The 2009 - 2010 Season - Part 2

After starting so well the Broncos had begun to change the expectation of them from the experts, they went from being thought of as cellar dwellers to playoff contenders. This I think was one of the many reasons that the Broncos would fail in the coming weeks. At the time the bye week was seen as coming at the perfect time. Coming off three hard fought games the players were tiring and needed a break. But it is in my opinion that the bye was one of the worst things that happened to the team. The reasons are as follows.

1. Before the start of the bye week Brian Dawkins came out and said that the team needed to stay humble and hungry for the game once they got back. The problem was I don't think the whole team was eating the same humble pie Dawkins was. Some of the players read to much of what was being said of them and their heads swelled. And it showed, players tried to go for the big play instead of making the simple correct one. Their wanted to go for their own glory and lost sight of the team mentality that won them games. Which resulted in missed assignments and gaps.

2. Over the bye week the team did some self evaluating and looking at personnel they had. This resulted in the cutting of Jack Williams and then the hiring of old Ty Law. The cutting of Brett Kern and hiring of Mitch Berger as well. As I read from another blogger else where this may have resulted in some distrust from the players towards McD.

3. Also during this evaluating of the team the coaching staff decided to implement the power blocking scheme more than the zone blocking scheme that they had been mostly using. Which of course was a bad decision.

4. Again during this time they tired tweaking with the defense and running more zone than the aggressive blitzing that had been working which again caused problems.

These things I believe were big contributes to the failings of the Broncos in the coming games. To many big heads and to much tweaking of the team. And with that the Offense also didn't play well at all. Now to looking at the next six games of the season.

F 30 - 7 at Baltimore - Loss
The Broncos would face the Ravens in their first game back from the bye and most fans thought this was an easy game to win. Firstly because the Ravens had been struggling in recent games. Also because their Offense had been playing badly and the defense wasn't much better. The Ravens also were coming off three straight loses and facing a team on fire, so we thought this was in the bag. Ray Lewis though came out during the week and said that they were fired up and the defense was prepared. And they were, the game really was a defensive struggle with the game very close going into the half and with both offenses not able to get anything going. But to start the second half the Ravens would return the kickoff back for a TD. The Broncos managed to get back within striking distance in the third with a TD but without Offensive help the Bronco defense could not hold back the Ravens and they scored two TDs in the fourth to blow the score out to 30 - 7.

F 28 - 10 vs Pittsburgh - Loss
This game was so bad for the Broncos. It was a home game and there were more Steelers fans in the crowd then Broncos. Also the game on the field wasn't great either. It did start out however very good for the Broncos, the O seemed to be firing and was all over the Steelers secondary, Royal made some really good grabs. But then Kyle Orton got picked off by the Steelers Safety which was returned for a TD. That was the turning point in the game, Orton would go on to have two more picks to have three for this game. Also the Steelers Rashard Mendenhall begun to fire and ran all over the Broncos defense for over 100 yards. Also it is note worthy to know that this was Ty Law's first game for the Broncos after Jack Williams was waviered.



F 27 - 17 at Washington - Loss
The Broncos would come up against the Skins who had been playing really bad. I thought this was a sure win and it would come at a good time with two losses in a row. But again things don't always go to plan. The Broncos would jump out to an early lead of 14-7 because of two deep bombs that Orton would pass to Brandon Marshall. And the Broncos went into the Half with the lead and the game seemed well in hand. But just before the end of the half Orton went down with an ankle injury and Chris Simms would play out the game. Unfortunately Simms was terrible, bearly completing a pass. Betts of the Skins would run for over a 100 yards on the Defense and the Skins would also score on a fake FG and beat the Broncos and send them to a third consecutive loss.

F 32 - 3 vs San Diego - Loss
The Broncos would then face the Chargers and there was not much chance of a victory in this game. The Chargers had not lost since losing to the Broncos back in week 6. They would continue to win 11 straight games before losing to the Jets in the playoffs. Orton was still injured and Simms would start this game. But Simms was terrible and was pulled at the end of the 1st quarter in which was probably his last pro-football game time. But even with Orton they could not get anything going, they were unsuccessful in all four of their redzone visits. And would only get a FG in the third quarter and were tramped by the Chargers. This game though is better remembered for the pregame words that were exchanged between San Diego LB Edwards and Coach McD.

F 26 - 6 vs N.Y. Giants - Win
The Broncos would finally regain some swagger when they beat the Giants in what was a real good game. And in largely part because of Elvis 'Doom'ervil. Doom was a force on a Denver defense that simply dominated the Giants, finishing with three tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble. Doom would then have 14 sacks on the season, and lead the league. The Broncos had a strong rushing attack and managed to get several TDs and make this an easy victory. The victory was made in large part by the great defensive efforts of the Broncos who just dominated in all areas of the game.

F 44 - 13 at Kansas City - Win
The game against the Chiefs was a coming out party for the Broncos offense. The Broncos D was good but it was overshadowed by the great play of the Broncos O. And this would mean the Chiefs got dominated by the Broncos. Orton would throw two TDs and Buckhalter would rush for over 100 yards and Knowshon would add another 86 yards to give the Broncos a dominate rushing attack. But it was the extra action that Peyton Hillis would get in this game that was also very good. He would have 7 carries for 47 yards. Which would give the Broncos 249 yards of total rushing yardage. But this would be the last action we would see of Hillis this season and maybe in a Broncos uniform.

The Broncos would now be 8-4 on the season and be on the home stretch with 4 games remaining in the year. The Broncos had regained some hope for fans with those two victories. We were thinking of a possible 12-4 or 11-5 finish for the year with easy games against the Raiders and Chiefs at home. But nothing goes to plan. Tune in soon for part 3 of the season review which will also include an outlook on the offseason.

~ Aussie Out