Thread: Denver Just Didn't/Doesn't Have the Horses

This is a very painful loss. It's been 25 years since the organization and it's fans have been so thoroughly humbled worldwide.

Now, a few days out, I have recovered from the shock, and the empty, hollowed-out feeling from the day after, and am trying to make sense of it all.

Throughout the season, I was scared of playing Seattle for all the marbles. They didn't just beat us on the scoreboard in that pre-season game, but they literally beat us up. Champ missed most of the season after that game. Derek Wolfe suffered a horrible injury, and never seemed to recover. We were really banged up.

Then throughout the season, I kept seeing that playing Seattle meant two losses for a lot of teams. They didn't just lose to Seattle, teams lost the next week as well trying to fight off a beat down hangover. Seattle is just a big, badass team of physical maulers, and they take their toll.

The Broncos are a good team, with a great offense. But we don't have the pieces to stand up to Seattle. Hardly anyone does.

Yesterday afternoon Shannon Sharpe was on "Moving the Chains" with Pat Kirwin and Jim Miller on Sirius/XM NFL radio. We all know Shannon is a Broncos homer. I guess no one else was listening, because no one has posted it that I've seen. Care to know what Shannon's concise analysis of the game is?

"Only five players from the Broncos could start for Seattle. The quarterback, the wide receivers, and Pot Roast. That's it. Maybe the kickers. But out of the starting 22 only 5 would start for Seattle."

He continued, and I'm paraphrasing here, "It doesn't matter if they play again next week, or Wednesday, or next month, the Broncos aren't winning. It ain't about the noise. It ain't about the gameplan. The Broncos aren't winning. They don't have the players."

Shannon said he watched the game in a suite with Rod Smith. He said he told Rod, "I told Rod, when the game was 8-0, 'Seattle's winning this game. No way they lose. The Broncos cannot come back from down 8-0. Seattle is too physical for them.' "

I've spent the last 24 hours mulling that over, and it rings absolutely true. Seattle has put together a tremendous roster, and we (and most of the NFL along with us) is completely outclassed by them right now. It helps that it seems they have hit the lottery jackpot several times over drafting outstanding players all over the field in the late rounds, but they have, and they've developed them. They get the credit for that.

We've got the offseason to get better, and I think John Elway is putting together a great culture and organization for us to continue to improve and get better. Seattle has shown us how far we have to go yet. It's a hell of a lot farther than we thought or hoped for, but we know exactly how we stack up.

Looking back, it was a great season. I had a lot of fun watching these guys, and I'm not going to let one game completely overshadow the season. It will somewhat overshadow, but not completely.

Here's to bigger and better seasons to come. We are going in the right direction. Next year, we will be battle tested against the NFC West by the time the playoffs roll around. We'll be much more ready to fight back against a team like Seattle.

Go Broncos!!!!!

Vasquez would also start for them but yes I get the point.

Also if we include injured players Von and Clady would start.

I firmly believe you are never as bad or as good as you look as a football team on any given day. The good news is the Broncos will get a chance to prove themselves against the toughest division in football next year in the NFC West and hopefully learn HOW they need to play to beat teams like that.

A beating like we took will incline fans and everyone else to overreact. I think if we play them ten times we win four. What we watched Sunday was every sports fans living waking nightmare, and it started with Man Ram's snap. Some games it doesn't go your way, plain and simple. We are no where near that bad, and they aren't that much better. Every season every team will lay an egg or two. You hope like Hell it isn't in the playoffs, much less the SB, but it is what it is.

The worst part is listening to post mortem sports talk bullshit clichés like "we didn't want it enough" or "The Broncos are soft" or any other variety of idiotic drivel generated by a loss like this. Shit just went south, right off the bat, and it kept going that way. There have been calls for Fox to go fer crissakes, an idea so stupid and reactive I want to pound my head against a cement wall.

The Broncos were an excellent team in 2013. We all wondered if perhaps they were great. They were merely excellent in the end.

DRC and Julius Thomas would start too.

