his six-game suspension has been denied by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The next appeal in the case is set for Dec. 1, meaning the running back is slated to miss four games before his next hearing.

Seahawks overcome key injuries to defeat Cardinals - NFL.com
Jimmy Graham hauled in a pair of touchdown passes to lead the injury-riddled Seattle Seahawks to a 22-16 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. Chris Wesseling breaks down what we learned.

Thomas Davis: We didn't like Cam's Titanic comparison - NFL.com
Cam Newton's attempt to compare the Panthers' season to the Titanic did not sit well with his teammates. Veteran linebacker Thomas Davis said the team gave the QB grief over the comment.