The Denver Broncos have a championship defense, but it’s being wasted with a comical offense highlighted by its lack of even a competent quarterback.
John Elway was hired in 2011 as the Broncos’ general manager and executive vice president of football operations. Elway took full control a year later following the ouster of Brian Xanders, immediately replacing Tim Tebow with Peyton Manning.
The result was two Super Bowl appearances over the following three years, including a championship in 2015. In the aftermath, Manning retired, leaving the Broncos with Trevor Siemian as the only quarterback on the roster.
In the following draft, Elway staked his future on Paxton Lynch, a big-armed signal-caller out of Memphis. To take Lynch, the Broncos moved from 32nd to 26th and surrendered a third-round choice. According to multiple reports, both the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs wanted Lynch, but Denver’s aggressiveness stole him away.
Fast forward to Monday, one day after an embarrassing defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles. Denver has gone 12-12 since drafting Lynch without a playoff appearance in 2016, and only a flicker of hope for one in 2017. The defense remains championship-caliber, but Elway has failed miserably in identifying a quality player at the position he mastered in his youth, making him a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Perhaps most damning, Lynch has twice lost a training camp battle to Siemian, each time under a difference coaching staff. Siemian was below-average last season, completing 59 percent of his throws with 3,401 yards and 18 touchdowns against 10 interceptions. Lynch couldn’t manage to see the field anyway, only playing in three games — starting two — and throwing for 497 yards.
In this preseason, Lynch appeared to regress. He once again lost to Siemian and has been inactive each game this year with a shoulder injury. At 3-5 and with Lynch finally healthy, the Broncos would be wise to give Lynch the last eight games of the year. If nothing else, they’ll find out if Lynch is worth being part of the future.
Regardless, the last season-plus has to fall on Elway. He made the coaching hire of Vance Joseph, a man who has looked overwhelmed and under-qualified throughout the season. Joseph took far too long to yank Siemian out of the lineup, watching him toss 10 interceptions in seven starts.
Elway ultimately takes the brunt of the blame, though. In the five drafts ranging from 2012-16, the Broncos’ classes have not produced a single All-Pro or Pro Bowler. Elway has had hits in free agency ranging from Manning and T.J. Ward to Emmanuel Sanders and DeMarcus Ware. However, he’s also missed badly with the re-signing of C.J. Anderson and the belief that Donald Stephenson and Menelik Watson would solve the right tackle issues.
Talk of firing Elway would be sacrilege in Denver, but the murmurs would be deserved. His draft record is among the worst in the league, and his ability to find answers at the most important position in sports has been lacking.
As a result, the Broncos are wasting some of the best defensive talent the league has to offer, especially in an AFC that has three terrific teams and little else. An argument could be made that with even average quarterback play and a better handle on the offensive line, the Broncos could compete for a Super Bowl appearance. Instead, they will be irrelevant by Thanksgiving, looking at consecutive postseason-less seasons for the first time since 2009-10.
In an upcoming draft class loaded with top-flight quarterback prospects, the Broncos may well be in position to take another swing. Will Elway balk at that prospect because of the hope Lynch develops? If not, does he finally make the right move, setting up the Broncos for the next decade?
Considering his track record, there’s no reason to believe he will.
Power rankings
Top 10 rookies halfway through 2017
1. Deshaun Watson, QB, Houston Texans
2. Kareem Hunt, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
3. Leonard Fournette, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
4. Jamal Adams, S, New York Jets
5. Marshon Lattimore, CB, New Orleans Saints
6. Tre’Davious White, CB, Buffalo Bills
7. Carl Lawson, DE, Cincinnati Bengals
8. JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
9. Myles Garrett, OLB, Cleveland Browns
10. Evan Engram, TE, New York Giants
11. Dalvin Cook, RB, Minnesota Vikings
12. Marlon Mack, RB, Indianapolis Colts
Quotable
"“These Thursday night games — they suck,” Incognito said. “They throw a wrench in our schedule. It’s absolutely ridiculous that we have to do this. As physical as this game is, as much work and preparation that goes into this, to force us to play games on four-day weeks, it’s completely unfair and bulls–t. The league makes money off it, and that’s all they care about anyway.”"
