We Got Blow’d Up, Sir!

“Intensity, drive, fire, heart, desire”

Uh, I’ll take, “What was missing in the Denver Broncos performance in Baltimore?” for $500 Alex.

Ugh.

Okay, did you really think we would go undefeated?

Did you really think that a team in transition could run the table with a schedule like ours?

More importantly, did you really expect the Denver Broncos to go into Baltimore, for an early game, and play well?

Speaking for myself, I would say no to the first. I did not think we had a shot in hell at going undefeated. There is not a team in this league that is going to do that this year. An undefeated season is an amazing feat, one accomplished by only two teams in the Super Bowl era. Let’s not cheapen it by assuming any team is going to have what it takes until they actually do it.

As to the second question, did I expect our boys to go into Baltimore, with an early start, and win? Early East Coast starts, especially in Baltimore, do not smack of historical goodness for the Broncos. But yeah, I expected the Broncos to win that game. 

Denver is a better team overall than the Ravens.

Despite the rhetorical nonsense that spews from national sports shows, the Broncos have already proven that they are for real. With the conditioning, toughness and the ability to finish, that McDaniels has instilled in Denver, the Broncos have showed me enough through the first six games that I simply didn’t think we would see the same old stuff with this game. 

I mean, the displays of meekness we normally see in this match up were a mark of another regime, right?

Not this week.

One thing we keep saying, week after week, is that this is not a Shanahan team.

Normally that is in response to the rocket scientists who keep trying to dictate what this season is going to be like based on last year’s performance. But in the case of the Broncos at the Ravens: 2009, the indication was a not a good one, we were unprepared coming off a bye.

And that’s what this boils down to: preparation.

We were dominated in all phases yesterday because we were not prepared to play this game. You can blame a small amount of that on hubris, the rest you can place right on the shoulders of Coach McD and his staff.

They did a terrible job with game planning, and ultimately failed to make the in-game adjustments that have been the hallmark of the 2009 Denver Broncos.

I’m not going to go all bibbledy over one loss. I am a firm believer that sometimes you need a slap in the face to bring you off of a pedestal. Sunday was a reality check and, if this team is as good as we think they are, they will learn from it.

Sometimes getting your butt kicked is the best thing for you.

That does not mean I am letting them off the hook. We still should have been better prepared.

 

The Offense

I don’t know about you, but I am getting fed up with the dink and dunk. Yes, I understand that it has been working, and I am not the type to dismiss a positive offensive style simply because it does not have the fantasy football explosiveness that so many seem to think is the ONLY mark of success these days. But dangnabit, there comes a time when you need to go for the jugular. Yesterday was one of those times.

I am not going to pile on Kyle Orton quite yet, as I do not blame him for yesterdays loss. I blame McDaniels for sticking with a game plan that Baltimore had clearly figured out from the first snap.

It was obvious that we were not going to be able to count on screens and three-yard quick outs to carry us. Baltimore was not only in the right place all day, they tackled very well and took away the one thing that has been an absolute must for us all year: yards after catch.

We did not adjust.

I am stymied here. The obvious way to attack the Ravens is aggressive passing. They have a demonstrated weakness for the big play and from what I have seen they have a tendency to panic a bit because of them.

The key to beating them is to spread the field, hit some big passes early and force them into playing the pass, then open up the run. Simplified, I know, but accurate.

We obviously had a game plan that was going to be pass heavy. Yet again we came out with the Dink and Dunk. You have to wonder what that means—does Josh simply believe that his system is flawless? Or is there something more sinister at play? Does he know what so many of us fear? That Kyle Orton is not capable of aggressive down field attacks?

I’m not sure I buy that yet, but I am starting to wonder if McD really trusts Kyle the way he claims he does. It’s unnerving to say the least.

And why did we not adjust to the pressure that the Ravens brought? I think teams are going to start keying on our faith in our offensive line. Yes, we have one of the best in the league, but sometimes even the best need help. 

Moving Kyle around a bit, keeping the RB in to block, and out of the pattern once in a while, would be helpful when a defense decides that killing Kyle is the key to beating the Broncos.

And it just might be.

