All Is Not Well...

Just as Marcellus, that well known Shakespearean character (you know, that guard that Horatio sort of knew in Hamlet? No?), once said about Denmark, I now say about the Denver Broncos. "Something is rotten in the state of the Denver Broncos." Doesn't have quite the same ring as Denmark, but it doesn't make it not true.

6 games into last season, everybody in Denver, including me, was made into a Josh McDaniels believer. Since that time, things have definitely changed. After their 6-0 start, the Broncos quickly regressed from their very impressive start, went 2-8 in their last 10, and missed the playoffs showing very little, if any, backbone in the process. Flash forward to this year. Not only did we not have the same great start we had a year previous, it seems this team just plain forgot how to win. After a very pathetic display in Kansas City, losing 10-6, the Broncos are now 3-9. Making us 5-17 since that amazing 6-0 start from last year. Simply put, that just won't do it. This dismal effort really needs to be credited to one man, Josh McDaniels.

Obviously, it is still the player's job to come out and play the games well, but if the coach isn't respected, and isn't able to prepare his team every single week, no matter who you're playing, then your coach bares the brunt of the responsibility. The crystal clear demonstration of this came between weeks 6 & 7for the Broncos this year. Week 6, the Broncos lost a heartbreaker the the NY Jets, whom many expect to win the AFC East, if not the AFC itself, on a last second pass interference call that put the Jets on the Broncos 1 yard line with less than a minute to play. Not disputing the call, but it was heart breaking. The following week, at home no less, the Broncos come out against a Raiders team that really wasn't showing too much to a lot of teams, and got thrashed. Gave up 59 points to a team, at home, and showed absolutely no fire at all. In fact, McDaniels left the starting team in the entire game, instead of holding them accountable for their obscene lack of effort. The team was not prepared, and that is a direct reflection of coaching.

Just recently, McDaniels was, once again, caught up in a scandal involving his videographer taping the 49ers practice for the game in London. Now, considering he came from the Patriots, where this is pretty common place, I suppose we should have expected something like this, but it is not something that a franchise like the Broncos has ever gotten caught up in in the past. This is a team that has been to 6 Super Bowls, and won 2 for crying out loud. This is a proud franchise, or it was, anyways, and cheating was never something it had been associated with.

Couple these two things (the horrible inability to prepare his team, and the alleged cheating), with his horrible personnel decisions, and you have possibly the worst coach in the NFL. People asked questions about trading Cutler, but not too many people would want him back after what Orton has done. But since then, there has been terrible move after terrible move. In the 2009 draft, he traded away a 2010 first round pick to move up and get Alphonso Smith, an undersized corner back who barely played last year, and then was traded to Detroit this year. Sure glad we gave that pick up. Then he traded Peyton Hillis to Cleveland for Brady Quinn. Hillis is leading the Browns in rushing and is making a SERIOUS difference for that team. The Broncos have the worst running game in the NFL, and Brady Quinn is our 3rd string quarterback. Brandon Marshall was sent to Miami for a 2nd round draft pick, which we then traded to Baltimore during the draft. And Tony Scheffler, our outstanding receiving tight end, was traded away to Detroit because McDaniels basically didn't like him. We haven't had a decent receiving tight end this year as a result of this. Let us also not forget the dismissing of Mike Nolan, the defensive coordinator that turned our laughable defense into a respectable one. Probably because Nolan was a better coach than McD was. Now, one or two of these types of moves are forgivable, but put all of these together, and you just get a guy that doesn't understand personnel. I'm not including the drafting of Tim Tebow in this because we have yet to see how that is going to play out.

Now, Pat Bowlen has said that he was going to have McDaniels as coach again next year, and then back tracked, saying that he wasn't locked in and would do what was in the best interest of the team. Well, I think it's pretty safe to say that an 11-17 record is not what this team expects. The Denver Broncos expect, and are expected, to compete for the playoffs. This is a proud franchise with a lot of really good history. This team, and its fans, do not take well to being the laughing stock of the NFL, and we generally run the people out that attempt to make us that. Dan Reeves hinted at trading John Elway, and he was run out so fast it isn't even funny. Shanny led us to 2 Super Bowls, and when he didn't get us to the playoffs 3 years in a row, he was let go, because we expect to compete for the playoffs. The Boy King has shown himself to be arrogant in his relationships with his staff and players, incapable of making personnel decisions that positively impact the team, unable to prepare his players week in and week out, and all around incapable of leadership.

People say that you need to give rebuilding time, but the time for rebuilding has just begun. The Broncos, under Shannahan, always competed for playoff spots. McDaniels's version of the Broncos barely compete in every game. The time to rebuild is here and now, and it starts with getting rid of the coach. There is some great potential for some amazing coaches to come in who will command respect from their team right away. The top of the list is Bill Cowher. He comes into the room, and you immediately listen to him. His teams are always tough, prepared, and are no nonsense. Another potential coach is Jon Gruden. Things ended badly for him in Tampa, but he led the Raiders to their only Super Bowl appearance in a long time, and won a Super Bowl with the once lowly Buccaneers. You flash your ring to these players who don't have one or haven't even seen one, and you immediately gain their respect. You have been to the promised land, so your methods are legit. There are others to look at as well, I'm sure, but those are my top 2 choices. These may also be affected by the potential work stoppage of next year, but whether there is a season next year or not, one thing is certain, Josh McDaniels should NOT be the coach of the Denver Broncos next year.