Denver Broncos Embarrassed By Play, Credibility Issues and Spygate 2

If nothing else, most everyone in Broncos Country would agree that the 2010 campaign will be one of the most forgettable campaigns in team history. 

It’s a season that can’t end soon enough.  It also has run the gamut of life, tragedy and trouble on and off the field.  Now it’s even reached into the scandalous realm.  The Denver Broncos are a faltering football franchise seeking answers.

The Denver Broncos are now a .407 football club under Josh McDaniels, though statistically it does get much worse (keep reading).

A Franchise Tarnished (Spygate 2: One Big Coincidence?)

On Friday, news broke of the Broncos franchise being involved in an isolated cheating incident in which their now-former director of video operations Steve Scarnecchia recorded a portion of the San Francisco 49ers walk-through prior to their game in London.  Scarnecchia was dismissed by the Broncos and faces a lifetime ban from the NFL.

This seemingly small isolated episode—from the Broncos accounts of the incident, anyway—has the potential to become something bigger and deeper, ala the original Spygate, which happened in New England a few years back.    

Josh McDaniels has now gone on record and made a statement that he was not going to “do that” with regard to looking at any portion of the video in question.  The Broncos were actually commended by the NFL office for the manner in which they cooperated with the league. 

The Broncos have eliminated all video files from the computer Scarnecchia was using at the time.  Nonetheless, the league fined both the team and Josh McDaniels $50,000 each, and the team is taking precautions to ensure this sort of thing never happens again.

On the NFL Today, Bill Cowher shared his feelings that the Broncos should now lose draft picks, which essentially eliminated any thoughts of him coming to Denver any time soon as Josh McDaniels' replacement.

Admittedly, Josh McDaniels says he failed to report the incident to the Broncos management and the NFL office.  What really stands out here is that Josh brought in Steve Scarnecchia and dismissed the prior video-ops director because of their prior relationship. 

Just like many of the players and coaches, Steve Scarnecchia is a Josh McDaniels guy.  That is why there are a number of people around the league who have speculated that the details of this incident are pointing more towards scandal than accidental or incidental.

Additionally, Jay Glazer reported yesterday on the Fox Sports pregame show that Josh McDaniels did say something specifically to his coaches regarding the original Spygate. Keep in mind, McDaniels was in New England when the original incident broke; this all has the potential to bring an end to Josh McDaniels' time in the NFL as a head coach. 

Glazer reported that McDaniels allegedly told his coaches in a meeting on Friday about the original Spygate, “This isn’t the same thing, that was practiced, that was coached, that was worked on.”.  That in it of itself has a condemning affect on Josh's legacy in the NFL, let alone Denver.

The issue here is deep as Josh McDaniels previously denied having any knowledge of the original Spygate the last few years.  He then allegedly told his coaches, “If this gets out, there are jobs on the line.” 

However these details did get out, someone from the league apparently caught Steve Scarnecchia recording the session but waited to see the Broncos response, as Scarnecchia thought he got away with it. 

Glazer also alleges that there has been animosity internally toward McDaniels for throwing Scarnecchia under the bus.  In another incident, McDaniels also allegedly ripped his coaches in front of owner Pat Bowlen following the blowout loss at home against the Raiders, essentially putting momentum behind McDaniels not feeling the love internally at Dove Valley.

More than likely this isn’t the last we’ve heard about this situation.  However, the Broncos are dealing with losses and now a serious public relations dilemma that is viewed as a coverup from the outside looking in.  It’s a point of view that has legs, and it’s an issue that will linger over the franchise for some time to come. 

McDaniels' own character is now fallen into question, something he has personally made his mantra as coach of the Broncos in getting “high character guys” while trading franchise stars and head cases.

Keep in mind the NFL can still reopen this investigation at any time it feels necessary and levy further penalties against the Broncos franchise.

The Loss on Sunday to the Upstart Rams

There is a fairly distinct pattern being established by the Denver Broncos when they take the field.  They are starting fast, then stalling out and dying.  You could call them the Yugo of football teams—as in, are they still around? 

It’s a football franchise that was hoping to get back in the race last Monday.  Now they don’t even resemble a team that could be a spoiler.  The Broncos are an awful football team right now; the realization should strike a chord with even the most diehard fans. 