Orton does not handle pressure well.  He looked spooked all day and I think more than a few of his passes were off because he was rattled. Then again, dropped passes, especially from Brandon “Don’t hurt me Ray Ray” Marshall does not help. It reminded me of the Bengals game.

 

The Defense

Again, preparation and adjustments were lacking. We only got token pressure on Flacco and he picked us apart when he needed to. I am not sure why we did not blitz more because when we did get him out of his comfort zone he was average at best.

Overall, I am disappointed in certain aspects, but the defense was not terrible. They played a solid game for the most part, but were put in too many untenable positions by the offense.

 

Special teams

You know, I thought we had a chance until the Special teams melted down again.

That’s all I have to say about that.

 

Conclusion

For the next seven days we will be treated to evaluation and over-evaluation of what that loss means.

The game will be dissected, bisected, eviscerated, boiled and broiled. Depending on one’s point of view the conclusions will either be that it was a bad day for the boys in orange and blue, or it was a game that exposed the “real” Denver Broncos. Some will shrug it off and move on; Others will gleefully ride the “exposure” as long as they can.

The simple truth here is that it was one game.  Though I have to throw in one caveat, I do not know if I trust this offense. And contrary to the idea that winning games against Dallas, New England and San Diego are the defining moments of our 2009 season I think how they respond after this sole loss will dictate who they are.

We do not know enough about this team to predict what comes next, but in one week, in front of a national audience, we will find out.

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Things and Stuff: One Bronco Fans Random Babbles

 

Please stop!

So I’m going through my ritual of scouring the web for any post game Denver Broncos news I can find.

As a Bronco fan trapped in the prison state of Arizona, getting choice news can be something of a pain, so, like a chocolate junky in search of a snickers bar I spend hours looking for even the most obscure Broncos references. 

It’s true that technology has made this a simpler task in recent years. Even games that are not televised here can be located online via live video or, in a pinch, audio streams if you’re clever. The streams are not always the best, but since I refuse to buy into the overly expensive package at that dish place I learned to live with it.

Anyway, I am going through sites when I noticed a trend that disturbs me.

The national media has started to show respect for the Denver Broncos.

ZOUNDS!

I know I have whined about the lack of love being shown the Broncos. I have been frustrated at the bias the word monkeys have shown. But now that even Pete Pricso is on the bandwagon I must admit that I enjoyed watching them squirm each time the Broncos won.

Well, at least I have Jamie Dukes and Tom Waddle. They can always be counted on to roll their eyes when the Broncos are mentioned.

On the other hand!

Each week we are treated to a new “reason” the Broncos will fail. Going into the Dallas game we were told that it was the beginning of a stretch of games that would prove or expose us.  We won that game and suddenly Dallas was not really all that good, so proof would have to wait.

Next, we were told that New England was simply on another level, and there was no way that Harry McHooder could beat Billdemort. We won, and suddenly everyone was questioning whether Tom Brady was okay. Denver, they said, was for real but the worst undefeated team in the league, and until we faced a team that had it together we were still a maybe.

Enter San Diego.

The consensus reason we were supposed to lose that game was a stretch. The Broncos expended too much energy against the Cowboys and too much emotion against the Patriots. The Broncos were primed for a San Diego ambush.

Ooopsie.

You can rest assured that a week from tomorrow, when the hype for week eight games begins, the common opinion will be that Denver will get beat in Baltimore because the Ravens are coming off a bye and will be angry. With two weeks to prepare the Ravens will be dangerous.

Never mind that we will be coming off of a bye as well. Unlike the Ravens our bye will not be one of preparation, but one that kills the moment our undefeated start created.

Write it down.

Orange Matrix

“I know you’re out there. I can feel you now..I know that you’re afraid..You’re afraid of us, you’re afraid of change. I don’t know the future. I didn’t come here to tell you how this is going to end. I came here to tell you how it’s going to begin…”

And it begins at 6-0.

As you go through the bye week, waiting for the next chapter of this story to begin, you may find yourself staring at your computer screen looking for hidden messages or gawking at the bare shoulders of plastic Goth girls, looking for the one with the white rabbit tattoo on her shoulder. If so, do not be alarmed.  

The time has come for you to swallow the orange pill.

