Wow, what a pathetic showing, if the Broncos don’t activate Lock It will be madness, and I will likely be on the Elway out bandwagon. I am ok with toughing out another season of suck if we at least see if we have something in Lock. We now need to start evaluating who else is on the lifeboat. So question, should we start being concerned about our coaching team, particularly on offense? My head says it is still too early to judge, and the personnel isn’t exactly helping, but Doubt is starting to creep in.

As ever appreciate your hard work, lets hope for better times soon!

Hey boys. Thanks for the late night pod! I can’t make a family friendly comment this morning on the DNVR network, so maybe next week?

Is it bad that Fangio lost me in this game, he made some terrible play calls and there seems to be zero dynamism out on the field or on the sideline.
It felt like wadman had more touches than Phil, the offensive line looked lost and passive. Major reset needed.
On the plus side simmons had a good game and made an impact. Lock has the most upside on IR and has to come in as soon as he can. Otherwise it will be a lost season in his development.
Bolles incredulous reaction to his holding penalties was borderline offensive, he does not learn and along with Leary he is a key component in the revolving door offensive line.
120am kick off time in the UK, so apologies if this is too negative.
Keep up the great work guys.

Guys, I feel like an idiot. As a Bronco fan in the KC metro, I really thought the Broncos could finally win. Its not just that they lost. Its they were dominated by the WORST DEFENSE IN THE LEAGUE! This is a defense that hadn’t had a sack in 2.5 games. In fact, they didn’t even get a hit on the QB last week against Houston. This loss is so bad, someone has to lose their job. I know this won’t happen, but Rich Scangarello has to go. This offense has looked abysmal, its not working. I sat there watching some of these play calls and I was baffled by the lack of creativity, and game planning. Phil Lindsay is as dynamic a player as there is in this league, and we are not utilizing him correctly. The Broncos use Phil like he is built like Derrick Henry. Phil should be getting the ball in space, and letting him do his thing. Ultimately, again John Elway created this mess. I just looked at this team last night, with a lack of urgency, no emotion or fire. Again, a message has to be sent, someone has to go today, by noon. Take your pick, Scangarello, Garrett Bolles, Ron Leary, Flacco, somebody has to lose their job.

RK.. I know you want these young players to experience that winning culture.. And they will.. When we finally get smart and start to rebuild. We don’t need to win now, their time will come.

Well that was… disappointing. It is embarrassing when the national broadcast is asking where the broncos urgency is. It looked like they gave up early in the third quarter. Serious question, does Joe Flacco even want to be here playing football? Because it sure didn’t look like it. I know he got hit a lot (Like A LOT) but some of those were on him just holding the ball back there for way too long (or not holding onto it, as the case may be). I was about ready to see Brandon Allen, how much worse can he be than a three and out and a sack every drive?

Some of the younger guys look good, and Justin Simmons is definitely in the lifeboat, but putting Phil up between the tackles so often seems like a poor scheme to me. The entire offense plan seemed… meandering. Is this coaching staff out of their element?

On a positive note, I had to travel to dallas for work, and they have Brek Brews here! Damn good beer for a damn bad football game. Thanks guys, keep up the great work.

I think it was Mase who mentioned it, but a ‘signature win’ on the road- especially one with Drew Lock- can build momentum for the future.

Look back to last year, when the winless Bills went to Minnesota, and were 17 point dogs. The Bills offense didn’t play particularly great, and the team ended up going 6-10, but you had Josh Allen hurdling over Anthony Barr and other things that gave the team confidence moving forwards.

That Bills team wasn’t good, but you had players screaming ‘You like that’ after the win. It was definitely a win that let the players know that Allen was ‘the guy’ and hopefully something similar can happen with Lock, and a get right game in Arrowhead is the perfect scenario!

Last year you guys made the observation that Vance Joseph wasn’t even guessing right ever. Even statistically he should have been right some of the time but it just never happened. Well that torch seems to have been passed to Scangarello. The play calling and scheme seems to always be the wrong choice. Also, sure the defense gave up 23 but when the offense is going 3 and out every time and Wadman is kicking 20 yard boomers there’s not a lot to work with there. A lot of that is probably because strategically place traffic cones would be more effective than their offensive line. Finally, I don’t expect Noah Fant to be able to block Khalil Mack. I don’t even really mind waiting for his route running to develop (maybe). But it really feels like a 1st round pick should be able to catch passes that hit him in the hands. Thanks boys, you’re doing God’s work.

