JOSEPH WORKING TO GET BRONCOS “CLICKING” AGAIN
Broncos appear to be completely different team from one that started 3-1
The Broncos were clicking and gave every appearance of a team on the rise, but coach Vance Joseph tried to temper the praise. “It’s only Week 2,” he said at the time. “We don’t want to be overconfident.”
It was mid-September and the Broncos were riding a two-game win streak, thanks to a rediscovered running game, a quarterback who appeared to be coming into his own and an offensive line seemingly better equipped to withstand the pressure. The defense, still fiery, had eliminated its biggest flaw — defending the run — and the special teams found the speed it coveted in the return game.
Still, Joseph urged restraint because the season was young. But it’s unlikely even he could have seen what’s happened. Since their Week 5 bye, the Broncos have appeared a wholly different team, depleted and discombobulated, inefficient and in need of answers after losing consecutive games to the New York Giants, who were 0-5, and Sunday to the Los Angeles Chargers, who were 2-4.
“We still have some issues all the way around. There is no other way to put it,” linebacker Von Miller said. “You can’t lose two games straight and not have any issues. We have issues that we need to address from the top down.”
The Broncos left for their brief vacation with a 3-1 record. They returned with an offense that has changed at its core.
In their first two games this season the Broncos amassed 66 points and relied heavily on their running game with 75 carries for an average of 159 yards rushing (4.24 per carry) per game. Quarterback Trevor Siemian totaled 60 passes for an average of 225 yards per game, and the offense as a whole converted nearly 57 percent of its third downs and compiled 48 first downs.
In their last two losses, the running game has sputtered and the laundry list of mistakes has grown. The Broncos have run the ball only 36 times for an average of 57.5 yards per game, while Siemian has passed a whopping 89 times. They have committed six turnovers (compared with four in Weeks 1 and 2), and Siemian has been sacked nine times.
“It’s the running game. In our three victories, that’s where it started,” Joseph said. “We were in firm control of how we attacked the defense. When you’re behind the sticks so much — in our three losses, it’s been that way. First down is a stuff, second down is a quick pass incomplete, now we’re third downand-10. Who wants to operate like that?”
The Broncos haven’t been able to operate much of anything of late. Of their 31 total third-down attempts the past two games, 24 were for 6 or more yards, leading to a 26 percent conversion rate.
The inability to move the chains and run the ball has created a ripple effect that has reached the defense too. Without a lead, the Denver secondary is rarely targeted in coverage as opponents play it safe.
“They’re scheming us, they’re setting
pick plays and they’re figuring out ways to empty us out with three tight ends. They throw it fast to the tight ends,” cornerback Chris Harris said. “When have you seen a ball — other than the Raiders and the first Chargers game — go down the field 40 yards? It doesn’t happen. We have to get used to how teams are playing us.”
With the list of problems long and interconnected, blame is shared on the offense, but fingers are most conveniently pointed toward the quarterback. Calls for Siemian to be benched grew loud from fans during Sunday’s 21-0 loss to the Chargers, but Joseph said after the game that he never considered replacing him. And his plan hasn’t changed, he said Monday.
“Offensively, our formula is to run the football, play-action pass and keep us in manageable third downs,” Joseph said. “That’s where Trevor is comfortable. It doesn’t matter who the quarterback is if he’s not being protected or if the run game’s not effective. So we have to do a better job as a unit.
“He hasn’t played per- fect. No one’s played perfect. But as a unit, as we get better, he’ll play better. We’ve seen it. We’ve seen it. It’s proven. So I’m not concerned about Trevor.”
The unit-wide problems are “puzzling” to Joseph in part because the Broncos have had two strong weeks of practice, he said. But the work hasn’t translated to game days.
To change the results, Joseph is changing the routine and devoting more time on the field for walkthroughs. The coaches have to coach better and differently, he said, and the players have to execute.
“We have to get better at the details,” he said. “Something isn’t clicking. We have to find it, and we will.”