I don’t know what to say today. After the game it just didn’t sink in. The Raiders. It reminded me of comments I made last week and a few the weeks before… it kept coming back to me. A young team making young team mistakes, and after a great game versus the Jets and a late week response to your comments which most folks missed, I sit here saying the same thing.
Growing pains for young team now in a must win scenario. Humiliation is something that happens with a young team, and they either respond positively or negatively. I think we see a lot of positives. Yeah, I’m a homer and drink the local Kool-Aid AND keep a realistic view on things. I like what we have when we’re healthy…no excuses due to injury….it’s the NFL and the replacements have to be ready to play at a high level or be replaced.
AGAIN, I’ve said this before so bear with the old guy that repeats himself. With injuries and turnovers, a young team will look like this until they’ve played together enough to mature. Helter-skelter, ying-yang, it will all be confusing until they mature together.
I know… it was the Raiders… I’m in denial… I will be all week. HOPEFULLY this team is as upset as I am and it revives a rivalry as the Raiders kept pounding. I won’t repeat the score because it hurts.
Enough said.
COOP
It’s amazing to me that when this team losses, we want the head coached fired! You tell me what McD did in the first quarter of that game that put us down 21 to nothing? I chalked that up to an opening drive TD that should’ve been stopped when Cambell ran for 3rd and 10. Orton’s pick 6 and then Thomas’s fumble resulting in a TD….McD? Come on! At what point will we look at the players and say “Seriously?”
I know the locker room theory huh? BS! These are grown men being paid to play a sport at a high level! Make a play! I want someone to prove to me that 53 guys don’t want to play for McD! media, news, heck I don’t care something! If you can do that then I’ll entertain the idea that change has to happen! I just don’t buy that players like champ play with this theory of “Well I don’t like my coach so I’m not going to shed this block!”
In my opinion the Broncos flat out got outplayed! They took this Raider game as an easy win because they had played well against top teams i.e. Indy and Jets and thought it would just roll right over for a victory over the Raiders! WRONG!!!! it blew up HUGE in their faces. It was a trap game of epic proportions!
And let’s be clear on something….in my opinion, just because you may have a dissagreement about scheme, contract issues, etc doesn’t mean players hate our head coach!
As I said before, I live in Illinois I get a huge dose of the Bears. You wanna talk about a coach that needs to be fired! My lord Lovie Smith single handedly gave that game to Washington! But guess what? all of their pro bowlers stand united behind that man when CLEARLY he has ran that team into the ground! Sometimes players just need to play! PERIOD! It’s too easy to blame the head coach when things to go according to plan!
just my opinion is all!
GO GET EM’ BOYS!
Sorry…meant things don’t go according to plan.
p.s. I didn’t mean my post to be aimed at any one person…just a collection of theories was all. As stated I respect fully everyones opinion. Fun to post with you all as always!
GO GET EM’ BOYS!
But when this team has done nothing but lose, who needs to be held accountable? Yes, the players need to hold their end of the bargain, but you also have to hold the coaching and roster moves as a huge part of that equation as well. IMO
My thoughts on this mess can only be disbelief. I always wondered what fans of the Lions and Bills must feel like year after year. Never really wanted to find out personally. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not giving up hope by any means. After all if there is anything this team has proven through 7 games its that they are competitive against teams they should be blown out against and seem to let down when they’re favored. As for all the Tebow talk…Regardless if he’s gonna be the future of the franchise or not Orton gives Denver the best chance at a win week in and week out. In the infamous words of Herm Edwards “You play to win the game”. I agree McD isn’t going about this the way any of us feel he should. He traded off Hillis for a QB who looks like he left everything he ever learned about football in South Bend, and isn’t likely to even see a snap this season. That being said, shipping Cutler, Marshall, Hillis etc. isn’t why the Broncos are in this position. Other guys are being paid very handsomely to step up and do what they’re paid for. The NFL is far from rocket science these days. Most teams aren’t doing much of anything different from anybody else. The difference lies in execution and preparation. That’s not to say it’s easy. If that were the case I imagine most of us would be out there doing it ourselves. I assure you I would! =) All in all I think we have a team without an identity of it’s own. I agree that all of the rotating lineups affect the way a team chemistry develops but at what point do these guys get over that and just go out there and play as they’re asked to play? Hang in there Broncos Country…this isn’t the end of the world. Whether McD keeps his job at the end of the year, there will be another season of Bronco Football next year to look forward to. And not to mention, this team rattled off 6 wins at the beginning of last season that nobody expected…anything’s possible!
I can only say that I am scared. Scared that the team that played the raiders last Sunday IS the team that I love and that it will play the 49ers this Sunday and so on the rest of the season…..
