Before you can get to where you want to go, you have to know where you are.
The Broncos are painfully aware of the latter.
“Let’s not lose touch with reality,” head coach John Fox said this week. “This is a 4-12 football team under a new staff. We’re four games into it. We’re 1-3, that’s the reality. That’s where we are.”
Indeed.
John Fox is four games into his tenure as the Broncos’ head coach. Four games. In the NFL world of 100-hour work weeks, that’s hardly enough time to organize one’s office, although I’m assuming Coach Fox was able to get that done at some point during the lockout.
I thought Coach Fox would get a honeymoon, or at least a general good-feeling stage, that would last longer than four games.
Please don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying the Broncos are a good team right now. I’m not saying they’re one player away from contending for the playoffs or the Super Bowl.
They aren’t. And no one in the organization is pretending otherwise. Sunday’s game against Green Bay showed how far away they are from those things.
Somehow the Broncos have to reconcile the reality of where they are with the desire to still win as many games as possible this year. It’s too early in the season to play for next year yet the reality of where they stand is also impossible to ignore.
“Everybody wants it now,” Fox said. “That’s not just in football, it’s in everything. I can understand. We want to win now, too. We’re done with the first quarter and we have three-quarters (of the season) to go.”
In the final three-quarters of the season, I want to see how this team develops. I want to see what parts of the foundation they can put in place that will contribute to long-term excellence.
If they win a bunch of games doing that, great. If they don’t, but there are identifiable elements of the foundation of a quality organization and team, that is also great because without the foundation of a strong front office, coaching staff and roster, the Broncos will not get back to where they once were and where the Packers now stand.
For many, that kind of progress this season is just not good enough. Win games or else the season is a waste. I get that line of thinking but I don’t subscribe to it.
For me, wanting to see progress in building the foundation is not an excuse to lose games. It is simply a rational expectation given the reality the Broncos currently face.
“We aspire to be where they (the Packers) are and that means win the Super Bowl and be the defending Super Bowl champs,” Fox said. “It didn’t happen for them overnight and I don’t think anyone in their right mind would think it’s going to happen for us overnight.”
That is abundantly clear. In the final twelve games of the season, I’m ready to see how many steps they take towards one day realizing their aspirations.
Thanks for reading,
Mike
Tags: Packers
Mike I have to apologize to you and everyone else. I mis-spoke myself. This is Orton’s last year on his contract and it had been stated by someone else that he MAY be gone at the end of this season. I stand corrected sir. But, it still does not make me understand why we have a first round sitting on the sidelines, coming in for one lame play, and then saying something to the effect that it just wouldn’t work. I don’t know his exact words, but that was basically the jist of it. One play!
Personally, I do not look for Orton to be going anywhere. Fox does not want a new qb. He wants a veteran. Fox is not going to build a team around his qb. He wants his qb to adjust to his scheme. This is just the way I see this playing out. I look for Orton to be resigned, Quinn and Tebow to be gone, Luck to be drafted, and Weber to possibly be staying. Like I said earlier, Miami is probably going to be looking for a qb very soon, trade Tebow to them. I don’t figure he will give them much problems if he sees that he will be getting the opportunity to play. That is all he wants. The chance to play and prove himself to a team that wants him.
@lenster7: Orton can’t afford to get injured he needs to make sure and stay healthy and have a good season so he can get his long term contract he’s looking for. You know that old saying “when the going gets tough, the tough get going, everyone else quits.”
@mike_rice: Thanks for the response. You’re right, I wouldn’t want them to come out and say such a thing. I guess I still have a cavity, some gut rot, and an orange stain on my tee shirt from drinking the koolaid last two seasons. I feel that they’ve brought our hopes up too high and then crushed them. I know baby steps and we’ll just have to keep pluggin’ away until we can walk and then run.
I wish I had a DeLorean………………
killerkod,
You would have to remodel it to carry more than 2 I’m afraid. I am not sure you could build one of those that big, but that is a good thought. I like that.
