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Denver Broncos fans can barely watch. Their season, in the space of four weeks, has fallen from optimism to a bottomless pit of doubt, misery and oh too familiar pessimism.
The 3-0 Broncos quickly became 3-4 without the luxury of 60 minutes against the league’s cellar dwellers. Some may have predicted the slide while others will be crushed by the fleeting hope of rising from mediocrity.
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Failure to Execute Flattens Broncos
Try as they might have, Denver could not produce when it counted most. The offense played its part in the loss with a terrible first half, though the defense — or lack thereof — proved most problematic. Denver allowed Cleveland to convert 9-of-15 third downs without their starting quarterback and top-two rushers.
“What’s most concerning is our fundamentals were lacking in that game, particularly on the defensive side of the ball,” head coach Vic Fangio said, October 22. “When that’s lacking, that’s poor coaching on our part, and that’s starts with me. We have to do a better job of getting the fundamental things taught and executed.”
Missed tackling was a far too common sight for the Broncos. Time and time again, most noticeably on third down, Denver failed to rap up Cleveland’s receivers and running backs. Failure on assignments undoubtedly contributed to the loss but Fangio believes the bigger problems lied in an inability to execute.
“It’s being where you’re supposed to be at all times and being there for the different types of plays,” he said. “If they run the stretch play, you’ve got to stay in your gap. If they run a boot play, you’ve got to be there for the boot. You’ve got to have good eyes and be disciplined when you play a team that’s good with the boot game, good with the screen game, and good with the play-action game. We didn’t get that done well enough.”
Fangio was already under pressure from sections of Broncos Country and Denver media before Thursday Night’s loss, and while his seat may be getting hotter in the court of public opinion, he cannot feel it — or won’t admit to it.
“I’m not worried about my coaching status,” Fangio remarked. “What I’m worried about is this team and doing anything and everything we can to get our guys coached up to play better. That’s my only focus.”
Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur has also been under fire for his play calling and pass-heavy offense. After defeat to Cleveland, his cause wasn’t helped with yet another unbalanced attack. Denver failed to threaten the Browns with the run consistently, accumulating just three rushing first downs. All in all, the Broncos ran the football on just 14 of 49 total offensive plays.
Notwithstanding the heat, Fangio stated Shurmur and his colleagues are safe from the hook. Regardless of results, there’s no internal pressure for Fangio’s support staff to be going anywhere, anytime soon.
“Not at this time,” Fangio said of potential coaching or operational changes. “We always try and do a better job of inspiring them. I don’t have a problem with our efforts or our intents. We just have to do a better job of coaching these guys to be more fundamentally sound.”
Is Teddy Still That Dude?
After a phenomenal start in Orange, Broncos quarterback Teddy Bridgewater — much like the team — has fallen short across the past month. The 28-year-old threw a terrible interception to Browns cornerback John Johnson in the first half, making it five turnovers in the last two weeks.
Admittedly, Bridgewater fired back in the second half, steering his side on long drives, converting two into touchdowns. On each occasion, No.5 found a Broncos running back before they successfully crossed the plane.
The question remains though, who is Teddy Bridgewater? Is he still the same quarterback who led his team to a perfect start? Is he capable of righting the ship? His head coach seems to think nothing’s changed with his main man under centre.
“I thought he put together a courageous effort and was out there playing,” Fangio said. “I still see the same player. We just have to play better as a team, and then everybody’s performance will look a little better.
“If we can get off the field quicker on defense, we give the offense more opportunities. If we can convert some third downs, we get more opportunities that offense. If we can run it and throw it better on the early downs, we get more opportunities. It’s a team-wide issue right now, and once we can rectify some of that, everybody else’s performance will look better.”
Follow Patrick Djordjevic on Twitter: @Patdjordjevic
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