Broncos Losses, Kyle Orton Injury Put QB Controversy on the Radar in Denver

The current state of the Denver Broncos is somewhat reminiscent to the famous scene in the movie Young Frankenstein. Strange things start to occur while Igor and Dr. Frankenstein are working late at night digging a grave.

“It could be worse,” says a loony looking Igor, played by the late Marty Feldman.

“How?” says Dr. Frankenstein, played by Gene Wilder.

“It could be raining.”

Then, in a flash of lightning with a booming thunder and a torrential rain, the joke hits the audience and puts them in stitches.

Now this movie line wasn’t talking about football, but it could easily be applied to the likes of the New England Patriots blowing a 17-point lead Sunday night against the Indianapolis Colts. It could also just as easily be applied to the current downward trend in Denver that took the team’s amazing 6-0 start and quickly turned south to a mediocre 6-3.

Something strange happened to the Denver Broncos during their bye week, which coincidentally fell on Halloween weekend. Perhaps it was raining.

Either way, since the Broncos blew up the Chargers in San Diego, their season has taken on water of torrential proportions.

The Denver Broncos now find themselves fighting for their playoff lives. If they don’t wake up soon, they will fall victim to the San Diego Chargers and their fast start will go for naught.

A last-ditch effort to win the division and control the fate of the Chargers and the Broncos comes this Sunday in Denver.

It’s mind boggling to think the Broncos had a 3.5-game lead after beating down the Chargers in San Diego on Oct. 19. That lead has now entirely evaporated following two big wins by the Chargers against the Giants and the Eagles. Meanwhile, the Broncos posted two tough losses to the Ravens and Steelers and one unsettling loss to a dismal Washington squad.

 

The Recap

It seemed to start with a cloud of dust and a hearty “Hi-Ho, Silver!” and the Denver Broncos were off and running and throwing the deep ball. The same two elements that seemed to be lacking in their two previous losses showed up in Washington D.C. on Sunday.

Knowshon Moreno got the game going with a 29-yard jaunt and the Broncos were immediately in business. On the following third down play Kyle Orton went top shelf 40 yards to Brandon Marshall and the Broncos had the early 7-0 lead.

Almost as quickly as the Broncos scored did the Washington natives show that they came to play ball as well. They responded with a 78-yard drive that ended with a short two yard pass from Jason Campbell to big tight end Todd Yoder to even the score 7-7.

Broncos running back Correll Buckhalter was hit from behind by Lorenzo Alexander on the subsequent drive and fumbled. The one thing that is certainly a constant in the Broncos three losses are the turnovers and the Broncos turned it over twice to Washington’s zero on Sunday.

The Broncos defense held the Washington attack at bay following the turnover and Denver went back on offense.

Coach McDaniels chose to go on the quick strike again as he hit Brandon Marshall deep again on a ball that traveled 45 yards through the air for a 75-yard touchdown and a Broncos 14-7 lead.

Orton later had Eddie Royal wide open deep down field and the Broncos could have scored a third touchdown on a deep ball if not for overshooting an outstretched Royal.

Then, at the 6:39 mark of the second quarter, came the worst blunder of the Josh McDaniels era in Denver.

Say what you will about how poor special teams play was under Mike Shanahan’s watch, his teams never allowed a punter to look like John Elway. That is exactly what happened to Denver when Washington punter Hunter Smith hit Mike Sellers off of a fake field goal that went for a touchdown. 

The real embarrassment off of this play was that Washington showed their hand on the fake prior to coach Jim Zorn calling a timeout to set up the play correctly. Denver sadly enough failed to make any adjustments in preparation for a fake. The only response to come from McDaniels was that the Broncos had not seen the play before.

The play put the score at 14-14.

This play in particular might signal that it’s time for a new special teams coach. The Broncos have been riddled with poor play on special teams and certainly that play cost the Broncos this game at least in part.

On Orton’s last drive of the day, he led the Broncos to a field goal and their last points on the day and a 17-14 edge at the half.

Orton was injured on third down and it appears it is an injury that will have the Broncos looking at their future starter sooner than later.