After the Shanahan program was deleted for outliving its purpose, and the renegade glamour boy sub-routine was banished to the Windy city Recycle bin, I was uncertain as to our future. Logic dictated that our schedule, personnel, new Coaching staff, new system and new QB amounted to a frustrating transition season.  

All of us, even the most ardent and kool-aid drunken Denver Broncos fans have surprised that we are undefeated going into the bye.

If you are not, I commend you for your impressive, and possibly dangerous, myopia.

I myself, while always approaching it with the idea that I would reserve judgment on McDaniels until his system proved itself either way, did not expect more than seven wins. I am also guilty of stating that Orton was not the long term answer. I even called him a hack. More than once.

I’m overjoyed that we are undefeated and looking stronger than any Broncos team since the Super bowl years. But if anyone would have told me that we would get to this point with Kyle “Neo” Orton under center I would have attempted to slap them out of their insanity.

And thats from someone who was HAPPY to see Glamor boy traded.

Shows what I know.

Impressive?

Maybe it’s just me, but if you look at the offensive stats from last night they do not really stand out as spectacular.

Orton was 20/29 for 249 yards and 2 TD’s. We had 101 yards rushing, 19 first downs and a time of possession right around 30.5. Not bad, not spectacular.

That is until you take into account the fact that the Broncos barely touched the ball in the first 25 minutes thanks to Eddie Royals returns.

Changes the perspective a bit, does it not?

AFC West Stuff

It was good to see the Raidettes and Cheips get wins on Sunday. I do not think they will mean much in the long run as both teams are too far gone. But I have to admit that I am getting annoyed at the weakness of this Division. I would like to see them both put it together and start playing better.

While watching our foes suffer can be fun, I think that the AFC west title means much more when the division is running at full strength.

There is no division in this league that has the same kind of fan base the AFC West can boast when things are going well. And no better rivalries in the NFL. I find it less than satisfying that even a trip to Narrowhead does not frighten me.

Bring on the bye week!

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Unleash the Wild Horses: A Homer’s Tale

So what happened Sunday?

The Patriot way officially gave way to Wild Horses.

The Master learned a lesson from the Student.

The Wizard fell to the talented initiate.

I am not sure if I should be singing “Wrapped Around My Finger” by the Police or looking up ironic connections between Raistlin Majere and Josh McDaniels.

Dragonlance reference! NERD ALERT!

Ahem…my apologies.

What I do know is that the Denver Broncos are 5-0, with a 2.5 game lead in the AFC West and a 4-0 record in the AFC. A few more just like that one and I may risk offending the football gods by proclaiming that the road to the Super Bowl goes through Invesco Field at Mile High JR.

EGADS! Did he REALLY just say that?

“He did. He did. Poor fool. Brilliant once, but now lonely and confused. It may have been a blow to the head, but we think it was the hideous uniforms his footy team sported in yesterday’s NFL match.”

Yeah, that might be true.

But think about it. This team has improved each week. Yesterday, we saw the offense click for the first time, and the result was astounding. Kyle Orton…KYLE ORTON!…one more time…KYLE ORTON! stepped up and showed that he is capable of being more than a mere game manager. He carried the Denver Broncos on his back, engineering two drives over 90 yards, both ending in TDs.

Orton finished the day 35-of-48 for 330 yards, two TDs and a garbage INT. He outplayed Tom Brady.

KYLE ORTON! Did you hear that? KYLE ORTON!

If you are anything like me, you really did not think he had it in him. If you are anything like me, you have enjoyed this undefeated start, but up until yesterday, you never really believed we had a shot to play past December with KYLE ORTON! under center.

But yesterday the glove came off—literally—and he showed that he is capable of being THAT kind of QB when the rest of the team is cooperating.

The defense, in case you are not paying attention, has also shown that not only is it tough as nails and well coached going into a game, but they are also amazingly good at making adjustments during the game. Two weeks in a row they have fallen behind in the first half, only to stiffen and take the game away.

If the team continues to improve each week, we have as good a shot at not only making the playoffs as any team in the AFC, we may even play one at home.

ZOUNDS! He is losing it again! Someone get him a Cream stout in a frosted mug, STAT!

