It looked like the Broncos were heading in the right direction. They had won two straight road games, the offense was starting to roll again and the rushing defense was coming along.
But after Sunday’s 31-10 loss to the Raiders, I still have no idea what to expect from the Broncos, except a little bit of everything…good, bad and yes, even ugly.
Unfortunately, the bad and the ugly took center stage on Sunday. The Raiders offense generated three consecutive second half touchdowns after the Broncos had tied the game at 10. Remember, the Raiders are a team that had trouble generating anything on offense the four games prior to Sunday.
Oakland controlled the ball for 32:04 and outrushed Denver 158-115. The Raiders forced two turnovers, the Broncos none. After a fumble inside the Raiders’ five yard line on their opening possession, the Broncos could never get into a rhythm.
It was a startling departure from the two solid road wins against Cleveland and Atlanta. And it was impossible to figure out. How could they play so well in so many ways for a couple of games and then just fall apart?
You can’t say it was injuries. For the most part, the same players missed the game against the Raiders and the ones against the Browns and Falcons.
It is easy, and correct, to point to turnovers. The Broncos’ early fumble set the tone on Sunday. While a team should be able to overcome that, they didn’t. The Broncos were poised to strike early against a bad team but gave the opportunity away. In the process, they gave the Raiders life.
But turnovers didn’t tell the entire story. The offense looked bewildered against a solid, but not fantastic, Oakland defense. We have seen the Broncos play well against better units.
Raiders’ running back Justin Fargas, banged up much of the season, rushed for 107 yards on 24 carries, a healthy 4.6 yards per attempt. And while JaMarcus Russell is a good athlete, how can one explain his completing 10-of-11 passes for 152 yards? It was by no means a breakout performance but it was more than effective.
Just who is this masked team called the Broncos? They have the ability to play well; they have shown that. They also have the ability to play poorly; they have shown that, too.
They have talent. And they have inexperience. They have made big plays. And they have made maddening decisions. They have won six games. They have lost five.
They are at once promising and frustrating, a team of ability and inconsistency. While they lead the AFC West, they are hardly playing like a team deserving such a position.
Yet they soldier on in the bottom line world of the NFL, two games ahead of the Chargers and backing their way to what could be an AFC West title.
Sometimes you just can’t figure it out.
What do you think the final five games of the season hold for the Broncos? Thanks for reading and offering your thoughts.
Best,
Mike
Tags: 2008, Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders
Mike, as you said the D gave it up in the second half , well so did the O. Ya see it’s easy to blame the D all the time when they are struggleing and we know they could be better. The fact is the O also gave up three 3&outs, one of which led to a punt return for a TD. Of course the missed field goals, the fumble, the Int, the dropped passes but also the poor time outs, & unballanced Offensive play calling in the second half. That’s allot of Offensive mistakes constantly putting the D in a bad position.
The next five games? I predict the Broncos go 2-2-1(thats a tie for those out there that don’t know).
TIME OF POSSESSION, GO BRONCOS! ! !
Well, the lack of execution killed the Broncos in my opinion. The score should have easily been 23-10 going into half time, but the problem of generating yardage and first downs with no points goes back to last year. It has gotten better, but the inconsistency will probably only depart with more experience.
I suppose in the last five games I expect the Broncos to go 2-3, which means if the Chargers go 3-2 we will win the division by default with an 8-8 record.
The wishful thinking part of me says we will win out the rest of the season. The practical part of me agrees with Al Wilson 4 Mayor on the 2-3 and squeaking by on winning the division.
For this upcoming game I hope the team remembers last season what Favre did in OT. I hope they will take that into consideration in practice and in the game and want to do something about it. When Bly got beat I didn’t know what happened. It was like I was in some parallel universe.
With the young team that we have I hope that they realize that the play is never over with Favre at the helm. He has the same playing style that Elway had, could make something out of nothing. Let’s not forget our side, Cutler has some of the same ability.
Things were going right the past few weeks so I hope that this lost to the Raiderettes has REALLY, REALLY registered in their minds that in the NFL you have to bring you A+++ game no matter who you play on gameday. Farve is a gunslinger so I expect to see an INT or 2 or hopefully more.
Lets make Favre wish he’d stayed retired. Go Broncos!!!!!
My hopeful side says we’re gonna go 5-0 but practically at best we’re gonna go 3-2 but more likely 2-3 and barely win the AFC West.
I hope last game was a wake up call for the team!! Like Brian_schneider said they’ve got to bring there A+++ game EVERY game.
Lets make Farve wish he was still retired because if Dume gets going he’s gonna put a few lickins on Farve because he’s a sitting duck in the pocket.