The second half the Broncos defense played valiantly in the third quarter to help the offense find a way to win. The reality, however, was that backup Chris Simms was not ready to play mentally, and that fact alone ensconced the Broncos’ fate.

Washington subsequently wore down the Broncos defense by the fourth quarter and scored 17 points in the quarter to beat the Broncos going away, 27-17.

 

Quarterback Issues on the Radar

The real issue now is it comes with an underlying quarterback controversy brewing in Denver with Orton literally falling victim to what appears to be a very bad sprained ankle. Orton’s left leg was caught under the weight of a tackle and with it took some of the stability the organization was used to at the position.

The pure nature of the sort of injury suffered by Orton leads to easy speculation that he could be out anywhere between 6-8 weeks at minimum and the rest of the season a strong possibility. These sorts of injuries make an already immobile quarterback a duck on water for all too eager defenses to finish off for the rest of the season. In other words, it’s pure speculation on an early front but Orton may be done for the season and possibly as the starting quarterback in Denver.

Simms clearly showed he was not ready to play, going 3-of-13 for 13 yards and an interception. That leads to this thought: It might be time to start Tom Brandstater again this season. It would absolutely set off a sort of quarterback controversy, but face the facts. Simms, a highly paid backup, was not ready to play when all his team probably needed was one drive for a touchdown. If the Broncos get that touchdown early enough it might be a different outcome.

Going into the most important game of the season, it’s a simple question to consider. Would you rather have a quarterback that throws a good ball with a little inexperience or a backup who’s shown he’s not ready to play and isn’t throwing the ball incredibly well?

You have to feel for McDaniels, since he went the distance to get Orton and for a time that bet was paying off huge dividends on the Broncos’ tumultuous offseason. Now the Broncos’ season comes down to this. He must make the right decision here or the Broncos are in trouble in their most important game of the year.

Having looked at film on Simms and fellow backup Brandstater, it would seem that Brandstater, for all of his inexperience, is the more capable quarterback to help the Broncos franchise move forward. The situation, however, opens up the floodgates to trades and free agent signings to right the ship sooner than later. This is obviously a situation where anything is possible moving forward.

Earth to Jake Plummer: Come in, Major Tom!

So stay tuned.

 

The Final Note on the Washington Namesake

For nearly a century, the Washington football franchise has made its living off of the backs of a race of people that are nearly extinct in North America. Regardless of the origins of the team name, which there are exhaustive stories and excuses alike made to endorse the name, it needs to change.

That said, today an “official” decision was passed down today regarding the namesake, and Washington will not be forced to change the name of their franchise.

The irony is this: Neither Dan Snider, the previous ownership, nor any of the judges handling this case are part Native American in any form.

With the era that our country is currently under, it’s no longer a time to live in ignorance or under predatory capitalism, under both of which this clearly falls.

If the Washington franchise is so bold to claim to be the torch on the hill for an overrun race of people, they should put their money where their namesake is and sponsor tribal rights issues and scholarship programs.

For the better part of a century the football team has had the opportunity to do so and they have failed miserably.

The reality is there are no other sports franchises named after the color of a persons skin and their likeness emblazoned on a team logo. This is racism; apparently the Supreme Court does not consider racism an atrocity on humanity. In multicultural America it is an issue whether they admit it or not. It is racism, and let’s be clear; there are no mild forms of racism, just racism.

So this is something that the NFL should now address as a league. It has been a league that is quick to respond to detrimental actions from its players.

In this case, it should crack down on this ownership group for leaving a black eye on the league. It’s bad public relations for this charade to continue, and the team should change its name immediately.

Read more Denver Broncos news on BleacherReport.com

Veteran’s Day: Broncos Need Experienced Help As Orton Heals

I will finally admit it.  The Denver Broncos need to sign another quarterback. Now.

I say that not for the reasons many Broncos fans have been crowing about since Week One.  I don’t think Kyle Orton is a bad quarterback.  Orton is not holding back the Broncos offense.

He is not the problem. Every single Bronco fan should now realize this.

