Reid Fischer's World of Rants

Photo by Jack Dempsey, Associated Press

First a couple of quick housekeeping points:

– My plea to the Broncos: Go back to the orange jerseys full time.  Please.  Orange will always be the true identity of the Broncos.  I never did like the blue jerseys.  Trust me, most Broncos fans want this.

– The pass interference call was legit in the sense that Renaldo Hill did grab the face mask.  However, Santonio Holmes was pushing off as much as or more than Hill.  The bottom line is you rarely see that penalty called on a desperation heave like that.  Yes a penalty should have been called, but in my opinion the correct call would have been a face mask, which is a 15-yard penalty, instead of the pass interference spot foul.

– Congratulations to Tim Tebow on his first touchdown.  More on this below.

– I completely agree with Denver Post columnist Mark Kiszla, who says this year’s 2-4 Broncos team is better than the one that started last year 6-0.

Look, I know Broncos fans are still frustrated with Josh McDaniels.  I know people don’t like some of his personnel moves.  I personally believe that Kyle Orton is a better quarterback than Jay Cutler.  He makes better decisions, he’s more accurate, and he doesn’t throw dumb interceptions in the red zone.  I also think that Brandon Marshall’s production has been more than replaced by Brandon Lloyd, Jabar Gaffney and an improved season from Eddie Royal.  Look, I know the Broncos’ record isn’t great, but their schedule has been incredibly difficult, and it’s not as if Mike Shanahan is tearing it up in the nation’s capital.  People keep pointing to his “success” but he’s 3-3, including a blowout loss to the Rams.  Let’s not anoint him king of the NFC East just yet.

I actually thought the Broncos played a very good football game against the Jets, it just so happened that Rex Ryan’s crew was a little bit better.  The Jets are proving that they are a legitimate Super Bowl contender.  They play tough defense, and they have somehow found the fountain of youth or a sorcerer’s stone for LaDainian Tomlinson, who looks like the LT of five years ago.  On Sunday, the Broncos defense did step up to the plate, forcing three turnovers.  However, the offense were victimized by some uncharacteristic mistakes.  A horrible snap by Lonnie Paxton cost them a field goal.  Another bad snap by J.D. Walton ended their final drive.  Knowshon Moreno fumbled in the first quarter when the Broncos had momentum going their way.

On the positive, the running game resurfaced, thanks in large part to hard running by Moreno, who finally looks healthy again after battling hamstring injuries.  Kyle Orton continues to play well.  Tim Tebow even got in the game and contributed, scoring his first touchdown (no doubt selling another 2,000 jerseys with that run).  I don’t mind the idea of Tebow as a change of pace, so long as he’s not keeping Orton off the field for extended stretches.  When Tebow was in the game, Orton stayed in as well, splitting out as a receiver.  On every single play Tebow was in, he kept it either on a draw or an option.  I would like to see the Broncos have Tebow throw a pass at least once, just to keep the defense off balance so they’re not expecting a keeper every time he’s in there.  He also at some point needs to involve Orton on the play, either by throwing to him or having Orton come back around and take a pitch, something again to keep the defense off balance.  Perhaps these things could be in play down the road.

I know 2-4 is not what the Broncos had in mind, but I think they are moving in the right direction.  The schedule does get a lot friendlier coming up.  The Broncos host the Raiders next week and then play the 49ers in London before the bye.  Certainly these should be two winnable games for Denver.  In the second half the Broncos do have five division games plus dates with the Rams and Cardinals.  Kansas City is not exactly invincible at 3-2 in the AFC West lead, so the Broncos are still more than capable of getting into the division race.  If the return of the running game and aggressive defense are not flukes the Broncos will be fine.