Mcd fumbles-Team divided

[broncofaninfla]

http://www.denverpost.com/premium/broncos/ci_14112757

Quote:
On the bright side, players aren't pulling guns on each other in the locker room. The Broncos are clearly less dysfunctional than the Washington Wizards. So they've got that going for them.

On the other hand, they end the season pretty much as they started it, with a young coach who says he's all about team unity and manages to wreak havoc anyway.

For the first time, players are publicly acknowledging a division in the locker room. Tight end Tony Scheffler, deactivated along with receiver Brandon Marshall for today's regular-season finale, said the move "doesn't sit very well with me or some of my teammates."

Meanwhile, first-year coach Josh McDaniels insists that a team without Marshall and Scheffler gives the Broncos their "best opportunity to win" today, an analysis so dubious from a football standpoint that it suggests McDaniels would rather lose with players loyal to him than win with players who are not.

The locker room appears to have broken into two camps — the roughly 60 percent of the roster McDaniels brought in and the roughly 40 percent remaining from last season. McDaniels has now feuded publicly with Marshall, Scheffler and former quarterback Jay Cutler, while substantially reducing the roles of Eddie Royal, Brandon Stokley, Peyton Hillis and Ben Hamilton, all holdovers from the Mike Shanahan regime.

Unfortunately for McDaniels, the best players on the team are mostly Shanahan holdovers. Of the six Broncos named Pro Bowl starters, reserves or alternates, five were here when McDaniels arrived. As he makes the case that his acquisitions — players such as Jabar Gaffney and Knowshon Moreno — give the Broncos their best chance to win, fans who actually watch the games begin to wonder if this is about ability or favoritism.

McDaniels has gone to great lengths, for example, to rationalize Moreno's declining production by blaming an offensive line dominated by Shanahan holdovers, even as other backs exceed Moreno's per-carry averages behind the same line.

The rift with Marshall, the team's most productive offensive player, is of the old-school variety. The coach wants the player to play through a hamstring injury after an MRI showed no major damage. The player, who submitted in a similar situation last season and wound up needing hip surgery, says he can't.

McDaniels chose to escalate this dispute by publicly questioning Marshall's injury. This reflects a rather dramatic double standard on the subject of team unity.

Last summer, Stokley criticized the treatment of long snapper Mike Leach, whom McDaniels cut for no apparent reason other than to bring in his own guy. Scheffler was unhappy with McDaniels' treatment of Cutler. Both players have been on the outs with their coach since, a status reflected in their decreased role in the offense.

In short, under McDaniels, criticism of the coach is destructive of team unity, but criticism of a top player is not.

In response, Marshall suggested McDaniels is seeking scapegoats for his team's collapse since starting the season 6-0. No one in the locker room would have said so publicly had McDaniels not opened the door with his shots at Marshall.

The upside of this divisive strategy for McDaniels is if the Broncos get past the 3-12 Chiefs today, it will be mostly his guys getting it done.

McDaniels' double standard is fairly typical of NFL coaches, but he has made his retribution against those he considers disloyal more visible than most.

It appears now that Marshall played McDaniels during the season. His public hugs of the coach, which so delighted McDaniels, were interpreted by some as a victory for McDaniels' stern discipline in training camp. In retrospect, they look more like Marshall understanding exactly what it took to get back in McDaniels' good graces long enough to put up another 100-catch season, which he did. Now, with the season unraveling, so is the pretense of any loyalty between them.

McDaniels' approach can work if he wins. There have been lots of autocratic NFL coaches, some of them very successful. But in order to win with players loyal to him, McDaniels is going to have to pick better players. Except for 36-year-old safety Brian Dawkins, few of McDaniels' 30-odd additions to the roster have turned heads this year.

He has little choice now but to clear out more of the Shanahan holdovers this offseason in an effort to make the entire locker room "his guys." It seems increasingly clear that it is not so much loyalty to the Broncos that Josh McDaniels requires as it is loyalty to Josh McDaniels.

Dave Krieger: 303-954-5297, dkrieger@denverpost.com or twitter.com/DaveKrieger

[HORSEPOWER 56]

Yep, this is pretty much how I see it, too.

[broken12]

watching cbs, nfl network, they all said that the coach stepped over the line! i agree too

[Shazam!]

http://www.broncosforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=101280

Enjoy.

[Dzone]

Fire mcdaniels! Hire cowher!

[Dzone]

seriously...this is a serious problem that could infect next season. Fire Mcdaniels and start over. Maybe hire Mike Nolan. This is a cancer on this team that needs to be excised

[Fan in Exile]

What a crap article built on nothing built on nothing but the bitter words of a benched player and speculation. When are the fans going to learn that the press doesn't like McDaniels because he doesn't pander to them? Ignore their stupid pot stirring.