Orton, actually, is the solution.  With him out of the lineup during the second half of today’s game against the Redskins, the Broncos offense was putrid.  A lot of Broncos fans got their wish when backup quarterback Chris Simms finally got his chance to lead the Broncos’ attack.

It’s a wish they surely want back.  With Orton out with an ankle injury, Simms played poorly.  Three of 13 for 13 yards and an interception.  His quarterback rating: 7.5.  That’s barely lower than the IQ of the owner of the opposition.  (I kid, I kid…..or do I?)

People who have continued to doubt Orton’s value to the Broncos offense have officially run out of excuses.  The scoreboard doesn’t lie.  At the half, Denver led 17-14. The Broncos were then shut out in the second half and were outscored by a pathetic Redskins offense 13-0, leading to a final score of 27-17 in favor of the ‘Skins.

Now, this doesn’t put 100 percent of the blame on Simms.  The fact that the Redskins converted a fake field goal AFTER a timeout is beyond me. There is no excuse for that to happen and I am sure Josh McDaniels will let special teams coach Mike Priefer know that this week.

If Orton can’t go this week, McDaniels and GM Brian Xanders need to give strong consideration to bringing in a veteran.  Jeff Garcia immediately comes to mind.  I think Simms still has potential but you don’t throw someone under center that hasn’t played a meaningful football game in years when you are in the middle of a battle for the division.  With the Chargers coming in this week, you need to put your best foot forward and right now Simms is understandably rusty.

I understand Garcia would be rusty as well and would have to learn a new offense, but this is where experience serves him best.  He is a smart quarterback and could pick up the Broncos offense in a heartbeat.  Same goes for any veteran the Broncos would bring in.  McDaniels offense has been described by the coach himself as very “quarterback friendly” and learning it should not be much trouble for a seasoned veteran.

Now, Orton could be cleared to play this week and this could all be moot.  That said, Orton likely will not be 100 percent.  I think the Broncos would be better off with a more seasoned backup than Simms.  Simms had a chance to prove his worth today and he didn’t do it.  Some of that could be chalked up to rust, but he looked lost out there.

If the Broncos lived up to preseason expectations and were below .500, I would be all for letting Simms play, develop and get his legs back under him after missing so much playing time.  He, in theory, would then be ready to challenge Orton for the starting spot in 2010.

Fortunately, the Broncos are in a much better position than predicted.  Nine games into the season, they are tied for first with the Chargers at 6-3.  While the Broncos’ recent skid allowed the Chargers to close the gap from two games back to a tie, the Broncos are still in better shape than most had thought they would be.

If the Broncos want to get back on the winning track and keep this magical season from completely falling apart, they need to bring in a veteran quarterback.  If Simms truly has bought into the culture McDaniels has brought to Denver, he will understand that it is best for the team that a more experienced signal caller be brought in until Orton is ready again.

Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery for Orton, otherwise Denver better be ready for “plan B,” and that “B” does NOT stand for Brandstater.

 

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After Inexcusable Loss, Reeling Broncos Must Put Up or Shut Up

This was the game they couldn’t lose.

The 6-2 Broncos against the 2-6 Washington Redskins. The Redskins were thought to be a well-established “trainwreck.” An incompetent owner, a terrible offense, a confused coach, and an angry fan base made Washington the laughing stock of the NFC East.

And what did the Denver Broncos do? They went into the Nation’s Capital, and lost to them.

The Denver Broncos lost by ten points to the Washington Redskins. Inexcusable.

There are plenty of excuses. Kyle Orton was knocked out of the game after Redskins defensive end Brian Orakpo tackled him by the ankle.

In the second quarter, the Redskins lined up for a field goal, then went into punt formation, and then punter Hunter Smith threw the ball 35 yards downfield to the fullback for a touchdown. The Denver special teams were taken completely by surprise and had no answer for the trick play.

Chris Simms came in for Orton to start the second half and played “like crap” for lack of a better term. In two quarters of play, he made three completions on 13 pass attempts for a pitiful 13 yards and an interception to DeAngelo Hall.