For starters, the Denver Broncos are now the second-worst rushing team in the NFL, somehow managing a full yard-and-a-half better per game than the Seattle Seahawks.  Knowshon Moreno ran for a total of 56 yards on 12 carries against the Rams on Sunday, with a long of 16 yards.

Denver did manage to out-yardage the Rams, 449 to 431, but were really never in the game between the second quarter and the middle of the fourth quarter.  The Broncos made a last-minute rally to cut a 16-point deficit to 13 points but still wound up losing 36-33 to a Rams team that is young and on the upswing. 

For Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo, it was bittersweet redemption, as he was passed over for the Broncos head coaching job in favor of Josh McDaniels.

In time of possession, the Broncos were bested by the Rams by nearly eight-and-a-half minutes. 

The Broncos have shown in the last two games that they are not willing to retain any dedication to the run game, which is what led to their blowout of the Chiefs just three games ago.

Give the Rams credit, they have a very dynamic passing attack and had enough rushing yards to keep their offense rolling.  The Broncos defense has shown just how porous it really is over the course of the last two games and much of the 2010 season.  The need for defensive talent through the draft is rearing its ugly head again.  

Somehow, the Broncos did manage two sacks of Sam Bradford for a zero-yard net.  Through the air Sam Bradford showed how well his skill set has transferred into the NFL.  On the day, Bradford went 22 for 37 for 308 yards and three touchdowns.  

Ironically enough, the Rams only had a 37 percent conversion rate on third down. What that implies is that the Rams were scorching the Broncos defense for big yards much of the rest of the game.  

The Statistical Shortfalls

Sunday’s attendance was 72,736 faithful, the lowest-attended game at home this season and the lowest-attended of the Josh McDaniels era.  The game showed nearly 4,000 less than the game against the Colts, the highest-attended game.  If McDaniels remains the coach, the possibility of attendance numbers dropping off is realistic to the point of possible game blackouts in the Denver market for the first time in 40 years.

The Broncos are 2-1 this season when scoring over thirty points, having beaten the Chiefs 49-29, the Seahawks 31-14 and falling to the Rams 36-33.  It was the first time the Rams franchise has won in Denver since 1979 (31 years).  The Broncos only broke the 30-point mark twice last season, a 44-13 win against the Chiefs in Kansas City and at the Chargers, 34-23.

Last season, the Broncos were 0-4 when yielding over 30 points.  This season they are 0-4 when yielding over 30 points.  This season, the Broncos have already given up 31 at Baltimore, 59 to the Raiders, 35 to the Chargers and 36 to the Rams.

One glaring stat about the 2010 Denver Broncos through 11 games is that they only lead their opponents in three statistical categories out of 16 that are tracked.  The Broncos lead only in total passing yards, passing attempts and completions, and field goals.  The full breakdown is as follows:

Team Statistics
	Broncos	Opponents
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS	224	231
FIRST DOWNS (Rushing-passing-by penalty)	48 - 159 - 17	86 - 128 – 17
THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS	49/143	60/142
FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS	5/15	7/12
TOTAL OFFENSIVE YARDS	4044	4187
OFFENSE (Plays-Average Yards)	708 - 5.7	717 - 5.8
TOTAL RUSHING YARDS	873	1558
RUSHING (Plays-Average Yards)	249 - 3.5	364 - 4.3
TOTAL PASSING YARDS	3171	2629
PASSING (Comp-Att-Int-Avg)	266 - 430 - 6 - 7.8	206 - 337 - 6 - 8.1
SACKS	16	29
FIELD GOALS	14/16	13/18
TOUCHDOWNS	30	41
(Rushing-Passing-Returns-Defensive)	8 - 21 - 0 - 1	16 - 23 - 1 - 1
AVG TIME OF POSSESSION	28:35	31:24
TURNOVER RATIO	-5

The Final Note

Now is the time for the Broncos to make the call to the likes of Jon Gruden.  While Gruden is secure in his MNF job and dedicated to it and denying any possibility about moving on at this juncture, the thing to remember is that he’s a coach.  He’s a coach who could thrive in the right environment with the right support around him.

Finally, at this hour CNNSI has speculated that the Broncos may be positioning themselves to make a move in terminating Josh McDaniels, so stay tuned.