Vic Fangio's Indecision is Keeping Broncos in a Credibility Crisis
In the wake of the Denver Broncos' 30-6 debacle of a loss at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs, all eyes were on head coach Vic Fangio as he took to the podium at Dove Valley on Friday.
In the aftermath, would Fangio resolve to make the necessary changes Thursday night laid bare and made brutally obvious? The Broncos were absolutely exposed at home by a Division opponent that was decimated by the injury bug and without multiple key starters, including the league MVP for half the game.
The Broncos relinquished eight sacks on Joe Flacco and unsurprisingly, the 12th-year quarterback flailed impotently in the face of the pressure. With Flacco at the helm, the Broncos converted just 1-of-13 third-down attempts. In the last three games, the Broncos have only moved the chains on 6-of-38 tries on the money down.
It's an overall offensive problem, no doubt, and while OC Rich Scangarello deserves his fair share of the blame, the onus has to also be laid at the feet of the man with the ball in his hands on every snap. Joe Flacco.
Adding insult to injury was left tackle Garett Bolles, who not only gave up multiple sacks and pressures, but was also flagged three times for holding. Considering his track record as the most penalized offensive lineman in the league since arriving as a first-round pick in 2017, surely Thursday night's meltdown would be enough to convince the Broncos to make a change at left tackle?
When push came to shove, Coach Fangio would not commit to making any offensive changes at this time, though at least he didn't rule it out.
“We consider that every week," Fangio said on Friday. "Win or lose, but we’re not going to make a change just for the sake of making a change. We’ll look at it closely and weigh the alternatives, and we’ll make a decision.”
What are the Alternatives?
Left Tackle: With Ja'Wuan James returning next week, the Broncos could either A.) bench Bolles and supplant him with current right tackle Elijah Wilkinson, or even backup Jake Rodgers or B.) bench Bolles, keep Wilkinson at right tackle, and play James at left tackle.
The latter is the least likely option but it's a viable alternative nevertheless. The Broncos have two backup offensive tackles in Jake Rodgers and the recently-added rookie Calvin Anderson. Rodgers is an acolyte of O-line Coach Mike Munchak, having also spent time with him in Pittsburgh.
Quarterback: This one is even simpler. The Broncos could and should bench Joe Flacco right now, even with Drew Lock unable to suit up and play until Week 11. The Broncos have hit their ceiling with Flacco at the helm and it looks a lot like 16 points per game and a .286 winning percentage.
Flacco has made clear two cold, hard facts. One, the Broncos can't compete with him under center in the team's current form. Two, Flacco's physical limitations, in light of his inability to produce, removes him from the equation as the future starting QB of this team, regardless of the fact he's now under contract through 2023.
That means the onus is on the coaching staff and the team to see what else they have behind Flacco at the quarterback position. For now, that's backup Brandon Allen, a young guy the front-office really likes who's yet to take his first regular-season snap. Giving Allen a two-game audition would at least let the Broncos know whether they need to pursue a different backup QB option in free agency next spring.
The priority, obviously, has to be getting Drew Lock on the field as soon as is humanly possible. The catch is that since the Broncos made the ill-advised decision to place him on injured reserve to open the season, he has to practice with the team for two weeks before he can officially be activated to the roster, per league rules.
Practicing in Week 8 would make one week, Week 9 would be two. Week 10 is the Broncos' bye, which circles Week 11 as the prime opportunity for the Drew Lock era to officially begin. Making his first start on the road against a good Minnesota Vikings defense is less than ideal, but such is the NFL.
The only way for a young player to develop is to play. Just ask Coach Fangio, although the following remark was made in regards to rookie TE Noah Fant.
"It’s our job to develop players and the only way you develop players is to play them,” Fangio said on Friday.
Touche.
Credibility Crisis
If the Broncos do nothing and implement no changes to the starting lineup, Vic Fangio and his entire coaching staff run the risk of losing the belief and respect of the locker room. When young players and veterans alike believe that there is no accountability for performance on the field, that's when guys cease buying in and tune out the coaches.
It's called a credibility crisis.
Fangio preaches execution, responsibility, accountability and effort. Mr. Death By Inches. If he doesn't back that up with his actions and decisions as head coach, that's when the locker room is lost.
If you want to see a team really careen off the tracks, that's the recipe for it. As a first-year head coach, that's the last thing Fangio needs. He has to maintain his credibility in that locker room, in the face of five losses in seven games and in the knowledge that this team is replete with roster holes.
It won't be easy. There will be growing pains for any new starter, whether it be at left tackle or quarterback. But this team for too long has tried to circumvent that trial and error process by bringing in mercenary stop-gaps at the most important position on the field.
Clearly, under the realization that this Broncos squad is cruising for its third straight losing season and fourth straight without making the playoffs, trying to find the shortcut back to AFC relevancy hasn't worked.
It's time to start making the painful decisions in the short-term that will ultimately save this team in the long-term. Coach Fangio has the power to do that. But it remains to be seen whether he'll exercise it.
The Week 10 bye isn't too far off but with 10 days to go before the Broncos have to suit up again, now is a great opportunity for Fangio to begin making the necessary changes to the offense — both on the personnel and X's and O's side.
Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.