[Northman]

seriously...this is a serious problem that could infect next season. Fire Mcdaniels and start over. Maybe hire Mike Nolan. This is a cancer on this team that needs to be excised

Actually, the tumors are being removed. The Cutler cyst got removed, now the Marshall and Sheff parasites are being removed. The demons are being exorcised so cheer up little buckaroo.

[silkamilkamonico]

Actually, the tumors are being removed. The Cutler cyst got removed, now the Marshall and Sheff parasites are being removed. The demons are being exorcised so cheer up little buckaroo.

Agreed.

LMAO at all these poster holding "leaders" that have never had a playoff appearance, or even winning season until possibly this year, high.

"Who cares about winning football games as long as we get to keep these talented losers on the roster."

[Dzone]

Oh, BTW, this bullshit about an MRI showing nothing wrong...HELLO!!!!...muscle spasms DO NOT show up on MRI...Im not defending marshall, but people need to stop saying nothing is wrong. Ed Reed has had to sit out several games because he felt he couldnt go 100% for the Ravens and his coach has been in contact with reed throughout.

[Dzone]

[QUOTE=Northman;870754]Actually, the tumors are being removed. The Cutler cyst got removed, now the Marshall and Sheff parasites are being removed. The demons are being exorcised so cheer up little buckaroo.[/QUOT

condescention isnt really necessary, but thanks for the nice comments

[silkamilkamonico]

Dzone.

LMAO at you for siding with inspirational franchise leaders Marshall/Scheffler over NFL respected veterans like Dawkins and Bailey.

Clearly you value talent over actually winning. I hear Ryan Leaf is available.

[HORSEPOWER 56]

Agreed.

LMAO at all these poster holding "leaders" that have never had a playoff appearance, or even winning season until possibly this year, high.

"Who cares about winning football games as long as we get to keep these talented losers on the roster."

What exactly has McDaniels won as a HC for him not to be lumped into that classification? We're 9-7 at best and 8-8 at worst. In short, we're right where we were last year except now we have to completely rebuild the offense.

Everyone agrees Orton isn't the answer so he'll be replaced, maybe not this year but next for sure. Most feel the interior O-line needs rebuilding, at least to properly run McD's system (and regardless of what we think that is our biggest problem according to him). Now we're going to need at least one WR (I think Stokely is gone too so that makes 2 WRs) and a TE, too at a minimum. Do you think it's going to happen next year? How many years does he get to tear down the offense and rebuild it from scratch instead of just fixing the small problems that were there when he got here? How is any of this making us better?

If McD thinks he's got a 5 year lease of 8-8 or worse seasons to build this team in his image, he's got another thing coming. Shanny got that time because he had a 2 Lombardi pedigree and a winning record. He didn't get it done, now he's history. McD gets 3 years at best. If we aren't winning playoff games by next year, he's on the hot seat. If we aren't winning playoff games by the year after, he's gone.

[Dzone]

Dzone.

LMAO at you for siding with inspirational franchise leaders Marshall/Scheffler over NFL respected veterans like Dawkins and Bailey.

Clearly you value talent over actually winning. I hear Ryan Leaf is available.

Huh? wtf are you even talking about dude?

[silkamilkamonico]

Agreed.

LMAO at all these poster holding "leaders" that have never had a playoff appearance, or even winning season until possibly this year, high.

"Who cares about winning football games as long as we get to keep these talented losers on the roster."

What exactly has McDaniels won as a HC for him not to be lumped into that classification? We're 9-7 at best and 8-8 at worst. In short, we're right where we were last year except now we have to completely rebuild the offense.

Everyone agrees Orton isn't the answer so he'll be replaced, maybe not this year but next for sure. Most feel the interior O-line needs rebuilding, at least to properly run McD's system (and regardless of what we think that is our biggest problem according to him). Now we're going to need at least one WR (I think Stokely is gone too so that makes 2 WRs) and a TE, too at a minimum. Do you think it's going to happen next year? How many years does he get to tear down the offense and rebuild it from scratch instead of just fixing the small problems that were there when he got here? How is any of this making us better?

If McD thinks he's got a 5 year lease of 8-8 or worse seasons to build this team in his image, he's got another thing coming. Shanny got that time because he had a 2 Lombardi pedigree and a winning record. He didn't get it done, now he's history. McD gets 3 years at best. If we aren't winning playoff games by next year, he's on the hot seat. If we aren't winning playoff games by the year after, he's gone.

Nothing. He'll probably finish the year at 9-7, or 8-8 and no playoffs, which equals the best season inspirational players Brandon Marshall and Tony Scheffler have ever had in Denver.

That's why people are pissed off at him right? Going back to the whole Cutler fiasco and Marshall before the season....