I wish it could be like in Madden when you do something dumb or accidentally you can just not save your franchise and restart right back where you left off…………….
@killerkod: You’d need a DeLorean Semi Fleet LOL!
brian………
still not big enough…….LOL
Being that miami didn’t take orton and now we have what we call our qq situatiion. Is anyone else happy that they are in desperate need of a qb. Since thaey didn’t want to trade for orton and were waiting for us to drop him what goes around comes around. That staff is as good as gone. Ha, ha.
It’ll only be a matter of time before Marshall puts his foot through his TV or something stupid like that…………his patience is waivering quickly I’m sure. He’s such a talented dumba$$.
Tebow would fit right in with their Wildcat stuff they like to run. We all know Orton isn’t going anywhere.
As Orton isn’t the answer here in Denver, Henne is not the answer in Miami either.
Yes, it is a reality check us as fans and for the Team.
Coach Fox did inherit a 4-12 Team from the previous staff.
It’s obvious the Team has a way to go to get back to competing against the upper echelon on the NFL. Tough to grade ourselves against the SB champs but they were 6-10 three years ago.
For obvious reasons, concern will continue to grow with the fan base if the same mistakes are repeated continuosly and no progress is made at key positions. That’s just the reality of the current situation.
Setting the most recent loss aside, there were some good things to take out of the last matchup and we look forward to the Team working to get better as they take on division rival, San Diego Chargers.
EFX has the right mindset to continue to build thru the draft and adding thru FA. Individual groups are making strides as the season progresses. Hopefully in the not too distant future, we’ll have all the pieces in place to go along with a great scheme, on both sides of the ball, to have a complete Team.
Thanks for the post Mike.
GO BRONCOS!!!!
Did anyone watch the N”if”L segment on nfl.com?
Too funny………..and who knows how it all would’ve panned out. I guess that’s the fun in it all………it obviously didn’t and things are the way they are now for a reason.
Just like Shanny getting axed and McD coming here to destroy the franchise. Let’s hope there’s a positive N”if”L episode on us a few years down the road, after we win our championship.
I think getting McGahee was the best aquisition in FA. Hopefully we can continue rely on him to provide us with some sort of rushing attack.
I think part of the problem is as fans we also have too high of expectations sometimes. I knew they weren’t going to turn it around this season, maybe not even next season. There was still a part of me that thought that it could happen. Sometimes that part of my brain takes over and I get engrossed in what could happen instead of thinking a little more logically.
I’m going to start trying to see the positives instead of focusing on the negatives which blur my vision to see the positives.
Weimen – first you liken the fans to politicians, saying they only think they have the answers because they are outside of the situation. Then you go on to describe the situation. How do you know Tebow is not in the plans for the future? How do you know they don’t think he can IMPROVE his ability to execute the scheme? You must be inside the organization right? C’mon the irony has to be a least a little funny to you. It certainly is to me.
I’ve made it a personal point not to clamor too much for Tebow since the regular season started, but now I will echo the statements of Mike Golic of ESPN’s Mike and Mike – if we lose to San Diego at home this week it’s really time for the brass to consider putting in Tebow, and that’s when I personally will allow myself to go crazy with it. As for all the folks who’ve been saying coach Fox needs to be fired I have to go with Mr. Rice and say I’m surprised he hasn’t got a honeymoon that lasted a bit longer. So we got dominated by the champs. If the defending champs don’t dominate a rebuilding team then what would it say about them? And as I’ve been saying since the beginning of the season and will continue to say until it’s just about over – I’m looking for us to be a better football team in November than we are now. Good article Mr. Rice!
I’m so glad we got McGahee. He runs with power and conviction and works hard. If we had to rely on kno-show we’d be up sh&t creek without a paddle. The guy can’t even ride a stationary bike! LOL
I hope he’s released at the end of the year.