On the bright side of things, the offense came out gunning in the first quarter.

Kyle Orton and Josh McDaniels had been heavily criticized for playing a conservative offense devoid of the “big play.” Determined to change that, Orton connected with Brandon Marshall on two big plays of 40 and 75 yards, showing that this tandem is capable of stretching the field.

However, the once-vaunted defense looked soft. The Redskins were playing without star running back Clinton Portis, and the banged-up Ladell Betts ran on the Denver defense 26 times for 114 yards and a late touchdown that put the ‘Skins up for good.

The statistics speak for themselves. The intangibles are what make this loss more distressing for the Broncos and their fans.

Denver is now 0-3 after the bye week. Over that week off, the rest of the league caught up to the them, and they have been unable to make any adjustments to regain their edge.

The cold reality of the NFL has now set in for Josh McDaniels. It’s nice to start 6-0, but it will mean nothing if this team misses the playoffs. Still haunted by their three-week meltdown last December, the time for this team to be kicked in their rear-ends is now.

This cannot continue. They had a chance to rebound and they let it slip away. Orton needs to be healthy for next week’s game against the Chargers.

Pending their game with the Eagles today, the Chargers and Broncos could be tied for the AFC West lead going into that game. The desperate struggle keeping this sinking ship afloat has begun.

The season is not lost by any means, but it is now going fast, and it’s time for the Broncos to “put up or shut up.”

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Will The Force Be With Them? Broncos Can’t Overlook Redskins

If Admiral Ackbar of “Star Wars” fame were a football fan, he would be screaming his trademark line to the Denver Broncos right now.

“IT’S A TRAP!”

The Broncos are currently in a sort of tailspin following two straight blowouts at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers.  If there ever was such a thing as a perfect opponent to bounce back against, it’s the Washington Redskins whom the Broncos face Sunday.

That’s the exact reason why the Broncos should not look past the Redskins this week.  It seems all too easy, like Darth Vader thought fighting Luke Skywalker in “The Empire Strikes Back.” This is the perfect week for a major letdown to happen for the Broncos, and it very well could.  Who at this time last week thought the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would not only beat the Green Bay Packers, but beat them by more than a touchdown?

Many Broncos fans are feeling confident heading into this weekend’s matchup, but others have a such a bad feeling about this game, it would make Han Solo proud. 

The Broncos offense has been stagnant the past two games and if there was ever a time for Josh McDaniels to take the leash off of Kyle Orton and see what he really can do, now would be the opportune time. Orton is notorious for being a dink and dunk passer and while that served him well the first six games of 2009, it must be dawning on Orton and McDaniels that the deep passing game has to open up for the Broncos to continue to win.

Washington’s defense, for all the team’s other flaws, is fairly stout.  Orton and company will be challenged this weekend so it’s important that the offense establish an early rhythm as well.  The offense needs to do its part early so that the Broncos defense can do their thing while protecting a lead instead of trying to come from behind. Orton needs to avoid sacks and not commit the critical turnover.

As far as the defense goes, they need to regain the form they had against the Steelers in the first half.  Ben Roethlisberger was under siege in the first half and the Broncos need to do the same to Jason Campbell on Sunday. Now, the Steeler offense Washington is not, and it’s easy to overlook Washington’s incompetency. 

That said, the Broncos still need to make plays because what happens if this is the one game in his entire career that Campbell is actually on target? The Broncos need to make the plays on defense instead of waiting for play to come to them.  I’m sure Mike Nolan has preached that all week.Any quarterback can get hot at any given time so the Broncos still need to be on their toes.

The Bottom Line

Denver has no excuses not to win this game.  They are better than the Redskins in every area.  As long as the Broncos offense gets moving early and doesn’t make the critical turnover and let the defense do the rest, the Broncos should be 7-2 heading into next week.

If Washington comes out on fire and the Broncos offense sputters early and often, then the Broncos could be in trouble.  A third consecutive loss would likely tie the team with the Chargers in the AFC West heading into next week’s face-off in Denver. The Chargers would have momentum clearly on their side and some will even begin wondering if Denver is really the team everyone thought they were before the season began.