– Bills offensive lineman Richie Incognito, talking about Thursday Night Football
Incognito comes off as a sore loser after Buffalo was trounced by the Jets, 34-21. Still, the veteran guard has a good and obvious point. Thursday games are both sloppy and physically taxing, but with the NFL making money on the primetime package, they aren’t going anywhere without an 18-game schedule.
Teams should have byes before their Thursday forays, but with London contests factored in, it’s tough to do. The NFL has to do better.
Podcast
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Random stat
Since their expansion season of 1976, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have 250 regular-season wins. Tom Brady has 189 wins.
Info learned this week
1. Chiefs appear frauds after another loss
The Dallas Cowboys dominated the Kansas City Chiefs, winning 28-17 in a game that wasn’t that close. Kansas City did little to stop the Cowboys, who converted on 7-of-12 third downs while harassing Alex Smith throughout.
Kansas City had two consecutive drives that resulted in touchdowns — including a video game score by Tyreek Hill at the end of the first half — but was lifeless otherwise. In their other seven drives, the Chiefs only crossed the Cowboys’ 35-yard line once.
After another listless performance, the Chiefs might be a Cinderella with midnight bells ringing loudly.
2. Falcons facing extinction after loss to Panthers
The Atlanta Flacons came out smoking on Sunday, taking a 10-0 lead over the Carolina Panthers. From there on, Carolina outscored the Falcons by a 20-3 margin, with the Panthers running their record to 6-3 while dropping Atlanta to 4-4.
The Falcons are now two games behind the New Orleans Saints and 1.5 games behind the Panthers, who won despite trading Kelvin Benjamin on Tuesday. It’s tough to see Atlanta making the playoffs in a tough NFC, especially with four losses in the last five weeks.
3. Titans win crucial AFC battle against Ravens
The Tennessee Titans took a big step toward making the playoffs for the first time this decade, beating the Baltimore Ravens at Nissan Stadium, 23-16. It wasn’t pretty, but the Titans did enough, sparked to victory by a late-game touchdown drive to salt the contest away.
For Tennessee, it moves to 5-3 and stays atop the AFC South. As for the Ravens, they drop to 4-5 and face the possibility of a third consecutive season without a postseason berth. Baltimore simply couldn’t move the ball effectively, netting 261 passing yards on 51 attempts.
4. Raiders keep hope alive in Miami
The Oakland Raiders aren’t a strong candidate for the postseason, but they remain in the mix with a 27-24 win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday night. Derek Carr found his groove, hitting on 21-of-30 passes for 300 yards and a touchdown.
On the other side, the Dolphins continue to struggle offensively. Until garbage time, Miami had 16 points against one of the NFL’s worst defenses despite a healthy compliment of receivers. At 4-4, the Dolphins are in the race, but lost a key game to a beatable opponent.
5. Packers host lions on MNF
The Packers and Lions are both desperate for a win, hoping to stay in the NFC playoff race. Green Bay is without Aaron Rodgers for at least six more games, but at 4-3 could buy some time with a victory over Detroit. A loss would be brutal, making it two straight defeats at Lambeau Field.
On the other end, the Lions have to break their three-game losing streak if they want any hope of catching the Vikings. Detroit already beat Minnesota on the road and hosts the Vikings on Thanksgiving. A win would pull the Lions to within two games, but a loss ends almost all hopes of January football.
History lesson
The biggest margin of victory in NFL history happened, oddly enough, in the 1940 NFL Championship Game.
After losing 7-3 to the Washington Redskins on Nov. 17, the Chicago Bears earned a rematch in the title game at Griffith Stadium in the nation’s capital. The result was a 73-0 hammering, featuring 45 second-half points. Incredibly, Chicago only threw for 119 yards in the win.
Parting shot
The Seattle Seahawks may win the NFC West, but they will have to earn it. The Los Angeles Rams rolled again, this time dominating the out-manned Giants at MetLife Stadium to take a one-game lead in the division. Los Angeles clearly isn’t going anywhere, and while both experience and a potential tiebreaker are on Seattle’s side, this should be a fight well into December.
Seattle beat the Rams in Los Angeles back in Week 5, holding on for a 16-10 win. With the rematch set fort Dec. 17 in the Emerald City, the next month and a half is about who can gain ground on the other.
With the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers well in the rear-view mirror, the Seahawks and Rams can focus their sights on each other. It should be the best race we have as the weather begins to turn colder.