ENGLEWOOD, Colo — It’s safe to presume Broncos owner Greg Penner and head coach Sean Payton can hear the ear-splitting noise reverberating from outside team headquarters.
Certainly, they aware there are serious problems with their team that is not only 0-3 but coming off a 70-20 embarrassment in Miami.
Yet, by deciding against extracting a pound or two of flesh, the Broncos’ bosses took a measured, if unpopular approach, rather than an emotional reaction to their 50-point loss.
> Video above: Klis & Tell: Where Dolphins defeat ranks among worst losses in Broncos history, should Sean Payton regret comments about Nathaniel Hackett's staff?
Yes, there will be a time for serious consequences if the state of Broncos’ affairs doesn’t improve, and quickly. But the Broncos’ bosses have deemed the time to fire assistant coaches, or dump prominent players, is not now.
Understand, a few changes may have been made behind the scenes that wouldn't be known until later. But as far as maintaining status quo to the coaching and player roster, here are some possible reasons why:
1. There is optimism Simmons will return this week. And don’t count out Josey.
We knew Justin Simmons was a good player. We didn’t know he was so good the defense would get demolished for 70 without him. Even if their groin issues mean not playing at 100%, Simmons and inside linebacker Josey Jewell are the intelligent connectors for the Denver defense. There seemed to be a disconnect between coaching and on-field communication in Miami.
Jewell pulled up with a left groin issue early in the second quarter, when the score was 14-7, Miami. Granted, the Dolphins were moving the ball and scoring while Jewell was in there. But the score may not have got out of hand if Jewell was able to finish. There is greater uncertainty as to whether Jewell will be able to play against Chicago. But it's a good sign that the Broncos are not planning to put him on short-term injured reserve.
2. Three-game mark is too early.
Payton has repeatedly said the race to improve is at the quarter pole, or four games into the season before it’s fair to pause and properly evaluate the team. While most of Broncos Country wants people fired, to do so after just three games will immediately create backlash. To wit: The Broncos have become an organization that is constantly in panic-mode whose only solution the past seven or eight years is to fire coaches.
3. Cutting prominent players without getting something back hurts the long-term rebuild.
There isn’t much of a trade market at present as most teams aren’t sure whether they are haves or have-nots. It may not completely shake out by the Halloween tradeline deadline either, but eight games is a better sample size.
Players most vulnerable to the trading block are pass rushers (Randy Gregory or Frank Clark), receivers (Courtland Sutton, maybe Jerry Jeudy) or cornerbacks (no way the Broncos trade Pat Surtain II).
After the Broncos traded away three first-round draft picks and three second-round draft picks the past two years for Russell Wilson and Payton, if it’s determined halfway through they are have-nots, it will be time to re-stock draft picks.
4. Think of what other talented assistant coaches would think.
In the big picture, you don’t want to send a message to the coaching industry that if they join the Broncos’ staff, you better not lose three in a row or else. The reputation every organization seeks is stability.
5. There is a speed issue. But Dolphins were absolute wrong match.
No doubt, the Broncos’ defense, by Payton’s Monday morning admission, were a half-step slow against the Dolphins. He may have been accurate if he said his team was a full step slow. But the Dolphins are the NFL’s fastest team, maybe in years. Tyreek Hill, De’Von Achane and Raheem Mostert were all elite major-college track sprinters. Add in Miami’s quick-motion scheme and those track stars had full-speed running starts by the time they reached the edge of the line of scrimmage. The Denver D won’t face an offense like that again.
6. Sauna-like conditions contributed to team’s second-half wilt.
In 2005, the Broncos opened the season in sweltering Miami against the Nick Saban-coached Dolphins. The Broncos were down 6-3 with less than six minutes remaining in the third quarter – then collapsed and lost 34-10.
The Broncos went on to finish 13-3 while Miami went 9-7.
The point is, dry-climate altitude does not prepare human beings for the extremely warm and sweaty conditions that Miami offers in September. On Sunday, the Broncos were down 42-13 with a minute left in the third quarter. That’s bad, really bad. But the defense seemed to have nothing left as they surrendered 28 points over a seven-minute, 28-second span.
Also on Sunday, the Bears were down, 41-0 to the Chiefs halfway through the third quarter. Andy Reid pulled Patrick Mahomes II at that point and went into run-the-clock mode and the final score was 41-10. Mike McDaniel showed no such mercy until the final seconds, when he passed up a field goal for the all-time, single-game points record.
I know. I know. Putting some blame on heat and humidity sounds like an excuse. And it is. But it’s also a reasoned explanation for why routine domination turned into a historic route.
7. Remember the Rockies-Angels series – in the end, it’s one game.
On June 24, the Los Angeles Angels humiliated the Rockies, 25-1 in the second game of a three-game Major League Baseball series at Coors Field. All the fans and media talked about for two weeks was 25-1. Yet, the Rockies opened the series by beating the Angels, then won the day after, 4-3 to win the series.
The Angels outscored the Rockies, 32-12 in the three games. But the Rockies won two of three.
I know. Finding inspiration from the Rockies is an indication of desperate times. But the point is, no matter how much you lost by, it’s still one loss. Not two or three. If the Bills beat the Dolphins in Buffalo – the Bills are favored by 2.5 points – and the Broncos beat the Bears in Chicago – the Broncos are favored by 3.5 points – then Denver and Miami will be 1-1 over a two-week period.
8. Best to deliberate, not impulsively decide whether or not to bring in a Rosburg- or Westhoff-type.
In 2017, the Saints were 7-2 and on a seven-game winning streak when Payton, New Orleans’ head coach, brought in Mike Westoff to run his struggling special teams units for the remainder of the season. No one was fired. But responsibilities were rearranged.
The Saints went on to win a first-round playoff game and had the second-round game cinched until the Minnesota Miracle desperation touchdown pass.
In 2022, the Broncos, who were 1-1 coming off a win against Houston in which Denver fans mockingly counted down the play clock for the slow-operating offense, hired Jerry Rosburg to aid head coach Nathaniel Hackett with game operations.
History would suggest if the Denver D continues to struggle, Payton and the Broncos could look into bringing in another set of eyes/another voice to serve as a defensive consultant. Then again, the Broncos already have Joe Vitt serving as a senior defensive assistant so maybe not. But such a move would require a few days to hire the right person.
9. Da Bears!
Is shaking up the defensive coaching staff the best way to beat the Chicago Bears this Sunday? Upheaval is not the way to stay the course.
Beat the Bears – who have lost 13 in a row while their quarterback Justin Fields is a bottom 10-ranked quarterback for a third consecutive season – and a measure of confidence and morale can be restored to the locker room. Then come the beatable Jets the following week at home.
Sure, there can be a time in-season when firing, demoting, cutting or benching is best for the team’s overall good. But maybe not when it’s just three games in and the Bears and Jets are up next.
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