The Broncos need this game.  It’s not a matter of trying. All they need to go out there and do what they did the first six games of the season.

After all as the wise Jedi Master Yoda said: “Do, or do not. There is no try.”

All of Broncos Country is hoping the team has those words at heart this Sunday.

Read more Denver Broncos news on BleacherReport.com

Will The Force Be With Them? Broncos Can’t Overlook Redskins

If Admiral Ackbar of “Star Wars” fame were a football fan, he would be screaming his trademark line to the Denver Broncos right now.

“IT’S A TRAP!”

The Broncos are currently in a sort of tailspin following two straight blowouts at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers.  If there ever was such a thing as a perfect opponent to bounce back against, it’s the Washington Redskins whom the Broncos face Sunday.

That’s the exact reason why the Broncos should not look past the Redskins this week.  It seems all too easy, like Darth Vader thought fighting Luke Skywalker in “The Empire Strikes Back.” This is the perfect week for a major letdown to happen for the Broncos, and it very well could.  Who at this time last week thought the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would not only beat the Green Bay Packers, but beat them by more than a touchdown?

Many Broncos fans are feeling confident heading into this weekend’s matchup, but others have a such a bad feeling about this game, it would make Han Solo proud. 

The Broncos offense has been stagnant the past two games and if there was ever a time for Josh McDaniels to take the leash off of Kyle Orton and see what he really can do, now would be the opportune time. Orton is notorious for being a dink and dunk passer and while that served him well the first six games of 2009, it must be dawning on Orton and McDaniels that the deep passing game has to open up for the Broncos to continue to win.

Washington’s defense, for all the team’s other flaws, is fairly stout.  Orton and company will be challenged this weekend so it’s important that the offense establish an early rhythm as well.  The offense needs to do its part early so that the Broncos defense can do their thing while protecting a lead instead of trying to come from behind. Orton needs to avoid sacks and not commit the critical turnover.

As far as the defense goes, they need to regain the form they had against the Steelers in the first half.  Ben Roethlisberger was under siege in the first half and the Broncos need to do the same to Jason Campbell on Sunday. Now, the Steeler offense Washington is not, and it’s easy to overlook Washington’s incompetency. 

That said, the Broncos still need to make plays because what happens if this is the one game in his entire career that Campbell is actually on target? The Broncos need to make the plays on defense instead of waiting for play to come to them.  I’m sure Mike Nolan has preached that all week.Any quarterback can get hot at any given time so the Broncos still need to be on their toes.

The Bottom Line

Denver has no excuses not to win this game.  They are better than the Redskins in every area.  As long as the Broncos offense gets moving early and doesn’t make the critical turnover and let the defense do the rest, the Broncos should be 7-2 heading into next week.

If Washington comes out on fire and the Broncos offense sputters early and often, then the Broncos could be in trouble.  A third consecutive loss would likely tie the team with the Chargers in the AFC West heading into next week’s face-off in Denver. The Chargers would have momentum clearly on their side and some will even begin wondering if Denver is really the team everyone thought they were before the season began.

The Broncos need this game.  It’s not a matter of trying. All they need to go out there and do what they did the first six games of the season.

After all as the wise Jedi Master Yoda said: “Do, or do not. There is no try.”

All of Broncos Country is hoping the team has those words at heart this Sunday.

Read more Denver Broncos news on BleacherReport.com

D’oh! An Apology to the Bleacher Report Editors and Community at Large

Looks like I fumbled.

I want to apologize for everyone for the inundation of articles in the last 24 hours.  I decided to branch out and create my own blog that had all my past BR features on the Broncos.

Well, as I linked the blog to my BR profile, I see all the articles I put on the blog were re-published here, causing the editors to have a nervous breakdown, it looked like.

I also want to apologize to Sayre and Chaz, my fellow Broncos Featured Columnists, for suddenly taking over the front page.

Again, I am sorry and hopefully whatever I did wrong will be corrected in the future.