Yes, I know it’s against some kind of sports law or religious edict to step up and proclaim faith in guys like KYLE OTRON! and the Denver Broncos…and I think one of the promises Obama and the Dem congress have kept was in making it a federal crime to say Tom Brady was anything but brilliant, if a bit shakey, even in a loss.

Saying KYLE ORTON! outplayed him and our defense confused and bothered him, even if it’s true, may actually get me the chair.

But there it is. Kyle Orton can run this offense, and he can step up and lead this team when he is challenged to do so. The defense is making offenses look anemic and slow. The Broncos are becoming a balanced, dangerous team.

CALL THE GUARDS!!

Another strict law that could get me strapped onto a table with a bunch of syringes is allowing my perception to change. But guess what? It has changed. I am no longer a tentative Broncos fan striving to be objective and cautiously optimistic.

There used to be a curse…Greek, I think…or maybe Chinese. It was a very potent curse.

“May you live in interesting times.”

It has been an interesting season.

I have hope now. Not only that, I am starting to develop expectations. A dangerous thing in the end.

I know I risk being ostracized and getting beaten about the head and shoulders with small vials of vitriol for daring be impressed by a team the national sports church has deemed anathema, especially at the expense of the canonized demi-gods of cult of the media darling. But it’s too late.

I am full-blown Homerist again.

What I Now Know

I know that the Patriot way, essentially little more than a well-disciplined West coast offense, has now taken a distinctly Rocky Mountain flavor. Josh McDaniels, the Unacoach, the boy king, has broken the Patriot way and remolded it into something new.

We can call it the Denver Design, or the Rocky Mountain Manner, or even the Dove Valley Process. Granted, those would not sound as cool as “Patriot Way” for a street name, but it would serve notice that the Denver Broncos are more than just Patriots West.

I know that as much as McD wants to present himself as a stoic, humorless dictator in a hoodie, he simply can not pull it off. He is too open, too young, and too friendly.

His celebration after the win yesterday more than likely sent some of the stoics and lobotomized into apoplectic fits of traditionalitis, but I thoroughly enjoyed seeing it. His approach is, by his young nature, more open and invites everyone to join in the celebration.

And I know that that  separates him from the Pope of New England in profound ways. McDaniels may have brought the core system with him, but the difference in this team is like the difference between an open, honest mid-west town and a cold, jaded, east coast city.

I also know that Wild Horses sounds cooler than Wildcat, but it’s still the same damned thing and I don’t like it.

And I know that the 1960 throwback uniforms grew on me like a plague.

Slowly. Painfully. Totally. Maybe terminally.

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Is the National Sports Media Angry at the Denver Broncos for Winning?

Is it just me or do our wonderful football experts hold Denver to a different standard than they do the rest of the NFL?

I know, I know, that sounds like something an Oakland Raider fan would say just before whining about how the conspiracy to destroy Al Davis and the Oakland Raiders started with Pete Roselle.

But then again, all you have to do is read any article about the Broncos, scan the majority of those wonderful sops to the fans’ ego, and the writers’ arrogance, that we call power rankings or simply watch any show with NFL in the title to see that there might be something to the idea that the national sports media is miffed that Denver started 3-0.

What is it about the Broncos that makes them so angry?

Is it because we are winning without the Mastermind and the Glamour boy? Is it because the media spent so much time explaining how The Hooded baby coach from New England broke Shanny’s shiny toy, especially after we traded the once and future Jeff George to the bears, that they fully expected Josh McDaniel’s to take it to heart?

Are they angry at him for daring defy the expert analysis?

BLASPHEMY! Though shall not DEFY the experts!

Are they angry because the majority of Doom and gloom Bronco fans who carried signs demanding the Unacoach be fired turned out to be a loud minority? Are they miffed because most of us dared not take the dire predictions of the national sports media to heart and turn on the Broncos?

Are they annoyed that someone may be foolish enough to think the Broncos will do anything but tank the next 13 games and fulfill the prophecy of 3-13 and become the new Detroit Lions.  

BLASPHEMY! Though shall not DEFY the prophecy!

Meh.

I am not sure why they are so angry, but they ARE angry. You can see it in their responses when the Broncos are mentioned.  It’s almost funny, but with very few exceptions the most common reaction when the Broncos 3-0 record is mentioned seems to be annoyance mixed with amusement and a dash of arrogance mixed in.

