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Published on 10/22/2010 at Fri Oct 22 11:00.
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Has McDaniels Finally Figured It Out?

Posted Fri Oct 22nd by

Denver Broncos coach Josh McDaniels yells during the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets on Sunday, Oct. 17, 2010, in Denver. (AP Photo/Barry Gutierrez)

Denver Broncos coach Josh McDaniels yells during the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets on Sunday, Oct. 17, 2010, in Denver. (AP Photo/Barry Gutierrez)

It took a season and a half, but it seems like something finally clicked in Josh McDaniels’ head.

In a game everyone thought would be a blowout, the Denver Broncos came within a pass interference penalty of upsetting perhaps the AFC’s top team, the New York Jets, and fell 24-20 after Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton mishandled a snap on the final drive in a game.

If there was ever a loss that one can draw optimism from, this was it.

Running back Knowshon Moreno came back from injury and rookie quarterback Tim Tebow scored his first NFL touchdown out of the Wild Horses formation.  The Broncos offense as a whole kept the Jets on their toes ll day with multiple packages and sub packages. The defense got into the act as well playing in both the 3-4 and the 4-3, which the Broncos ran under former coach Mike Shanahan.

It raises the question: has Josh McDaniels finally figured it all out? 

Now it’s not like he learned how to coach in the NFL overnight.  He earned his stripes in New England and helped turn Tom Brady into a second coming of Joe Montana.  No one is questioning his credentials.  He earned this job.

What the big criticism against McDaniels has been is his decision making.  In the Jets game, which was basically a David vs Goliath battle, McDaniels threw everything but the kitchen sink at the Jets on both sides of the ball — and if he had a sink available, he probably would have thrown that too.

With the Broncos’ best effort of the season, it would appear that McDaniels has finally grown into the role of an NFL head coach.  Despite his playcalling being under fire all season, McDaniels kept his composure and nearly led his team to the biggest win of his still young tenure.

At the age of 34 but looking like he’s 25, McDaniels is one of the youngest coaches in the NFL. Despite being in the league for awhile, he was only calling plays for the Patriots offense for four years before Pat Bowlen gave him the keys to the Denver Broncos.

Like with a rookie quarterback, fans need to show patience with a young head coach.

Head coach Rex Ryan of the New York Jets talks with head coach Josh McDaniels of the Denver Broncos before the game at INVESCO Field at Mile High on October 17, 2010 in Denver, Colorado. (Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)

Head coach Rex Ryan of the New York Jets talks with head coach Josh McDaniels of the Denver Broncos before the game at INVESCO Field at Mile High on October 17, 2010 in Denver, Colorado. (Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)

This man, despite having been on a team that won three Super Bowls in four years, was not the one pushing all the buttons on the New England Patriots.  That would obviously be Bill Belichick.  McDaniels needed to learn and grow into his own style.

His own style borrows some from Belichick but McDaniels brings a whole lot more fire to it.  Contrast Belichick’s blank stare on the sidelines versus the image of McDaniels running the sideline trying to fire up his home crowd.

Seriously, even if you hate the man, how cool was that to see?

Of course, this was only one game and McDaniels could easily slip back into his supposed bad habits and the Broncos could tank.

Before jumping to conclusions, look at the big picture here.

This last game was the biggest game of the Broncos’ season to date. Coaches earn their paychecks in big games.  McDaniels came to coach last Sunday and it showed.  His offense continued to move the ball well and his defense stopped the Jets’ talented rushing attack and forced some mistakes from second year quarterback Mark Sanchez.

McDaniels has shown us he can do it and lead his team in big games.  In close contests like that, some will go your way and some won’t.  Obviously, that one did not fall McDaniels’  way.

That said, if the coach who showed up last Sunday shows up the rest of the season, McDaniels will win over the fans that have been on his back since the day he arrived.

Then again, winning more Super Bowls than the last guy seemingly is the only way to do that and even then someone might find faults in him.

Such is the way super fandom goes sometimes, I guess.

Follow Kris Burke on Twitter @KBurkeNFL

  • 5280

    the biggest point is that mcdaniels has to do what he did all year, what he did last sunday. a lot of the time a coach makes a specific package for each team that they play, and i think that he should use this formula against all the teams on the schedule. He should have been blitzing since week one but he finally started to do it on week 6. The Tebow situation he gets a pass on because this is now a young team and his number one concern should be keeping tebow healthy and he was kinda back into a corner with the lack of a running game this year. However, if Mcdaniels does not continue to blits and/or if he doesn't expand what tebows doing to using his arm in some fashion, then the broncos will sink and they play all their division opponents in the second half of the season twice. Nows the time to strike.

  • AKfan

    It was very nice to see the Broncos not run right up the middle on 3rd and short for once and at the goaline. Watching McD calling the same play, and seeing it fail time after time for a year 1 /2 was very frustrating. When he brought Tebow in last week, started running from the shotgun and generally became less predictable it sure seemed like he was starting to figure things out. Orton's biggest weakness seems to be his inability to run naked bootlegs, and roll out and move the pocket, making defending the Broncos in the red zone much easier. They pretty much run up the middle or throw to the corner every time. Hopefully Tebow can continue to help out in that area like he did last week.