Read more Denver Broncos news on BleacherReport.com

Step Up or Get Out: Denver’s Key Players at Washington

Is it me, or is this year’s team starting to remind anyone else a little bit of the 2006 Denver Broncos?

Personally, I hate to make comparisons to old teams. What happened three years ago should have no relevance to what’s going to happen for the rest of this season. Still, the two teams are a little too similar to ignore.

That team, as you may remember, was famous for not allowing a single touchdown through their first 11 quarters of play and did not surrender more than 20 points in a game until their loss at home to the Indianapolis Colts in Week Eight. The offense wasn’t scoring as many points as Mike Shannahan would have liked and he eventually benched Jake Plummer in favor of rookie quarterback Jay Cutler.

Until their last two games, the 2009 Broncos had not given up more than 25 points in a game nor had they been outscored in the second half. Or lost a game at all. The offense, though mostly efficient and turnover free, has struggled to put points on the board. Some in the media are already calling for Chris Simms to replace Kyle Orton at quarterback despite the fact that Orton has been a good fit for Josh McDaniels’ offense.

After ending the first half of 2006 at 6-2, the Broncos slumped badly in the second half of the season and finished with a record of 9-7. The team missed the playoffs for the first time since 2002 and it was the beginning of the end for Mike Shannahan in Denver.

After ending the first half of 2009 at 6-2, the Broncos…?

That part of this article, or season, has yet to be written for the Broncos. It starts this Sunday at Washington, where Josh McDaniels and co. desperately need a win to avoid going into their key Week 11 matchup with San Diego on a three-game losing streak.

Here are three players that need to play well for the Broncos to win in our nation’s capital.

QB Kyle Orton: If you read my column from earlier this week, you know my feelings about Orton’s play as of late. He hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass in the last two games and has looked frighteningly inconsistent passing the ball. Based on what he’s done, it’s hard to be too tough on Orton, but it’s obvious that something is off.

For those of you who think the Broncos would be better off with Jay Cutler (five int’s last night) or Chris Simms under center, you are mistaken. A switch to Simms would only be detrimental to the progress this team has made and barring an injury or a simply awful performance by Orton, McDaniels wouldn’t make that change anyway. So what then?

We’ve seen that Orton has a hard time getting the passing game going when the running game is faltering as well, so Denver needs to get back to what they do best. And speaking of running the ball…

RB’s Correll Buckhalter/Knowshon Moreno: Most people thought that under Josh McDaniels, the Broncos would deviate from the running game that they had relied on for years and move towards a more passing-oriented offense. This supports my belief that most people know nothing about football. Wait a minute, I was one of those people!

However, this much I do know. This season, when the Broncos run the ball well, they win. When they don’t…well, you saw what happened in the last two games. And I don’t know about you, but I say it’s time for the No. 12 pick in the draft to earn his paycheck. Moreno has been solid, but the Broncos expected him to be more than just solid when they drafted him.

CB Champ Bailey: In all likelihood, Jason Campbell won’t even look Champ’s way. Most quarterbacks don’t. However, Ben Roethlisberger did, and he and Santonio Holmes found unlikely success as they burned Bailey on more than one play.

It hurts to see that happen to your team’s best player, but even Champ has his moments of mortality. He’ll probably bounce back this week and assume his usual duties of shutting down half of the field. I don’t want to be greedy, but it’s been awhile since No. 24 has had a pick-six.

Read more Denver Broncos news on BleacherReport.com

Step Up or Get Out: Denver’s Key Players at Washington

Is it me, or is this year’s team starting to remind anyone else a little bit of the 2006 Denver Broncos?

Personally, I hate to make comparisons to old teams. What happened three years ago should have no relevance to what’s going to happen for the rest of this season. Still, the two teams are a little too similar to ignore.

That team, as you may remember, was famous for not allowing a single touchdown through their first 11 quarters of play and did not surrender more than 20 points in a game until their loss at home to the Indianapolis Colts in Week Eight. The offense wasn’t scoring as many points as Mike Shannahan would have liked and he eventually benched Jake Plummer in favor of rookie quarterback Jay Cutler.