Maybe it isn’t. Maybe it’s the team that beat Tennessee in TN, that had the mighty Colts and Jets against the ropes and showed quality football, class and promise.
Whatever the case may be, I will continue to love the Broncos, watch the games and hope, keep hope, that the impostors from last Sunday leave and the team from other weeks show up in London.
Go Broncos! Please come back for next Sunday’s game!
Pura Vida!
I traveled over 800 miles and spent over 1000 dollars to go to a huge divisional game that I thought was going to be a nail bitter all the way thru. But to get embarrassed like that!!!! OMG!!! DON’T LET THIS BS HAPPEN AGAIN BOYZ!!!! START WINNING… dayamit man…come on!!! McD…Start coaching like a WINNING TEAMS COACH should!!! GGGGEEEEZZZZUUUUSSS!!!!!
P.S. on another note what does Coop think of the O-Line play this year? Obviously the pass blocking is decent but I understand most lines pride themselves most on running the ball which has been practically non-existent. Is it simply coaching? Or is it that these guys up front just aren’t nasty enough? Ido of course realize that the backs play a role in this too. What about adding a big bad Tom Rathman type fullback? seems to me when Larsen is in there he’s getting stopped as cold as our tailbacks…What’s the best possible solution to this problem given the talent on this team and the system in which they play?
we are officially BUMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I too traveled over 800 miles and spent lots of money. However, I WAS NOT one of the fans who left early. Win or lose we have to support our team, otherwise we are nothing more than fair weather fans. I was very disappointed in the team on the field. There seemed to be little motivation. I hope that the Denver Broncos remember how many people support them and will stay in the stands until the very end. Hats off to the Raiders fans for acting VERY decent about the beating we took! My hope is that in December we will see Revenge in Oakland! Go Broncos!!
I agree NM. I’ve only been lucky enough to go to 4 games in my life. Stayed to the bitter end at all of them. even Last year’s blowout by the Chiefs. Makes me sad to see how many people take it all for granted. I’ll love this team no matter what. I Watch every play each sunday win or lose! If there’s one thing every team needs it’s the support of their fans!
Chargerhater0315,
I really enjoyed your post and I certainly can see the theory of it starts with McD. Great point, I know there always has to be a point person.
Maybe I’m a little more confused than I realize
To me, I see a team that has talent. I see a coach that knows football. I don’t see a team that has animosity towards their head coach. Playing bad football doesn’t mean players all of a sudden have little respect for their head coach.
You know what meant the most to me after the Jets game? It was when McD went to the podium and genuinely said first that he was proud of his players. That they played their hearts out.
I’m not sure what is happening, I still have confidence he will make this happen. IMHO
GO GET EM’ BOYS!
I hate the raiders
Well said Broncfalls, I’m with you on all that. I too see a team with hiden talent that with the right coaching it will be exposed. I don’t think McD has completely lost the locker room like everyone thinks but something has clearly gone wrong for us to fall to our most hated rival like we did. This team as a whole underestimated the Raiders and it came back to slap us in the face. Good news is we can return the favor in December when we go to their house.
McD just doesn’t seem to be taking responsibility for his mistakes in all this. He doesn’t seem to be doing anything about our losing record since last season. I’m not calling for his head especially in the middle of the season but if this season for us goes nowhere but downhill I think Bowlen should start weighing other options. I think as the ringleader of this team, McD can straighten things out. Bowlen made him our coach for a reason and I trust that he made the right decision, for now. I will stick with him for at least the rest of this season only because I’m crazy about this team. I expect them to get out of this mess and go all the way to London to get a much needed win. If they can get this win they will have something to be proud about going into their bye and get some much needed rest. I think a win and then a break will do this team some good. Get them well rested for back to back division games.
Have faith Bronco Country…
GO BRONCOS in 2010!!!!
McD and XANDERS killed this team with terrible drafting and tradeing. I can see why they didn’t want Dez Bryant or Orakpo OR Clay Mathews. THEY ARE ALL PROBOWL STUDS!!! Bolen should of hired the GM 1st then the HC , not the way he did it. I wanted Leslie frazier From MN , who was on the 85 BEARS.We should of followed TB and Indys plan (dungy and keep the O coaches, and Guden and keep all the D coaches). Both won a SuperBowl and had numerous play off appearances. T
McD and XANDERS killed this team with terrible drafting and tradeing. I can see why they didn’t want Dez Bryant or Orakpo OR Clay Mathews. THEY ARE ALL PROBOWL STUDS!!! Bolen should of hired the GM 1st then the HC , not the way he did it. I wanted Leslie frazier From MN , who was on the 85 BEARS.We should of followed TB and Indys plan (dungy and keep the O coaches, and Guden and keep all the D coaches). Both won a SuperBowl and had numerous play off appearances. Thomas is ok BUT
He is not in the same league as BMarsh or Dez Bryant
The biggest problem is that McD thinka he can take any player and turn them into a superstar. I got knews for him It takes TALENT! What superbowl team won without some talent? Either on one side of the ball or both sides.