  • broncoman24

    I agree. I think McD is finally starting to figure it out. The passing offense has been excellent. The fact that we have no running game (and teams know this) and the passing game continues to do extremely well says alot. If only we can get our running game together we would be really good. If you look at the team as a whole, I think the only area we have major issues is the line. I do not blame the bad running game on the RBs. I think it is solely on the line. I know some people think that are D is suspect, but I believe it is a really good D. I don't care how good a teams D is, if it is on the field a majority of the time, they are going to get tire and giving up big plays are a result of this. If we can just get our line together, I predict we can be a playoff team. I know 2-4, but I still think it is possible. It still boggles my mind how we can pass protect so well, but when it comes to running, we are horrible. Go Broncos!!!

  • anthony33

    What I liked most about what McD did last week was to get this team to play with passion… not to mention he had an excellent game plan (as he has done most of the year). The question is can he get this team to continue to play every Sunday with that same passion… if so, good things are in store and he will quickly win the fans and the team over.

  • Darwin

    I don't get the “finally figuring it out” phrase. He has been coaching below average talent for most of the time he has been here. This draft has helped to push the position competition up and he has picked up some nice free agents. I like the direction of the team. Only Kansas City is on a similar talent and coaching upswing in the division. I think the Broncos and the Chiefs will be battling it out next year and maybe this year for the division.

  • Bronco2661

    I generally agree with this post, with one GLARING exception–Orton was NOT responsible for the bad snap on the final drive. But as soon as it happened I said that he WOULD catch the heat for it.

  • Doom92

    I don't see the running game getting any better any time soon. Knowshow is, I think, going to be a bust and C-Buck has for sure seen his better days. Of course Mahonie (yes spelled wrong on purpose) is as damn terrible as he was in NE. Wish we could have gone after Lynch instead who is making an immediate impact in Seattle.

    Any way, I really don't see the running game going any where any time soon but if we don't find something its going to get rough for Kyle (who for the first time I think is truly showing some moxie) and the receivers real quick.

    I say give those young guys a shot in the game, they FOR SURE cant do any worse than Mahonie…

    (BTW… Mahonie = the Spanish word mahone…)

  • Vince_marine

    Great article!!! It's good to finally see the fans support McD. There are many many many good things to come for the Broncos!

  • areferee

    Good job Kris. It's obvious your glass is half full. Mine is not half empty, but I worry about the damn thing being smashed to smithereens. The Broncos are like real life. I support the American people, but I have grave doubts about the administration.

    Success is the only cure and winning is the ultimate success. Signs of improvement are all well and good, but we are 10-12 under the McDaniels administration. I too look forward to the future, but nothing, as yet, has been proven.

  • Daman

    You can pretty much burn this blog after the Raiders cataclysm. McD should resign tomorrow!!!

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_LJPH6Y7AINNGL7Y6ANGSB4SLPA YuckDaFankees

    What a homer. Many good things? Even Oaklands future looks better than the Broncos (Oakland at least has a running game). As for the fans supporting McD only if they want to compete every year with the Bills for the first draft pick. Oh well loving seeing the Chefs owning the division and Denver finishing last behind Oakland.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_LJPH6Y7AINNGL7Y6ANGSB4SLPA YuckDaFankees

    Good prescience there on this post. The glass has been smashed on the bar and shoved in the Bronco faithful eyes.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_LJPH6Y7AINNGL7Y6ANGSB4SLPA YuckDaFankees

    Oh well Broncos homers look at the bright side. At least under McDummy Orton might well set some worthless records this year. Never mind the at most 5 wins but at least by playing Orton instead of Tebow McD can get a QB coach job somewhere when he gets canned.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_LJPH6Y7AINNGL7Y6ANGSB4SLPA YuckDaFankees

    Good call on Knowshow. So much for the plug and play RB system in Denver. Guess that died with Shan.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_LJPH6Y7AINNGL7Y6ANGSB4SLPA YuckDaFankees

    Orton is the Hostetler, Jeff George of this generation. A guy with great stats except in the win column. Sad to say but Cassel probably already has as many wins as Broncos QBs will get this year. Not that he is good but just saying.

  • Daman

    You can pretty much burn this blog after the Raiders cataclysm. McD should resign tomorrow!!!

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_LJPH6Y7AINNGL7Y6ANGSB4SLPA YuckDaFankees

    What a homer. Many good things? Even Oaklands future looks better than the Broncos (Oakland at least has a running game). As for the fans supporting McD only if they want to compete every year with the Bills for the first draft pick. Oh well loving seeing the Chefs owning the division and Denver finishing last behind Oakland.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_LJPH6Y7AINNGL7Y6ANGSB4SLPA YuckDaFankees

    Good prescience there on this post. The glass has been smashed on the bar and shoved in the Bronco faithful eyes.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_LJPH6Y7AINNGL7Y6ANGSB4SLPA YuckDaFankees

    Oh well Broncos homers look at the bright side. At least under McDummy Orton might well set some worthless records this year. Never mind the at most 5 wins but at least by playing Orton instead of Tebow McD can get a QB coach job somewhere when he gets canned.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_LJPH6Y7AINNGL7Y6ANGSB4SLPA YuckDaFankees

    Good call on Knowshow. So much for the plug and play RB system in Denver. Guess that died with Shan.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_LJPH6Y7AINNGL7Y6ANGSB4SLPA YuckDaFankees

    Orton is the Hostetler, Jeff George of this generation. A guy with great stats except in the win column. Sad to say but Cassel probably already has as many wins as Broncos QBs will get this year. Not that he is good but just saying.