I don't buy it. If our receivers get accustomed to play more physical and if we improve the offensive line we can compete with them. Give Manning time in the pocket and this is a different game.

Originally Posted by Dreadnought

A beating like we took will incline fans and everyone else to overreact. I think if we play them ten times we win four. What we watched Sunday was every sports fans living waking nightmare, and it started with Man Ram's snap. Some games it doesn't go your way, plain and simple. We are no where near that bad, and they aren't that much better. Every season every team will lay an egg or two. You hope like Hell it isn't in the playoffs, much less the SB, but it is what it is.

The worst part is listening to post mortem sports talk bullshit clichés like "we didn't want it enough" or "The Broncos are soft" or any other variety of idiotic drivel generated by a loss like this. Shit just went south, right off the bat, and it kept going that way. There have been calls for Fox to go fer crissakes, an idea so stupid and reactive I want to pound my head against a cement wall.

The Broncos were an excellent team in 2013. We all wondered if perhaps they were great. They were merely excellent in the end.

Well said. Although I don't think we'd even sniff four out of ten. But firing Fox ain't gonna fix that. Hiring Pete Carroll wouldn't fix that, at least not in the short term.

The only way to fix it is to improve our roster where we need to, and keep our fingers crossed that those players stay healthy... And when they don't have depth, depth and more depth, developing each and every guy on the roster.

Some serious player development going on in Seattle. I bet if you paired up all the starters from the SuperBowl, Denver would have a significant advantage in players drafted higher than Seattle too. Not even close.

Originally Posted by silkamilkamonico

Some serious player development going on in Seattle. I bet if you paired up all the starters from the SuperBowl, Denver would have a significant advantage in players drafted higher than Seattle too. Not even close.

They've got a great dietitian.

I'm assuming Sharpe meant the players available...and I still disagree.

Denver players that would start for Seattle:
QB - Peyton Manning
TE - Julius Thomas
WR - Demaryius Thomas
WR - Eric Decker
WR - Wes Welker
LT - Ryan Clady
RG - Louis Vasquez
DT - Terrance Knighton
OLB - Von Miller
CB - Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie

That's 10 by my count. I'm not saying Seattle isn't better or wasn't better on that Sunday, but it's not dire. It's not THAT bad.

Seattle lost to Indianapolis. They went 2-1 against San Francisco.

Denver has even more guys that would start on a team comprised of those teams too.

I don't know what it was. I don't know if it's "they have Denver's number" principle, but this isn't a college football scenario where Alabama is flat out better at every position than, say, Colorado.

The loss was bad enough, why you gotta throw in a bad pun too?

This team will live and die by the finesse game as long as Manning is here. It's been good enough to make us the best team in the AFC for two years running - the only problem is that the NFC has two teams that are built to destroy us. We've gotta get better on defense next year and hope to stay healthier... But without Chris Harris or Von Miller at full speed, there will be a lot of holes to fill on that side of the ball. It's a shame both of them went down so late in the year, especially as we are coming up on the end of Manning's window.

I think it will basically be the exact same blueprint next year with a patchwork defense and a Manning-led passing attack carrying us. I'm just afraid that might not be enough anymore. Seattle and San Fran have built rosters that can just go in and match up with anybody toe to toe. Whereas we were very one-dimensional this year being propped up by our all-world QB.

I think on a neutral field we beat Seattle 2-3 times out of 10 tops. With San Fran maybe we win 4-5, but I give them the edge. At some point you can only gameplan around so many holes in the roster. Hopefully we draft really well and Elway has another free agent haul like he did last year.

i'm afraid we all know the real problem here, layne. . .


the football gods clearly did not accept the sacrifice of your ACL as sufficient. . . looks like we'll need to offer them the other one, as well. . . go team!

such bull about not having the players and only "5 bronco" players would start on Seattle. Every team in the NFC west can beat in the Seahawks.

I loved the play with Unrein at fullback leading the way for M Ball. Ball sprung for a long run. Several games ago. I dont think the play was ever used again. Maybe