All the other teams that replaced their coaches the same time we got McD are alot better except us!
well broncfalls the bears r a mess glad they got cutler and not us but on a firing note 4 n 13 last 17 is unacceptable specialy when u trade out talent away and lose jus not a good combo and then u fire dc who had our d in the top 10 last year and who cant draft to save his life! hes ran our team into the ground
tnalen u hit it on the head wit dat all the teams who got new coaches whebn we did r better and mcd doesnt no nething bout bein a hc and a gm draft classes r bad these last 2 years we shouldve hired a defensive minded coach and kept the offense in tact nothin was wrong wit the offense now were dead last in rushing when has denver been dead last in rushin? i dont member when now we r mcds gotta go
Sorry guys for the re-post but this is too important not to:
THIS IS ADDRESSED TO MCDANIELS AND THE WHOLE TEAM
Since I have traveled across the pound well over a dozen times, I know everything there is to know about jet lag:
All flights from the USA to Europe leave about 5 to 6 pm local time and arrive in Europe about 8 to 9 am local time there.
It is critical to get a good night sleep on the plane, at the very most eat the meal that they will serve you right after the departure and immediately go to sleep, bypass all the movies and all that stuff. Sleep all the way until they tell you to raise your seat up for landing, that way you will have gotten at least 6 hour sleep in an 8 hour flight (if you need more sleep, skip the meal, eat before you board). Then as you get there spend the day as a regular day and no matter how tired you are do not sleep until that night, you will then immediately be on the local time schedule, not missing a beat by the next day, no jet lag to speak of, GUARANTEED.
If on the other end, you get on the plane enjoy the movies, play cards with your buddies or study the game plan without getting your sleep, when you get to London you will very quickly need some sleep and do that during the day, you will then have problem sleeping that night and will be in the jet lag zone for multiple days, GUARANTEED.
You can take all the above to the bank.
As usual, this valuable advice I have learned over a lifetime is free of charge, just out of my benevolent Bronco fan heart.
Come on Baylinocrush, you see what we have on the field and don’t have compared to other teams in the NFL…..I read your stuff.
) It’s not over it’s just going to be a tough year.
archangel77, interesting read and you hit on a few items correctly then totally missed. It’s called (SS) Superman Syndrome…still have it. 99% of guy that played still have it. Not sure you ever lose it. I may have to ask around. Only thing different is there’s no Kyrptonite.
MINDSET:It won’t happen to me. To get to that level you have to have it or your times limited, very limited. Probably more so before the big money.
Denile too, (if) I get hurt, I’ll be back faster than anyone else, no sweat. Won’t happen to me so why worry mentality. Block out the negative and concentrate on the poitives. I played in Tampa when we were 500 typically….same attitude. AGAIN, required at that level. REQUIRED.
Dudes in the NFL are wired differently…very differently…it’s a Gladiator sport with out swords and you can’t be beat. Tough to explain if you haven’t been there….like catching a 100LB+ tarpon on a 12 wt fly rod, until you experience it, you have no clue, you can speculate, but once you do it…CRAZY epiphany. PROMISE!!
GO BRONCOS!!
24-7 Broncos.
Coop-
What are the chances Pat Bowlen is the problem? I know plenty of people in the organization have had bulls-eyes on their backs lately. It’s easy to do at times like this, but there are some trends from the last few years that are starting to bug me. It’s not easy for me to say harsh things about Bowlen either because he was instrumental in playing a part of this franchise being elevated to another level.
I personally believe the Broncos are experiencing a talent deficit. What I am curious to know is if Bowlen is just being “cheap”? The Broncos are in the top ten in revenue, but for the last 2-3 years have been in the bottom 5 in player salaries.
I would like to believe this trend is a result of letting dead cap space slide off the books. I know there was a mess from 4-5 years ago to clean up. I understand that.
However, if the Broncos want to have talent on the field, Bowlen is going to have to pay for it. The saying, “you get what you pay for” applies in the NFL too.
What I am sincerely hoping is that once the dead cap space is gone and we have the opportunity to land some big FA’s we do. We can’t just go after the “B” level FA’s with the 2-3 year contracts for numbers close to what 3rd round rookies make.
I suppose only the next two years will tell what direction Bowlen is really taking this team. Is he willing to spend the money to resign Clady? Will the Broncos go after an elite FA?