And somewhere, QB juggernaut Jay Cutler might just end the current tenure of his 2nd HC, in just as many years.

McD has made some questionable decisions, but it's absolutely laughable how people are all of a sudden labeling him as a "problem".

And with all his "problems", he still could finish with a 9-7 record. Just think if he had his guys, we would be looking at possible 13-3 type seasons.

That's how good of a coach he is.

[JDL]

[QUOTE=HORSEPOWER 56;870799]

Nothing. He'll probably finish the year at 9-7, or 8-8 and no playoffs, which equals the best season inspirational players Brandon Marshall and Tony Scheffler have ever had in Denver.

That's why people are pissed off at him right? Going back to the whole Cutler fiasco and Marshall before the season....

And somewhere, QB juggernaut Jay Cutler might just end the current tenure of his 2nd HC, in just as many years.

McD has made some questionable decisions, but it's absolutely laughable how people are all of a sudden labeling him as a "problem".

And with all his "problems", he still could finish with a 9-7 record. Just think if he had his guys, we would be looking at possible 13-3 type seasons.

That's how good of a coach he is.

Actually, you can thank the players McDaniels has hated on for that record... Stokely gave us the Cinci game and Marshall gave us two wins... when are HIS guys going to step up and start winning Denver a few games??? Denver is probably 3-5 win team without THOSE guys he is going to dump... but hey... at least they're HIS guys he'll lose with.. what are you going to say then? 'oh, he needs time, blah blah blah' No damn excuse for a coach to lose 7 of 9 games... EVER.. period... embarrassing... and he deserves the criticism and he ought up and be Accountable his damn self.

[silkamilkamonico]

[QUOTE=silkamilkamonico;870809]

Actually, you can thank the players McDaniels has hated on for that record... Stokely gave us the Cinci game and Marshall gave us two wins... when are HIS guys going to step up and start winning Denver a few games??? Denver is probably 3-5 win team without THOSE guys he is going to dump... but hey... at least they're HIS guys he'll lose with.. what are you going to say then? 'oh, he needs time, blah blah blah' No damn excuse for a coach to lose 7 of 9 games... EVER.. period... embarrassing... and he deserves the criticism and he ought up and be Accountable his damn self.

Funny. I thought it was his defense, and the guys that he brought over that was winning games for us.

Don't even bother with Stokley. He's had nothing but great things to say about McD.

[silkamilkamonico]

Oh, BTW, this bullshit about an MRI showing nothing wrong...HELLO!!!!...muscle spasms DO NOT show up on MRI...Im not defending marshall, but people need to stop saying nothing is wrong. Ed Reed has had to sit out several games because he felt he couldnt go 100% for the Ravens and his coach has been in contact with reed throughout.

Again. That was part of the hard line that NFL respected veterans Brian Dawkins and class Champ Bailey and others asked McDaniels to do.

That's what I'm talking about dude.

[HORSEPOWER 56]

Again. That was part of the hard line that NFL respected veterans Brian Dawkins and class Champ Bailey and others asked McDaniels to do.

That's what I'm talking about dude.

Well, that's what "sources" are reporting anyway. I think it's humorous that the only "sources that are trustworthy" are the ones that support McDaniels. The other side of the story are just lies and propaganda by Marshall, Scheffler, Cutler, Weigmann (remember him? how he was all pissy until he got his new contract in the offseason and was considering retirement?), and all those other low-life dead beats who actually score points for this team. Strange how the guys who've gotten paid or were brought over into McDaniels scheme aren't upset - but they aren't performing, either. McDaniels has made 2 good moves for this team - signing mike Nolan and signing Brian Dawkins. Thus far his offseason was a failure, his draft was a failure, and this season after starting 6-0 and missing the playoffs is a failure.

I'm willing to give him time and I'm willing to wait, but from the looks of things, we've gone backward this season, not forward. Nobody likes our HC. Believe what you want, but he's an arrogant, little hoodie jr without the rep to back him up. He is Eric Mangini. The only reason that he's been more successful this season is the overwhelming success of Nolans' scheme and the fact that we just have way more talent across the board than Cleveland does. Not for long!

[silkamilkamonico]

Well, that's what "sources" are reporting anyway. I think it's humorous that the only "sources that are trustworthy" are the ones that support McDaniels. The other side of the story are just lies and propaganda by Marshall, Scheffler, Cutler, Weigmann (remember him? how he was all pissy until he got his new contract in the offseason and was considering retirement?), and all those other low-life dead beats who actually score points for this team. Strange how the guys who've gotten paid or were brought over into McDaniels scheme aren't upset - but they aren't performing, either. McDaniels has made 2 good moves for this team - signing mike Nolan and signing Brian Dawkins. Thus far his offseason was a failure, his draft was a failure, and this season after starting 6-0 and missing the playoffs is a failure.