PS: This Broncos season sure would be a lot more bearable if I could watch the Avs or Nuggets on TV.

Gents. Oh, Gents! I think Maya Angelou summed it up best when she wrote a poem called The Lesson –

“I keep on dying again.
Veins collapse, opening like the
Small fists of sleeping
Children.
Memory of old tombs,
Rotting flesh and worms do
Not convince me against
The challenge.
The years
And cold defeat live deep in
Lines along my face.
They dull my eyes, yet
I keep on dying,
Because I love to live”

and because we broncos fans would love to live again We must do the following –

Trade Strap
Trade Sanders

Cut Wolfe after the season
Cut Parks after the season
Cut Gotsis
Cut or trade shelby Harris now

Release and subsequently Enact an irrevocable Damnatio memoriae on the following players – Juwann James
Garrett Bolles
Ron Leary

Also, I’ve realized that …

A)Scangerllo’s offense provides me with less fun than changing my 17mo old’s poopy diaper.

B)This iteration of Fangio’s defense can’t contain the flotsam and jetsam that is a washed-up back up qb like Matt Moore, ouch!

C)Ed Donatell
might literally just be a retired ninja turtle.

D)Most importantly is that The Elway era is over. Plain and simple, Au Revoir, John !- Thanks for the memories and have fun playing golf into the sunset, but your time has come. If this game isn’t an exclamation point on his recent infelicities and total denigration of judgement I don’t know what would be.

Am I wrong?

Mark my words – this is one of the most humiliating, monumental loses in franchise history. This, gents, is the dregs. Forget Locktober this is Rocktober – rock bottom, that is.

thankfully, we have you fine triad of comedians to listen to on the daily.

Forever Yours
The Count

Hey guys those tailgates sound great.
Focusing on the positive.

Can we start trading players yet? After getting abused by the Chief’s D that bad, it should be clear our offense is not able to score the points needed to win big games this season.
I think it’s time to part ways with Sanders, win-win for both sides because Emmanuel can start getting targets somewhere else. Probably smart to do the same with CHJ.
Do you think Von Miller gets traded? I think he needs to be the guy who stays through the rebuild and can still make an impact after the team makes it back to a .500+ record.

Start Brandon Allen now!
For 5 weeks now, Bumpy Buffalo and I have been begging. Pleading. Finally last night, we were at least joined by 2 others, Joe Buck and Troy Aikman. Even in garbage time, we wouldn’t bench a quarterback with a sub-10 QBR. Why? Before the game, who would you have said might be the better player, Brandon Allen or Matt Moore? Start Brandon Allen. Who looked worse, Joe Flacco tonight or Marcus Mariota last week? Start Brandon Allen. What’s the difference between Scangerello and Flacco, the consensus primary reasons for this outcome? We don’t have a spare OC just sitting on the bench waiting to be put in. Start Brandon Allen. Now.

Hey guys,

This might make me a awful Bronco fan, but I was cheering for this team to lose. However I am 100% convinced the best thing for this team was to lose this game. Flacco is not the answer, Elways master plan is not working. The only way Elway will see reason is to be beaten into submission. I want this team to lose every game until Elway changes his direction. At this point losing is the only hope for a better tomorrow.

Have a wonderful weekend guys.

Hey guys, I got a chance to go to my first game ever when we played Tennessee then I was offered tickets to the Chiefs game, glad I went to the Titans game and not this one. You guys got to the important stuff, but what I will say is I’m now 100% sold on AJ Johnson, that man is a beast. I ordered a jersey after seeing him in person and you are right, he and Wolfe are terrifying human beings, but my question is what I’d his contract status? If he keeps balling out like this I can’t imagine we wouldn’t re-sign him whenever, he is freaking awesome! I’ll end it here to keep it shortish, but did AJ continue to impress you guys this game? Thanks RK, Zac, and Mase!