I reckon (yes, that’s a real word) there’s a chance he’s setting a trend of only wanting guys who are on the young side of 30 to have the large contracts like what were given to Elvis and Kuper.
Ultimately, because of what Bowlen has done in the past I should give him the benifit of the doubt, but the trends of the last few years are still alarming to me. Bowlen can only prove us wrong by what he does over the next two offseasons.
Pat, “show me the money!” :0)
Dennis
Mr. Cooper (Sorry, your status as a Bronco Great demands the Mr.)
I hope this post doesn’t miss you because of my tardy response. Thank you for responding to my post. Of all the posts that I have left I was hoping that this one would find its way to you. During the first 15 years of my life I worked with members of several elite military units so I can definitely identify with the Superman Syndrome. In some circles we refer to it as Rambo Syndrome. An interesting study that was performed several years ago tried to peg down the psychological component that is responsible for getting certain candidates through programs like Hell Week, the Bus Run, The Crucible, or Robin Sage, while other individuals who may poses similar or even greater physical skill sets fail. After looking at two years of graduating classes they could not discern that actual component. I think ultimately you either have that component at birth or you do not. I know that the process of weeding out these individuals has been refined to such a high degree that I have only met a few members of teams that I would describe as “Week Links.” Your experience in the NFL is unique though to the players who have and will play the game and at last glance there were fewer people that play on active rosters annually in the NFL than are enlisted in astronaut training programs around the world. How, as players, did you handle it when you found that your squad had an individual(s) that didn’t meat muster or were not driven by the “Gladiator Mentality” as you so aptly put it? Finally, a last question. The rosters you played on tended to have a much higher degree of continuity being as players stayed on the same teams for greater periods of time. With the way rosters are being juggled in today’s NFL is the ability to create a team with great like minded individuals even possible to the extent it was ten or twenty years ago? Oh and I haven’t had the pleasure of a Bone fish on tackle that light. It has always been a dream of mine. I have done a King Salmon at 165 lbs. on 25 pound test but no, it wasn’t a fly rod. I know, not the same thing.
Thank you for the time and the lessons!
Mike in San Diego
archangel77, Mike…first No (Mr’s) here, it’s just Coop, seriously. I applaud you for your work and YES exact parallels. I’ve seen bigger, stronger, faster, more talented guys go by the way side……you can’t measure HEART & guts. The weak links (might) last a year or 2 maybe even 3 but flush out pretty quickly…you can only fool someone for so long…you probably experienced that in your candidates. We also called it who do you want in your foxhole. The war analogies use to be used a lot more in the past.
I was part of a DNA study that was published a years ago or so via ESPN…no distiguishable difference.
Your comments are extremely interesting because I get along like brothers with F-16 pilots and astronauts, etc….same mentality, same family, different job.
P.S. Go to light tackle, you’ll be amazed how you challenge yourself, 25 pound tackle you can almost skip fish in across the top.
)
Tampa was a revolving door so no real TEAM versus the days in Denver, we hung together, hunted together, partied together, watched each others back…even though we competed against each other.
Al Wilson 4 Mayor, well written and I actually agree that the next two years are critical BUT I respect Mr. Bowlen, he’s a winner, I know him enough to know his passion for winning and he’ll pay Clady becuase he knows the value of a left tackle…but I’ve said this before, you have to give a coach 4 years unless they really are making critical mistakes. This a re-build right now.
BIG MUST WIN GAME….like ever week, right?
Denver Broncos Block…
[...] flight (if you need more sleep, skip the meal, eat before you board). Then as y [...]…
Coop…this is completely off the subject and I hope you don’t miss this because of it’s tardiness but just wanted to mention how when I first came to truly love the Broncos as a young lad in the mid-eighties, some of my favorite dudes on the team were the O-Linemen. If I remember right it was you and Paul Howard chewing on dog-biscuits after “The Drive” and showing the Cleveland faithful who’s the boss…loved that! Growing up in Greeley, training camp was a highlight every year. I was always far too shy to get autographs from the “stars” like Elway, The Vance, Sammy Winder etc. One of the highlights though was waiting out back where nobody else was and a bunch of the linemen came out a bit late…Finally got my 1st autograph from Billy Bryan…was a definite big moment in my life at the time! You guys from that mid-eighties line were my inspiration to play guard/tackle when I finally got to jr. high. Well just thought I’d share. Keep up the excellent blog sir! It’s a joy to read every week!
Will comment in next post, the dogbone chewer was me after that AFC championship game because I was pissed at being hit all day with bones, batteries and apple in the face and other things.
Fantastic Site…
[..] I Stumbled accross this good post and thought you peeps would love it.[..]…