There’s support for Vance Joseph, but no feeling sorry for him

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Like anyone who’s been in the NFL long enough to work up a Rolodex worth of contacts, Vance Joseph has people reaching out to him in the wake of the Broncos allowing more points than any NFL team since before any Super Bowl was ever played.

“I’ve heard from everyone,” the Broncos defensive coordinator said Thursday. “Even Wade (Phillips) this morning texted me and said keep grinding and keep pushing; those things happen. Again, it’s a terrible feeling, obviously. But it’s early.”

Joseph worked for Phillips in Houston, serving as defensive-backs coach under the Texans’ then-coordinator. But past connections don’t mean as much as the players of the present.

And despite the execution errors and 24 missed tackles Sunday, Joseph re-affirmed his faith in the Broncos defenders.

“And we have a good room. So, I’m not worried about that. Our focus now is Chicago, to be honest. It’s over. It could have been 7-0; it was a loss and we didn’t play well. So my focus now is Chicago.”

But the focus Thursday at Joseph’s press conference remained squarely on the past. He fell on the sword.

“Obviously, I didn’t get them ready for the speed and the angle and those things, and have them in the right positions, and again, I take it first,” Joseph said. “And we go back and look at it, and the next time we game-plan for a team like that, we do it better.

It always falls on me first, and the players are always giving max effort to do it right and win games. But it became a buzzsaw quickly, and it spiraled quickly.”

The NFL offers no room for sorries

That said, Vance Joseph doesn’t have players feeling sorry for him.

At least not edge rusher Frank Clark. But there’s a reason why Clark feels as he does. And it’s not as simple as Clark maintaining that he doesn’t feel sorry for his defensive play-caller.

“This is football. If my coach thought I felt sorry for him,  I’m sure he wouldn’t be coaching this sport. He’s a man in this sport, just like we all are men in this sport,” Clark said. “I don’t think coaches feel sorry for me when I’m going through things, you know what I’m saying? I never look at them to feel sorry for me.

“So … do I feel for him? No, I don’t feel for no man when it comes to this sport. I feel like this is a sport where at the end of the day, you’ve got to be a stand-up guy. And that’s going to give you everything you want out of this sport. And the same with myself.

“I’ve been a stand-up guy in this sport my whole career. Whether I’ve done bad or whether I’ve done good, whether I’ve missed a play or made a play. I’ve kind of been even-keeled and kept it moving. And I feel like that’s my coach, Vance Joseph. I feel like that’s what he’s done.”

Frank Clark, on whether he feels sorry for Vance Joseph: “So … do I feel for him? No, I don't feel for no man when it comes to this sport.”

But there is more to it than that. Clark’s full response: pic.twitter.com/kCIRCdaTAq

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) September 29, 2023

And really, what choice do you have? There’s another game in three days. It represents another opportunity to get things right. The 70-20 loss can’t be undone. But the weeks to come can be different.

“You know, it’s over with. It happened. What can you do? Keep on moaning, keep on complaining about it? Or are we going to do something to get better? You know what I’m saying?” Clark said.

“And I feel like that’s where we’re at. I feel like we’re on the path to get better. And that’s the only goal right now.”

It will be at least one more week until Clark can help Joseph get things on the right track. So, on Sunday, Joseph will have to figure it out without Clark, edge rusher Baron Browning, nickel cornerback K’Waun Williams and potentially inside linebacker Josey Jewell.

But Chicago doesn’t have Miami’s speed. Or its proficiency. There is always a challenge in the NFL, no doubt. But the Broncos get the benefit of facing a team that has the same record in its last 19 games as they do: 5-19.

It’s a golden chance to get right.

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