Denver Broncos: 10 Ways They Can Still Escape 2010 With Their Dignity
To put it out there as plain and simple as possible, the Denver Broncos have had an awful season. After starting off the Josh McDaniels era at 6-0 last year, the Broncos have fallen from grace so hard that McDaniels received the big axe a few days ago.
Believe it or not, though, even at 3-9, there are still plenty of ways for the Denver Broncos to salvage some dignity in the remainder of 2010.
Here are 10 ways the Broncos should go about keeping their pride intact in what is left of the 2010 regular season.
10. Trust in Knowshon Moreno
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All of a sudden, as if coming out of nowhere, Knowshon Moreno has started to become the running back that people thought he was going to be when he was drafted as the No. 12 overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft.
As it stands, with four games left to go, Moreno has posted 633 yards and four touchdowns. While his 947 yards and seven touchdowns from last season seem like unreachable goals, the Broncos don't exactly play the stoutest defenses for the rest of the season.
Trust in Moreno and run the ball, Denver. You may be surprised.
9. Focus On Defense
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Boy, that makes it sound so easy.
In all honesty, though, if the Broncos can find any way to stem the bleeding, they need to. They found a great rhythm against the Kansas City Chiefs last week, and a few repeats of that kind of performance could mean big things of Denver.
Obviously the Broncos defense is already looking forward to next year, awaiting the return of Elvis Dumervil with bated breath, but they can still step up this year, if only to prove that they can.
8. Study Well For The Draft
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Last time I checked, teams in this era of football were not in the habit of benching their first round draft picks for most of the season.
The Broncos had an alright draft last year, picking up a great future receiving prospect in Demaryius Thomas and a decent cornerback in Perrish Cox.
With nine draft picks, though (five of which were in the top three rounds), that simply isn't enough.
The draft may be looking past 2010, but it is critical for the upper management to get cranking on a solid draft board and a serious list of priorities. It may have seemed like they needed a quarterback and a wide receiver, but they really could have used a younger DB, a younger defensive tackle, a pass rushing defensive end or even another outside linebacker to complement Elvis Dumervil.
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7. Give Tim Tebow a Shot
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Yes, Tim Tebow is still a work in progress.
Yes, Kyle Orton could still have a Pro Bowl year.
Yes, Tebow may not be with the Broncos for long (although even if new management doesn't like him, it'd be hard to cut ties so quickly with a first round draft pick).
All that having been said, it's time to give the kid a real shot and see what he is capable of. If anything, it could be a one game tryout for Tebow. If the coaches think that he has improved enough over the course of the year, then they'll give him another shot next year.
6. Lock Up Brandon Lloyd
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Brandon Lloyd had a quiet game against the Kansas City Chiefs last week, but, to be fair, I'm not sure anyone has ever seen Brandon Carr and Brandon Flowers play better football than the they did against Lloyd.
The Broncos have Lloyd through 2011, but, considering his breakout season and his age (29, which isn't young, but isn't quite that old either), he has done enough to earn a career-long tenure with the Denver Broncos. He will be a great presence on the outside along with Demaryius Thomas, and will take some of the pressure off the rookie as he continues to develop.
5. Put Real Effort Into Finding a Head Coach
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I remember the first thing I said to my Patriots fan friends when the Broncos hired Josh McDaniels, "Do they know who actually runs the Patriots?"
Sure, the Pats had a great offense under Josh McDaniels, but that was just as much about him as a coordinator as it was about the fact that Bill Belichick was running the team.
This isn't to say that McDaniels isn't a great offensive coordinator, because he is, but that he lacked the coaching know-how to step into the role of head honcho.
I digress, though.
The Broncos really need to draft up a short list and be ready to approach guys once the season is over. You all have seen names tossed around: Leslie Frazier, Jim Harbaugh and the list goes on, and on and on.
Denver cannot afford to continue the spinning turnstile that their coaching staff has become. They need to find a guy that they can trust with the reigns for a sizable amount of time.
4. Crank Up the Heat
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Sure, it is difficult to rush the passer without a dominant guy on the edge drawing attention. That is why the Broncos have struggled so much in generating pass rush in the absence of Elvis Dumervil.
That having been said, though, there are players that have proved an ability to get after the quarterback, and it's about time that the Broncos start focusing on the strengths of those players.
Take Mario Haggan as an example. If you had told me last year that a 30 year old, middle of the pack inside linebacker would have a breakout year in 2010, I might not have believed you. If you had told me that, through 12 games, he would have five sacks in addition to a career-high 67 tackles, I may have laughed in your face. A lot.
He may not be the youngest guy on the defense (wait a minute, let me check that actually...nope, but only just barely), but he certainly has been an impact guy in the absence of Dumervil, so why not use him a bit more? Inside linebacker blitzes do exist.
3. Do Something With Brady Quinn
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I still have a lot of trouble thinking of a more boneheaded move in all of the years that I have been paying attention to football than the offseason trade that brought Brady Quinn to Denver.
I bet the Broncos wish they could get Peyton Hillis back now.
The unfortunate thing, though, is that they can't, so they need to move on.
Brady Quinn probably won't even start in Denver, but at the very least they could put him in for a play or two and make Denver fans feel like they weren't completely screwed by the deal.
2. Win Out
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Tim Tebow seems excited for it.
And yes, it is that easy.
Kidding, kidding, it isn't that easy. If you think about it, though, the Broncos don't have the most difficult four games in the world left on their schedule.
In the final four weeks, they play Arizona and and Oakland away, and then come home to play Houston and San Diego. Two of those games should be easy wins, and the other two could be easier than people think.
1. Send Kyle Orton to the Pro Bowl
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A few weeks ago, it seemed like, despite how well he was playing, Kyle Orton wasn't going to the Pro Bowl. With Tom Brady, Philip Rivers and Peyton Manning tearing it up, Kyle Orton's spectacular season seemed to fall to the wayside.
Now, though, Peyton Manning should be all but out of the race, Philip Rivers seems to be falling into a funk along with the rest of the San Diego Chargers, and Tom Brady may be headed to the Super Bowl.
It's not much, but a Pro Bowl for the starting quarterback could add a nice touch to a terrible season.
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