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LINCICOME: Broncos assume their true identity

By Bernie Lincicome, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published November 23, 2008 at 7:08 p.m.

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Broncos receiver Brandon Stokley seems to be expressing Denver's bewilderment about losing to the Raiders on Sunday at Invesco Field at Mile High. Stokley actually was appealing to the referee to call pass interference against Oakland on a fourth-down play in the fourth quarter.

Photo by Chris Schneider / The Rocky

Broncos receiver Brandon Stokley seems to be expressing Denver's bewilderment about losing to the Raiders on Sunday at Invesco Field at Mile High. Stokley actually was appealing to the referee to call pass interference against Oakland on a fourth-down play in the fourth quarter.

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The tip-off to the day came during Broncos introductions when safety Roderick Rogers came trotting through the inflated horse's head.

Applause that had greeted various members of the Broncos defense paused in midclap.

Broncos fans seemed to be wondering, is he one of ours or one of theirs? The same could be asked of Mario Haggan and Josh Bell and Wesley Woodyard, or on offense Peyton Hillis even Tatum Bell, a name from the dimming past.

These were the Broncos since last seen at Invesco Field, a collection of fill-ins and unfamiliar bodies, somehow still the winners of two on the road and full of restored confidence, in charge of whatever happens next.

"We control our own destiny," said receiver Brandon Marshall, speaking truth to irrelevancy.

And, just like that, the Broncos became what they are supposed to be - injured, inconsistent, incomplete. And out of comebacks.

For all of that to be exposed at home against the Raiders may be particularly depressing, but nonetheless real, with tougher tasks ahead and no reason to be encouraged.

"Hopefully, we'll get that confidence back," said coach Mike Shanahan.

Hope is an optimistic emotion but not a great game strategy.

This is as low as it gets, worse than the rout in New England because the Raiders are a godawful football team, inept on offense and vulnerable on defense, coached by hunch and quarterbacked by surprise, not quite the empty threat that Kansas City was, but that turned out no better.

The Broncos made the Raiders - which had not scored an offensive touchdown in 15 quarters before a third-quarter run by Darren McFadden - appear every bit as authentic as they used to be.

"We didn't look past them," said receiver Eddie Royal. "We came out and fought hard, and so did they. We have to give them credit."

Giving credit is more comfortable than taking blame, or relying on the alibi of injuries, and if next week the game against the New York Jets should turn out the same, all credit is due.

But these Raiders are so dysfunctional, so entirely without merit, swimming in self-created turmoil that the Broncos should have put this one away laughing.

"Make a turnover on the 5, miss two field goals, it's tough to recover," said Shanahan.

The success of the last two weeks disputes that. The Broncos were hopelessly out of the game in Cleveland and came back. In Atlanta, there was never a whiff of not being able to win.

In this game, the Broncos were ragged and wobbly, just as they should be given their use of retreads and spare tires.

Oakland's JaMarcus Russell, more gimmick than quarterback, was allowed to shine as he seldom has, completing 10-of-11 passes, one for a touchdown and others to Ashley Lelie, the once and unwanted Bronco.

"He made those plays when he was here," said Shanahan, refusing to be amazed by Lelie.

As for Lelie, this was his revenge.

"I've been dreaming about his moment since I left," he said. "It's kind of like getting wronged by your ex-girlfriend cheating on you and you come back at her and stab her in the back."

Lelie's image is only unwittingly feminine. Surely he was not comparing the Broncos to something less than manly, no matter the evidence.

The Broncos defense that had been spackled into what seemed to be better than before the loss of all the linebackers and half the secondary lapsed into something worse, authenticating Justin Fargas as an NFL runner and watching McFadden score twice.

"We made a lot of mistakes, on offense, on defense, on special teams," said linebacker Jamie Winborn, pretty much covering the waterfront.

The offense had only the very willing but limited Hillis to sustain the running game (Bell started the game, the fourth new back in four weeks) and again leaned on Jay Cutler to pull the same kind of recovery he had managed the last two weeks, a case of a game too far.

Cutler was only ordinary, no miracles in his pocket this time, nor rescue on his arm. He threw more in-com-pletes than receptions, no touchdowns and one vital, momentum-turning interception.

"My fault," Cutler said.

Well, laudable of him to take the blame, though Cutler was talking only about the fumbled exchange with Hillis that stopped the first Broncos drive at the Oakland 5.

The game-turner, the one stunner that the Broncos seemed not to come back from, was an 89-yard punt return just before the half by Johnnie Lee Higgins, a dash along the sideline past the Broncos bench when not one Broncos player was able to nudge Higgins out of bounds.

Nor did anyone on the sideline think to stick out a foot and trip him.

This was the Broncos-Raiders, after all. Or used to be.

Comments

  • November 23, 2008

    7:21 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    nonex017 writes:

    From the owner on down to the water boy, the Broncos are the most incompetent football team in the NFL. The Broncos are an abomination.

  • November 23, 2008

    7:49 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    byram writes:

    It is pretty sad that a team as bad as the Broncos may win the AFC West. But never fear they will lose their 1st playoff game if they survive to win the title.

    I guess we have to wait until next year, or maybe the year after, etc.

