Keenum & Joseph wrong guys for job
Here was another painful reminder why the Broncos have lost their way without the guidance of franchise owner Pat Bowlen. On the morning after a loss as ugly as this 2714 beatdown in Baltimore, the boss needs to ask tough questions.
Does Denver have the right coach in Vance Joseph? And is Case Keenum the answer at quarterback?
While it’s too early to declare definitely, I will offer two hints to those two difficult questions.
No! And no!
On a dampanddreary Sunday, Denver looked suspi ciously like the same quarterback deficient and ineptly coached football team it was in 2017.
Let’s start with Joseph. He has learned to demand more from the Broncos. But do players, who treat the coach with the respect of a substitute teacher, listen to Joseph? All the yellow laundry scattered across the field at M&T Bank Stadium shouted: No!
“Selfinflicted penalties,” Joseph said. “A lot of penalties really were guys losing their composure. You’re playing a tough Baltimore team on the road, and you have 13 penalties for 120 yards, and it really, honestly cost us 20 points. So that obviously killed us.”
The cramped Denver locker room was filled with far too much frivolous laughter in defeat, especially after the Broncos blocked a punt and pounced on the Ravens with a 70 lead a mere 89 seconds into the first quarter, then spent the rest of the game singing a scarecrow’s song: “If I only had a brain.”
Give the Broncos credit for creativity in their stupidity. They were penalized for 12 men in the huddle, a punch at the bottom of the pile and a shove from a player standing on the sideline.
Yes, after Broncos safety Justin Simmons blocked a field goal in the second quarter, a 58yard scoopandscore by teammate Chris Harris was taken off the board. A touchdown that would have given Denver the lead was nullified.
“For nothing,” said Harris, understandably disappointed with a tickytack call for a block in the back. “That wasn’t nothing.”
Point well taken, Mr. Harris. In fact, those were seven critical points taken away from Denver.
But if Broncos Country believes officiating cost Denver this victory, I’m afraid everyone who bleeds orange will have to open a vein for the remainder of this season. Joseph mismanaged the clock at the end of the first half, begged for a replay review not allowed by rule in the second half and generally looked like the same mystified coach John Elway nearly fired after a 511 disaster last year.
Well, this loss reintroduced déjà vu to all over again.
The No Fly Zone has been reduced to spare parts and broken hearts. When cornerback Adam Jones, who turns 35 years old in less than a week, reported too lame to suit up, a confused Broncos secondary got dressed down by Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco, who completed 25 of 40 passes for 277 yards.
“We’ve got to figure out a way to try to confuse quarterbacks … We’re making it too easy for them,” Harris said.
Trick somebody? Remember Super Bowl 50, when the Denver defense swaggered onto the field and picked a fight with Carolina quarterback Cam Newton? Now that same defense is reduced to smoke and mirrors. Worse, the cumulative stats of Seattle’s Russell Wilson, Oakland’s Derek Carr and Flacco suggest any NFL quarterback can look like the a MVP against the Broncos.
Those three QBs have completed 69.5 percent of their passes for five touchdowns, 863 yards and a 102.2 QB rating. Want context? Tom Brady posted a 102.8 QB rating in 2017. Either something changes in pass defense, and changes in a hurry (preferably before the Patrick Mahomes Air Show hits Denver), or the Broncos are going to miss the playoffs for a third year inarow.
Speaking of quarterbacks, will Elway regret not trading up for Sam Darnold of USC or taking Wyoming’s Josh Allen in the 2018 NFL draft?
Keenum is as tough as barbed wire. But he’s just another ranch hand. There’s a reason he drifted from job to job in his NFL career. He held the football far too long in the pocket against the Ravens, like a QB that would rather do nothing than pull the trigger and misfire. In three games, Keenum has thrown three TDs and five picks, with a quarterback rating of 71.6 that’s more Siemianesque than Bradyesue.
Despite engineering seven consecutive drives that ended in a punt, Keenum was down by only 13 points as the Broncos advanced deep in Baltimore territory with more than nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Then Keenum forced a pass into coverage, hoping his prayer would be answered by tight end Jeff Heuerman, but instead was cursed with an interception by Baltimore linebacker Patrick Onwuasor.
What went wrong?
“It,” said Keenum, his words as sparse as his passing yards in defeat, “was a lot of things.”
Isn’t that the thing with bad NFL teams? It’s always something, and usually too many things to count, much less correct.