The week of preparation may not be all that was short for the Denver Broncos as they are fighting for their lives and perhaps Vance Joseph’s job.
The Denver Broncos, losers of four straight games and forced to play a Thursday night road game, may be at the end of the Vance Joseph era.
There has been no definitive word from the Broncos on this point. This is not a surprise as most NFL teams are clandestine on such points as these.
Anyway, Tuesday night, I finally got around to watching the parts of the Broncos’ 23-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams I’d missed on Sunday. I saw a Broncos team that still has the potential to be really good but the running defense has been horrendous.
This is how horrendous, as 9News of Denver reporter Mike Klis tells us
To give you some perspective, this was almost four full years before I was born. With that said, if the Broncos can remember to execute and not do stupid stuff, such as Emmanuel Saunders’ taunt, they have shown they can do numerous good things. Our blog boss, Sayre Bedinger, gives his takes on the matter.
I do agree with what Sayre has said. The Broncos, as you know, are tops in the NFL at averaging 5.3 yards per carry on the season.
When I see the Broncos fail, it’s almost like they allow small bad things to add up. Before you know it, they’re facing a 3rd and 30 when several plays before, you were at the Rams’ 35 as was the case late in the first half on Sunday.
You can blame the coaching of Joseph and his assistants all day long but at the end of the day, players are paid handsomely to execute. I did not go away from the film believing the Rams are light years ahead of the Broncos.
On the contrary, I do honestly believe that the Broncos can contend with anyone in the NFL. All of the problems are self-inflicted. This is not a talent issue as you could argue is the case in Arizona.
I have never seen Jared Goff look so uncomfortable in the pocket as rookie defensive end Bradley Chubb sacked him 3 times and linebacker Von Miller sacked him 1.5 more times.
Goff did not come anywhere near 300 yards passing and he only completed 50 percent of his passes as well on Sunday.
After the loss Broncos general manager and executive vice president of football operations, John Elway made some thought-provoking comments.
This caused Miller to respond with a take that swiftly went viral. I do not believe in sharing profanity but my colleague Cameron Parker has made some sense of Miller’s comments.
Football is a game predicated upon emotion and if the Broncos can play with controlled aggression, the sky is still the limit for this squad.
There comes a time where grown men have had enough of getting walked over. It would behoove the Broncos to acknowledge that this threshold has been crossed and they need to respond and become masters of their own destiny.
Against a statistically horrendous team in every category, the Broncos should be able to strike. That brings us to our next point.
Statistical Analysis
The statistics are easy to break down in this one. With the exception of turnover margin (the Cardinals are 13th in the NFL at +1) and takeaways (11, ranking them 8th in the NFL) the Cardinals are not good at anything.
The Broncos face the worst offense in the NFL as the Cardinals amass only 220.5 yards per game. Arizona also only averages 13.7 points per game. That is 31st in the league.
Rookie signal-caller Josh Rosen (50 of 90, 626 yard, 2 TD’s/2 INT’s) has shown some glimpses at times. However, based on what I’ve seen, I’m not as impressed with him as the Jets’ Sam Darnold, whom the Broncos have already played, for instance.
The Cardinals’ running game has also been abysmal, averaging an NFL-worst 64 yards per game.
I did watch film of the Cardinals’ game at Minnesota Sunday and the offense really is painful to watch.
I do see receiver Christian Kirk (25 rec, 311 yards, TD) as a threat as well as tight end Ricky Seals-Jones (15 rec, 192 yards, TD).
However, it’s not like the Cardinals are rife with weapons. Even standout tailback David Johnson is averaging only 3.2 yards per carry.
This game, to me, represents a perfect time for the Broncos to positively respond to Miller’s challenge.
If the Broncos cannot stop the worst offense in the NFL in every conceivable category, Joseph definitely deserves to be axed.
Now, the Broncos are facing the 31st rush defense in the league Thursday and, of course, are the best rushing offense in the NFL in yards per carry themselves. The Broncos are also 10th in the NFL in rushing yards at 124.2 yards per game.
If Denver fails to utilize burgeoning star tailbacks Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman (752 net scrimmage yards between the two) Thursday, offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave cannot see what is apparent to everyone else.
The Broncos need to get the ball into Lindsay’s hands any way they can. He just makes things happen.
Also, receiver Courtland Sutton (13 rec, 218 yards, TD) is becoming QB Case Keenum’s (147-233, 1,687 yards 7 TD’s/8 INT’s) favorite deep threat.
The Broncos have sufficient evidence to call plays for the type of offense they really are. This offense should rely upon the run and allow Keenum to excel at his true strength, play action.
With Sutton, Demaryius Thomas (28 rec, 330 yards, 3 TD’s) and Emmanuel Sanders (554 scrimmage yards, three total touchdowns), Keenum has enough deep threats to make defenses pay deep if the run remains the focal point of this offense.
Also, the Broncos need to find a way to use fullback Andy Janovich (2 rec, 43 yards) and get the ball in his hands.
I have given the Broncos sound advice. If they are desirous to win, I suggest they use it.
The Broncos are also 8-1-1 against the Cardinals in a series dating back to 1973. They are 3-1 all-time against the Cardinals at Arizona but lost badly in their last outing there in 2010.
The Broncos are 1-1 all-time against the Cardinals at what is now called State Farm Stadium.
Broadcast Details
Date: Thursday Oct.18, 2018
Start Time: 6:20 pm MT
Location: State Farm Stadium
TV Info: FOX/NFL Network
Announcers: Joe Buck (play-by-play), Troy Aikman (analyst), Erin Andrews & Kristina Pink (sidelines)
Injury Updates
The illustrious Adam Schefter of ESPN has given us the injury report for Broncos-Cardinals. Here it is.
Injury report for Thursday night’s Broncos-Cardinals’ game: pic.twitter.com/SycXwc0pkq
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 17, 2018
Weather Update
I have numerous media friends in Phoenix on Twitter, including several meteorologists in the Phoenix area. However, none of them gave me a Broncos-Cardinals weather report.
It’s just as well because the outside temperature is immaterial seeing as the Cardinals play in a dome. Anyway, that’s all I’ve got for the weather. Here’s the forecast from weather.com if you’re interested.
It’s going to be 81 degrees outside Thursday. That’s a Bradfather kind of day, especially in the heart of autumn. Well, this is your game thread. Tell your friends about us and please tell them to come. We need all the help we can get. GO BRONCOS!!!