Denver Dreadful Season Gets Worse in London

Thanks for coming down 2010 Denver Broncos! The Broncos dropped their fourth in a row on Sunday in London as they were defeated by the San Francisco 49ers 24-16. The Broncos had their chances late, Eddie Royal had a punt return called back because of a penalty, but Kyle Orton throw another late game killer interception and Broncos now fall to 2-6 and find themselves in dead last in the AFC West. I'm not going to spend too much time recapping the game in London, but I'm going to give you a two-part mailbag discussing all things Broncos at the midway point. Here we go.................

How did this season fall apart so quickly? This season began to fall apart actually in April. When Ryan Clady injured his knee while playing basketball, that was a bad omen for the season. Clady hasn't played up to his potential all season long. Also, the injuries in preseason to Knowshon Moreno, Correll Buckhalter, Ryan Harris and Elvis Dumervil really hurt the Broncos coming out of the gate. Still, Denver was sitting there at 2-2 coming off a huge road win in Tennessee. They got buried at Baltimore and basically put their entire season on the line at home against the Jets. They should have beat the Jets, but they didn't. At 2-4, you thought Denver could still get things turned around, but the injuries to Robert Ayers, Wesley Woodyard, Andre Goodman, Brian Dawkins, Perrish Cox, Darcel McBath and Kevin Vickerson caught up to the Broncos, and they got buried by the Raiders at home and fumbled and stumbled their way to a loss against the Niners. The combination of injuries, lack of depth, and mistakes have killed the Broncos all season long.

Can this defense stop anyone? Forget about stopping people because this Broncos defense can't do that. This defense should focus on limiting points. They have zero pass rush and the loss of Elvis Dumervil doomed this defense from the get go. Also, with no pass rush to use, their secondary gets picked apart because QBs have all day to throw. Their front seven is old, slow and soft and they can't stop anyone from running the ball. This defense might get as bad as it was in 2007 and 2008. The signings of Jamal Williams and Justin Banaan worked in the beginning of the season, but now they are wearing down and not making any type of impact. Losing Robert Ayers to a foot fracture has really hurt them in the run game as well. This is simply a really poor defensive team.

Will the Broncos be able to run the ball at all this year? In one word: No.The offensive line is young and beat up. Clady is not playing like he normally does, Harris is banged up and not producing, so he has been in and out of the lineup. J.D. Walton and Zane Beadles are starting as rookies, and Chris Kuper has been bothered by injuries and he hasn't played that well. Russ Hochstein is coming off a knee injury, and he looks too old to be any good anymore. Their O-Line is a mess right now, mainly because of injuries, but their running backs are banged up too. Moreno will be hampered by a hamstring injury all year, and Buckhalter and Laurence Maroney give the run game no boost at all. Forget about schemes and systems, everything that you need to have an effective run game is dampened by nagging injuries to the linemen and the running backs. It doesn't look like Denver is going to get the ground game going at all this season.

Have you seen enough of Kyle Orton? YES. I am done with Orton. I know he puts up nice numbers, but here is how you judge a QB: Wins, Points, and Turnovers. He is under 10-14 as a starter in Denver, so he isn't winning. He has only helped Denver score 30 or more points in 3 out of 24 games as a starter, so he is not putting points on the board. He doesn't throw that many picks, but he throws killer interceptions late in the game or at critical moments of the game. Orton is simply not the man in Denver, and he is not the type of guy to lead this group to the playoffs. He needs a great running game and a great defense to help him put a team in the playoffs. He might put up nice numbers, but he isn't the guy to get the team to the ultimate goal. Thanks Kyle for busting your butt and being a good teammate, but it is time for you to move on.

Is it Tebow Time in Denver? Without a doubt, it is time to make Tim Tebow the Broncos starting QB. At 2-6, this season is over. The playoffs are done, and it is time to see what you have for the future. The only hope the Broncos fans have right now is #15. It is time to start the development of Tim Tebow. Who cares if he struggles? Let him get the experience now. Start the process of getting ready for the 2011 season by getting Tebow some work. It will spark the fans, the team and the entire organization. I guarantee Tebow will play much better then people expect, and he will a game or two for the Broncos that they normally wouldn't have won with Orton. It is time to play the kid. The Tebow Era must begin now in Denver.

Part 2 of the Mailbag Tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!