Broncos Limp to Finish Line

We knew that the Broncos needed a minor miracle to make the playoffs this weekend, but the fact that Josh McDaniels has benched Brandon Marshall for Sunday's game really puts a damper on their playoff hopes. Apparently, Marshall wasn't sure if he was going to be able to play this week after tweaking his hamstring on Wednesday. McDaniels made the decision for him by making him inactive this week because he felt that Marshall wasn't being accountable and reluctant to play in the game. Talk about a downer. How could you get excited about Denver's chances this week? By benching Marshall, McDaniels has taken away the one slimmer of hope that they had to win this week. The Bronco offense is average at best with Marshall, and now McD has taken the best player out of the game. Why not just announce that Marshall is a game-time decision? McDaniels obviously has an agenda and he is sending a message. McDaniels said that everyone has to be accountable and willing to fight as a team. Apparently, Marshall has not held up his end of the bargain. Tony Scheffler has also been benched for this week's game based on attitude issues. Clearly, McDaniels doesn't really care about the whole playoff situation because he is intent on sending a message to his football team. Unfortunately, for Bronco fans his message has to be sent this week, the last week of the season with the playoffs on the line. McDaniels did a nice job of handling the Marshall situation from the outset, but McD made a mistake here. By challenging Marshall in front of the media and the fans is a mistake, and it is a mistake that will eventually lead to Marshall's exit from Denver. McDaniels has done a nice job in his first year. He is a good game planner, good clock and game manager. He is enthusiastic and energetic, but his inability to communicate to his players will doom him. He really has taken a lot of the players to task this week, and he has thrown some other players under the bus as well. McDaniels has a lot to learn by being a head coach, and he is developing a sort of Napoleon complex. His ego is getting in the way of what could be a successful run in Denver. Running guys like Marshall, Scheffler, Peyton Hillis, and even line coach Rick Dennison out of town is not the way to go. This could be the biggest flaw in McDaniels coaching career in Denver. Whatever happens on Sunday, 2010 has not started out any better for Denver that 2009 did. Happy New Year!