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Josh McDaniels Still Has a Big Hoody to Fill, But Don’t Blast Him Just Yet…
Published: January 4, 2010
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Denver fans are a stubborn bunch. I should know. I was born and raised in the suburbs of the Mile High city, bleeding orange and blue with my father and all the other true Broncomaniacs for more than 20 years.
While we are good at cursing the TV (or the field from the stands) when they make bad plays, we are just as passionate to cheer them on when they make good plays.
Fans of any professional sports team have every right to be stubborn, opinionated, and passionate. Aside from home city pride, fans pay good money on professional sports franchises. Just like paying taxes, that gives us a good reason to be extremely interested in the outcome of events.
Not to mention, the expectations have been high in Denver ever since Elway started making the Broncos contenders, and they will probably never subside.
While I believe that we, the Broncos fans, should continue to exercise our criticism and passion in full throat, I must say this to my fellow Denverites out there when it comes to Josh McDaniels: Calm down!
Catchy new phrases have emerged since before Josh McDaniels donned the first hoody on the sidelines: McEgo, McPowerTrip, to name a couple.
A lot of Broncos’ fans see Josh McDaniels as a Belichick wannabe, who wants nothing more than to prove himself to his mentor, and mimics him by cracking the whip of authority.
I see it much differently.
When I look back on what turned out to be an extremely tarnished Broncos season, I see a coach who handled a lot of things very well and made some mistakes.
I see a rookie head coach trying hard to muster victories with a patchwork team that’s not quite “his” just yet. I see a coach who was trying to make things work with the hand he was dealt.
Make no mistake about it—McDaniels was dealt a bad hand when he found out how much of a malcontent Jay Cutler really was.
If all you read are the headlines, it would seem that Josh made a mistake when he tried to float a trade, and Jay was terribly offended.
If you read between the lines, listen to comments, follow Adam Schefter, and know enough about Denver, it’s easy to make the conclusion that Jay was very unhappy after Shanahan and Bates were shown the door, and he had no intentions of staying.
In the midst of all of the chaos, McDaniels was still able to implement his system and get the offense rolling in one of the toughest NFL schedules in recent memory.
Kyle Orton had his best season as a pro by far, and while it ended ugly, he proved he can be a factor in the Broncos successes. Looking at stats alone, it’s highly doubtful that Jay Cutler would have done better for the Broncos, attitude issues aside.
In the midst of the chaos, McDaniels was also able to drastically improve the defense (compared to the last three seasons) by hand-picking potent free agents, insisting upon a 3-4 scheme, moving Dumervil to outside linebacker, and grabbing Mike Nolan as his top defensive coach.
McDaniels lit a fire under the team, and they played hotter than anyone imagined they would. In retrospect, they overachieved and played up to the competition.
But as NFL seasons sometimes go, the Broncos got too comfortable with their success, and they were simply outplayed in the fourth quarter of several games.
The Broncos’ ugly final half of the season showed a lack of confidence. Flashes of that once great competitive spirit were enough to keep them in their games against Indy and Philly, but not enough to win.
The Broncos seemed to be ego-battered and bruised against the extremely weak Chiefs, and they lost big as a result. Drama stemming from what the coach thought were poor attitudes didn’t help matters any.
Josh McDaniels could have done more to build up the confidence and more to avoid four-game losing spirals two times in the season.
But he’s learning on the job. Coaches have to go through these experiences before they become great, and he is no exception regardless of his 6-0 start.
Some Broncos’ fans are less forgiving, believing that McDaniels puts his ego ahead of the team, and wants to play the “power” card by benching former Shanahan players.
This belief severely lacks thought and is not backed up by reason. Why would a rookie head coach, amidst a tough crowd and media in a sports town like Denver, want to bench some of his most talented players simply to show power? Isn’t it more likely that he had a good reason?
Marshall has proved himself a “me first” player in numerous interviews and off-field activities. He is clearly more worried about free agency dollars than Broncos wins.
No one but the Broncos know for sure what Scheffler said or did, but it must have been enough to draw the attention of not only the coach, but the veteran leaders in the locker room.