Dume? Dude he sucks, that hole D sucks with the exception of 4 maybe 5 players. (No Bly and Dumervill arnt good players). The way we have been playin football this year i can see winning 2-3 games as well. I can also see us losing all 5 and missing the playoffs again. If you recall the Chiefs all ready spanked us and we should have lost to San Diego.
There go your 2 wins right there. The Bills are havin the same kinda season as us so that will be an interesting game to watch but i can see us losing that one as well. I mean we had no buisness losing to teams like Oakland and KC who are a combined 4-18 this year.
The problems are simple but hard to fix. We need a running game because Cutler obviously can’t handle all the pressure of the offense and we need a defense. The biggest problem we have is taking player from the Lions.(Boss Bailey, Dre Bly, and Tatum Bell) Why in gods name are we taking players with no talent from a no talent team?
Looking back at this season and last season, i can see that absolutly nothing has changed at all. We are still the inconsistant team as last year. We traded in Bates in for Slowik? Give me a break…Pathetic. That’s what the Broncos as a organization have been the last 3 years….Pathetic and for some reason people keep making excuses instead of seeing the truth. I bet they see the truth after this season is over when we go 7-9 or 6-10.
This team wasn’t prepared to play that game. They figured they’d just roll over them without trying. This isn’t new! They do it every year!
That reflects back on the immaturarity and cockiness of the team as well as the coaches not having the team prepared.
I think they play a good game with the Brett’s. Heck they might even win and then I’ll hear about how great they are until they lose to another crappy team.
It doesn’t seem like tis team is ever prepared, we lose to two of the worst teams in the whole Nfl, evryone says your not a fan if you bash em when they lose but to be honest I love the Brincos but rateher they win or lose this team is terrible most of the time, soooo many turnovers, we look like a high school team our defense has no heart and the coaching is so bad that it is just as much to blame, Shannahan has his relaxed attitude as usual and put’s no fire in these guys, he needs to get mad, this ain’t a rebuilding year and this ain’t a young team , that was 8 years ago when Elway retired, get it together and stop with the excuses and execute…. there are only a few players that have heart on this team and that is why they win when they do, Champ Bailey, Jay Cutker, Marshall, Hillis, Royal, Stokley the rest…. well shoot watch a game and you can see the rest SAD!!!!
It doesn’t seem like this team is ever prepared, we lose to two of the worst teams in the whole Nfl, everyone says your not a fan if you bash em when they lose but to be honest I love the Broncos but rather they win or lose this team is terrible most of the time, soooo many turnovers, we look like a high school team our defense has no heart and the coaching is so bad that it is just as much to blame, Shannahan has his relaxed attitude as usual and put’s no fire in these guys, he needs to get mad, this ain’t a rebuilding year and this ain’t a young team , that was 8 years ago when Elway retired, get it together and stop with the excuses and execute…. there are only a few players that have heart on this team and that is why they win when they do, Champ Bailey, Jay Cutler, Marshall, Hillis, Royal, Stokley …….the rest…. well shoot watch a game and you can see the rest SAD!!!!
I really hope that we win against the Jets but as much as I want it to happen we obviously need to play better than we have before. If our D chooses not to play well then Brett is going to tear us apart single handed. Our whole team needs to choose to play better. You can say it is the coaches, the playcalling, the refs, whatever. When we don’t play well it is because our team chooses not to. It’s like teaching ya know they can teach and tell all they want but if you don’t want to learn then you won’t. Same in football, they can coach you and teach you all the right skills but if you choose not to use them you play like crap. That’s why I think we need some leadership. Someone to show these young guys the game the way it is supposed to be played. We haven’t had any leadership this year.
HEY GUYS LETS JUST PUT IN ON THE OFFENSE IF WE AVERAGE 30PTS A GAME THE NEXT 5- GAMES WE SHOULD GO 3-2 THAT WILL GET US IN THE PLAYOFFS. LET JAY PLAY AGGRESIVE AND PLAY SMART WITH NO TURNOVERS. I LIKE OUR CHANCES IM NOT TRYING TO BE SMART BUT ITS NOT THE DEFENSE FAULT THE OFFENSE NEEDS TO BE MORE PRODUCTIVE. I STII BELIEVE GO BRONCOS
I listen to the Pod Cast Press Conferences faithfully and have to admit that i hear a passive attitude form the coaches and players that obviously reflects the mood around the locker room. I wish that this team would realize what an incredible opportunity we have this season!