I didn’t get to see the whole game, as I was working. From what I saw from the highlights, we knew what player Flacco was, no movement and Mr Cool. I backed him from the start, but am finding I want Lock to start and see what he has got. What do we have to lose.
My take on Fant is, maybe he and Flacco aren’t communcating well. And surely Flacco with his experience can help him out greatly. As a soccer coach I always look at my vet players to help out the rookies.
It is looking likely that I will be in Denver for the Chargers game, (hopefully will get a ticket for my first game at Mile High) so will be hitting up the tailgate if it is on. And hopefully will see Drewcember. Also try those Breck Brews.

Great pods guys and Mase, You have just added to the joy of listening. Sorry for the long comment.

Guys, you touched on it briefly in the last pod.
I genuinely wonder if putting Lock in with THIS scheme and THIS offensive line is a good idea. I believe in Locks potential, but I don’t wanna poison the well by throwing him to wolves just for the sake of people being impatient. If they don’t get Lock out of the pocket, I worry that throwing him in with this offensive roster might be a determinate. Am I overstating this, or do you feel the same way?
Please, please let the Broncos draft a left tackle this year! I think Coach’s Scangs scheme can work, but it’s hard to implement anything if you don’t have the big uglies in place to allow the plays to develop.

Wow, that was one of the worst games I’ve seen from this team in 35 years. I’ve seen the team give up on plays, or at the end of a game, but it looked like they gave up in the 3rd quarter!! I don’t think I’ve ever seen that. Joe Flacco should have been benched. Period. He is so disengaged! The camera shows him pre-huddle, standing 3 or 4 paces away from the group of players on the field, looking away, hands on his hips, awkwardly waiting for the refs. Where’s the fire? Where’s the leadership? He should be rallying the troops, telling them how they are going to march down, score, and take this game back right now! So embarrassing that even Troy Aikman said that this was one of the most pathetic offense performances he’s ever seen!! OUCH! I wish I could disagree…..

How can Fangio allow such lackluster play?? The early two point conversion was definitely questionable, but that fake punt was horrific! That’s all on him. I’ve been a huge Fangio supporter and I’m not giving up on him yet, but…. this was not death by inches, this was death by yards!

Alas, Koenstradamus is no more! Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.
The Chiefs defenders feasted on Flacco the way Chiefs fans feast on crayons: going back for seconds, thirds, and even eighths. How seriously do you all think tackle should be looked at in the first round this year? Is it too early to have a ranking of needs for the offseason?

Not a question but I just wanted to say: Scangs is just Italian Bill Musgrave. I’m starting to revert back to my Keenum-era tradition of expecting a a failed conversion on third down, regardless of distance. The play calling is just sad.

Better to laugh than cry is right mase. I think fangio was sending messages to John last night by going for 2 and the fake punt. He knew that the team wasn’t good enough to outright win the game, while John is still stuck in believing in sleepy Joe and a misleading 2 game win streak against 2 of the other worst teams in the league. John Elway is like the knight in Monty python and the holy grail that has his limbs chopped off but still thinks he can fight, counting on mase for that reference. Cheers boys let’s try to laugh and not cry.

Flaco was awful he needs to go. A good portion of the sacks were on him not his o line, you can only stand in place like your feet are in concrete so long

Do you remember the other day when you guys talked about ‘have they hit rock bottom already’? This. This was rock bottom. Embarrassing. Counting the days until Locksgiving!

Hey guys! I have really been enjoying your content, especially amidst one of the most depressing losses I can remember as a Broncos fan. You guys are awesome!

Here’s my question. What would you need to see from Drew Lock to tell you that he is the guy the last week’s of the season? Would a win against the Chiefs in Arrowhead, alone, “lock” him in as the guy for the future?

Remember when the Broncos swapped out Keenum for Flacco and we were told that the reason was that Flacco forces teams to “defend every blade of grass on the field”? Teams would no longer be able to shut us down simply by putting eight in the box. Well, guess what? Teams can still shut us down by putting eight in the box. How can Scangarello not have anything to counter this? He comes out of halftime and runs Lindsay up the middle on the first play? How many times in this game were we in third and long because of ineffective runs on first and second down? I’ve always thought that Denver’s biggest problem over the last few years was not picking an offensive system and committing to it. I would be hesitant to make a change again after this year, but I don’t see how they can stick with this if Scangarello does not show significant growth as a play caller over the rest of the season. We know that the system can still work (see Kyle Shanahan). But right now it looks like Scangerello just doesn’t have the chops to call it.