I have been out at Dove valley to see Tebow and I will admit that he does not look like a Starting QB. And I know the broncos wasted that pick and bowlen should have stepped in and said no. I admit those 2 years we got nothing to show for it and it hurts. We have drafted no bodies in 09 and 2010 Alphonzo Smith really we traded up for him and the next year we got rid of the guy. I thought that was a terrible idea. Moreno I hated that pick he is under sized and his field vison has always been terrible.
Thomas and Tebow in first round and neither one of them plays what a waste of money. Doom and bailey make the most on the team and both are injured every week.
Lets not forget we got rid of cutler,Marshall,Hillis,Tony, all for of them are pro bowl type players. The reason we are where we are is bad draft choices and bad trades. This year we are sitting on what we have and that aint much but for god sake lets make better choices.
We need a foundation of this team they need a QB they can all get behind and build this team around. Until then look for the Broncos to be a below 500 team.
Frist thing I HATE ORTON & FOX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OK I GOT THAT OUT OF MY SYSTEM NOW….SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT THE OFFICE IS DOING FOR OUR TEAM.. HOW DID WE GET A COACH THAT HAD A WROSE WINNING REACORD THEN US AND OR OFFICE SAYS YEAH HE CAN WIN FOR WHEN HE COULD’T EVEN WIN WITH HIS LAST TEAM WTF LOL THIS CRAP MAKES ME CRAZY THEN WERE GOING TO TRADE ORTON THEN WE DONT AND THEN HE BECOMES OR STARTER LOL LOL SOMETHING JUST AINT RIGHT….TRUST ME BRONCOS FANS I PUMB ORANGE AND BLEED BLUE IM A HUGE BRONCOS FAN LOVE THEN BUT SOMETHING IS GOING ON IM NOT LIKEING IT PUT TEBOW IN AND SEE WHAT WE GOT AND MORE THING GET RID OF KNOWSHAWN WE NEED A SPEED BACK LOVE MAGEE GOOD PICK UP….GO BRONCOS
I know you want to make a point xxbronco……..
But that was a little excessive on the caps usage there……lol
That’s good that Tebow doesn’t look like a starting QB..because he’s not a starting QB. I’d be more concerned if Tebow looked like a starting QB and still was still on the bench.
Our team reminds me of the most famous American word: Capitalism. The rich (Broncos front office) get richer and have no care for what’s going on outside the building. The poor (Broncos’ fans–> I’m not saying we are poor, but just that the front office doesn’t really care) however keep buying tickets, jerseys, etc. They are capitalizing off our inputs. We keep inputting into this business and voicing our opinions and supporting this team, but are not really getting anything out of right now. Sure we get to watch our favorite team, but we watch them lose. We watch the constant mistakes we have seen the last 3 years after we were told there would be change. I realize that Fox took over a bad team, but I haven’t seen any improvements on any passed mistakes that we were told we would see. If I had no idea about our coaching changes throughout the system, and I was just watching the players play each week, I would say that we’ve had the same coaches for several years now. This team needs improvements somewhere. Von Miller for example looks great. Our pass rush has improved (bothering QBs, less time in the pocket), but besides that, I’m not really seeing any changes. No offense to our rushing attack because that is the only other area that I see somewhat of a change.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that we need excitement somewhere. We need Fox to be more experimental and come in to the new age of football. I’m not saying that its the way I want football to be, but it seems that its the way to win. The elite teams that have great chances of winning the super bowl each year in the NFL are based around a great QB. Sure you will have the random team that just has a solid all around team and an average quarterback that wins it every few years, but that’s not the generalization. I love Tebow and everything he does on the football field and it may be why I judge Orton so much, but I know one thing is true: I would be a monkey’s uncle if Orton wins a super bowl or even makes it to a super bowl. Tebow may not be the answer, but heaven’s sake, make a change somewhere Fox. This one just seems to be the most popular because everyone wants to know what will happen
The Biggest Mistake Denver Ever Did Was Letting MikeShannoh GO BRING BACK MIKE AND OR OLD TEAM PLEASE
So I ran into a gentleman that had a strikingly strong resemblance to my older self. He said “everything you ever need to know about sports is in this almanac.” So anyway I was looking through it and the 2011 Denver Broncos won the Super Bowl. They started off 1-3 but then they went on to win 9 of their last 12 games and won the division. Then than had some tough battle with the Patriots, Steelers and Ravens. They played the Green Bay Packers and it was a big deal since they blew them out in week 4 of the regular season. It was the exact opposite of the week 4 matchup and Orton was named MVP throwing for 21 of 29 for 323 yards and 3 TDs and 0 INTs.
