You wouldn’t put a fork in them, because you wouldn’t want to consume—you wouldn’t want to savor—you wouldn’t even want to think about this painful season one second more than is necessary. I’ll be brief.
Last season the Broncos ran out to an 8-5 start. Not unstoppable, but dangerous on offense, which for some reason makes a team look a lot better than when they’re just average on both sides of the ball with the same record. Wonder if there’s anything to that. Anyway, we just needed one win—any win—in the last three games to clinch a playoff spot. Instead we fell apart, losing by twenty to Carolina, by a touchdown to Buffalo, and by a ton to San Diego in the last game of the season, a painful and sad loss. That loss was so bad that it felt like a big factor in the dismissal of our Hall of Fame coach, Mike Shanahan, and the team’s overall letdown was surely at play in our trade of Jay Cutler, too.
This year we busted out of the gate to a sparkling 6-0 mark. However, we faltered, and were 8-5 heading into the last three weeks, before we once again lost all three. (We were also 8-4 before losing four, but don’t crush my narrative.) The fact is, we got off to a good start and then lost it all one more time.
Not that making the playoffs is good enough, or the be all end all. I don’t expect the Broncos to win a title every year or even every decade, but I like the team to provide some legitimate excitement, and I liked that Shanahan’s teams were almost always prepared. The six-and-oh start made me gun-shy on new coach Josh McDaniels, but haven’t we just spent a couple of months getting our butts beat up and down the field? And doesn’t it make that 6-0 start seem a bit…flukish?
The Raiders loss two weeks ago was the worst for me. Except for when JaMarcus Russell first stepped on the field, I just knew we were going to lose, because we were getting outplayed by a team with half our talent. Although now, I’m not sure we’re all that talented, especially if we lose Brandon Marshall, only the most or one of the most talented receivers in the game, a beast of a man who saved the Cowboys game and whose talents are wasted on a short-passing team.
Keep Marshall, find a tight end who can catch, get healthy, keep developing Knowshon, keep Elvis and Champ happy whatever the cost, force Shanahan to come back and fulfill his contract, let McDaniels follow his heart to greener pastures, and give Ron Wolf $10 million to pick some quarterbacks in next year’s draft. Do that, and next year maybe we can go 9-7.
3 comments:
This was a disheartening and disappointing season. Right now we are a medicore organization with mediocre leadership, mediocre coaching, and mediocre talent. And there is nothing about us that makes me think that will change any time soon. Plus, the way our teams have shown no fight down the stretch the past two seasons is simply unacceptable.
You don't consider Tony Scheffler a good pass-catching tight end? He and Peyton Hillis were inexplicably underutilized. Apparently McDaniels doesn't get along with B-Marsh or Scheffler as both were inactive for the last game of the year. Based on the last week of the season it seems inevitable that both Marshall and Scheffler will not be Broncos next season.
I can't really blame McDaniels for deactivating Scheffler if he really said that "he can't wait for the season to be over," as was reported, but I don't understand why McDaniels refused all year to use Scheffler as the weapon he demonstrated he could be last year.
I think if the Broncos can get anything for Marshall they should trade him and let Royal be the #1 receiver. Apparently Marshall just wasn't meant to be a Bronco and he will be someone else's headache next year.
If I were a Broncos' fan I'd be worried about the D next year too. Can Dawkins produce for another year? Will Ty Law be back? Will Ayers and A. Smith ever justify their draft pick positions?
John, indeed. This year we seemed to have even less fight than last, though perhaps it only feels that way because it's fresh.
Tony Scheffler's an okay receiver, I guess...good makes it sound like he's a real matchup problem, which I don't think he is. Daniel Graham just makes me sad, I thought he'd be awesome in the league.
It's so hard to tell what Scheffler meant by that when it's out of context...was he serious? obviously joking? talking about some kind of injury? frustrated?
To me the suspensions felt less like punishment and more like McDaniels trying to prove it's his team, or whatever.
And why is Marshall considered such a headache? Yes, he wants money and wants to get his way in annoying fashion (though looking back the punt in practice was kinda funny). But he plays tough, plays hard, makes things happen out of nothing (see: end of the Cowboys game), goes across the middle without complaint, doesn't hurt the team with stupid celebration penalties, and is a superb talent. Not perfect, but to me he's easily worth the hassle.
You're right about Hillis, I guess (though I like Knowshon fine), but the D is a definite concern.
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