A Denver Broncos Rant!!!

As I write this, my beloved Denver Broncos are in the process of losing to the hated Oakland Raiders. It's currently 31-10 with about 7 minutes left in the game, so I feel pretty safe that I won't have to go back and amend this rant because the Broncos pulled out a miracle win. I hope I have to go back and amend this, but I don't think I'll have to. I'm hoping this is therapeutic for me because I'm really torked off about this...please forgive me if this doesn't make any sense.

BTW - I know, it's pretty stupid to get upset about a football game, but I do...it's a process, and I'm working on taking this less seriously.

This loss will mean the Broncos are 6-5 on the season, and still in 1st place. So, what am I ranting about? Two of their losses have come to the 1-10 Kansas City Chiefs, and the soon to be 3-8 Oakland Raiders. They also have a loss to the 4-7 Jacksonville Jaguars. They seem to play down to the level of their competition!!! If you want to be a contender in the NFL, you can't lose games to bad teams.

What this really comes down to is coaching. When a team shows up completely unprepared against a bad team like the Raiders, that's coaching, plain and simple. These guys are all professionals, and if you don't prepare you are going to lose, even to a bad team.

Broncos Head Coach Mike Shanahan won 2 Super Bowls in the 90's with Hall of Fame Quarterback John Elway. Since Elway retired, Shanahan has won 1 playoff game, and gone through 4 starting QB's. It's time for Shanahan to go! I didn't want to say that. I think he's one of the greatest coaches ever, but it seems like he's lost this team. Every year he manages to field a team that finishes somewhere between 7-9 to 10-6, so as a fan, you continually feel like your team is on the verge of breaking through. But, they never break through! Every year the defense stinks! Every year the special teams is far from special! Every year the offense gets worse! The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.

I think the problem really boils down too one simple problem...players don't seem to develop under Shanahan. The Broncos have a good young core, with 3rd year QB Jay Cutler, 3rd year receiver Brandon Marshall and rookies Eddie Royal and Ryan Clady. However, Cutler and Marshall seemed to have plateaued or even regressed since the start of the season. They need someone now who can be tough with them, but pick them up at the same time and help them get better. I don't think Shanahan can do that.

We've seen 10 years of Shanahan trying to rebuild this team after Elway. He's brought in good players, but never found the chemistry to crack the upper echelon of teams again. As much as it pains me to say this, it's time to give someone else a shot in Denver.