Indeed this has been one crazy unpredictable season. I never ever would have thought we would lose two rivalry division games and yet win one against the Whiners, Atlanta at their home. This has been one of the weirdest seasons I can remember. I mean we have just been on a non-stop rollercoaster who can’t make up their minds – win or lose. We’ve been all over the place, which leads me to this…
We have to get consistency flowing between the players and coaches b/c that will then lead us to playing as a TEAM and that will lead to wins. How much more simple could that be. I get that we keep having to put in some real young ones in place of the injury-plagued seasoned players we’ve lost but seriously, that’s got a lot to do with all this. There’s alot of things that the team needs to work on and it starts with letting go of all the egos that might be floating around in the locker room and they need to realize that this is a TEAM sport. That’s where you’ll get consistency and wins.
Keep the faith Broncos Country…
GO BRONCOS!!!!!!
The broncos are so young that almost any mistake rattles them ..
once a fumbles happens or JAY throws a pick you can almost bet that they are doomed!!! Good coaching and maturity will solve that proplem in time. But for now this is the offense we have. Our defense needs a major overhaul to say the least..Wont go there
STIL A FAN GO BRONCOS!!!!!!!
I agree with 07elway that it is time to let go of the ego’s and start playing the game of football. The coaches need to fire up this team if they want any chance of playing well in the playoffs. The only thing that we have going for us is the fact that we will be the worst team in the playoffs at this point. What I am saying is that we play to the caliber of the other team, so all the teams we play in the playoffs will be good. I am a die hard Broncos fan, and it’s time this team turns things around. Hopefully the coaches and the players want this team to win as bad as the fans do.
This team is young but it didnt have to be this way. We went to the AFC champion game with Plummer, not Cutler. Now we only have a fraction of that team left. WHY?..Why did we get rid of Plummer and repleced him with someone with no NFL experience. Why did we get rid of the defensive cordinator from that team? Why did Shanahan and Bowlen feal the need to restart when we had the right peaces in at the right time? Now we are a mess and who’s to blame.? Not the players as so much as the coaching staff and the owner. With that said, Shanahan needs to be ran out of Denver. The man cant win or even think without Elway. It sickins me that this team will make the playoff’s at 8-8 or 7-9 or even 6-10. I am and forever will be a Broncos fan but this team is PATHETIC.
People, it goes both ways. We don’t have a barometer of consistency here, that is what it boils down to. Offensively there are times we are on fire and times we are just downright stale where we either have a turnover or a backbreaking penalty or not getting TD’s in the red zone. Defensively, there is not enough talent to be a consistent force and everyone knows that. Pretty much we are gonna have to rebuild the defense from the ground up. Everyone already said everything, now we have to go out and do it.
The Broncos will go 1-4 with the only win against the Chiefs at home. The Jets will roll the Broncos as will the Chargers. Carolina and Buffalo will be close but the Broncos will find a way to lose.
Well its amazing how much Al Wilson meant to this team. Yeah without key turnovers our offense can put up huge numbers. Our defense on the other hand pretty much relies on the other offenses making mistakes, and its not us forcing them. Not to mention key defensive injuries, but to tell the truth they werent playing good when they were healthy. Maybe Shannahan should only go after defensive players in the draft and free agency just a suggestion, unless he picks another o-lineman or maybe a back that can stay healthy because it doesnt really matter whose in our backfield as long as they can hold onto the ball. Oh and Raider_Hater your absolutely correct Dre Bly is awful cant cover and i think i could contain and tackle better when i played rocket football.
I couldn’t agree with you more, R@iderH@ter_777. Shanny made a big bet on Cutler and now he is paying the price. Cutler is a good QB, but he is far from a great QB. He definitely needs a lot of support from running game and Shanny somehow believes that this team can do just fine without the running game. FYI, you’ll get bashed by 07elway. “Pathetic” is registered to this guy and he’s the only one who can use this word.
Chiefs are way better than Raiders even though W-L record can be misleading, stillafan. Broncos will need to be well prepared against Chiefs. No more excuses after another blowout in MileHigh.
Raider hater huh? R@iderH@ter_777, you sound more like a Bronco hater to me. You’re sickened that we might make the playoffs with a bad record? Sounds like a comment from a rival fan to me. Most of us Broncos fans would be happy about making it into the Playoffs, it would be good for the young team to experience that energy. I’d bet if we won any of them, you’d magically turn into a proud Bronco fan.
I was at a party last night and ran into a Chiefs fan and a Raiders fan and we talked football. They had better things to say about the Broncos in a 15 minute conversation than you have EVER said! Just because the Team isn’t playing good enough for you to go braggin’ around town every week, you sit and bash them in a blog…on OUR Broncos message board…to REAL Broncos fans??? I think you and your love of Bronco-Bashing is what needs to be ran out of Denver. PS, maybe Plummer will give you a ride..that is, if you can find him.
