As we all know by now, the Broncos got demolished Sunday, losing 44 to 7. Like many of you, I came away from this game feeling frustrated and distraught. All of us Denver fans had high aspirations for this team. Especially after an offseason that included the signings of Daniel Graham, Travis Henry, Brandon Stokley, Sam Adams, and Dre' Bly. In addition we had a veteran offensive line coming back with Nalen, Hamilton, Lepsis, Pears and the new addition of Holland. Our defensive secondary looked almost inpenatrable and our offense was going to be unstoppable. What happened? Why are we losing like this? What is the problem? More importantly what is the solution?
Obviously, injuries have been the major story for Denver this year. Our offensive line has lost veterans Tom Nalen (pro-bowler and anchor of our line), Ben Hamilton and Stephen Alexander (primarily a blocking TE). We have lost Javon Walker, our most explosive player on offense who can stretch the defense and open up the running game. We lost Travis Henry for a game and his suspension still looms over him and the team. Now, we have lost Jay Cutler our prize rookie 1st round pick from last year. His status for next week still remains uncertain, but it appears that he will be okay.
On defense, I think its important to note that we lost our best defensive lineman early in the pre-season, DE - Ebenezar Ekuban. Our 1st round draft pick Jarvis Moss, has played sparingly in passing situations, is also lost for the season with a broken leg. Don't forget we traded away our best defensive tackle in the preseason as well, Gerard Warren. Warren also had an impact for the hated Oakland Raiders. That is 3 projected starters and impact players erased from our starting defensive lineup.
In what was supposedly the best secondary in the league, has also been riddled with injuries. We have lost John Lynch now for 3 games. John Lynch is the captain of the defense and he is responsible for getting the secondary in the correct alignment. The Broncos have had serious issues with substitutions and assignments when Lynch has not been in the game. We even lost Champ Bailey for a couple of games.
When you think about, the only position where our team seems to have not lost out to injury is the linebacking corps. But, then you remember we lost the heart and soul of our defense in the offseason, pro-bowl middle linebacker Al Wilson. The Broncos seriously miss his leadership qualities. Al led with emotion and passion, two qualities that have vanished from our defense. He also was the most physical player on the defense and set the tempo for the rest of the squad.
The Denver Broncos as a team can make excuses and tell themselves that injuries are what derailed them from being what they all told us was a possible Super Bowl team. The Broncos know that injuries are only half the story, not one of them would tell you that they have played a "great" game this year. Not one of they would tell you they were happy with how their unit has played. The Broncos have two choices they can rally and pick themselves off the dirt or they can pack it in and play the same style of football they have played for the first 8 games. The choice is up to them.
Obviously, injuries have been the major story for Denver this year. Our offensive line has lost veterans Tom Nalen (pro-bowler and anchor of our line), Ben Hamilton and Stephen Alexander (primarily a blocking TE). We have lost Javon Walker, our most explosive player on offense who can stretch the defense and open up the running game. We lost Travis Henry for a game and his suspension still looms over him and the team. Now, we have lost Jay Cutler our prize rookie 1st round pick from last year. His status for next week still remains uncertain, but it appears that he will be okay.
On defense, I think its important to note that we lost our best defensive lineman early in the pre-season, DE - Ebenezar Ekuban. Our 1st round draft pick Jarvis Moss, has played sparingly in passing situations, is also lost for the season with a broken leg. Don't forget we traded away our best defensive tackle in the preseason as well, Gerard Warren. Warren also had an impact for the hated Oakland Raiders. That is 3 projected starters and impact players erased from our starting defensive lineup.
In what was supposedly the best secondary in the league, has also been riddled with injuries. We have lost John Lynch now for 3 games. John Lynch is the captain of the defense and he is responsible for getting the secondary in the correct alignment. The Broncos have had serious issues with substitutions and assignments when Lynch has not been in the game. We even lost Champ Bailey for a couple of games.
When you think about, the only position where our team seems to have not lost out to injury is the linebacking corps. But, then you remember we lost the heart and soul of our defense in the offseason, pro-bowl middle linebacker Al Wilson. The Broncos seriously miss his leadership qualities. Al led with emotion and passion, two qualities that have vanished from our defense. He also was the most physical player on the defense and set the tempo for the rest of the squad.
The Denver Broncos as a team can make excuses and tell themselves that injuries are what derailed them from being what they all told us was a possible Super Bowl team. The Broncos know that injuries are only half the story, not one of them would tell you that they have played a "great" game this year. Not one of they would tell you they were happy with how their unit has played. The Broncos have two choices they can rally and pick themselves off the dirt or they can pack it in and play the same style of football they have played for the first 8 games. The choice is up to them.
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