brian_schneider:
HAHAHAH! I’m in the library and got a good chuckle out of that statement. I think that’s what Fox isn’t really realizing. Tebow is not a starter and doesn’t look like a starter because he doesn’t have experience. The other thing he doesn’t realize is that he’s not a practice player. He may not have played well TC practice, but on the field he looked pretty good to me. Sure he may not hit everyone on the numbers like Rodgers, but he created consistent drives and scores (with 0 INT). Give him some experience so that us fans can get our Tebow fix. Keeping him on the bench, while we are consistently losing is not doing anyone any good.
brian………YOU have the DeLorean don’t ya!!!
It’s been a work in progress since Shanny was fired but I finally got the flux capacitor operational midway through last season and it’s been in the testing phase since then throughout the lockout. Last week for the first time I actually tested on my dog and wouldn’t you know it just like in the movie his watch came back 1 minute ahead of mine. Early this week I tested on myself and what can I tell you wow…I’m going to make it rain up in here with Benjamins baby!!!!
I think we need to go back to that Patriots game where Bledsoe got hurt………….that would change EVERYTHING! haha
I was thinking of going back to the mid 90′s maybe? Or is that even far enough back.
I’ve said this before………..
We had such a potent offense brewing here a few years ago before McD came along. If we could’ve just kept adding to that and focus on the D we would be at the tops of the league right now………..
But, instead it was all destroyed on both sides of the ball.
UGH!
Woulda, shoulda, coulda, DIDN’T! lol
killerkod,
If I am not mistaken, I do believe that someone, not mentioning any names, fed us all a semi load of kool-aid prior to getting his behind kicked out of here. I believe that we all can agree on that fact.
McD was the man who tore it down, maybe just maybe Fox can be the man who built it back up…..
I love the way you guys pick & chose tidbits of information to support your impractical points of view. Most everyone here agrees that McDaniel’s made more bonehead personal moves that anyone related to the Broncos for the last 40 years. No offense to Tebow, but McDaniel’s made Tebow a first pick and traded away our future to move back into the first round to get him. He wasn’t even McDaniel’s first first round pick. Touting that we have a first rounder sitting on the bench is rediculous when every other team passed him by in the first round and most had him rated 4,5 or not at all. Tebow may or may not make it in the NFL but I hope he does, but he is no first round quarterback.
Imready, maybe they mean Brady Quinn.
Who should get a shot before Tebow. In my opinion.
That is IF the decision is made to bench Orton.
XxBRONCOSxX I totally agree with u we should have never slapped a hall of fame coach in the face like that i was so phucking pissed when i saw the ticker at the bottom of espn say broncos let shannahan go.
I can only imagine how good thing could be right now. yeah we may not be the best team but at least we would compete every year. there was a lot of up side to shannahan and cutler. id get all up set when they lose but super stoked when they win.
Now well now I’m on the Suck for Luck program and it’s working cause hell we are not a very good team right now. I don’t get all emotional unless we some how seek a win out.
Lets not get down on Fox yet though. he is the perfect coach for when we draft Luck. He will sure up our D and running game. As for Luck well his legit most talented player come out of collage since Elway. I can’t even coin that one. though from what i’ve seen yeah.
