LEGWOLD: Things quickly going from bad to horrendous

Published November 5, 2007 at midnight

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DETROIT — If it wasn't rock bottom, the Broncos can see it from here.

Oh, let them count the ways.

Count them with a pile of numbers that are getting increasingly alarming, especially for a team that spoke of the "championship tier" in July and their place on that.

No numbers are more disconcerting than the fact the 44-7 loss against the Detroit Lions on Sunday gives the team a 38-point loss — against the Chargers — and the 37-point loss at Ford Field in the span of 29 days.

"I've been embarrassed a couple times this year, more so than in my career," Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said. "It is challenging."

Said Broncos safety Nick Ferguson: "Right now, it's not going our way and we don't like it and we have to do something about it to change it. It's not like, 'Not again,' it's, 'What's next?' Birds going to fall out of the sky? Just one of those days, one of those months. We're just trying to find the answer."

It might take a few more than one answer because the questions are starting to mount.

In a season that has seen the Broncos sticking their fingers in what had seemed to be the week-to-week leaks, the sum of all fears arrived in the Motor City.

Their beloved, long-proven run game was a nonfactor early — 14 rushing yards during the first half — and was ornamental late after the Lions piled on too many touchdowns to even think about using it.

They had four turnovers, two of which the Lions returned for touchdowns.

They saw quarterback Jay Cutler, left tackle Matt Lepsis, running back Travis Henry, receiver Brandon Marshall, receiver Glenn Martinez and linebacker D.J. Williams leave the field with injuries at some point during the game.

They dropped passes — five in all, three by Marshall.

They had red-zone penalties when the game still was an issue, they missed their only field-goal attempt while trailing 3-0, missed tackles and bobbled more than their share of assignments.

In short, they sport the anatomy of a 3-5 team with the downward arrow planted next to it at the season's halfway point.

"No, not when we play like we did," cornerback Champ Bailey said when asked if he was surprised by the way things went against the Lions. "When you play like that, it's always going to be like that."

Added Shanahan: "Now we'll find out what we're made of, that's what I told our football team. People are going to use excuses; we've got guys hurt here, guys hurt there. We still had the opportunity to play much better than we did and we didn't do it. You can use all the excuses you want; we've got to play much better than we did regardless of a couple guys being banged up."

So the Broncos indeed are down, down with eight teams still standing in line to keep them there.

Here they come

It was a bad mix all around, like that grade-school experiment where you mix the baking soda with the vinegar, stand back and watch the action.

The Broncos were down big and the Lions had a big-time pass rush just waiting to dismantle the Denver offense.

"You get behind on them, they just start rushing better, crank it up," Broncos left tackle Matt Lepsis said.

Unlike most teams whose explosiveness up front comes from the edges, the Lions work the deal from the middle out, with defensive tackles Shaun Rogers and Cory Redding doing most of the damage.

Rogers, a 340-pound straw that stirs the Lions' defensive drink, had 2 1/2 sacks, four quarterback hits, knocked down a pass and returned an intercepted screen pass 66 yards for a touchdown.

"Just watching those guys on film, they're right up there with the best in the NFL," Lepsis said of the tackles. "I don't think I can think of two guys that are a better tandem."

Said Redding of Rogers: "Rumbling, bumbling, stumbling, man, the big guy played excellent (Sunday). You need to enjoy it: (2 1/2) sacks, an interception and a touchdown."

The Lions had five sacks, and the bigger the lead got, the more aggressive they attacked the interior of the Broncos line — center Chris Myers and guards Chris Kuper and Montrae Holland.

"Just probably one of the better fronts we'll see, good on the edge, push in the middle," assistant head coach/offense Mike Heimerdinger said. "That's how they've been winning, causing turnovers and then letting those guys loose."

Fragile, handle with care

There are some pro personnel scouts in the league that say the Broncos, having to put so many young players in the lineup because of injuries, are not a team that reacts well to bad things at the moment.

It's something the Broncos don't want to hear but also something they haven't avoided, either.

"Injuries are going to come . . . things like that happen," cornerback Champ Bailey said. "Guys have got to step up and make plays."

Added coach Mike Shanahan: "Everybody is little bit more fragile when things aren't going well. You've got to fight your way out of it."

Against the Chargers last month, San Diego took a 14-0 lead when Brian Clark fumbled during a kickoff return and the Chargers returned it for a touchdown.

The Broncos never recovered.

Sunday, the Lions led 16-0 early in the second half — a workable deficit given the Broncos had held the Lions to three field goals on the repeated trips into the red zone — when defensive end Dewayne White returned a Patrick Ramsey fumble 3 yards for a touchdown.

The Broncos' fortunes kept on crumbling from there.

"They took advantage of every mistake we made . . . ," Bailey said. "And that's what it looks like when they do."

Picking up the pieces

The Broncos have touted their veteran leadership all season. They will need it now more than ever in the wake of the loss.

After all, they play in a division where two teams are tied for the lead at 4-4, and one of those, the Chargers, just surrendered a single-game record 296 rushing yards to Adrian Peterson.

And while the thought of Peterson still remaining on the schedule is a concern for another day for the league's 32nd-ranked run defense, the Broncos have an opportunity to regain some respectability they would not have in any other division in the league.

"It is hard to believe it," cornerback Dré Bly said of the 3-5 record. "It's not what we were expecting. We've got a veteran team, we've got some big-time players. . . . We've got to adjust. It's not over for us, but if we're going to make this run, a lot of guys are going to have to look in the mirror."

Added Bailey: "One thing about it is we can't lose any more games. We put ourselves in this position . . . we dug the hole and only we can dig ourselves out, otherwise things could get worse and nobody wants to see that."

Number that counts

-8 turnover margin for the Broncos after eight games. They were minus-3 against the Lions, with Detroit scoring on a fumble return for a touchdown and an interception return for a touchdown. No Broncos teams in Shanahan's tenure has finished worse than minus-9 for a season. The 1995 and 2004 teams finished at minus-9.

Go big

Four of the Broncos' five losses this season have been by more than 10 points, three have been by at least 18. The rundown of those four losses:

**Broncos losses**
Date	Opponent	Result	Margin

Sept. 23	Jacksonville	Jaguars 23, Broncos 14	-12

Sept. 30	At Indianapolis	Colts 38, Broncos 20	-18

Oct. 7	San Diego	Chargers 41, Broncos 3	-38

Nov. 11	At Detroit	Lions 44, Broncos 7	-37