George Paton squelched the hope that had emerged in Broncos Country
Nov 3, 2021, 11:15 AM
When the Broncos traded Von Miller, it was largely hailed as a positive move. From a football standpoint, it was a savvy move. From a management standpoint, it showed that George Paton was willing to make the tough decisions.
In part, that optimism was based on what the trade signaled. It suggested that the Broncos finally realized that their formula wasn’t working. It provided hope that a reality check had finally occurred at Dove Valley.
Ever since the won Super Bowl 50, the organization has been under the delusion that they could repeat the feat by relying on their defense and getting by with a journeyman quarterback. For the sixth-straight year, it isn’t working.
The Broncos defense isn’t dominant, which is the biggest problem. And their offense isn’t good enough to pick up the slack, largely because Teddy Bridgewater is playing like a QB who is on his fifth team.
Anyone who watched Denver’s win over Washington on Halloween saw it. The Broncos aren’t a playoff team.
So they need to get younger. They need to stop fooling themselves. They need to rebuild.
The Miller trade suggested that Paton understood that fact. The general manager getting a second- and third-round pick for a veteran in the last year of his contract was a sign that he was worried about 2022 and beyond, rather than trying to “win” now. It was a glimmer of hope that 8-9 or 9-8 isn’t the goal, but building a true contender is the objective.
Then, Tuesday arrived and it all came crashing down.
The Broncos didn’t make any other moves. They didn’t trade Kyle Fuller, Melvin Gordon, Kareem Jackson or Teddy Bridgewater. They didn’t parlay veterans who aren’t a part of the team’s future for draft picks who can create the foundation moving forward. They didn’t create opportunities for young players by moving on from aging one.
Instead, they did what they’ve done for the past five-plus seasons. They insisted that they’re close.
“I believe in the players here. I believe in the coaches here,” Paton said in his press conference after the trade deadline had passed. “We’re 4-4 and everything is in front of us. We’re still in the thick of it. I really look forward to the second part of the season, and that starts Sunday with the Cowboys.”
The Broncos have nine games remaining on their schedule. They might be favored in two of them – at home against the Eagles and the Lions.
Everyone knows this. It’s why there were 12,000 no-shows on Sunday against Washington. Broncos Country is well aware of the fact that their team isn’t any good.
They also realize that they aren’t being provided any hope. It’s eerily reminiscent of 2010 and early 2011, when the Broncos insisted on playing Kyle Orton at quarterback because he gave the team the “best chance to win.”
Anyone with eyes knew that Denver wasn’t going to ever win a Super Bowl with Orton. Heck, they’d be lucky to flirt with the playoffs and hover around .500. There was no future with him at quarterback.
As a result, there was no reason to buy in. There was no reason to invest time, money and emotions into something that had no future.
The fan base feels the same way now. They know Bridgewater isn’t the answer. They’ve given up on Vic Fangio and Pat Shurmur. They’ve moved on from many of the stopgap free agents that were brought in and sold as solutions.
Miller getting traded was painful, but it provided a glimmer of hope. It suggested that the team finally had come to the same realization.
Clearly, Paton hasn’t.
“I just want to say one of the reasons I took this job was because of Vic Fangio,” Paton said on Monday. “It hasn’t been easy this year with Vic. We’ve had a lot of adversity to overcome. The thing I like about Vic [is] he’s stayed the course and he has not flinched. It’s kept everyone in this building even keel. Vic just works. I’m really proud of the way he’s gone through this. I’ve been around others that have folded, and the building is up and down, but Vic is very steady. Again, we’ve suffered a lot of different things and he’s stayed the course. We are 4-4. It feels like we’re 1-7, but we are 4-4 and we’re right in the thick of it.”
Maybe the building needs someone who isn’t on an even keel. Maybe getting the exact same results for two-and-a-half years suggests that it’s time to upset the apple cart. Maybe doing the work isn’t enough if it’s the wrong kind of work.
“We need to be better on offense. Pat (Shurmur) knows that and we all know that. Our players know that,” Paton added. “Pat’s had a lot of success in this league. I believe in Pat, but we do need to play better. We just don’t seem to have a lot of rhythm. We’re not good in the critical downs and critical areas of the field. We were this past weekend, but we need to run the ball better. There’s a lot of things, but they’re working on it. Pat has had a lot of success, so I do believe in Pat.”
Well, he hasn’t had a lot of success in Denver. An given that the NFL is a “what have you done for me lately?” kind of league, that’s all the matters. The Broncos are averaging less points per game this year than a season ago. That’s with Bridgewater at quarterback, as opposed to Drew Lock, Brett Rypien, Jeff Driskel and Kendall Hinton.
“Teddy has done a lot of good things,” Paton said about his QB. “Obviously, there’s a lot of things that he needs to work on, but we need to play better around Teddy. We need to protect him better. We need to run the ball better. We need to be better on defense. We need to get off the field on defense. (On), special teams, we had a mistake a week on special teams for the first four or five games. We need to play better around Teddy; he needs to play better. He knows that. He’s a calming force. He’s provided great leadership, especially when you lose four games in a row.”
Watching the Broncos offense, the last thing they appear to need is a “calming force.” They’re a group in desperate need of a jolt.
Somehow, Paton is happy with the people in the most-important positions on the team. Despite the lackluster results, he’s pleased with what he’s seen.
“Things can go off the rails pretty quick,” the general manager said. “But the steady leadership of Teddy and Vic, they’ve kind of kept us together.”
The Broncos need to clear the decks. They need to start over. They need to rebuild around the young players on the roster.
It’s about Justin Simmons, Bradley Chubb and Pat Surtain. It’s about Courtland Sutton, Noah Fant, Jerry Jeudy, Garett Bolles and Javonte Williams.
It’s about finding a quarterback. It’s about finding an inspiring, innovative head coach. It’s about turning the page and trying something new.
For a moment, that seemed possible in Broncos Country. But George Paton squelched the hope. His words suggested more of the same is on the horizon.
