McCoy pays for Broncos’ offensive ineptitude
Co-ordinator turfed after loss to Bengals marked team’s seventh defeat in eight games
Tough year for Mike McCoy. He’s been fired twice since New Year’s Day.
First, in January after four years as head coach of the (then) San Diego Chargers. Second, on Monday after 10 months as offensive co-ordinator of the Denver Broncos.
Broncos GM John Elway made no secret of his impatience and deep disappointment with his team’s embarrassing struggles on offence since Week 3. Denver has lost seven of its last eight games including Sunday to the equally woeful Cincinnati Bengals.
McCoy paid for it with his job, after being unable to turn either Trevor Siemian or Brock Osweiler into something other than a flailing failure, despite Siemian’s promising play after a 2-0 start.
The Broncos named Bill Musgrave as McCoy’s replacement.
An NFL offensive co-ordinator or quarterbacks coach since 1997, Musgrave coached Denver’s quarterbacks since January. This, after Oakland head coach Jack Del Rio surprisingly fired him as his Raiders offensive co-ordinator at the end of last season. The Oakland attack was prolific under Musgrave. Now it’s not under Todd Downing.
The Broncos also announced Klint Kubiak — oldest son of Gary Kubiak, Denver’s head coach from 2015-16 — replaces Musgrave as quarterbacks coach.
According to the club, firstyear head coach Vance Joseph made these decisions, not Elway, including the “difficult” one to fire McCoy.
“I have a responsibility to do what’s best for our football team,” Joseph said in a statement. “Although this wasn’t an easy decision, we needed to make this change. We have to play a more efficient brand of football offensively as we begin the final stretch of our season.”
In his statement, McCoy said, in part: “I’m disappointed that things didn’t work out because this is a special organization and a great place to be.”
Siemian seemed far more comfortable last year in the elder Kubiak’s (and offensive co-ordinator Rick Dennison’s) offensive system — one that emphasizes a lot of nibbling at the short edges — than he did in McCoy’s more aggressive downfield pass schemes.
Osweiler seems ill-fitted for any NFL system.
From Weeks 3-8, Siemian threw eight interceptions and only three touchdowns. Osweiler, in three starts since Siemian’s benching, also has thrown more interceptions (four) than TDs (three). So wish Musgrave luck. He’ll need it.
As for McCoy, he’ll surely not be the last offensive co-ordinator in the league to lose his job before mid-January.
Hero: Drew Brees, QB, Saints
After the New Orleans rushing attack punctured Buffalo’s defence for nearly 300 yards a week ago, maybe we’d forgotten how spectacular a passer Brees can be. He sure was that Sunday against Washington.
After Washington took a 31-16 lead with 5:58 left, Brees completed seven straight passes on the ensuing drive for 82 yards, including a three-yard touchdown to narrow the deficit to 31-23 with 2:53 left.
After a three and out forced Washington to punt, Brees completed 4-of-4 for 82 yards, including an 18-yard TD that, with a two-point conversion, sent the game to overtime.
There, the Saints won 34-31 on a field goal thanks to Mark Ingram’s back-to-back runs of 20 and 31 yards.
Zero: Denver Broncos
Who could have foreseen how much of a dysfunctional mess this team would become some 22 months after winning the Super Bowl.
After opening the season with two impressive wins, the Broncos have won just one of eight games, that being 16-10 over the Oakland Raiders, who lost quarterback Derek Carr to injury in that game.
Sunday’s 20-17 loss to Cincinnati was Denver’s only loss this year when the Broncos were within reach near the end. Their average margin of defeat in the other six losses: 18 points.
We needed to make this change. We have to play a more efficient brand of football offensively as we begin the final stretch.
Stock up: New England defence
This unit has ranked dead last in the league all season long in both total yards and pass yards allowed per game. But what an improvement over the past four games, all wins.
Over the first six games, the Pats allowed a minimum 408 total yards, and more than 300 yards passing five times. But in the past four games the Pats have allowed between 339-349 total yards and 192-235 pass yards.
Stock down: Washington
Coming off that huge comeback win at Seattle two weeks ago to improve to 4-4, Washington has lost twice. That’s largely because the team’s defence has run off the rails, allowing a combined 850 yards and 72 points to Minnesota and New Orleans in backto-back, likely playoff-killing defeats.
If anyone can figure that team from quarter to quarter, let alone game to game, please share.