Lonestar
11-26-2008, 12:22 PM
By Eric Christensen, CBS4 Sports Producer
DENVER (CBS4) ―
The "Mile High" magic is gone.
There was a time,
no so long ago, when NFL teams feared coming to Denver. That's not the case anymore.
Sunday's 31-10 loss to the Raiders was the Broncos third straight defeat in front of the Broncomaniacs.
Broncos defensive end Elvis Dumervil seemed to be at a loss for words when asked by CBS4's Vic Lombardi if the team was too comfortable at home.
"Maybe that is the truth. Maybe we are too comfortable," said Dumervil. "We definitely have to fix it if we want to go to next level."
What do the Broncos need to fix in order to recapture their home dominance? First, let's dispel the notion that Invesco Field is the problem. I know many old school Broncos fans will tell you that Mile High was much louder therefore a much more difficult place to play. While there may be a kernel of truth in that, Mike Shanahan and myself think Invesco Field is plenty loud.
"Obviously (Invesco) is not as loud as Mile High," said Shanahan. "At times it can be as close to as loud and we've seen that thru the years."
I concur. If you don't believe that, take a look at the Broncos win-loss record at both stadiums. At Mile High, the Broncos won 71 percent of their games (171-68-5). Going into this season, the Broncos had won 71 percent of their games at Invesco (40-16). So how can a team go from being 8-0 at home in 2005 to 3-3 in 2008? The answer is simple: They're not as good.
The Broncos are an average football team and their home record reflects that. There's no magical formula. Good teams win and bad teams don't. Sure some amazing things happened at the old Mile High but when you have players, like Alzado, Wright, Jackson, Elway, Zimmerman, Sharpe, Smith, Davis and others, you're chances of performing that "magic" increase.
http://cbs4denver.com/broncos/broncos.magic.mile.2.874373.html
DENVER (CBS4) ―
The "Mile High" magic is gone.
There was a time,
no so long ago, when NFL teams feared coming to Denver. That's not the case anymore.
Sunday's 31-10 loss to the Raiders was the Broncos third straight defeat in front of the Broncomaniacs.
Broncos defensive end Elvis Dumervil seemed to be at a loss for words when asked by CBS4's Vic Lombardi if the team was too comfortable at home.
"Maybe that is the truth. Maybe we are too comfortable," said Dumervil. "We definitely have to fix it if we want to go to next level."
What do the Broncos need to fix in order to recapture their home dominance? First, let's dispel the notion that Invesco Field is the problem. I know many old school Broncos fans will tell you that Mile High was much louder therefore a much more difficult place to play. While there may be a kernel of truth in that, Mike Shanahan and myself think Invesco Field is plenty loud.
"Obviously (Invesco) is not as loud as Mile High," said Shanahan. "At times it can be as close to as loud and we've seen that thru the years."
I concur. If you don't believe that, take a look at the Broncos win-loss record at both stadiums. At Mile High, the Broncos won 71 percent of their games (171-68-5). Going into this season, the Broncos had won 71 percent of their games at Invesco (40-16). So how can a team go from being 8-0 at home in 2005 to 3-3 in 2008? The answer is simple: They're not as good.
The Broncos are an average football team and their home record reflects that. There's no magical formula. Good teams win and bad teams don't. Sure some amazing things happened at the old Mile High but when you have players, like Alzado, Wright, Jackson, Elway, Zimmerman, Sharpe, Smith, Davis and others, you're chances of performing that "magic" increase.
http://cbs4denver.com/broncos/broncos.magic.mile.2.874373.html