That was pathetic! No sense of urgency, Aikman made several comments about it on air. That is the worst part about it, it doesn’t look like Flacco cares, or wants to be on the field. Why can’t we get Phil the ball in space, call a screen! At this rate I’m not sure if I want to see Lock get thrown to the wolves behind this offensive line. I hate seeing all the negative comments about Fangio on twitter ect. What do you guys think? I am on the side of he definitely needs more time. It’s not Fangio’s fault that Bolles is the worst and Flacco has no pocket presence. When is the trade deadline? Who should the Broncos trade and what can they get for them?

Thanks, I have been listening for about a year but just subscribed after the embarrassing loss so I could vent to you guys and give my wife a break from the misery this team has put me through this year. Also did the yearly subscription to get the Mile High salute shirt. I plan on wearing it to the Broncos Vikes game!

This game was hard to watch.

We could all see our Oline had more problems than the Titanic, But Flacco also makes some terrible decisions. His lack of awareness is astounding.

Hurts to say this.. trade everyone who isnt in the life boat, maybe even Von. We need those picks

Hey guys,
I can’t believe what I watched in Thursday night football. The Broncos have a chance to win the freaking game when Mahomes went out & what did they do..NOTHING!! No sense of urgency, absolutely no energy to win the game..the team just went out there and sucked. The person I have the most to blame and pissed me off the most is Scangerllo. The play calling was soooo terrible!! It was predictable..1st down run, 2nd down run, 3rd down short pass to Freeman..which I don’t understand why Freeman is even in on 3rd down pass situations!! Another thing I don’t understand is why scangerllo Doesn’t use Phillip Lindsay..he’s your best player on offense and they use him here and there. Don’t get me wrong, Freeman is good, he needs looks too, but Phillip Lindsay is and should be your main RB. And don’t get me started on the O-line, especially that moron Garrett Bolles, he needs to get benched..enough is enough. When it comes to Joe Flacco, we all know he cant run, he’s a statue in the pocket, that’s what I expect from him, but it’s time for Drew Lock, Flacco is done.

Sorry Guys for this long rant but I had to get this off my chest..anyways thank you guys for all you do

Offensive line communication. Whose job is it to alert of a possible blitz and to make the adjustment? Flacco? McGovern? The offensive line coach?

The offensive is pathetic and Joe Flacco moves around the pocket like someone in a banana costume.

I don’t mind being gutsy with the 2pt conversation in the opening quarter, however it killed any momentum for the offense later.

I can’t wait for Drew Lock

Guys, when C.H. Jr. said it was Fangio’s job to say something to rally the troops on Monday, what did he mean by that? A call out on Fangio’s leadership, or that he is done and counting down the weeks and it’s not his responsibility?

Can we just talk about that 40 yard catch by Sutton oh boy that was incredible. Think we found somebody who will be a corner stone for the next decade. Also I feel like the stadium needs to get a sound clip of a raptor for AJ that would be pretty dope. #postivevibesonly2k19

Why I’m the flying fluck do we take Phil out after one play every time? Do they not know he’s basically our only dynamic playmaker besides Courtland???? That was so infuriating to watch them almost completely give up on the run after they got down 1 point!!!

Another thing. Noah Fant?? I’ve never seen a person whose job is to catch a ball be so bad at it!! And Cody Lattimer was on the team.

And then there’s sleepy Joe. I wish I didn’t have eyeballs after that performance. He was hot garbage from the second drive on. I can only think that if Lock was healthy they would’ve trotted him out there. You can’t look like straight dog s*** against a division rival and look like you don’t care! That was the worst part! I’m just tired of the offense consistently being the hinderance to this team when the defense plays their hearts out every week much like tonight.