Of course your 15 min converstation with a Raiders fan and a Chiefs fan re goin to have more compliments towards the Broncos. THEY ARE A COMBINED 4-18 THIS YEAR. What good could they talk about their own teams?
I stand by what i said about being sickend about them making the playoff’s at 8-8,7-9 or even possibly at 6-10. Why? Because it wont be a learing expeirence, it will be an ass kicking that might even damage the minds of the young players into losing the playoff energy. They don’t deserve to be in the playoff’s. You see you’re one the of the people making excuses instead of seeing the Broncos for what they are.
Shanahan’s 1 playoff win in 10 years is proof that he is washed up. Not to mention he has no way of lighting a fire under his team ass when they need it.
I love the Broncos and wish them all the luck in the world but, its increasingly hard to find something good to say about them latley. Especially when we went from Super Bowl contenders to hoping for a .500 record in one season. Raider fan? H**L NO. Upset? YES
mediocrity , medocrity , mediocrity
The magic is over
Fireeeeee Shanahan !
First off to all of that want to fire Shanahan I want all you to know that
there are 31 other teams in the NFL feel free to jump on any other band wagon. second are you serious about plummer we have never had a bigger bum!!! at qb. I do believe the raider came cost us this season
an until we get a real mlb and safeties nothing will change.
Dont fire Shanahan.. He is Good thill… first off.. .we have 11. rookie starteras.. 11!! Any one who can even winn a game with 11 rookies deserves a Frikkn medal. Second: Plummer, vs. Cutler.. hehe.. NO, dont even compare the two.. Cutler is a guy for the future.. Dont get me wrong, i liked plummer, he was fun, and a caracter.. But Cutler i something else.. he is amazing.. NO USE ARGUING that.. OK. here comes the usuall, interception.. blablabla.. He is a risk taker, someone who goes all out.. And to be that specail team, who can make it to the SuperBowl.. you need that kind of guy.. He is a mix of Brett Favre, Manning and Elway.. haha.. Yes i SAID IT.. the nr. 7- Jay Cutler.. Seriously.. this is a young team, and to say you cant blame the losses on that.. well thats dumb.. A young team can winn and lose to any one.. OK..No news there.. Wait one more season, and every one will praise Shana-han for his exelent eye. This team needs one more season.. AND THEY WILL BECOME THE BOMBDIGGETY OF THE NFL..
Fry the Jets…(please)..
And yes, im a Norwegian, thats with the miss spellings..NO need to comment.. Im sure you would mess up when writing in my language. Go Broncos…Cant wait to go see a game.. Flying over to see the Broncos BEAT the Bills..
Cutler vs. Plummer—-Plummer broke 2 franchise records that Elway set. Most yards in a season and most yards in a game. Cutler better than Plummer? I think they are close but Cutler has a long way to go just to catch up to Plummer’s experience. Give them 1 more Year? What happend to the young team from last year? 1 more year isn’t going to make a diffrence for this team. Why? Because Shanahan’s way of fixing things is to put rookies in. We will still be the unexperienced young team that we have been the last couple of years.
Shanahan must go for this team to be succesful again. 1 Playoff win in 10 years is unacceptable. Plain and Simple
you know everyone keeps putting this on one player or another or even the coaches when the truth is this is a team game and lets face it this team failed to cover each other.by that i mean the deffense gave up 31 points but thats no suprise is it but where was the offense they only scored 10 points so they were no help to the deffense and we should no by this point that our d isnt going to win us any games not this year but maybe next lets face it this team isnt very good right now but with just a few new players and some adjustments from our coaching staff this team will be very good.maybe even next year keep the faith coach knows what he is doing….broncfan 4 life
Some of y’all up there are just killing me. First, Jake Plummer? Are you seriously willing to reminiss about a guy who’s in his mid 30′s, accompanied by a history of making notorious (if not idiotic) mistakes in games–as a veteran no less? He was a sandlot QB who liked to play the game like he was in a sandlot. Also remember that there’s a reason why Arizona didn’t shell out the big $$$ for him to stay. And it took 3 yrs to figure that out in Denver.
