Broncos hit rock bottom, and they certainly won’t get defensive | Woody Paige

By Woody Paige September 24, 2023 | updated 2 years ago

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Orange crushed.

And pulped, pureed, pounded, pummeled, pulverized.

In commemoration of Jimmy Buffet, who had been a minority owner of the Dolphins and a Colorado resident, “Can’t you feel them circling, can’t you feel them swimming around? You got Fins to the left, Fins to the right, and, Broncos, you’re the only bait in town. Oh-Whoa, oh-whoa.”

Oh, woe are the Broncos. This pathetic performance is the most obscene I’ve seen in 50 years of covering the Broncos.

“When someone runs the ball up and down like those guys did, and throw the ball up and down the field,’’ Sean Payton said, then paused pithily, “it’s not acceptable.’’

The coach also said, “This one is different.’’

The Orange concentrated more on dehydration than defense. The only positive from the game: Mims the word.

The Dolphins were Sharks. The Broncos were chum.

In the history of the Denver pro football franchise in the AFL and the NFL, since 1960, the Broncos descended to an all-time low, beneath whale extract, Sunday in south Florida. And it could have been even worse if Aurora’s own Mike McDaniel, a former Broncos fan, ball boy and intern, hadn’t taken pity on them.

As it was, the indefensible Broncos enabled the Dolphins to score the second-most points – 70 – and rush and pass for the second-most offensive yards – 726 – ever in the league. Dolphins faithful were begging them to kick an easy field goal at the end to break the record of 72 set in 1966 by Washington.

However, the unbelievable 70-20 difference – yes, that was the final score if you just arrived from Mauritius or Mars – is not No. 1 on the team’s hit list. In 1963 the bad news Broncos lost to the then new Kansas City Chiefs by 52 points – 59-7.

Is it possible that the Broncos could surrender more than 70 and lose by more than 50 this season?

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Of course — if Vance Joseph still is the defensive coordinator.

My column for the Tuesday Gazette newspapers stated: Joseph has to go – again. Not at the end of the season, but now.

Told you so, Sean.

I’ve called for his firing in 2017, 2018 and 2023. Yet the Broncos paid him in those three years and also 2019 and 2020 when he was employed elsewhere. John Elway must be blamed for hiring him the first time, and Payton is responsible for hiring him the second time. How many times does Denver have to be fooled by Vance?

Joseph is 11-24 as a coach with the Broncos and, get this, 4-12 on the road. His defenses in two games against the Dolphins have surrendered 105 points.

The ex-Broncos head coach was scorched for 41 and 51 points then, and his defense so far this season didn’t prevent the Raiders, the Commanders and the Dolphins from scoring 122 points and 16 touchdowns. Although Joseph said earlier in the week the Broncos’ defense could become among the NFL’s elite, it is the most shameful and sorriest.

If Payton doesn’t dump Joseph on Monday both should resign. Nathaniel Hackett may have done one of the lousiest jobs of coaching in the history of the league, as Sean claimed, but how does he rate his own so far?

What’s the immediate solution?

Payton should consider naming senior defensive assistant Joe Vitt as coordinator. The 69-year-old Vitt has been an NFL coach since 1979 and twice was an interim coach – with the (St. Louis Rams) and the Saints when Payton was suspended for a season. He was assistant head coach in New Orleans and served with eight other teams, including the Dolphins (under son-in-law and ex-Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase).

Or defensive backfield coach Christian Parker, who has been a Broncos assistant for three seasons (with three head coaches, including Vic Fangio), should be elevated to the position.

Payton may consider Mike Zimmer, the veteran defensive coordinator and Vikings head coach who was a consultant for Deion Sanders at Jackson State last season, or Ed Donatell, who has been with the Broncos for three stints, including the last as defensive coordinator in Denver in 2019-21 under Fangio.

The Broncos’ Abominable Defense is an insult to the legacies of the Orange Crush and the No-Fly Zone. And the Broncos are an embarrassment even to the 2-11-1 team of 60 years ago

Woody Paige has been a sports and general columnist in Colorado with the Rocky Mountain News, The Denver Post, The Colorado Springs Gazette and The Denver Gazette since 1974. He has been a commentator for the ESPN network on six different shows for 20 years. woody.paige@gazette.com

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Broncos hit rock bottom, and they certainly won’t get defensive | Woody Paige

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