The Bye Week Blues: A Fan’s Sob Story

For one week out of every year, somewhere between week four and ten of the NFL season, I find myself wallowing in sorrow and despair.  It never fails.

I always spend countless weeks perfecting the art of the game day ritual, scrutinizing over the piece of clothing to be anointed as this year’s lucky relic, fixating over the preparation and timing of the refreshments, organizing the day’s responsibilities around the exact moment of kick off, meticulously managing the people with whom I watch the game, so as not to pollute the viewing experience.

I think you get the idea.  It’s a painstaking and delicate process.

And every year, just when it seems like I have discovered the perfect balance, established the ultimate game day experience. Bam. The collectively dreaded bye week.

And thus, the arrival of sorrow and despair.

It blindsides me. I can never quite prepare myself for the magnitude of the impact, and every year the pain intensifies like the days immediately following a difficult break-up.

This year is particularly grueling as my beloved Broncos are riding the momentum of a six-game winning streak, and yours truly has flawlessly orchestrated and executed his game-day rituals like a puppeteer imbuing life into an inanimate object.  

What will happen now? Will the Broncos be able to sustain their momentum through this off week?  Will the defense become too tranquil and lose the edge that has defined them to this point?  Will Orton revert to his disastrous preseason form? Will I be able to recreate the magic of last week’s barfly ceremonial brilliance?

I’m really starting to worry now.

Every year, I question to myself, and to those close to me, just why the bye week actually exists. And no one ever has an answer that satisfies my inquisitive nature.

So this year, I will begin to question out loud, to anyone who is interested and will listen. To anyone willing to offer me their opinion. Why the hell do we need a bye week in the NFL?

To extend the NFL week to 17 weeks?  My answer… Cut the preseason down to three games then, and utilize what is now the final week of the preseason to host the opening week of the regular season.

To give the players a well-deserved week to rest and recover?  My answer…What? Are they in high school? Do they need to catch up on their homework? Do they need to put ice on their boo boos? Aren’t we , the NFL fans, paying their salaries, and shouldn’t we be rewarded for our loyalty and contribution?

Whatever the reasoning, I can tell you right now the benefits won’t come close to outweighing the agony I will experience tomorrow.

Maybe I’m just being selfish, but I’m not sure I can handle the depraved monotony of another Broncoless week.

Last week was bad enough when I had to wait until Monday night to watch my Broncos.  Not that Monday Night Football doesn’t have its own magic and mystique, but we all know it’s not the same as a Sunday spent in the trenches.

Now I have to figure out a way to distract my guttural urges from surfacing.  Do I finally get around to hanging up those two paintings sitting on the living room floor that I’ve been putting off for months?

Do I cave in and replace that toilet seat in the guest bathroom that has been needing my attention for weeks?  Do I watch that inevitably awful movie I’ve been promising my wife I’d watch with her?

Oh, cruel NFL, why must you make me stoop to such lows?  Please. I beg you. Please get rid of the excruciating bye week.

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Josh McDaniels: Player’s Coach or Disciplinarian?

Watching Josh McDaniels man the sidelines on gameday is a fascinating and somewhat inexplicable experience—a conundrum wrapped tightly inside a paradox.

At times, he seems like the ultimate authority figure, surveying every detail of every play, barking out commands like a crazed platoon leader, disciplining his players for even the slightest mistake.

Other times, he comes across like an old college buddy you call when you want to go grab a beer and shoot some pool.

In today’s NFL, it seems like a coach, fairly or unfairly, inevitably gets slapped with the label of either being a player’s coach or a disciplinarian.

Player’s coaches are criticized because they are at times too lenient, allowing the players to over-influence the locker room. This can be disastrous when the makeup of the team is not strong enough to handle the freedom.

Disciplinarians are criticized because they come across too dictatorial, issuing commands in a “my way or the highway” manner and not allowing any room for flexibility. This can be disastrous when a team becomes too rigid, loses respect, and begins to resent their coach.

When Josh McDaniels took over the Broncos last January, it was clear that his strategy was to immediately assert his authority onto a franchise that was losing direction under Mike Shanahan.

Trading Jay Cutler to the Bears was a clear indication that McDaniels would stand his ground at whatever cost—an attribute of a disciplinarian.

He would then continue his power play over the course of training camp, through the entire pre-season, and into the regular season. First by issuing a suspension to Brandon Marshall displaying conduct detrimental to the team. Then by limiting Marshall’s playing time in the first few games of the season, reinforcing his message of authority.

Only once he felt like Marshall had earned the respect of his team did McDaniels begin to yield his control. Then, and only then, have we begun to see his lighter side.

Now we’re seeing video clips of him on the sideline pumping his fist in elation like a teenager on steroids, mic’d-up snippets of McDaniels mixing it up with his players on the sidelines like he is just one of the guys, and even friendly embraces from formerly embittered players. These are all attributes of a player’s coach.

McDaniels has somehow struck the perfect balance between overt discipline and good-willed leniency, clearly earning the respect of his team. The 33-year-old coach has the 36-year-old veteran Brian Dawkins calling him “sir,” for God’s sake. If that isn’t respect, I don’t know what is.

They say winning tends to cure all ills and there is wisdom within that statement. But winning doesn’t come effortlessly or without sacrifice. To say that McDaniels has only garnered this level of reverence because he is winning games is too simplistic.

The reason the Broncos are winning games is because they are the most prepared team in the NFL week-in, week-out. They are prepared because the entire team has bought into McDaniels and his leadership. They have bought into his leadership because he has earned their respect. He has earned their respect because he understands the balance between camaraderie and authority.

McDaniels is the perfect coach for this team brought in at the perfect time. He has made perfect personnel decisions and he has perfectly handled all controversies. His game management is perfect and he makes the perfect halftime adjustments.

My apologies for ever doubting him.

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