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Week 7 — Chiefs @ Broncos: Well, I'm depressed

It's the O-line! And the quarterback! And the holding penalties! And the dropped balls! And the 3-and-outs! And the lack of run defense! And WTF playcalls! And...my brain would explode but it's not going to put in more effort than the Broncos did this week.

The Broncos do not fare well against the Chiefs, especially not in the Mahomes era, but there could not have been more favorable conditions for an emerging Denver team finding it legs to prove that they're for real.

Apparently, they're not.



I don't think it's firesale time. When they win, people don't need to go. When they're losing, everyone has to be fired or traded. I don't know a lot about total team rebuilds, except watching the Raiders last season and the Dolphins this season, but I don't think getting rid of your best and most foundational players is the way to set a solid foundation. I know they want draft capital, but I think there is a more fundamental problem going on that maybe some Denver devotees don't want to address.

John Elway.

I don't think he needs to go, but he is tunnel-vision focused on his idea of what a quarterback is and what a quarterback does, one that is fast being left behind in today's NFL. Flacco IS that prototypical quarterback Elway loves, and he keeps trying to fit all these QBs into his idea and it is not working. Someone needs to confront him with this. Someone needs to widen his perspective.

Instead of searching again and again and again for the same thing to match the system you envision, why not find a serious playmaker with major talent around whom you can build a system? My panties get wet imagining Trevor Lawrence under center (or more likely in shotgun) for the Broncos, but they have to fail next year (or the year after) for that to be remotely possible.

But wait, don't we already have a guy?

I don't have anything against Drew Lock — character-wise, he is 100% Bronco. As a QB for the future, though, I don't like him. I buried my face in my hands when his pick was called, and even shouted out a slo-mo-NoooOOooOoOoOoo! I've been trying to put that aside and find some belief in him since, with limited success, but I really do hope they start him after the Bye. We need to see if he IS the guy, and only repeated play will offer that vision.

Herbert and Fromm are both on the block next year, and both are good leaders who fit the Denver mold. Are either of them THE GUY? No fuckin' clue, but I trust them more than Lock. I hope he proves me wrong.

I won't autopsy the game, but the O-line let Flacco get the shit kicked out of him and failed to make the necessary seams for the run game. Yes, Bolles, holding penalties, etc., but it failed far beyond those moments. The decision at QB will make a huge difference, one way or the other, and Denver needs to make it now.


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