How about them Broncos S/L
Sndvl, the guys who hate on Orton don’t even recognize Brady Quinn being on the team for the most part. They are rolled up in Tebowmania. Personally , I think the kid on the practice squad may have more potential that any of the current QB’s on the roster. Our wild card for sure.
You guys watched Quin play right??? He looked just like Orton! Hes awful too. Even the season we picked him up he looked like crap to. If you dont agree with me please look up his stats since he has been a bronco. If Quin started we would finish this season 1-15.
We traded Quinn FOR PAyton Hills lol lol LOOK at him now Thats all im going to say
Mike rice? The part about saying you didn’t hear anything about the broncos not bringing orton back next year. No disrespect but it doesn’t matter what the broncos front office thinks. Orton is a free agent and that means it only matters what HE thinks. I’m pretty sure he looks at the broncos front office as negative the day he was put on the trading block. And a stadium full of fans booing him? Well I’m sure he has 31 other teams that he’d prefer to play for.
mike_rice
Thank you sincerely for responding to our posts alot of writers do not or just will not do that.
I’d like to offer a retort to your response of my post. You added, “One of the points i’m making is this: why have buyers remorse after just four games? That seems pretty quick to me.”
My original post states: “It’s when you start to have the ‘buyers remorse’ type feelings is when you start to get frustrated, for many thats already the case.
For me, that hasn’t kicked in… yet.”
Maybe you missed the end of the quote and I just wanted to clear that up, for the record, if you will. lol
As far as the PR type statements it was made clear that when the new regime would take the helm that there would be more transparency, yet they try and trade Orton towards the beginning of the season.
If that trade would have gone through then we would have Quinn or Tebow as the starting QB.
When the deal falls through they say: “Orton gives us the best chance to win now.” Then why try and trade him in the first place? If he gives us the best chance at winning then the organization should’ve never offered him for trade. To me It’s those inconsistencies, those types of comments that seem to be the PR type.
Thank you for your time and thank you for responding to us here on this blog. It is truly appreciated and again, a great column!
-Royalty
fellow bronco fans the reason tim tebow isnt our starting qb is because john fox and john elway dont like christians.
Mr. Rice: This is how I feel. I know we’re not going to the playoffs & I understand we want to know where the team is at the end of the season. I think that alot of fans know we are going to have a losing season. The fans are not mad about that. They know Orton is a free agent at the end of the season & don’t expect him back next year, also Quinn is a free agent & he probably wants out of Denver. So my thing is why isn’t he playing Tebow or even Weber to see where they are. Give them some experience to see how they work out. He wants to know how the team developes by the end of the season, so whats wrong with playing Tebow &or Weber or both to see how they develope.
BroncoRoyaltyEst.1979…thanks again for the kind words. As I mentioned, I try to respond as best I can.
Thanks for clarifying your remark. I did misread it and now I better understand why that feeling could be starting to set in.
In regard to your example of a PR-type statement from the Broncos. I respectfully disagree with your example. But I’m not going to go into detail because I really don’t want to get into a back-and-forth on the Orton-Tebow situation.
I completely understand the fans who want to see a change now. I completely respect that position, as well as those who hold to a different position.
The bottom line is that I truly believe that time will sort this out. It likely won’t be much longer before something happens. If the Broncos keep losing, I don’t think Coach Fox will simply wait until they’re, say 3-10, before making some kind of change. If the Broncos win some games and stay in the hunt for a division title, I think it’s likely they’ll stay with Orton until they’re out of the race.
We all think we know what this season will bring. We all believe we’re right in what we think will happen.
I’m admitting that I don’t know what will happen. I want to see what happens against San Diego.
If the Broncos win, they’re one game behind the leader(s) in the AFC West with 11 games to play.
If the Broncos lose to the Chargers, they will be three games behind San Diego just five games into the season.