Hey guys, I just want to ask something, is there any reasonable motive for this team not to activate lock? Because in my opinion the excuse that you have a bad OL is not good enough for you not to find out if you have a future at the QB position, and I do not trust Elway at all to make right decisions here. You guys on the pod last night talked about who to blame for this game and I agree 100% that Flacco and scangarello really messed up in this game , what if we look and at a more macroscopic view? What about our GM? Just talking about the OL, drafted bolles in the first round, gave a lot of money to both Leary and James, two injury prone players, and the worst part, since manning left, miss after miss after miss on the QB position and the last one of those trading for a cone that costs 20+M per year and is no good for this team, brings no fire, plays awful and seems like he doesn’t care.
Anyway, sorry for the long post was really frustrated with that game, thanks as always for the great coverage, and hoping for drewcember, go broncos.

Hey guys,

Last night’s game was an absolute embarrassment. There is no other way to put it. Ultimately the blame falls at the feet of one man, John Elway. Now, we can skip the whole “fire Elway” talk, because we know that’s not going to happen. And whether John “retires” after this year remains to be seen. But to me, its clear that if Elway is going to stick around, that a new voice is needed in the front office. I am talking about a general manager. Someone from outside the organization to come in and offer a new perspective. John would still be the head man, but it’s clear that he needs help, and not from Matt Russell or anyone else in his cabinet. Someone new. My choice would be Louis Riddick. A man who just seems to get it and doesn’t sugarcoat anything. I feel like his personality would mesh well with Vic and would possibly give John the swift kick in the ass that he requires. What do you guys think about bringing in a GM?

Thanks for the great work!

Feel bad for Mahomes getting hurt – only wish that upon Hill. Hopefully he heals soon – seems like a good guy and fun player to watch unlike the broncos entire team.

I really need a big lock and vic in the box to care again this season.

I usually don’t comment twice, but I had to ask since I have been hearing some rumors…what are your thoughts on Manning replacing Elway has GM? Manning seems like he loves Denver and has a sharp football mind. Could that be a good move?

Shout out to Cortland Sutton who has proven me wrong and is one of the few bright spots on offense. About Noah Fant and his inability to track the ball. I think the guy’s confidence is just shot right now. Fant and Hockenson were the passing game at Iowa. The amount of targets they saw was ridiculous of the position. I think Fant just isn’t used to not having at least two or 3 targets per drive, and he’s shook. Now, he’s got boogie men in his mind. I saw Fant make that very same underthrown, off target, low catch vs Iowa State last season. Unless his vision has somehow taken a big hit since being drafted, Fant makes those type of catches..

Okay. I’ll take the blame. Bolles is on me. I just had to joke about him being missing. My bad, I’ll take that L.

I was screaming at my tv when they took the extra point off the board. You don’t take points off the board against a top offense. Going for the 2 with Phil and not Royce was another mistake. My Hope’s of winning the game died there. Even when Mahomes went out (hope for a speedy recovery from him. The NFL is just more fun with him) I didn’t have any hope.

Guys, I need a hug. Is GB available?

What gets the fans back on Elways side? A full rebuild, or keep trying to salvage the team? Thanks!

Heard an interesting idea on the radio and wanted to get your guys’ take on it. Elway is currently taking a lot of heat and rightfully so. A majority of his picks have not worked out with the Paxton and Bolles being the lead examples. I do not think Elway will get fired simply because of the history he has with this organization along with the fact that there really is no one in the organization who could fire him… However, what if this offseason Elway swallows his pride and hires an actual GM who would have the final say on all personnel decisions. This allows Elway to save face and not be “Fired or Quit” but also injects new ideas and viewpoints into the organization. One name I want to get your thoughts on for GM is Adam Peters. Previously worked for the broncos and is currently John Lynch’s right-hand man in San Fransisco.

Thanks for the awesome pods! Listening to you guys joke around after a simply embarrassing loss does help ease the pain…. a little.

This game was a mess, defense looked good, they were just on the field the whole game. Everything else was incredibly disappointing especially after the past couple days of hype. Thank goodness we have a long week to recover. Go Broncos!