  • November 23, 2008

    8:24 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    forever7 writes:

    This was bound to happen. For weeks the Broncos have exhibited the most porous defense in the NFL. Until we hire a competent defensive coordinator, there will be more to come. It amazes me that we continued to throw downfield when short routes could have gobbled up yardage and kept the ball from their offense. The way things are now, I will not be able to bear Farve and the Jets carving through our secondary like a machete through butter. This current situation reminds me of the Elway days where it was all up to him - no running game or solid defense. We all remember how long he struggled.

  • November 23, 2008

    8:29 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    r3dgraphix writes:

    Eddie Royal says they didn't look past the Raiders. That is really pathetic. I mean if they really played up to their capabilities with emotion and still lost by 21 to one of the worst teams in the league at home.

  • November 23, 2008

    8:38 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    BroncofaninDuckland writes:

    Let's hope the dolts pull out a win and can win the division. I don't want to see these broncos anywhere near the playoffs. 2-2 in the division losing to both the lowly raiders and , oh by the way, the ONLY team KC has beaten this year. You think our team made the raider's offense look like Probowlers-just wait until next week. Must of left it all on the field in Atlanta. Do we really want to get whipped on our home field in a wildcard game by the likes of Indie, Miami, or New England. 3 home losses in a row are enough for me -I don't need to witness another in the playoffs. No mile high magic.

  • November 23, 2008

    9:29 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    DallasKing94 writes:

    Loss to the STINKING Raiders?!?! The Raiders?

  • November 23, 2008

    9:45 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Spider writes:

    I only got to see the last 13 minutes of the game and couldn't believe what I was seeing. But remember these guys are young and banged up. The SB is won (usually) by the team that has the hot hand in the playoffs. Making the playoffs and losing in the 1st round still can go a long way to build experience and confidence for this young team And who knows? Maybe they get healthy and hot at the end of the season and surprise everyone!

  • November 23, 2008

    11:11 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    billmach writes:

    Ive been reading the comments on all the different stories
    and all i can say is Ive never seen more bandwagon nubs in my life
    Get a grip people this team is a rebuilding project and has been since last yr.Be happy this team shows some signs of a great future! and as with all rebuilding teams you have days like today!
    get a grip this team will compete in a year or two but right now be glad we have a bright fututre but its NOT right NOW!

  • November 24, 2008

    12:25 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    tdcolorado writes:

    Good points, billmach. As a lifetime Broncos fan, nothing hurts quite as bad as getting trounced by the Raiders (except possibly possibly the fact that a game like this this gives Bernie Lincicome's ridiculously negative interpretations the appearance of truth). This team IS rebuilding and not ready for prime time. When things go wrong early with a turnover or missed field goal, their fragile confidence is easily shattered and they start to choke. But they have tons of young and talented players and the future should hold alot of good things. There are plenty of teams in the league that are awful with very little light at the end of the tunnel. The Broncos have the building blocks for a very good team, but they're definitely not there yet. Lighten up,people.

  • November 24, 2008

    1:32 a.m.

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    gahoaglund writes:

    The 13 points we left on the field (Fumble on the first drive and 2 missed FG's) were our doing in, we let the Raiders believe they could win and then the punt return made them KNOW they could win. What I miss is the RIVALRY....REMEMBER when the PLAYERS hated each other, not just the fans?! Ashley was the ONLY one on the field that GOT IT. Until we get some swagger and attitude back on the field, we will struggle with lowly teams. And the fans in the stadium need to ROCK that place ESPECIALLY if they are down in a game! It sounded like a tomb out there. I remember the old Mile High ROLLING and shaking when the Broncos STUNK in the early 70's. Our fans were KNOWN for being the loudest there were, now we would rather get home and blog about firing the coach before the traffic gets bad in the 3rd quarter. PATHETIC!! COME ON DENVER!! TAKE OUR STADIUM BACK!

  • November 24, 2008

    8:14 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    hallandnash writes:

    the bandwagon is officially empty -- good riddance.

    The team wins they are lucky - they lose and this is how it's supposed to be.. blah blah blah same old story.

    People look at the league - it's a week to week league and most teams are up and down like Denver.

    The Chargers are worse - which means The Broncos will win the west and host a playoff game -- which they could easily win if the good team shows up.

    It's all or nothing, week to week .. get used to it.

  • November 24, 2008

    10:21 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    LarryB writes:

    Bernie, I've responded to you here in the past, calling you an idiot or its equivalent. The Broncos are making a prophet out of you and an idiot out of me. I take back all the vitriol I spewed at you.

    I just cannot believe that the Broncos, coach and players, could point to an early game fumble, a couple missed three-point field goals, or a punt return as an excuse for their pathetic showing.

    A GOOD team can screw up and come back from it, especially against a bad team. A GOOD team can.

    I've watched my team lose and still enjoyed game day before. It's hard to enjoy game day when one is ashamed of one's team . . .

  • November 24, 2008

    5:07 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    horsepower writes:

    As PO'd as I was after this game, I had to remind myself that the Broncos are a very young team and are still rebuilding. Cutler, B-Marsh, Royal, and our OT's have tremendous upside. We need a horse in the backfield. Elway NEVER one the big one until we got a big time RB. Still think we need a TE that isn't hurt everyother game. As for the D, it's anybodys guess. Seems like there are alot of holes. No pass rusher, and no saftey that can both cover and tackle.

  • November 24, 2008

    8:21 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    dirkle writes:

    Lelie: "It's kind of like getting wronged by your ex-girlfriend cheating on you and you come back at her and stab her in the back."

    Class all the way, Ash. The Bay Area needs another OJ.