I don’t mean it to be a cop-out…but time will tell.
broncofan9137…thanks for weighing in. See above about not going back-and-forth on the Orton-Tebow thing. I would invite you to listen to the Girdiron Grill talk show I host on 850 KOA after every Broncos game if you want details on where I stand on this. Needless to say, the topic has come up after every game!
Thanks again to all,
Mike
I was ready to dismiss this game, and move on to the next one, because that is the reality that our players face, as they prepare against San Diego…but, you know, there are some things about this game against Green Bay that won’t go away, and remain in my head. I was thinking of posting a lot of loose ends and threads I have about the Denver Broncos after the Charger game, because of the bye week — things I had thought, but didn’t post, because if there is nothing positive to contribute directly to the success of the task at hand, I don’t need my words to serve as a distraction to the players, or the team in general. It appeared to me that the Broncos were willing to commit the run defense to the middle, willing to challenge the Green Bay run to the outside — if they were fast enough. Starks certainly was up to that, and his run, (what was it, for 16 yards?), certainly did impress with speed. Then Green Bay followed up immediately with a deep strike in the air, to the center — brilliant tactical play-calling, flawlessly executed. But it is the run before this touchdown that has been in my mind — the run by Starks. The whole game was evidence of the training and practise of Green Bay, combined with evidence of meticulous planning by the coaching staff against the Denver Broncos. Indeed, practise and repetition of plays and assignments to the point of being mechanical — quick and fast, because it becomes effortless, and unthinking. And so, here is my argument — it can’t be just coincidence, the actual path that Starks ran on that play, if it were traced out on the field. It is, after all, Green Bay, and coach Lombardi’s, “Run-for-daylight,” adage, where run philosophy, if not originated, at least had the opportunity to be first elucidated and illumined nationwide through the mass media. “Run for daylight” is pretty intuitive. You simply run to where the gap is, in the defensive line — where the opponent is weakest. It might be suggested that a running back wait for blockers — which is particularly the case on kick off returns, when the runner doesn’t have pursuing defenders behind or in back of him. Or the runner is told to be patient, and “wait” for the hole to open up. That means, not to hit the hole before the linemen have a chance to attack the defender. What I saw from Starks was something anti-intuitive. He was running, presumably, as fast as he could. It certainly looked that way to me. But he did not take a straight line to the hole — and by “hole,” I simply mean that spot where Starks crosses the scrimmage line. In fact, Starks took a path to the hole with a curve that looked deliberate and practised. He did not appear to me to be
“improvising,” nor did he look the least interested in picking up blockers. As a matter of fact, because of the curve of his path to the hole, he didn’t even appear to be looking at the “hole” — he was simply looking in the direction he was running — and, because he was running in a curved path, the direction he was running was constantly changing. Now think about this: as a defensive player, when a runner makes for a place on the field in a straight line, it doesn’t matter how fast he is, you are able to gauge where he is going to be….but, when a player is running in a curved path, you as a defender are less sure where he is running to, because that is the definition of a curved path — a path where the direction is constantly changing. And here is something else, finally to think about. I am actually curious if the path that Starks ran wasn’t an actual figure from Analytic Geometry — perhaps a bullet curve, or other such figure. But the interesting thing about the path, is, that, even though Stark’s speed was constant, (say, as fast as he could run), because of the path he ran, he was actually accelerating, in terms of how fast he was approaching the scrimmage line(!). I have to think, that Green Bay Coach, Mike McCarthy, overheard someone say, somewhere, “It doesn’t take a rocket-scientest to figure out how to win football games….,” and decided, then and there, to do just that. Find a rocket-scientest, to find out how to win games!
Mr. Rice: I guess the subject about Tebow is getting alittle old. I just don’t understand but you are probably right about time will tell. I wish I could catch you radio show after each game but I live in CA. Born & raised in CO. & still call CO. home