Broncos Identity Hurt and Left Soul Searching

By Chaz Mattson
for BroncosZone.com

Published: November 10, 2009

The Denver Broncos are now officially facing adversity for the first time during the 2009 season.

For a moment pause and think about how they got here, but please don’t hit the panic button yet.

Many people didn’t exactly pick them to be 6-2 at this point in the season, yet they some how mustered a 6-0 start with the leagues best scoring defense. With the last two losses the Broncos ranking slipped from first to third with the Colts and Patriots currently on top.

So now the bottom has fallen out of the stellar team success for now; and in one word, it keeps recurring under Kyle Orton’s watch.

Turnovers!

Orton has gone from replacing the boy wonder in Jay Cutler, to creating a wonder of his own by not turning the ball over in six games.

In the two subsequent games since the 6-0 start he and the Broncos have now more than made up for all of it.

This is now officially the thing that is keeping Kyle Orton and the Denver Broncos from being considered among the elite teams for at least the time being.

While there are areas of the team that need work, it really is time for the Broncos organization to take time out to consider what sort of team they want to become.

Most of the pieces for the Broncos success are already in place. So don’t be fooled, even after the most recent two losses these Denver Broncos are built to win now, but they have to get back on track soon, and with a vengeance.

The pieces that need tinkering became self evident against the Steelers and the Ravens.

The Broncos need a running game, they need a more sophisticated passing attack, and they need to quit putting their defense in bad spots.

Consider the fact that the turnovers the last two games have given the opposition more than enough points to help them win. Additionally, if the Broncos could have all of those plays back their defense would still lead the league in points against by a long shot.

There were moments last night where the defense gave up too much too fast to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the reality is these things happen when your offense isn’t scoring and is turning the ball over.

The primary criticism of the Broncos offense at this point is that they have to get determined to move the ball consistently.

Denver needs to at the very least have the ability to move the ball on the ground as needed. It’s not like they haven’t don it, they did do it this season against the Raiders with two rushers near 100 yards apiece against a good defensive front seven.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a power running game that helped them take control of last nights game when it mattered most. That power run game opened up the skies for the Broncos All-Pro defensive backfield to be lit up as the team had to worry about the run and the pass. That power run and precision passing took a tight ball game and turned it into a blowout complements of the Steelers defense and Kyle Orton’s poor showing.

It’s rare that a 28-10 blowout can be called a tight ball game, but this one was, minus the Broncos turnovers it’s as tight a game as you can ask for.

The only thing that kept this a tight game was the Broncos defense.

Now that really is what the Broncos organization should be pondering at this juncture. The defense is pulling the load, but how can the Broncos assure themselves that the offense will week in and week out?

Yes it has opened up the door to the Josh McDaniels haters and the Jay Cutler fans to have more of their war of words.

That’s not what this is about, things are what they are at this point; it should be about moving forward.

The Broncos must address the offense more intently than they have since the season began.

For now the Broncos must capitalize on the things done well with what they have available.

For the future, the question is what type of a football team do the Denver Broncos want to be?

It’s clear the game plan has moved away from the running game of old.

It’s a time for the Broncos to pause and reflect and do a little soul searching.

Josh McDaniels came to Denver from New England, with that he brought part of that same philosophy on offense. The Patriots use the pass to set up the run. The Broncos have failed to set up the run for success the last two weeks. That’s not the type of team this was historically and that’s not part of the New England template for getting the job done.

The Broncos have to dissect all of the short comings of the offense the last two games. It’s a time for learning and a time of reflection.

The Broncos must make a commitment to get back on track.

It would seem for a conservative offensive approach, the run game is the perfect complement. Certainly some of the current approach could be related to personnel decisions, but the Broncos have to control the ball and the tempo. That is when the opposition is on it’s heels and not dictating.

So it’s about decision making at this point. The Broncos do need to advance the ball. Certainly Kyle Orton needs to be able to stretch the field on a regular basis as well.

It would seem however the best method for Kyle Orton to have more success deeper and in the short game is through the run game. It’s something the Broncos haven’t fully committed to as of late and it appears to have clearly hurt them.

For the future the Broncos may need to consider help at the quarterback position, along the offensive line, and even in the backfield

For now the Broncos identity and ego have taken a hit on offense.

It’s a talented team looking for answers.

It seems like they can find the answers they seek in the run game and in solving a myriad of breakdowns that lead to the two game skid.

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Broncos Identity Hurt and Left Soul Searching

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