A not so funny thing happened on the Denver Broncos way to dreaming of an orange, blue, and white Crushmas—just like the ones they used to know.

They lost to the Oakland Raiders at home…again!

No these aren’t your daddy’s Raiders, these guys are horrible having won only four games prior to their upset of the Broncos in Denver. It is now the second year in a row that the silver and black have become a stumbling block to the orange and blue playoff hopes.  Kyle Orton looked at least as powerless as Jay Cutler as did Coach McDaniels to his predecessor Coach Shanahan.

Perhaps the Broncos kryptonite can be officially labeled as such. Successful franchises have one thing in common that the also ran’s do not. The Denver Broncos used to define success, but lately they have been settling for the latter. Back inside the confines of INVESCO Field at Mile High, the Denver Broncos have clearly forgotten the meaning of finishing. The Broncos as team are not finishing off teams on offense, defense, on the play calls, or in the standings.

This tough loss spells out the difficult challenge to the franchise very clearly. The message is the Josh McDaniels experiment has not improved the franchise. It’s fair to say not just yet, but this may be a glimpse into a future that spells out not at all.

Draw whatever conclusion you will out of the facts, but the bottom line is the Denver Broncos are not performing at the level they should be. Since Coach McDaniels nearly got himself a free pass this season by starting 6-0, his Broncos team has gone 2-6 since that time. Talk about not finishing, the Broncos have two games remaining and that trend tells any fan, analyst, or football expert to stick a fork in them because they’re done.

The Broncos are technically in the playoff picture, but be realistic for a minute. This team must beat a surging Eagles team in a very cold Philadelphia next Sunday. Should the Broncos fail to beat the Eagles they open the door to a lot of teams in the AFC playoff picture. So yes it’s a must win, as is the season finale at home against the Chiefs.

 

Pull Your Head Out of the Sand Coach!

Get real, be honest with yourself and say it is so. Josh McDaniels makes a lot of ignorant calls on the offensive side of the ball, all in the name of selfish pride and arrogance. You don’t believe it still? Tackle-eligible plays, as rare as they are, usually get run on very short yardage situations because of the vulnerability of an offensive lineman handling the ball.  So explain the reasoning to yourself why Josh McDaniels calls a tackle-eligible play to Ryan Clady on the Raider 10 yard line that fails and is penalized. Go ahead, explain that one.

Much was made last week about the lack of playing time for Peyton Hillis, even after starting running back Correll Buckhalter went down with an injury against the Colts. Given the number of short yardage situations the Broncos found themselves in last week and this week, the under bet in Vegas won on this one. Hillis was not used last week or this week even after the Broncos failed countless times on short yardage with a lack of imagination in the play calling and execution.

Perhaps the most damaging indictment against Coach McDaniels was when one of his New England kids, LaMont Jordan, gained a first down and emotionally got up doing a similar gesture to the Gator clap, but he was pounding his fist repeatedly telling his coaches to pound the ball into the end zone from the five with the running game. So true to form the Broncos threw an incompletion through the back of the end zone on the very next play. That forced them into a passing situation on third down which thankfully produced a Brandon Marshall touchdown by the slimmest of margins. The point however is the Broncos are not running well right now.

The Broncos collectively ran for 80 yards against the Raiders. Possibly just as disturbing is the fact that the Broncos were only 26 perent on third down efficiency. That shows a clear lack of aptitude when it matters most against a team they should beat in a game the Broncos had to have. Just as horrific, the Broncos were only 25 percent inside the red zone. That just doesn’t get the job done.

The most surprising fact is that Coach McDaniels has failed to realize what most already know about his play calling. It’s very predictable, not to mention boring, inefficient, and lacks basic common sense in key situations.

So what happened to the imaginative play calling McDaniels was hired for or his understanding of the New England way?

One thing stands clear; it’s now long past time to panic. It’s time for a new direction and a new theme if the Broncos are going to find a win in Philadelphia and find their way into the playoffs.

Coach McDaniels hasn’t played Peyton Hillis probably out of selfish pride at this point, he now needs to consider every option available to him that he has overlooked because his team’s back is against the wall and failure to reach the playoffs will eventually count against him.

It’s time for Coach McDaniels to pull his head out of the sand before it’s too late.

 

contact Chaz at sportsmanagement@gmail.com

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