Denver Broncos Fanzone: The Return of Sayre Bedinger

I bring back another guest from last season. For the Denver Broncos vs. Cincinnati Bengals, Predominantly Orange co-editor Sayre Bedinger chats with me.

The Denver Broncos are in rough shape. At this point, we are starting to wonder if this will be a year they can catch up and maybe make the playoffs? Or do they play for a top ten spot in the NFL Draft?

Luckily for the Broncos, the next six opponents are teams that as of now have losing records. That all begins with Cincinnati, who holds the same record as Denver with a 3-6 mark.

Cincinnati has a solid pass rushing unit. But when it comes to the other parts of their team, they struggle a bit. In fact, their offense might be just as offensive as Denver’s. With both teams lacking on offense, this could become a low scoring game.

So, what do the Broncos do? The good thing is that they still have a chance to run the table. But it all begins on Sunday. A win would put the Denver Broncos on the right track. The only thing is will they remain on it?

And what happens if they falter? Well, with as solid as this draft class looks, it would not be the end of the world. But hopefully we can see Denver win at least one more time. Personally, I would like to see them win a lot more than once.

With the Broncos in a tough state, I have decided to bring back a good friend and colleague of mine to discuss the state of the Broncos. Sayre Bedinger chatted with me last year during the final week of the regular season.

I sat down with him once again to see what he has to say about the state of the Denver Broncos and where the team goes from here, including on Sunday.

I don’t even know where to start. Five straight losses and six of the last seven. Where do you even begin to search for answers? Who is at fault for the latest loss?

This is a really tough question to answer because there are so many people and reasons to blame. First and foremost, I think this losing streak falls on the players, and specifically it starts with Trevor Siemian at quarterback.

Siemian’s inability to efficiently move the ball offensively and his bad habit of turning the ball over cost the Broncos games. We saw Siemian play really well in the team’s first two games of the season, and the Broncos won despite some bad turnovers in those games.

After so many games, it was impossible to cover up those errors anymore. I think the offense and Siemian deserve the lion’s share of the blame, but you also have to look at guys like Isaiah McKenzie with his fumbling on punt returns, and the way this team has been so undisciplined in terms of penalties. The Broncos have to be among the league leaders in that category.

I think that falls a lot on coaching as well. These guys are not in the right spots, they aren’t cohesive, and that has everything to do with the five-game losing streak.

Do you believe there will be major changes coming from the Denver Broncos if nothing improves during the season?

I absolutely think there will be major changes. I don’t know if that will be just in terms of player personnel or the coaching staff, or even both. What I do know is that Elway won’t stand for this kind of play. He specifically called out the team for being ‘a little bit soft’ after starting off 3-1 this year. That, to me, is an indication that he’s not thrilled about the way the team is being run from the top. He still defends Vance Joseph and the young coaching staff in Denver, but those comments are pretty telling about where Elway feels this team is and what he might do going forward.

There seemed to be some improvement from the offense against New England. Can you see this unit improving as the season goes on?

I think so, but I also don’t know if we’re going to see Brock Osweiler much more the rest of this season. I think the Broncos have Paxton Lynch on the fast-track to play, just so they can see what they have over a larger sample size with the young quarterback. It’s easier to justify that move when you’ve almost been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, so I could see this unit regressing just as easily as I could see them progressing.

The Broncos take on the Bengals this weekend as the team will honor Terrell Davis and Red Miller. Could this be the week the Broncos get back into the win column? If so, how?

I would like to say ‘yes’ it is, but I don’t even know if I want that. Obviously I want the Broncos to be successful, but at this point, does that mean winning games this year or getting a higher draft pick to get the best possible players in next year’s draft? I wouldn’t be upset if the Broncos won, obviously. I love this team. The Bengals are a good enough team to beat the Broncos, too. They have an impressive defensive front with some really good pass rushers, and they obviously have some playmakers on offense led by A.J. Green. But, this game is one featuring two teams that are in pretty rough shape. I could see the Broncos being the ‘least bad’ of the two.

Next: Broncos vs. Bengals Week 11 Preview

Despite all the frustration, can you name one player that has impressed you this season?

This is a good question. I think there have been a few for me. Not everyone has played poorly, but to fit this question, I would have to pick a player that I think I had much lower expectations for that has impressed. In that regard, I would probably pick Bradley Roby. He has arguably been the best cornerback on the team this season, and that’s not just hyperbole. Of course, Roby has had his occasional mis-steps in coverage, but for the most part, he’s been locking things down. I think he’s proven he’s more than capable of a full-time role if the Broncos make some moves at corner this offseason.

Thank You Sayre for taking the time out to chat with me. Here’s to hoping for a big win over the Bengals. Go Broncos!