3 Sobering Takeaways from Broncos' 32-23 Loss to Raiders
The Denver Broncos were man-handled by the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, falling 32-23. The heretofore winless Raiders were so motivated to play the Broncos, they took out three of their best players in the process, nearly.
Broncos running back Javonte Williams is done for the year, rush linebacker Randy Gregory will miss time with a knee, and quarterback Russell Wilson is dealing with an injury to his throwing shoulder. Welp...
What did we learn from the Broncos' second loss of the season as the team now drops to 2-2? Let's review my key takeaways.
Hackett Comes up Small in Big Games
All of the game management gaffes seem to be (blessedly) in the rear-view after the Broncos hired Jerry Rosburg ahead of the San Francisco game, but head coach Nathaniel Hackett has yet to figure out how to get his team emotionally prepared for big games. For contrast, see how Pete Carroll had the Seattle Seahawks rip-roaring, ready to go against Denver in the season opener?
Or how the hated Josh McDaniels quite obviously figured out how to motivate the Raiders in a do-or-die game and against an opponent with whom he shares a beef? Hackett could learn something from Carroll and McDaniels.
See, the thing about the 17-game NFL season is that every game is a big one. Some matter more than others, but the best coaches become armchair psychologists, a la Bill Parcells. You have to be.
Hackett is much greener around the ears than Broncos GM George Paton probably thought. It's coming out in the wash in more ways than one. The only hope is that the trial-and-error learning curve of Hackett's on-the-job education can be microwaved somehow, but each game dims that hope dramatically.
The Broncos, as a team, lack intensity and mettle. Some might call it 'will to win.' That's a problem.
In For a Dime, in For a Dollar
The Broncos have no choice but to go all-in on Melvin Gordon as their bell-cow running back moving forward. And that's terrifying.
The Williams injury will necessitate at least one roster move, whether that's calling Devine Ozigbo up from the practice squad, or signing a running back off-roster. Regardless of who that addition is, the Broncos are stuck with Gordon atop the depth chart this season.
Gordon has fumbled now four times this season, which is double the most of the NFL's next most unreliable running back. Obviously, the impulse for the coaches is to emphasize ball security during the week of practice, but it's possible that the Broncos are overdoing it.
After all, Gordon himself acknowledged that he spent an inordinate amount of time focusing on ball security last week, but what did it avail him? He fumbled on his first carry of the game, which was scooped up by the Raiders and returned for a touchdown.
So, perhaps, a little reverse psychology is in order. It might sound counter-intuitive, but the Broncos might want to pull back on the ball security focus and, instead, go about building Gordon up by way of compliments and you-da-man type of esteem-reinforcing rhetoric.
The Law of Attraction states that whatever one focuses on diligently, the universe will 'manifest' it. Want that promotion at work? Cultivate a positive mindset and put post-it notes all over the place, vocalize it, and your efforts will subconsciously and consciously flow toward it. The universe will serve it up — or so goes the tenants of the Law of Attraction.
The reverse is true. If you worry endlessly about something, sussing at it and aggravating the issue, guess what? The universe will serve it up because like cleaves unto like.
For better or for worse, it's time to build up Gordon's confidence because he's the best the Broncos have got now. Mike Boone doesn't have the wherewithal to carry a team's rushing load, but Gordon — if Denver can help him get his mind right — does.
Time to Shake Up the O-Line
The Broncos have a big problem offensively and it stems from the offensive line. There are many issues, but primarily, they each flow downstream from the source: Lloyd Cushenberry III.
Cushenberry has always been a bottom-5 center and he might now be literally the worst player at his position in the NFL. The Broncos would be remiss to continue trotting him out there as this team's pivot.
Guards Dalton Risner and Graham Glasgow's individual performances are suffering because they're constantly, and I mean that word literally, having to split their focus in order to help Cushenberry. It's led to an impotent rushing attack where the O-line can get little push and mental mistakes are piling up.
It's not as if the Broncos are lacking options, either. The ideal solution? Bench Cushenberry, put Glasgow at center, and Quinn Meinerz (if healthy) goes back to his post at right guard. Glasgow has plenty of experience at center (back during his Detroit days), and as soon as Meinerz is healthy, he's getting his job back at right guard anyway.
If Meinerz is still a game or two out from being 100%, that's okay. Put Netane Muti at right guard, bench Cushenberry, and put Glasgow at center. If the Broncos don't make this change now, Cushenberry will continue to torpedo the offense, and it's not just the rushing attack.
The interior pressure Denver is relinquishing on Wilson stems from Risner and Glasgow having to keep one eye on the in-over-his-head Cushenberry. This one tough decision (I get it, Cushenberry is a former third-round pick) could have a marvelous trickle-down effect on the O-line as a cohesive unit and the offense as a whole.
The right tackle situation will take care of itself, hopefully, when Billy Turner is healthy, which should be any day now. Cam Fleming is a liability, but he's not the pivot. Cushenberry is. Wilson can work around the knowledge that Fleming is a turnstile. It's impossible to do that when the center is your O-line's sieve.
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