Evans: What the Broncos need to fix before hosting the Raiders
Sep 26, 2017, 3:45 PM | Updated: 4:11 pm
You know why there are stereotypes, right? Because they tend to have some truth to them.
Know why people in my business talk so much about “trap games?” Because they happen.
The latest example is the Denver Broncos loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Leading up to it, I talked about the possibility of it being a trap game. Once it was over, it was easy to see all the signs that make up a trap game.
It’s not just the loss. It’s how the loss occurs.
Everything seems “off.” All the things the Broncos did right in their first two games were absent. Well, “absent” is too strong. They were there, sort of, but they just weren’t as sharp.
Head coach Vance Joseph said the team played hard, but the attention to details wasn’t the same as the first two wins.
Examples:
1. Trevor Siemian came out throwing the ball well.
The Broncos were up 10-7, and Siemian had Emmanuel Sanders streaking wide open down the right side of the field. Had that pass been completed, I feel strongly the Broncos go down, score, make it a 17-7 game, and the whole complexion changes.
But he missed / Emmanuel dropped it / the refs screwed up the call (you choose), and that golden opportunity was lost.
Couple that with a penalty on the punt that caused a 40-yard shift in field position, that is where this game may have been lost.
Siemian wasn’t the same after that. He threw two bad interceptions. He can’t make those mistakes.
If you are going to make the case for Siemian as the best quarterback on this roster (I believe this), it starts with his smarts and decision-making.
He’s never going to be the type of quarterback who makes those “oh my god” type of plays. What he can do is make a lot of smart decisions and smart throws.
When he isn’t doing this, then what is his strength?
There aren’t any.
2. The “No Fly Zone” isn’t the same right now.
It’s not so much that they miss the play of T.J. Ward as much as they miss the continuity, communication, and trust that existed when he was back there.
There are too many mistakes being made. Justin Simmons has missed some key tackles. Opposing quarterbacks are picking on Will Parks in coverage.
Buffalo scored 10 points on two drives — 38 yards in four plays for a 38-yard field goal and 69 yards in four plays for a touchdown — with the average quarterback Tyrod Taylor going 7-of-7 for 100 yards.
That can’t happen with much better quarterbacks coming up on the schedule.
3. Head coach Vance Joseph needs to tighten up his decision-making before the half.
Against the Dallas Cowboys, he called an unnecessary timeout late in the second quarter.
Against Buffalo, a pass on third-and-11 from the Buffalo 17-yard line was incomplete. The Broncos kicked the field goal but left enough time on the clock for the Bills to go down and kick a last-second field goal.
Then there was the fake punt from Denver’s own 31-yard line, a call Joseph admitted the Bills knew was coming but he ran it anyway. All of this happened when the Broncos trailed just 20-16 and the defense was coming off a big stop the series before.
He’s a rookie coach. He’s going through growing pains as well.
I get it, it’s just one game … on the road … early in the season … on a weekend when the NFL world was turned upside down with President Donald Trump’s comments.
I won’t put too much into the loss, especially considering if you told me the Broncos would be 2-1 heading into Raiders Week. I’d take it.
The Bills loss means little as long as Denver beats Oakland, just as a win against Buffalo would ring hollow if the Broncos followed it with a loss to the Raiders.
Home games inside the division are crucial. Broncos have to be 4-1 after five games.
They’re on pace right now. That’s a good thing.
The other good thing is there are no “trap games” anytime soon.
