WAS MIAMI ONSIDE KICK DIRTY OR OK?
Kiz: As if everybody in Broncos Country wasn’t already fuming with Denver trailing Miami 33-9 in the fourth quarter, our old friend Adam Gase spiked everyone’s blood pressure by ordering an onside kick, which was recovered by the Dolphins. “Gase is a savage,” Denver wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders said in the losing locker room. Was it a cheap trick? Or was it just football?
Jhabvala: If everybody in Broncos Country is fuming about the Dolphins’ onside kick when they led by 24 points, Broncos Country needs to wake up. The play is allowed. There’s no mercy rule in pro football, nor should there be. Who cares if Gase tried to rub it in a little more? The Broncos did more damage to themselves by turning the ball over and wasting a three-takeaway showing by the defense.
Kiz: Denver rode roughshod over the AFC for most of the Peyton Manning era, often lighting up the scoreboard. Was throwing seven touchdown passes in a game against Baltimore in 2013 an act of poor sportsmanship? Of course not. The fact Gase kicked a little Florida sand in the face of his former employer is aggravating, if only because it illustrates what 98-pound weaklings the Broncos have become.
Jhabvala: Let’s recap: The Broncos, who started the year 3-1, returned from their bye and lost to the then-winless Giants, were shut out for the first time in nearly 25 years, lost to the Bengals in Denver, fired an offensive coordinator, rotated quarterbacks three times, were schooled by the Dolphins — THE DOLPHINS! — and now own a minus-16 turnover margin. And an onside kick is making people upset?
Kiz: Here is the one aspect of the onside kick that does have relevance to the Broncos’ current situation. Gase’s lingering ire toward the team is a reminder John Elway can be extremely tough on his coaches. Ask John Fox. Or Wade Phillips. So if Denver feels as if it must move on from Vance Joseph at the end of this sorry season, let’s hope that potential head coaching candidates don’t give Gase, Fox or Phillips a phone call when performing their research on what it’s like to work for Elway.
Jhabvala: See, 10 weeks ago, Elway’s toughness as an executive was lauded. He knew when to draw the line in negotiations. He got the players he wanted at the dollar he wanted. He was hard on his coaches, but the team won. How quickly that narrative changes when a team loses eight consecutive games. I don’t think there are any secrets about Elway’s managerial style. There weren’t before, and there aren’t now. But he will have to make some difficult decisions soon, and not everyone is going to be happy with him. Maybe that’s the cost of doing business. But pettiness means little when a team wins.