Until their last two games, the 2009 Broncos had not given up more than 25 points in a game nor had they been outscored in the second half. Or lost a game at all. The offense, though mostly efficient and turnover free, has struggled to put points on the board. Some in the media are already calling for Chris Simms to replace Kyle Orton at quarterback despite the fact that Orton has been a good fit for Josh McDaniels’ offense.

After ending the first half of 2006 at 6-2, the Broncos slumped badly in the second half of the season and finished with a record of 9-7. The team missed the playoffs for the first time since 2002 and it was the beginning of the end for Mike Shannahan in Denver.

After ending the first half of 2009 at 6-2, the Broncos…?

That part of this article, or season, has yet to be written for the Broncos. It starts this Sunday at Washington, where Josh McDaniels and co. desperately need a win to avoid going into their key Week 11 matchup with San Diego on a three-game losing streak.

Here are three players that need to play well for the Broncos to win in our nation’s capital.

QB Kyle Orton: If you read my column from earlier this week, you know my feelings about Orton’s play as of late. He hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass in the last two games and has looked frighteningly inconsistent passing the ball. Based on what he’s done, it’s hard to be too tough on Orton, but it’s obvious that something is off.

For those of you who think the Broncos would be better off with Jay Cutler (five int’s last night) or Chris Simms under center, you are mistaken. A switch to Simms would only be detrimental to the progress this team has made and barring an injury or a simply awful performance by Orton, McDaniels wouldn’t make that change anyway. So what then?

We’ve seen that Orton has a hard time getting the passing game going when the running game is faltering as well, so Denver needs to get back to what they do best. And speaking of running the ball…

RB’s Correll Buckhalter/Knowshon Moreno: Most people thought that under Josh McDaniels, the Broncos would deviate from the running game that they had relied on for years and move towards a more passing-oriented offense. This supports my belief that most people know nothing about football. Wait a minute, I was one of those people!

However, this much I do know. This season, when the Broncos run the ball well, they win. When they don’t…well, you saw what happened in the last two games. And I don’t know about you, but I say it’s time for the No. 12 pick in the draft to earn his paycheck. Moreno has been solid, but the Broncos expected him to be more than just solid when they drafted him.

CB Champ Bailey: In all likelihood, Jason Campbell won’t even look Champ’s way. Most quarterbacks don’t. However, Ben Roethlisberger did, and he and Santonio Holmes found unlikely success as they burned Bailey on more than one play.

It hurts to see that happen to your team’s best player, but even Champ has his moments of mortality. He’ll probably bounce back this week and assume his usual duties of shutting down half of the field. I don’t want to be greedy, but it’s been awhile since No. 24 has had a pick-six.

Read more Denver Broncos news on BleacherReport.com

Week 10: NFL Picks & Predictions

I pick ’em every week and have for years. This season, I’ve been doing most of my picks right here on bleacherreport.com and also over at my site at www.sports-uncut.com.

Going into last week (9), I was a solid if unspectacular 82-35, good for a 70.0 percent accuracy rate. Last season was my personal best of 80 percent. This year, I’m looking to improve that!

Over the last two weeks, I’ve been good, going 21-5 and I finished Week 9 with a solid 11-2 record, not bad by my standards.

This week marks the first week of Thursday Night Football on NFL network when the Bears travel to San Fran., and I’m hoping that I don’t have to hear any more of Gumble than necessary…..

It’s a new week, so let’s get on with it!

As always, I’m not picking the spread here folks; I’m picking the straight up winner.

Record

Record from Two Weeks Previous (8): 10-3

Record from Last Week (9): 11-2

Record coming into Week (10): 93-37 (71.5 percent)

Now that the records are out of the way, let’s get right to it!

Begin Slideshow

Getting Off the Denver Broncos’ Bandwagon, but Doing It Slowly

It’s the halfway mark of the NFL season. That means that the playoff picture is becoming slightly clearer…”slightly” being the key word here.

You see, many fans (myself included) spent the first half of the season jumping on and off various bandwagons. Rapid judgments rarely held true throughout the first half, with many teams and their fans riding an emotional rollercoaster of ups and downs.

