Broncos Season Review – Unexpected Expectations Shattered
McDaniels blew up the team - can he really rebuild it?
- Image by Getty Images via Daylife
It’s a bit unsettling to think that we’re looking back at a Broncos season that started with so little in terms of expectations, end in such a fiery demise after an 8-8 record. If you had told me in August that the Broncos would finish with 8 wins and just barely miss the playoffs, I would have been happy. Let’s be honest, we all would. But when we look at how this team actually fared, it’s not nearly as bright of a situation as we would certainly like to see.
We all know the story – 6-0 start, McDaniels looks like a genius, 2-8 finish, McDaniels plays the part of the goat. But let’s try to be a couple things here – 1. fair; and 2. honest.
Coaching is so important in the NFL. An NBA coach is essentially a figurehead, a baseball manager is highly important in strategy, but a football coach has to do it all. Manage the players, the staff, the gameplan, fundamentals, everything is on the head coach. That’s why these guys are often control freak, type A, workaholic kind of guys. It fits that personality. Quite honestly, I don’t want to spend much time evaluating the play of the Broncos, because the play (and the players) all come down to coaching decisions. The personnel on this team are direct results of decisions (often dramatic) made by McDaniels and his staff. Let’s look at some of the major issues of the year and you’ll see what I mean.
QB Play – this one is obvious. Orton is no Cutler. Then again, Cutler is no Orton. I’m not rehashing the trade, just saying that it would be foolish to ignore the long-term impact on this franchise the Cutler deal will have. Notice I didn’t call it the Orton deal – it’s the Cutler deal, even though he’s the departed player. Orton was fine, albeit without the arm strength (or opportunity) to stretch the field, which meant any slip on the O-Line meant Orton was going down.
O-line play – not to Denver standards. The confusion that must have been in place with the hybrid zone-blocking/power-blocking schemes must have been intense. Add in the injury to Harris, and that equals a slow Orton scrambling for his life much of the year.
RB – What. The. Hell. Sorry, that’s all I can say. 12th pick in the draft, and a team sorely lacking in defense adds a running back. On top of that, as if to say he knew it was a mistake, McDaniels then signed Buckhalter and Jordan (plus a few others who didn’t make the squad). Moreno could be great – but right now is walking the thin line that could lead to the dreaded b-word (bust). He dances, he doesn’t hit the hole, spends too much time running sideways. That kind of crap might cut it in the SEC, but though SEC fans are loathe to admit it, SEC is still college football, and most of their guys never play on Sunday. In the big time, you have to gain yards – move forward, and quickly because the tackles and linebackers are consistently faster than what you’re used to.
Do we have to even broach the Peyton Hillis subject? That whole situation belongs more in the general personnel decisions section than here, so I’ll get to that in a minute.
WR – Marshall is also another issue. The guy played the way he should have. Royal did the same, he just didn’t get the touches.
Special Teams. Oh Lord, the punter issue. Prater was fine, but largely a non-factor in the season, which is probably the best thing for a kicker. Make your kicks, and no one remembers you.
Defense. Here was the extreme improvement. Mike Nolan TORE IT UP – he brought in Dawkins, who brought an East Coast toughness to this wussy defense. Champ played to his normal standards, though I have to admit his coverage style of giving space then closing is painful to watch sometimes. It’s how he gets picks, but it’s also how he gets burned. Dumervil was a beast, and given time (and some more bulk), the defense will be ok.
Here’s what it all comes down to: McDaniels is demonstrating that his drive to prove he can be a head coach is blinding him to good decisions. Here’s the list:
- Obviously, Cutler. They didn’t get along, Bowlen had to get involved, you know the rest.
- Gets rid of the long-snapper, for an equally talented more expensive ex-Patriot long snapper
- Drops the punter mid-season, brings in an old tired punter who sucks, then at the end of the season re-signs one of the guys he cut.
- Peyton Hillis. Clearly a better answer than Moreno in short yardage, but sat. Even Jordan sat – Josh wanted Knowshon to be the man, never admitting the reality.
- Marshall – it seemed like they were fine, clearly they were not
- Scheffler – probably soured from day one and it finally blew up after some tough losses
- Play calling: if I see one more damn bubble screen I’m going to go postal. Highly conservative, play not-to-lose mentality.
What I see is a kid (my age, I know, but a kid nonetheless) who feels like the only way he can motivate his team is to scream, shout, curse, and threaten. It might work short-term (Giants game), but long-term, he’s not building respect. Heck, Tom Coughlin finally gained respect from his players when he quit demanding it, and by his attitude and demeanor COMMANDED it.
Now look at the division. The Raiders are still a mess, and the Chargers are playing good football – but I would suspect they are beginning to see the closing of their window. Maybe not, but I’m pretty confident that they’ll be on the downward slide – but not after a couple more years or so of dominating the division. The Chiefs are becoming the REAL Patriots of the west – Pioli now has Weis running the offense, and Crennel running the defense. And that team can run- the AFC West should be scared of that team in the near future.
Ultimately, McDaniels got what he wanted: his team. It’s all him. Hillis will be gone, Scheffler will be gone, Marshall will be gone. Dennison is gone to coach with Kubiak. Shanahan’s Broncos have now been scattered among the league like so much dust in the wind. Gibbs and Bates are heading to Seattle to join Pete Carrol, Mike of course is in Washington, and the players that Mike had that were actually worth something are gone. These are McDaniels’ Broncos, for better or worse. I’m hoping the worse ends soon. My prediction: Josh gets one more year. If next year seems as dysfunctional as this one, Josh will be gone and the Broncos will officially have become a lower-tier NFL team, once glorious but always in turmoil (see: Buffalo Bills).
The season was nice for a few big wins and wasn’t nearly as painful in the outset, but finished by crashing to the ground like a giant mylar balloon… oh wait. That’s the other debacle from Colorado news this year.
Hillis sitting out the whole year was the epitome of bad coaching for me.
He was our best RB last season from his short-yardage dominance to his surprisingly capable hands in the passing game. To sit your best players because they don’t bow down and kiss your feet is fine for one game, but beyond that is nothing less than ego-induced dementia. If Peyton ends up somewhere else, he WILL be highly successful.
Same goes for Marshall. Same for Scheffler. No doubt.