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Broncos cornering market on inconsistency

By Lee Rasizer, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published November 24, 2008 at 9:58 p.m.

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The Broncos' season is a lot like the stock market these days - huge gains followed almost immediately by big losses.

But, unlike 401(k)s, Denver's fortunes somehow always seem to remain intact.

The Broncos might be 6-5 and wildly inconsistent, but thanks to a free fall by the San Diego Chargers, it hardly matters.

Denver's often turnover-prone, injury- riddled, rushing-challenged team on both sides of the ball is, at times, seemingly more comfortable on the road than at home. It's also frequently better against top-tier competition than current low-rent franchises.

But it also has a two-game lead in the AFC West, which is akin to holding considerable stock in General Motors right about now. Except it's up to the players and coaches to bail themselves out.

For the Broncos, the ups and downs began in September and have continued unhindered.

A 3-0 start was followed by a Sept. 28 debacle in Kansas City. A strong performance against Tampa Bay preceded an even more lopsided defeat in New England on Oct. 20. And arguably the best six-quarter stretch of the entire year, at Cleveland and Atlanta, only served to usher in Sunday's 31-10 pasting at the hands of the Oakland Raiders at home.

Oakland had not scored an offensive touchdown in November. But it scored three in the final two quarters to send the Broncos off to a Sunday matchup at the New York Jets, only one of the hottest teams in football, on another down note.

"You can say many different things right now, but it's hard to get a grasp of it," Broncos center Casey Wiegmann said Monday, the sting of the loss to the Raiders still fresh. "I mean, there's no way - I hate to say it - there's no way we should have been beaten by that team. We outperformed them so much in the first half and then we hit a wall. Something bad happened to us, and we couldn't overcome it.

"And you look at three of the losses we've had," Wiegmann continued, turning his focus to the big-picture view. "They came against a 1-10 team, a 3-8 team and a 4-7 team. If you're going to try and get to the postseason, you can't have that kind of effort on those given days."

Whether it's overall talent, collective mind-set or on-field execution, the Broncos have, at various points, lacked some of each. Inconsistency might be somewhat expected given injuries to so many key players, including Champ Bailey, D.J. Williams and a host of running backs.

It also might just be the perils of youth. Against the Raiders, 13 starters were 25 or younger; only five were 30 or older.

Rookie linebacker Spencer Larsen chalked up the Broncos' uneven play to the overall NFL talent level but also added, "Maybe we're not mature enough yet to handle success. Sometimes it's difficult."

"Good teams don't let letdowns happen," added tight end Daniel Graham, a team captain. "A lot of good teams beat the teams they're supposed to. Right now, it's just trying to find an identity because we're still not consistent out there."

Turnovers continue to play a major role. On Sunday, Denver forced a three-and-out, then drove 77 yards on 12 plays in 6:41 to the Oakland 7, only to botch a pitch play.

Two missed second-quarter field goals and an 89-yard Raiders punt return for a touchdown allowed the visitors to believe they could pull off the upset despite the Broncos' edges in first downs (15-4), total offense (200-123) and a sterling 6-for-9 third-down conversion rate.

The Broncos then opened the second half with an 85-yard scoring march. But the Raiders answered with the first of two 1-yard touchdown runs by Darren McFadden, and it was Denver that seemed out of sync offensively while allowing 18 rushes for 82 yards in the fourth quarter.

"I think everybody knows what's going on," tight end Tony Scheffler said. "The bottom line is we've got to play better, not turn the ball over and finish. And we have to convert on plays we know we can convert on. We had plays Sunday. We had opportunities. We didn't convert almost the whole game."

But just as soon as the Broncos' miserable finish sent fans flooding to the Invesco Field exits, the Chargers were getting set once again to fail to take advantage. Denver has led the division from wire-to-wire. Since Week 7, Denver's losses have been answered with two loses and, thanks to the bye week, a half-game pickup by San Diego.

Asked if he feels fortunate the Chargers have struggled, allowing his team to work out the kinks, Broncos coach Mike Shanahan responded, "Oh, without question. You're playing for something. There's no question at all. You've got a chance to improve your football team and get some players back at the same time and still have a two-game lead.

"But we're not thinking about that. We're thinking about playing better."

And Shanahan offered no apologies for a pedestrian Denver record that leads a division featuring three teams with a combined 8-25 record at the bottom.

"Believe me," he said, "we don't have to make any excuses for the AFC West over the years, I guarantee that."

Comments

  • November 24, 2008

    11:28 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    pwsbronco writes:

    This team does not deserve to be in the playoffs unless they can win it on their own. Being a loyal fan for 35 years I have never seen a team this bad. Our 6-5 record is very misleading. to lose to the raiders the way we did is a total joke. If we can't win teams like this at home, god help us when the Chiefs come to town, they are going to kick our a**es but good. Not to mention the good team we have to play.
    I say if we can't win this divison on our own merits by WINNING, and not depending on the other losers in this division, then we should give up our seat to a team that deserves it.
    Could not stomach another discusting display on national tv. I don't want to be just happy to be there, I want to WIN..... Something this team does not know how to do....disgraceful.
    this team is 13-14 since the start of last season, not very good to say the least. I try to be a positive fan but the past few years have been pretty discusting...Our great next hope as a QB has a lot of pressure on him and he is playing like it, sure hope he can handle it, but so far it doesn't look like it. As stated above, he is 13-14, in 2007-2008 not very good at all.....not going to get you anywhere....Can't wait till the end of this season so we can remove another 8-10 players and send them back to the reject pile......wow, what a team......

  • November 25, 2008

    10:18 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    DenverSportsFanatic writes:

    PWSbronco, You got to settle down. Our broncos are a young team. No more plummers, smith's, sharpes, andersons. get my drift. These players were put together at a moments notice. Cutler is still a 3 year rookie. He can perform better than he has. Losing to a sorry team like the raiders Bites, but maybe it will motivate our team into the champs they are. No consistancy on defense. No coaching on defense, makes it dangerous to have are "D" on the field for to long. I've been a bronco fan for twenty-five years now, and this team right now is the team for my future. So i'm along for the long haul. Maybe you should too.

  • November 25, 2008

    10:56 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    MrWright writes:

    This Bronco team is like a teenager, wild and whoolly!! But the talent we have is tremendous and in the next few years we will be one of those teams the experts talk about year in and year out that have a chance to win it all!! The loss made me sick, but it is only bacause I love the Broncos!! With a few key additions, a good draft, and health we will be right in the thick of the action for years to come.......If we get into the playoffs, we deserve it!! We may be hot that day and win one!!!....GO BRONCOS!!!!!!

  • November 25, 2008

    1:09 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    BroncoRick69 writes:

    This game against the Jets shouldn't be too bad. Don't forget the Raiders beat the Jets in overtime, and Kansas City came really close to beating the Jets. Personally I think the Jets are pretenders. I think Denver has a good chance at beating them if we play our "A" game. If we come out flat, be ready to hold your heads down for another week. I knew the Raider game had trap written all over it, and we fell for it. We always do. I still think Denver will win the AFC West and possibly make some noise in the playoffs, and get a good amount of momentum for next season.