In several news sources, the veterans like Dawkins and Bailey have stuck up for their coach’s decision and have spoken out against the malcontent attitudes.
Denver fans should follow the lead of veteran players and all-around good guys like Dawkins and Bailey.
They offer patience to the new coach and see a winning, fiery spirit on the sidelines.
They understand that teams like New England don’t win three Super Bowls simply on talent alone, but on a great team chemistry with attitudes that promote gutsy, inspired play.
Perhaps McDaniels knows that better than any coach that Denver could have hired. Perhaps he can instill these same values that worked so well in New England.
To all of the Josh-hating fans out there, give it a rest and give him the benefit of the doubt—for now. It takes more than one year for a coach to cement his philosophy. And he’s probably not going anywhere anytime soon, so is it worth the maddening screams?
Bronco’s fans, please keep bleeding orange and blue and cheering loudly. Cheer for the team, cheer for the coach, and hope that after next season Josh McDaniels has shown us why his system works—in the playoffs.
Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com
Denver Fans Are Hoping For a Legacy With McDaniels
Published: August 16, 2009
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This week’s news in Bronco-land centers around three bad passes thrown by Kyle Orton, passes that head coach Josh McDaniels admits were, “three throws that I’ve seen him make every day in practice. Kyle is a good player.”
It’s no shock that McDaniels would stick up for his quarterback this early in the preseason, especially with all of the controversy surrounding the position. But the question must be asked: is this just another case of a head coach trying to calm the media hype, or does he really see something special in Kyle Orton?
Flashback to week seven of the 2008 season. Broncos fans may have purged their memory of this debacle, but let me refresh it. It was a Monday night at New England. As a Broncos fan who lives very far away from Denver, I’ve been in the unfortunate position of trying to see my team at away games on the east coast. I’ve witnessed far too many losses, including the mess at New England.
At the time, I wasn’t aware I was watching the current and future head coaches of the Broncos on the same field. But what I did start to realize was that Josh McDaniels had transformed Matt Cassel from a career-backup quarterback into a viable threat who was worthy of starting in the NFL.
Statistics speak louder than words. Going into their Monday night blowout of the Broncos, Cassel had put up a meager 3 touchdowns and 4 interceptions in 5 games. That night he put up 3 touchdowns and no interceptions, albeit against a weak defense with an injured Champ Bailey.
Following his spark against Denver, Matt Cassel continued a high level of play by leading the Patriots to a 7-3 win/loss record, including 15 touchdowns and only 7 interceptions. The Patriots narrowly missed the playoffs and finished with a formidable 11-5 record. Not bad for the equivalent of a rookie at quarterback.
It would have been easy for the Patriots to make excuses and lose several games after Tom Brady went down in the season opener. But Josh McDaniels saw something in Matt Cassel and helped him become a better player. Couple this with a good defense, and suddenly the Patriots no longer needed a Hall-of-Fame quaterback to win games.
It would not be surprising if all of this was a major factor in Pat Bowlen’s decision to hire Josh McDaniels as head coach of the Broncos. Bowlen and the fans can only hope that Matt Cassel’s New England performance was not a fluke, but instead a product of excellent coaching by Josh McDaniels.
Now fast forward to the present, still amidst all of the chaos surrounding the Broncos and their most important position. Three bad passes aren’t helping to ease the craziness.
Maybe it would have been much easier for McDaniels to have a more naturally talented quarterback like Jay Cutler to work with. We are all left to wonder what would have been if Jay hadn’t been so offended by the fact that the NFL is a business where players can be traded. Instead, Josh McDaniels finds himself in a familiar position of having to take a quarterback, or perhaps two, and make them better players. Does he see something in Orton? Does he see something in Simms?
Broncos fans should certainly be hoping that a great player can emerge from the status-quo and help to build the McDaniels legacy.
Will Pat Bowlen’s risky decisions pay off? Let’s at least wait until midseason. Historically speaking, that’s when we might see the fruits of Josh’s labor.
