Broncos' Sour Season Further Buried by 'McSpygate' and On-Field Struggles

Filed under: Broncos, AFC West

DENVER -- There were some signs fans held up inside and outside the stadium calling for the firing of Broncos coach Josh McDaniels.

When his name blared over the public address system for pre-game introductions, there was a round of boos from the crowd.

And by the time St. Louis staved off a late Broncos rally and rookie quarterback Sam Bradford took a knee to run out the final few seconds in the Rams' 36-33 victory, there was hardly anyone left in Invesco Field at Mile High, having already left after the Rams built a big lead.

These are tough times for McDaniels and the Broncos, who are taking a public-relations beating as well as a beating on the field.

The Broncos fell to 3-8 on the season and lost for the 16th time in 21 games, their worst stretch in nearly 40 years.

One of their top defensive players, linebacker D.J. Williams, was arrested in a drunken driving case two weeks ago. Kansas City coach Todd Haley recently rebuffed McDaniels' offer of a post-game handshake and then scolded him for reasons neither coach has discussed.

And on Saturday, the Broncos were caught up in a scandal over the improper videotaping of a 49ers practice the day before Denver lost to San Francisco in a game played in London. The NFL fined a chagrined McDaniels and the Broncos organization $50,000 each and the Broncos cameraman who secretly took the footage has been fired.

McDaniels, who blamed the improper videotaping on the bad judgement of a former employee and disowned the unseemly tactics, spent part of Saturday making a public apology over the videotaping scandal that has tarnished the organization's good name.

But he brushed off a question at his post-game news conference about whether what has been dubbed by some around town as "McSpygate" had been a distraction for the team.

"We addressed that all yesterday," McDaniels said brusquely. "I'm done with that. I'm done talking about that. OK? Thanks."

If only it was that easy to wipe away the questions and the damage to the team's reputation.

Broncos chief operating officer Joe Ellis said during a conference call Saturday that the team would have to work hard at again earning the fan's respect and trust, both in the wake of the scandal and the club's dismal performance on the field.

Players, for the most part, tried to focus on football rather than getting up caught up in questions over the improper videotaping episode.

"We know what's going on, but we can't control that," Broncos linebacker Robert Ayers said. "We came out, tried to execute our game plan and the coaches put it in the back (of their minds) and we moved forward. We'll deal with that internally. Once the whistle blows, we kind of block that stuff out."

Added quarterback Kyle Orton, "There wasn't one bit of distraction. We had one team meeting over it and it was pretty much over after three minutes. There's stuff that happens throughout an entire NFL season and as pros and as men you worry about your own business."

But they did hear the boos, especially the ones that rained down from the crowd at halftime, when the Broncos were down 26-13 after blowing an early 10-0 lead.

"I know the fans are frustrated. We're frustrated, too," said the Broncos' Jason Hunter. "We want it just as bad as they do. We've just got to continue to work."

 

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Source: http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2010/11/28/broncos-sour-season-further-buried-by-mcspygate-and-on-field/

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