The 49ers and Jets had fans flocking to their bandwagons after the first several weeks. Now you have to look long and hard to find anybody who is confident in either team’s chances at making the postseason.

Meanwhile, when the Steelers and Patriots struggled briefly in the first few games it was the end of either team’s chances. Five- and three-game winning streaks, respectively, and all is right with the powerhouses of the last decade.

So clearly, I should know better than to put too much stock into a couple of games. Yet, here I am, climbing off the Denver Broncos bandwagon.

Why?

Well, for one reason their story is eerily familiar.

This year, Denver got off to a rapid start. Meanwhile, San Diego struggled early, putting the Broncos in firm control of the AFC West. However, the same storyline unfolded last year, when Denver pulled one of the bigger choke jobs in football to end up missing the playoffs.

The Broncos also played poorly down the home stretch in 2007, ruining their already slim chances of earning a wildcard berth. In 2006, Denver got off to a scorching 7-2 start… and proceeded to miss the playoffs.

Notice a trend here?

The Broncos are to football what the Mets are to baseball: great starters, terrible finishers. And unfortunately for Denver, San Diego is their polar opposite.

The Chargers always face plenty of doubters after slow starts, but somehow seemingly manage to catch fire and win the AFC West.

This year seems to be unfolding according to typical form. On October 19, it seemed impossible that Denver would not win the West. They were 6-0, coming off of a huge victory over the Chargers in San Diego. The loss left the Chargers at 2-3.

Since then, the Broncos have not won a game and the Bolts have not lost one. That leaves San Diego just one game behind Denver in the standings.

Now, I don’t think that Denver is a bad team. They are actually a very good one. They have a solid offensive line and a promising young running back in Knowshon Moreno.

As far as the receiving corps goes, Brandon Marshall is one of the best in the game and he has a solid group of players behind him. The defense has either played above their heads, or discovered their true potential. Only time will tell.

Which brings me to the quarterback. I know that this is a touchy subject and I don’t want to get into a debate about who did or said what in the Jay Cutler-Josh McDaniels showdown.

I don’t know if the Broncos did the right thing in trading Cutler and nobody else does, either. History will be the only accurate judge of that situation.

What I do know is that from a pure talent-wise standpoint, Kyle Orton is the weak link on this football team. The offense has struggled to find any explosiveness with Orton at the helm.

He did play well through the first six games, but let’s face facts. The Denver defense deserves most of the credit for the six wins.

So I struggle to see this team winning out in the AFC West. They have a history of coughing up leads in the standings with poor play late in the year.

With the most important position being manned by a marginally talented player, why should we expect that to change?

And with the Chargers finding their form at the same time that Denver appears to be losing theirs, I am most definitely getting off of the Bronco bandwagon.

However, I’m not jumping off, but rather climbing down slowly, trying to keep one foot on, as it were.

Something tells me that despite recent history, these Broncos might be different. To say that the offseason was tumultuous in Denver would be the understatement of the year. It seemed to be disastrous.

Yet the team not only survived all of the negative attention and inner turmoil, it started off the season by ripping off six consecutive wins. Something has to be said for a team that handles a situation that well.

Then there is the schedule. While the Broncos will have to play the Colts and Eagles on the road, they also get Oakland, Washington, and Kansas City (twice).

That’s four games that common sense says are gimmes for Denver. They also face the Giants who are rapidly falling apart. Still, New York has the talent to be a playoff team.

The pivotal game comes in two weeks at Mile High Stadium when the Chargers come into town. If Denver takes care of business against Washington and then manages to beat San Diego, I will be scrambling to find my place on the Bronco bandwagon once again.

But for the moment, I really don’t know what to expect out of Denver in the second half, like so many other teams. And isn’t that part of what makes the NFL great? You can’t guess the ending. You have to watch all the way through to the conclusion.

No longer on Denver’s bandwagon, I will watch the next few games while running alongside of it, ready to jump back on at a moment’s notice.

Read more Denver Broncos news on BleacherReport.com

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