dragondawg
10-31-2007, 01:30 AM
Broncos are learning, losing
By MILO F. BRYANT
THE GAZETTE
DENVER -- Coloradans in general and Denver Broncos fans woke up today with one stubbornly sobering realization.
If they didn’t, they should have.
A 19-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers, who entered Monday’s game with a 5-1 mark, isn’t such a bad thing. What’s sobering should be the Broncos’ 3-4 record. And even more heavy is that Denver sits behind the San Diego Chargers and the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West.
The home team isn’t what folks thought it’d be. It’s not anything special. It’s not a team heading deep into the playoffs. It’s a team that might not even make the playoffs.
Those were ludicrous thoughts in August. Back then, the Broncos had this new defensive coach, Jim Bates. He was supposed to turn that unit into a stubborn juggernaut, a group that was supposed to hold opponents down while the offense ran over them.
Instead Denver has a porous defense. It’s a defense void of a real heartbeat. Only now are the Broncos realizing exactly how much they’re missing the continuity and understanding that former linebacker Al Wilson brought.
There are multiple drives and quarters that the defense looks like one of the league’s best. But too often it looks like a squad with no identity and nothing to fight for — so it doesn’t.
“The only thing we can do is look toward Detroit and get this thing going the right way,” defensive end Elvis Dumervil said. “We play our best games under pressure. We just have to play hard in Detroit and play Broncos football.”
See, the problem is nobody knows what Broncos football is. Surely there are folks in the organization who can wax poetic about its meaning at length. But the players, they don’t know. At this point of the season, the meaning of Broncos football changes from week to week.
“Our run defense is getting better,” Dumervil said. “Our coverage is there, and we’re getting coverage sacks, too. But we have to get all of the phases going at the same time.”
Sorry, but I didn’t see coverage. Well, actually, the coverage was “there” as Dumervil said, but “there” had to be a step or two behind the Packers receivers. And if there was a coverage sack, I missed that, too.
The Broncos are 3-4. That’s not even mediocre in most books. Around this place, where they talk of nothing but Super Bowls, 3-4 is on the edge of frightening.
Games such as the one Monday night are what folks should expect. The Broncos are a team led by young stars. Quarterback Jay Cutler is in his second season, and his favorite target, Brandon Marshall, is in his second year. D.J. Williams is playing his first year at middle linebacker.
When young players lead, inconsistency becomes the norm.
The Broncos have found an ability to drive the ball up and down the field. But get the team inside the 20-yard line, or red zone, and they act like the end zone is off limits.
Cutler appears to be tiring of the talk about the offensive woes with a short field. Cutler shook his head when asked about it. He gave a quick but smarmy look and took a deep breath.
“We talk about this every week,” he said. “Turnovers and, ahh, penalties. There you have it.”
Yup, there you have it. And people should continue talking about it until the Broncos actually show on the field that they’ve done something to fix it.
“Last week we were 3 for 3,” coach Mike Shanahan said. “This week we were 1 for 4. We didn’t get it done. If you want to be a good offensive football team, you’ve got to score in the red zone. Any time you’re 25 percent, it’s not good enough.”
But at this point, nobody should be surprised if the Broncos are 100 percent, 50 percent or 25 percent.
Young players still have to learn.
That’s reality.
http://www.gazette.com/sports/broncos_29117___article.html/team_coverage.html
By MILO F. BRYANT
THE GAZETTE
DENVER -- Coloradans in general and Denver Broncos fans woke up today with one stubbornly sobering realization.
If they didn’t, they should have.
A 19-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers, who entered Monday’s game with a 5-1 mark, isn’t such a bad thing. What’s sobering should be the Broncos’ 3-4 record. And even more heavy is that Denver sits behind the San Diego Chargers and the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West.
The home team isn’t what folks thought it’d be. It’s not anything special. It’s not a team heading deep into the playoffs. It’s a team that might not even make the playoffs.
Those were ludicrous thoughts in August. Back then, the Broncos had this new defensive coach, Jim Bates. He was supposed to turn that unit into a stubborn juggernaut, a group that was supposed to hold opponents down while the offense ran over them.
Instead Denver has a porous defense. It’s a defense void of a real heartbeat. Only now are the Broncos realizing exactly how much they’re missing the continuity and understanding that former linebacker Al Wilson brought.
There are multiple drives and quarters that the defense looks like one of the league’s best. But too often it looks like a squad with no identity and nothing to fight for — so it doesn’t.
“The only thing we can do is look toward Detroit and get this thing going the right way,” defensive end Elvis Dumervil said. “We play our best games under pressure. We just have to play hard in Detroit and play Broncos football.”
See, the problem is nobody knows what Broncos football is. Surely there are folks in the organization who can wax poetic about its meaning at length. But the players, they don’t know. At this point of the season, the meaning of Broncos football changes from week to week.
“Our run defense is getting better,” Dumervil said. “Our coverage is there, and we’re getting coverage sacks, too. But we have to get all of the phases going at the same time.”
Sorry, but I didn’t see coverage. Well, actually, the coverage was “there” as Dumervil said, but “there” had to be a step or two behind the Packers receivers. And if there was a coverage sack, I missed that, too.
The Broncos are 3-4. That’s not even mediocre in most books. Around this place, where they talk of nothing but Super Bowls, 3-4 is on the edge of frightening.
Games such as the one Monday night are what folks should expect. The Broncos are a team led by young stars. Quarterback Jay Cutler is in his second season, and his favorite target, Brandon Marshall, is in his second year. D.J. Williams is playing his first year at middle linebacker.
When young players lead, inconsistency becomes the norm.
The Broncos have found an ability to drive the ball up and down the field. But get the team inside the 20-yard line, or red zone, and they act like the end zone is off limits.
Cutler appears to be tiring of the talk about the offensive woes with a short field. Cutler shook his head when asked about it. He gave a quick but smarmy look and took a deep breath.
“We talk about this every week,” he said. “Turnovers and, ahh, penalties. There you have it.”
Yup, there you have it. And people should continue talking about it until the Broncos actually show on the field that they’ve done something to fix it.
“Last week we were 3 for 3,” coach Mike Shanahan said. “This week we were 1 for 4. We didn’t get it done. If you want to be a good offensive football team, you’ve got to score in the red zone. Any time you’re 25 percent, it’s not good enough.”
But at this point, nobody should be surprised if the Broncos are 100 percent, 50 percent or 25 percent.
Young players still have to learn.
That’s reality.
http://www.gazette.com/sports/broncos_29117___article.html/team_coverage.html