The arrogance stems from the “fact” that the experts know something we don’t.

By the way, can you hear the sarcasm when I type “experts?”

The most common theme where the Broncos are concerned is that they “have not played anybody.”  Each time the Broncos are mentioned it is in the same breath with “Oakland, Cleveland and Cincinnati.”

Of course, not that the Bengals are looking like contenders it becomes more difficult for the talking heads to use that line so its slowly starting to center on the “luck” of that game. And yeah, it was luck, but I’ll get to that later.  What I am more interested in at the moment is simple.

If the Broncos, at 3-0, are being laughed because of ease of schedule, how come the Chargers, The Ravens and the Giants are getting a a pass?

BLASPHEMY!! Though shall NOT question the power of the media darlings!

The Ravens have played the Chiefs, Chargers, and the same Browns who prove we are not that good.  They are 3-0. They have beaten one “ranked” team, the Chargers, who have not been all that good through three games.  

No one is taking into account that the Ravens offense may be benefiting from that schedule. Instead, they are ranked amongst the best in the league.

And how about the Chargers?  They beat the same Raiders…And that barely…team that proves the Broncos are a bust and they beat the Dolphins. Their one loss is to the Ravens, who we are told is the best team in the league behind maybe the Giants.

So strangely, the Chargers, who have played two scrubs and lost in their first real “test” are not benefiting from a weak schedule.  And the Giants. They have played Washington, Dallas, and Tampa Bay.  No schedule benefit there.

BLASPHEMY!! Though shall NOT question the POWER of coastal teams!

The other team that proves we are fake, the Bengals, are on a two game rip beating the Packers and the vaunted Steelers. The media has to be careful with this one. They risk being caught in up in their own hypocrisy when they say in one breath that Cinci is one of the heartless teams that proves Denver is useless while in the next praising them for maybe being for real.

They balance this risk by claiming that the Deflection was the only reason we won. This accomplishes two things, first it allows them to keep using Cincinnati as proof we are evil wolves in 3-0 clothing, praying on the sensitivity of the average fan. Second, it refuses to acknowledge what the defense did to a pretty good offense. Win/Win for the media monkey.

BLASPHEMY!! Though shall NOT dare hint that the Broncos my be anything but lousy!

Looking at it, we can see that each of those teams has won one game against a media darling. One has to wonder, is beating a Media Darling the key to the Media’s heart? If Denver beats Dallas in week four will the national media give them some love, some respect?  

Eh…Probably not. Denver will have to go through the next eight games without a loss before the media starts taking them seriously. One loss, even a competitive loss, will relegate them to the “I told you so” bin.

I can live with that though as I have to admit that watching the talking heads over at the league owned station and on the four stations that broadcast the games have to find new excuses for the Broncos success each week has been and will continue to be fun.

In the end the media may be right. The Denver Broncos might be the worst 3-0 team in the history of humankind. They may tank the rest of the season. That dominant defense may be an illusion and Josh McHoody may be an evil troll sent to destroy the house that Mike built.

If so, so be it. The season will play out and expose them for what they are and we Bronco fans that remained loyal in the face of the storm will be crushed and contrite like the national media says we should be.

But then again, the idea that the Broncos are 3-0 and crushing the teams they should crush may be a hint of things to come.

It may be simple truth is that if Denver had played this same schedule last season, with the Masterminds defense under his future scapegoat DC and with the interception machine under Center, we would still be 3-0, but we would have given up 90 points, and maybe Brady Quinn would still be a starter for another week or so based solely on how good our d (lower case) made him look.

The fact that we have allowed one touchdown…and that to a team proving to have a very dynamic offense…may actually mean something in the end.

BLASPHEMY!! Though shall NOT…oh forget it.

I don’t know what the Broncos future is. Maybe we are what we think we are and we get the added bonus of seeing the national media get angrier and angrier because the Broncos refuse to read the script provided by the experts. Maybe we are what the experts so desperately hope we are and we will lose 11 or more games.

Then again maybe Bronco fan hope is not misplaced. Maybe after a few more wins the experts will allow us the courtesy of not being such blatant hypocrites, allow the games to be played, and stop taking Broncos success so personally.

And maybe I’ll be the next James Bond.

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