Lonestar
12-02-2009, 04:49 PM
Analysis: By Jeff Legwold
The Denver Post
Posted: 11/30/2009 01:00:00 AM MST
Former Broncos coach Mike Shanahan was 0-6 in December trips to Arrowhead Stadium with Denver. (Denver Post file photo)Like most folks who deal with the ebb and flow of the coaching business, Broncos coach Josh McDaniels doesn't always like what the numbers have to say.
There are times when he will refer to statistics as "hollow."
But after a couple of days to put themselves back together after a 26-6 win over the Giants on Thanksgiving, the Broncos will spend the week staring in the face of one of the all-time statistical blips the franchise has to offer.
Because when it comes to the Broncos, the part of the calendar that has "December" stamped across the top and a game in Kansas City, their troubles have crossed decades, coaches and hundreds of players.
The Broncos are 1-16 in December games in Kansas City.
It hasn't mattered who they piled on the plane, it's all been pretty much the same. It hasn't mattered how they finished a regular season or how deep they went into the postseason.
It doesn't matter how good the Chiefs were or weren't. Since the Dallas Texans moved to Kansas City, none of it has mattered.
Good teams — like the 13-3 team in 2005, the 13-3 team in 1984, the 11-5 team in 1986 or the 11-5 team in 2000 — and bad teams, or teams in between, they all have made the trip from Denver to Kansas City, only to be disappointed in a maddening variety of ways. Dan Reeves, Mike Shanahan, Red Miller and John Ralston, and anyone else calling the shots, have tasted the pain, no matter how many wins or Super Bowl trips they eventually put on their résumés.
Even the two most successful coaches in Broncos history never solved the team's December riddle. Shanahan was 0-6 in December trips to Arrowhead Stadium with Denver and Reeves was 0-5.
The only breakthrough in Broncos history was coached by Wade Phillips, a 20-17 overtime victory on Dec. 4, 1994. That was the last win of his Denver tenure. That team lost its last three games of the season and Phillips was fired.
Jeff Legwold: 303-954-2359 or jlegwold@denverpost.com
http://www.denverpost.com/premium/broncos/ci_13890101
The Denver Post
Posted: 11/30/2009 01:00:00 AM MST
Former Broncos coach Mike Shanahan was 0-6 in December trips to Arrowhead Stadium with Denver. (Denver Post file photo)Like most folks who deal with the ebb and flow of the coaching business, Broncos coach Josh McDaniels doesn't always like what the numbers have to say.
There are times when he will refer to statistics as "hollow."
But after a couple of days to put themselves back together after a 26-6 win over the Giants on Thanksgiving, the Broncos will spend the week staring in the face of one of the all-time statistical blips the franchise has to offer.
Because when it comes to the Broncos, the part of the calendar that has "December" stamped across the top and a game in Kansas City, their troubles have crossed decades, coaches and hundreds of players.
The Broncos are 1-16 in December games in Kansas City.
It hasn't mattered who they piled on the plane, it's all been pretty much the same. It hasn't mattered how they finished a regular season or how deep they went into the postseason.
It doesn't matter how good the Chiefs were or weren't. Since the Dallas Texans moved to Kansas City, none of it has mattered.
Good teams — like the 13-3 team in 2005, the 13-3 team in 1984, the 11-5 team in 1986 or the 11-5 team in 2000 — and bad teams, or teams in between, they all have made the trip from Denver to Kansas City, only to be disappointed in a maddening variety of ways. Dan Reeves, Mike Shanahan, Red Miller and John Ralston, and anyone else calling the shots, have tasted the pain, no matter how many wins or Super Bowl trips they eventually put on their résumés.
Even the two most successful coaches in Broncos history never solved the team's December riddle. Shanahan was 0-6 in December trips to Arrowhead Stadium with Denver and Reeves was 0-5.
The only breakthrough in Broncos history was coached by Wade Phillips, a 20-17 overtime victory on Dec. 4, 1994. That was the last win of his Denver tenure. That team lost its last three games of the season and Phillips was fired.
Jeff Legwold: 303-954-2359 or jlegwold@denverpost.com
http://www.denverpost.com/premium/broncos/ci_13890101