Mile High Sports

Broncos coaching a mixed bag in Gary Kubiak’s absence

Casey Light

It was a mixed bag for Joe DeCamillis in his first game as an NFL head coach. Ultimately, the game has to be called a failure, as the Broncos left Qualcomm Stadium with a loss – their first road divisional loss since 2011 – but there were moments where DeCamillis showed signs that he has what it takes to be a head coach (at least in terms of game management) in the NFL.

DeCamillis took the reins on a short week as head coach Gary Kubiak was home recovering from a complex migraine that caused him to leave Sports Authority Field at Mile High in an ambulance following Denver’s loss to Atlanta on Oct. 9.

An Arvada high school product, DeCamillis is on his seventh NFL coaching job and his second stint in Denver. He started his career with the Broncos as a special teams coach from 1988-92 and now serves as the team’s special teams coordinator. It should come as no surprise, then, that Denver was very successful in the special teams unit against the Chargers.

Denver recovered a muffed punt that led to their first points of the game. DeCamillis had to challenge the play, which was initially ruled down by the officials. Denver’s only touchdown came when DeCamillis made the perfect play call following a safety, targeting an offensive lineman on the free kick and recovering the kick. In the closing seconds of the game the special teams unit also recovered an onside kick to give the offense one last chance at tying the game.

Denver wasn’t without some struggles on special teams, though. Cody Latimer twice took the ball out of the end zone instead of taking a knee, costing his team yards and Aqib Talib nearly bobbled a punt return after taking the ball off a bounce. Still, those were minor concerns compared to the meltdown that happened on offense in Kubiak’s absence.

Rick Dennison took over full play-calling duties with Kubiak sidelined, a duty they typically share during the game. Whether it was Dennison being gun shy, Trevor Siemian being injured, the offensive line again struggling, or simply Simian’s inability to target receivers downfield, nothing was working for the Denver offense on Thursday night.

Pro Football Focus released Simian’s final passing chart and it showed a disturbing trend against a team with a depleted secondary. Of Simian’s 50 pass attempts, only five were greater than 20 yards and only nine went more than 10 yards. He completed just one of those passes.

It’s hard to say, definitively, that Siemian’s decision to dump the ball off short was the result of Dennison’s play calling, fear on Siemian’s part or his injury (perhaps all three), but the offense was ineffective and unimaginative on a night when the Chargers opened the game with two 75-yard scoring drives that targeted Denver’s weakness – linebackers in coverage. Dennison and Siemian failed to exploit a San Diego secondary that was without cornerback Brandon Flowers (concussion) and had fellow cornerback Craig Mager playing on an injured shoulder, not to mention Jason Verrett (ACL) out on injured reserve.

The offense piled on some numbers with a pair of late drives, but their overall performance was one of the worst in recent memory. At halftime Denver had just 60 total yards and at one point in the game Chargers kicker Josh Lambo had more field goals (4) than the Broncos had first downs (3).

Kubiak is expected to return to action Monday when the team begins preparation for a Monday Night Football matchup with Brock Osweiler and the Texans on Oct. 24. He’ll have plenty to fix when he gets back.

As always, the team at Mile High Sports was plugged in as the action unfolded. Here’s what some of them had to say, along with some of our favorite follows in the Denver sports media…

DeCamillis had a decision to make on Denver’s first drive, opting to punt on fourth-and-one from their own 46-yard line…

After what appeared to be a muffed punt by the Chargers, DeCamillis made the right choice to challenge the call on the field midway through the second quarter…

As the Denver offense stalled out after recovering possession at the Chargers’ 11-yard line, seeds of doubt about Dennison’s play calling began to sprout…

But as the game wore on and the offense continued to sputter, it was clear that Kubiak’s absence was having a negative effect…

The short passing game was proving ineffective…

As Denver failed to move downfield, more and more blame was cast Dennison’s way…

The dink and dunk play calling became predictable and easy to stop…

DeCamillis called on Brandon McManus, who was perfect from beyond 50 yards last year, to keep his team in the game. McManus missed from 56…

A former Broncos offensive lineman was not pleased with the in-game adjustments (or lack thereof) on offense…

DeCamillis did get some redemption after the offense surrendered a safety, targeting an offensive lineman on the free kick and recovering the ball…

DeCamillis was also put in a tough spot as the offense floundered late. Whether or not to bring in Paxton Lynch was a hot topic off the field, but appeared to be a non-issue on…

DeCamillis had a chance to be a very savvy coach after C.J. Anderson’s touchdown was called back for holding. Following a sack, Denver faced second-and-30 and were still in field goal range.

Instead of kicking a field goal, the offense stayed out. Dennison then called a short pass to Demaryius Thomas who fumbled, more or less sealing the game. It would have been a dicey move, as there was no guarantee they’d get the ball back, but at least it would have put points on the board.

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