I'm willing to give him time and I'm willing to wait, but from the looks of things, we've gone backward this season, not forward. Nobody likes our HC. Believe what you want, but he's an arrogant, little hoodie jr without the rep to back him up. He is Eric Mangini. The only reason that he's been more successful this season is the overwhelming success of Nolans' scheme and the fact that we just have way more talent across the board than Cleveland does. Not for long!

Yet the "hate McDaniels" crowd immediately point to those same sources as "truths" when something comes out supposedly against McDaniels. Irony.

And it's not Nolan's scheme. It's McDaniels. He inquires Nolan on a weekly basis about the opponents offense, and what they are doing exactly.

And I dare anyone to say "we're not winning because of McDaniels. We're winning because of Nolan and his defense."

[HORSEPOWER 56]

Yet the "hate McDaniels" crowd immediately point to those same sources as "truths" when something comes out supposedly against McDaniels. Irony.

And it's not Nolan's scheme. It's McDaniels. He inquires Nolan on a weekly basis about the opponents offense, and what they are doing exactly.

And I dare anyone to say "we're not winning because of McDaniels. We're winning because of Nolan and his defense."

Funny, I never said that - I never even implied it. I called out both Williamson and Mortenson as being full of shit. Furthermore, the fact remains, McDaniels took a private in-house matter and made it public for everyone to see. He has made my football team look like a bunch of clowns. Period. If you condone this type of behavior from your HC, fine. I don't.

[silkamilkamonico]

Funny, I never said that - I never even implied it. I called out both Williamson and Mortenson as being full of shit. Furthermore, the fact remains, McDaniels took a private in-house matter and made it public for everyone to see. He has made my football team look like a bunch of clowns. Period. If you condone this type of behavior from your HC, fine. I don't.

It doesn't matter if you've said that or not. It's been implied since the minute McDaniels was hired and had his instance with Cutler by the entire anti McDaniels camp.

Funny how you're blaming McDaniels for making your team look like "clowns". Especially after the whole Cutler fiasco, and Marshall's 7 year old like temper tantrums.

Oh, and nevermind the fact that some of the most well respected football players in the history of the game (Dawkins/Bailey) came to McDaniels and asked him to provide a tougher stance on the circus acts from guys like Scheffler and Marshall.

But hey, what do those guys know? Right?

[HORSEPOWER 56]

It doesn't matter if you've said that or not. It's been implied since the minute McDaniels was hired and had his instance with Cutler by the entire anti McDaniels camp.

Funny how you're blaming McDaniels for making your team look like "clowns". Especially after the whole Cutler fiasco, and Marshall's 7 year old like temper tantrums.

Oh, and nevermind the fact that some of the most well respected football players in the history of the game (Dawkins/Bailey) came to McDaniels and asked him to provide a tougher stance on the circus acts from guys like Scheffler and Marshall.

But hey, what do those guys know? Right?

Um, no. McDaniels went to them. They gave recommendations. Once again, I could give two shits that Marshall isn't playing! I'm pissed about it being a goddamned media circus every time McD decides he needs to make a point to one of his players or the team! It's childish and stupid. The "kid" needs to grown the F up!

[silkamilkamonico]

Um, no. McDaniels went to them. They gave recommendations. Once again, I could give two shits that Marshall isn't playing! I'm pissed about it being a goddamned media circus every time McD decides he needs to make a point to one of his players or the team! It's childish and stupid. The "kid" needs to grown the F up!

A media circus "everytime"?

One time is "every time"? You're kidding me right.

You must have completely hated Cutler and his media antics then.

[bcbronc]

I guess we'll see if McD has lost the dressing room by seeing how the players play today.

[LawDog]

I guess we'll see if McD has lost the dressing room by seeing how the players play today.

Guess you have your answer...

[Northman]

Guess you have your answer...

Yea, i never saw them quit.

[HORSEPOWER 56]

Yea, i never saw them quit.

Nope, just play their worst game of the season against the worst team we've faced all year. They didn't quit, they just didn't have the tools to get the job done.

Poor execution, bad schemes on both sides of the ball and turnovers. They looked out of practice. Maybe it's because of all the hooplah at headquarters this week and there being so much MEDIA around that the guys couldn't focus on practice or the game with all the microphones in their face asking for comments on McDaniels' decisions.

I could be wrong though. :whistle: :deadhorse:

[Northman]

Nope, just play their worst game of the season against the worst team we've faced all year. They didn't quit, they just didn't have the tools to get the job done.



And thats all it came too. The team i saw go into SD at the end of last year quit. Thus, i see an improvement already.