Now, I can agree that Cutler still looks like a rookie at times, but (in agreement with some of the above) I hold the coaching resposible for that. As a former QB, there’s no price one can put on a good QB coach & wise OCoordinator to call plays to help revive you from a mistake. Instead, it would appear that they just toss him back into the fire (one that our poor D helps to create). Too, the coaches need to teach Jay that he has more than Marshall to throw to. I’ve watched Cutler enough to anticipate that his selection process goes like this: Marshall, Marshall, Marshall–oh wait, maybe Scheffler or even Royal! I think Brett Farve & Tom Brady have successfully demonstrated that throwing to whomever is open can be pretty effective–a lesson Jay might want to consider. As well, Shanahan might want to consider priming his receivers (TEs & RB included) that they will now be expected to EXPECT some balls to be tossed their way and to be ready. I’d bet $$$ that that would add a new wrinkle to a now predictable O.
Second, as far as the running game, EVERYBODY’S HURT!!! How does a team put together a decent rushing attack when everybody gets hurt? I never know who’s going to play–a familiar name, a rookie, or a new guy off of the practice squad. Not to mention, Shanahan’s RBs, once selected, always became THE workhorse. However, you can’t work a horse if he’s always lame. I don’t mind watching Jay throw 50 times a game, I just wish they’d call a game for him that wouldn’t involve the perilous decisions he tends to make when rattled.
Third, the defense…Ughhhh. Perhaps the biggest mistake Shanahan makes is trying to promote from within or to select the dark horse canidate. Hence, Larry Coyer (within), Jim Bates (dark horse) & now Bob Slowik (within) have all eventually hit the proverbial “brick wall.” Bates really never had a reasonable resume for deserving a DC position. He had 5 yrs in Miami where he just so stumbled into the recipe of players he then desperately tried to cook up into a D in Denver. And in between Shanahan’s basement-bargain signings (our conglomeration of Ss, LBs, & D-lineman over the last 3 yrs) & Bates shuffle, hit-me, discard, & (finally) fold routine, we’ve got one heck of a mess called a defense. You really do get what you pay for–and IT HAS A SHELF LIFE. Champ Bailey won’t stay a shutdown CB forever. John Lynch was proof of time taking its toll. As much as I hate the Patriots, I genuinely admire their ability to make ANYONE they have on the roster a competitor & contributor. Coaching, coaching, coaching; you get what you pay for here too. Slowik reminds me of Coyer: Just let ‘em go out there and play; no defensive scheming necessary.
I agree that because Shanahan’s so passive a fiery DCoordinator might bring some balance. In the end, he either has to bone up for some quality D guys or he’s going to have to (again) go out and try to hire some premium coaches that can shape these rooks and castoffs into the contributors he envisions. AND, I also agree that the loss of Al Wilson was more devastating than first thought. The D has never quite been the same since his injury/departure.
Well, there’s my once-a-year thoughts I’ll post, inspired by y’all. I’d really like to see the Donks get their act together and do something great this last part of the season, but where does it begin?
doctorising you make alot of good points and i agree with most of what you say i totally agree that coach needs to pony up the cash for some proven d-linemen and safties but i dont think slowik is the answer at dc and ive said it b4 and im going to say it again[ted cottrel is looking 4 a job or how about romeo hes going to be looking at the end of the year]this team needs passion on d needs someone to lite a bonfire under there backsides and maybe then they will start playing with heart.O yeah another thing coach needs to stay on the offenssive side of the ball and leave the d to the d coachs
First, let’s stop pointing the finger at Mike Shanahan!!! This man has lost his star linebacker to career ending injury, his future star cornerback to murder, his amazing offensive co-ordinator to a head coaching position, an an insane number of players to retirement over the last 8 years. You can’t replace players like Elway, Sharpe, Rod Smith, T. Davis, Lepsis, Neil Smith, Atwater and McCaffrey in a short period of time. Clearly Shanahan also made a huge mistake letting Trevor Pryce and Reggie Hayward go.
But let’s stop for a moment and compare Denver to some other teams who have taken similar losses. Most notable is the Kansas City Chiefs. Here we have a team who has lost great players to tragedy, retirement, and poor trades just like Denver. But what has any coach accomplished there in the last ten years. Not much!
Shanahan has our offense together, but we need to fire most of our defense and simply start over. Heck, the players available in free agency next year will be better than half our roster. Face it, as talented as he is, Dumerville just doesn’t have the strength to overpower tackles in the NFL. Bates made poor draft choices, and had the Broncos been able to predict injury to Al Wilson, Denver would have drafted a middle linebacker not DJ Williams. We had some amazing success this year experimenting with a 3-4 defense. I’d love to see more of it if we’re ever able to get some healthy linebackers.
But HOLY COW people, we’re leading our division!!! All hope is not lost. Do any of you realize Denver has NEVER led the division from start to finish in a single year???? It could really happen this year!!! Let’s get behind our our coach! There is only one team that is younger than ours and performing better in the entire NFL. And we beat them two weeks ago!
TIME OF POSSESSION! ! !