DENVER — “We have to get over this and move on to Arizona,” Vance Joseph said following the Denver Broncos 23-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
Not so fast there, coach.
“You gotta be hurting after losses like this. It’s just not something you should rub off and say ‘We’re going to be better next time.’ No, it shouldn’t work like that. We should be hurting when you lose,” Broncos’ star player Von Miller said just moments after Joseph.
“You should be hurting; you shouldn’t be laughing. It should wear on you. It should really bother you to lose at this level.”
With his fuzzy hoodie wrapped around his head, the star pass rusher was nearly unrecognizable from his happy-go-lucky self, instead, looking as if he wanted to go bury himself in his sorrows.
But before he could get home and hit the game film tucked under his covers, Von made a promise to Broncos Country.
“I’ve got to do better and I’ve started — I will do better,” Miller pledged. “That’s the world I like to live in. Von’s play hasn’t been what it’s supposed to be for my teammates to be successful. I’ll get it done. I’ve been saying it for two weeks. I will definitely get it done. I have never got up here and lied to you guys, not one time. That’s definitely No. 1 on my list — I will be better.”
To be fair, statistically, Von didn’t have a bad game, racking up 1.5 sacks, two quarterback hits, a tackle for a loss and five combined tackles. However, he took a significant amount of the blame for the poor run defense, which gave up back-to-back 200-yard rushers for the first time in NFL history.
But more importantly than just his play, the Super Bowl MVP made another, more important vow.
“We’ll get this fixed. We’ll get this all fixed,” Miller stated as a fact. “We got a great team. We got a great locker room. A four-game losing streak is tough. Especially being 2-4. You can look at it and be negative about it — 2-4, whatever you want to say about it — but the world I live in, we’re 2-4, we still got a long season.”
The team captain’s statement is bold, especially considering his team is on a four-game losing streak and the calls for a new quarterback and coaching staff grow louder every day.
Miller is hoping his team embraces what Friedrich Nietzsche, or more recently Kelly Clarkson, said: What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
With the Broncos’ season not statistically dead just yet, Miller’s hoping a 2-4 start makes them tougher as they near the midway point.
“It’s a championship fight. You lose a couple rounds at the beginning. Just keep playing and find out where we end up,” Von said, hoping his team goes down swinging, if they end up going down.
“The No. 1 responsibility for all of us is to win, and we are not doing that. I’m not doing that. It should hurt. It should feel bad, and if we all feel the same way that I’m feeling, we’ll be great.”
0 Comments (1 conversation)
3 and Outstanding
Channeling that Kelly Clarkson. Wow.
I love Von. Let’s be real, its hard not to love Von. I wish all of Denver’s players had his passion. Von isn’t what’s wrong with the team. Could he play better? Sure. Is it all on him? Not by a long shot.
On 3 red zone opportunities, they are in shotgun, dialing up predictable fade routes over, and over. It leads to a field goal instead of a touchdown. That is playcalling.
Choosing to bomb it down the field on a low percentage play on 3rd and 3 instead of picking up a manageable 1st down is on the play calling.
If you look at the box score without having watched the game you would assume that it was a tight, hard-fought game. The truth is that Denver spent the better part of 3 full quarters trying to dig themselves out of a double-digit hole. It was not as close as the score would lead anyone to believe. I understand the point Von is making. The issue is that we have heard all of this before. Every week, the same thing. At what point does, “We will be better next week.” translate into something other than pillow talk?
Over 9,000 decided to stay home from last nights game. Countless others left before the 4th quarter. The team might still believe in themselves, but the fans don’t and you can see it in every empty seat in that stadium. What is it going to matter if Denver finally wins a game when no one is around to see it?
Denver Bronco fans are spoiled. To be sure. They only have 6 losing seasons in the last 3 decades. The fans demand more and expect better. You can blame them for being that way, but that didn’t happen by accident. Consequently, the fans are a product of that winning culture. No one in Broncos Country wants to endure another 5-11 season, but this team is talking the same song and dance they did last season and all signs point to them being the same team from last season. Heading to the same record.
The lack of a run defense is a symptom of a bigger issue. This team is dysfunctional. The defense doesn’t buy what the coaches are selling. The coordinators don’t like the way the games are being called. They are not on the same page. It shows in how they play, and what they say in the locker room after the game. Hanging the carrot on the stick of, “Win on Thursday, or else.” isn’t good enough. One win against a bad team on Thursday won’t correct these problems. Change needs to happen, regardless.
Until it does more and more people are going to stop caring, stop showing up. I have heard you say that if a change is made now it will set up a replacement for failure. I honestly don’t think anyone expects Denver to go anywhere this season at this point. What I do think is that fans will give a pass to anyone who comes in now at this point knowing it’s not just more of the same bill of goods they have been sold the last 2 seasons.
Not Tim Tebow
I’ll sum up his comment:
-Von good
-Play-calling bad
-Fan’s are spoiled but what do you expect with only 6 losing seasons in 3 decades.
-Lack of change is leading to same thing as last year.
3 and Outstanding
You don’t need to speak for me. Especially if you are going to dumb it all down so disrespectfully.
Zac Stevens
AuthorI think they’re all valid points. I don’t think the blame is solely on one person, certainly not all on Von. But It goes beyond one person and/or one coach.
MrFreeze
Who is Steven?