Thinking outside the box on QB gets a tip of the Kaep
In the losing locker room, the Broncos’ 1,000-yard stares were as blank as the amount of points Denver put on the scoreboard. It was the look of an NFL team falling apart.
The Broncos played in a soccer stadium, and were beaten by the homeless and unloved Los Angeles Chargers 21-nil. The sun might always shine in Southern California, but the nearly 20,000 Denver fans who painted the StubHub Center orange went home feeling extremely blue.
“It’s tough,” Broncos linebacker Von Miller said Sun- day. “Adversity, especially in the National Football League, it always feels the same. It always feels like the end of the world.”
It might not be the end of the world, but you can see the abyss from where the Broncos are teetering on the brink.
Trevor Siemian, the first Denver starting quarterback to get shut out since the
immortal Tommy Maddox (circa 1992), couldn’t get out of his own way.
Vance Joseph, the rookie head coach, had no answers. For anything. Where was this game plan drawn up? On a napkin? If so, Joseph should have tossed it in the recycle bin and started over.
And maybe worst of all, cornerback Chris Harris said this year felt a little like 2016, when Denver missed the playoffs. After a 65-yard punt return by Travis Benjamin for a touchdown staked Los Angeles to a 7-0 lead, quarterback Philip Rivers played it safe, careful not to risk turnovers, but without fear of Denver’s offense, which followed a 10-point performance against the New York Giants with even more ineptitude.
“These last two weeks have definitely felt like last year. I thought we were over that,” said Harris, pointing out that if the Broncos can’t get a lead, the Chargers’ blueprint for success will be repeated often down the road.
You can’t win if you don’t score, even if Aqib Talib and Derek Wolfe are on your side.
“That’s frustrating. … You’re just kind of out there,” said Harris, vexed by the inability of the defense to make the Chargers cough up a fumble or intercep- tion.
The Broncos don’t want to point fingers of blame, and kudos to them for hanging together through a tough four-game stretch in which the offense has averaged nine points per game. Never thought I would type these words: But does anyone else miss Rick Dennison?
The tension in the cramped visitors’ locker room was as real as the curse words of warning Talib directed at a Denver television reporter, as if one more annoying question from the media is the most distasteful stuff for the Broncos to chew on.
Does this team really have no better option than Siemian at quarterback? Joseph has painted himself into a corner that reeks of foolish pride by declaring Siemian the permanent starter during training camp and repeated that malarkey again last week.
A good NFL coach makes adjustments. Heck, even John Fox heeded the billboard advice in Denver and eventually dumped Kyle Orton for Tim Tebow, whose mechanics were worse than a 1973 Ford Pinto. So explain to me why Joseph thinks establishing the run, praying for an early lead and hoping for the best will get Denver to the playoffs.
Blame the offensive line if that makes you feel better about Siemian sinking steadily in the direction of DeShone Kizer at the bottom of the league’s quarterback rankings. The lone position up front where Denver was playing truly short-handed was right offensive tackle, and the general manager who built this line is the same one who drafted these quarterbacks: John Elway.
Maybe Paxton Lynch really is too unhealthy to play or simply resides so far back in the doghouse that Joseph couldn’t call his name with a straight face. If Brock Osweiler could get benched against the Chargers in 2015, then why was it sacrosanct to send Siemian back to the huddle after halftime?
“He’s our quarterback,” said Joseph, insisting the thought of benching Siemian never crossed his mind, with Denver trailing 14-0 at halftime. “It’s a two-score game, so why make a change when we’re still in the game?”
If Siemian truly is the best answer on the roster available to the coach, then perhaps Joseph should walk into Elway’s office and ask about the possibility of signing free agent Colin Kaepernick, who passed for 72 touchdowns and ran for 13 more scores in 69 NFL starts.
Oh, wait. I forgot. The Broncos would have to change their entire offensive scheme for Kaepernick.
Like that would be a bad thing. Right now, Denver more closely resembles a last-place team than a playoff contender. With a .500 record after six games, however, the Broncos are whistling “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” past the graveyard.
“We’re 3-3. That’s perfect to go all the way,” said Jamaal Charles, who rushed four times for 2 yards.
The Broncos might be worse than a bad football team. I’m afraid they could be delusional.