Good afternoon gentlemen, blazin1030 here. First time commenter. 1st, thank you for all of the wonderful pods I’ve listened to for the last couple years. Like someone else said, I’m finally using this time to vent while waiting 4.5 years to see if this team can get it going again. Here’s a formula for the offense: ball out quick + more diverse play calling + no fumbles/ints = potentially more points. In my ‘humble’ opinion this is what you get when you hire defensive minds. Correct me if I’m wrong guys, but don’t other teams in the NFL have both good defense and offense? Sorry to say this, but could it be that the arrogance of the coaches and personnel ‘managers’ is keeping them from learning from the best template in the NFL… the NE Patriots? Btw, I am all for throwing Lock to the wolves if it means having a lot more offensive juice on the field! Thank you for all the humor as well; it really helps in fighting through the frustration. You’re a fantastic team!

So let’s talk about the rich scheme and how/if they fit it. I’m trying to figure out, if rich is trying to force a square peg in a round hole. Or something else

#McChesney’stakeongarrettbolles

Is anyone else scared that Elway won’t trade any of our veteran guys this year because he thinks he probably won’t be around to use them next year?

Also, I’m just going to say it. I can’t stop laughing every time I see Joe Flacco take a sack. He’s no Bronco and that’s karma in a pass rusher. He should stay away from the color orange.

Lastly, if we were to get rid of Elway, Flacco, and Rich by the end of the season and replace them with Manning and Lock (assuming he’s the guy – of which I feel in my belly that he is), who would be the best fit and top pick for Manning to replace Rich?

P.S. Love the cast – AND LETS KEEP LOSING FOR LOCK!!!

Also forgot to mention, the next time you have the opportunity, try subbing in the word Flacco for the F word anytime you use it in conversation. Its a wondrous exercise my friends and I started up. It really helps to take the edge off in these trying times.

I’ll say it again – LETS KEEP LOSING FOR A CHANCE TO SEE LOCK, YOU FLACCOS!!! ;p

And sorry, wasn’t calling you guys Flaccos – Just the sending the message out to the Flaccos of the universe.

With the rumors of The Broncos looking to move sanders would this likely mean Tim Patrick comes off IR? Or would winfree actually see some playing time?

No doubt in my mind that with the play on Thursday of “Sacko” and “Holds” it is time to un-Lock Drew. However ready he is, he has some mobility and a pulse. And of course, we need to see what we’ve got. I will actually be in town for the Cleveland game and have tickets for the game – I was so hoping to see Drew start that game. I know it can’t happen now since they have yet to activate him, but the sooner the better now! By the way, will you be tailgating for the Cleveland game?

Keeping this one short. Do you see the Saints looking to trade Brees at the ene of the season seeing how well Bridgewater is playing? And if so do you see Elway doing a Manning-like move?
Much love

Hey guys I’m wonder could you see the eagles giving up a first for sanders and Chris?

With Sanders likely gone and Flacco can’t get rid of the ball for his life, does it make sense to get a speedy receiver in the future? Also Mase, can you tell us what it was like when the Broncos were actually good, I forgot how it feels.

Hey fellas – After the O Line, Flacco is the next biggest problem on this team. We are obviously a team whose philosophy is to play great defense and keep games close enough to have a chance to win in the 4th quarter. With that philosophy, you CANNOT have a quarterback who makes at least one crucial game changing mistake every game. The margin for error just isn’t there and he continues to do it. Flacco throws inexplicable picks and takes way too many sacks (many taking us out of field goal range or flipping field position the wrong way) for a 12 year veteran QB. This dude is a strip-sack waiting to happen. And how the FO/coaches looked at Flacco and saw a guy that was a good fit for the system we are trying to run is mind-boggling. He is horrible running the boot – HORRIBLE! He can’t throw on the run and he can’t pick up yards with his legs when rolling out and all of the receivers are locked up. Defenses know it too. We have got to be the easiest offense to game plan for. Flacco is a statue QB that isn’t good at doing things that the good statue QB’s do (reading the defense and getting the ball out quick). There can be no way that this guy is our QB in 2020, and when Drew Lock is ready he has got to play this year. I am so sick of seeing this guy with a lack of fire and emotion and looking otherwise uninterested as the QB of my Denver Broncos. Time to move on.

1.) What will Denver fans do if we don’t see Drew Lock and week 9?
2.) If Drew Lock looks like the guy, what will the expectations be for a successful second season?