The Broncos had a pile of injuries, with seven starters and
11 players overall on injured reserve. They also traded wide receiver Demaryius
Thomas, had a propensity for penalties and a schedule that included
nine games against playoff teams. Add it all up and things simply did not turn
out as the Broncos had hoped.
The Denver
Broncos ended the season with a 23-9 loss to the Los Angeles
Chargers on Sunday to finish 6-10. Here's a recap of the season
and what's next:
Season grade: Below average. The Broncos had a
pile of injuries, with seven starters, including two Pro Bowl selections
in Chris Harris
Jr. and Emmanuel
Sanders, and 11 players, overall, on injured reserve. They also
traded wide receiver Demaryius
Thomas to the Houston
Texans midseason, had a propensity to get flagged for penalties
at the worst times and a schedule that included eight games against playoff teams.
Add it all up and things simply did not turn out as the Broncos had hoped. They
believed they were a playoff team out of training camp, but were not by the
time Christmas rolled around.
Season in review: Since Peyton Manning retired,
the team has started four different quarterbacks and has had three consecutive
playoff misses. Case Keenum signed
a two-year deal in March as the Broncos bypassed a chance at Kirk Cousins,
among others, saying Keenum was the best fit in free agency. It was a prove-it
contract for Keenum and gives Denver flexibility. The Broncos elected not to
use a 2018 draft pick on a quarterback -- they took Bradley Chubbat
No. 5 after Baker
Mayfield and Sam Darnold were
off the board -- and have been scouting the best quarterbacks in the 2019
draft. Keenum had moments when he looked like a long-term solution, but he also
had a bumpy road as the Broncos seemed to struggle with their offensive
identity. Beyond the close losses, injuries and everything else that happened,
they exit the season with a decision to be made at the game’s most important
position.
He said it: "Just eliminate the dumb mental
errors that we've had. The dumb -- not executing the plays. We know this week
we've got to double-team and we have to execute a double-team. We've got to
execute it. We have to let all of the little kid stuff, the little kid mess-ups
that we've had -- I call them 'high school mess-ups.' The little high school
mess-ups, we've got to throw those in the bag." -- Cornerback Harris Jr.
OFFSEASON
QUESTIONS
What happens with coach Vance Joseph? When the
Broncos traded Thomas to the Texans, it's difficult to believe the
decision-makers, most notably John Elway, thought the Broncos, then 3-5, were a
playoff team. In Week 16, Thomas was the second-leading receiver on the team
with 36 receptions. So to fire Joseph because the team didn't make the playoffs
after slogging through a difficult schedule would raise some questions. If the
Broncos do fire Joseph, he would also be the third head coach in the past four
who was on the job in Denver for two or fewer seasons; the fourth, John Fox,
was fired after a playoff stumble despite four consecutive AFC West titles. The
list of potential coaching candidates is not considered strong, so the Broncos
have decisions to make about how much of their failings are personnel and how
much are coaching.
Is Keenum the answer? Keenum is 30, having
completed his first season as a team's unquestioned starter. At his best,
Keenum played well in late-game moments when the Broncos needed it, but he also
wrestled with turnovers -- Denver was 3-6 over its first 14 games when he threw
an interception. He is signed through the 2019 season and the Broncos have no
real succession plan. None of the quarterbacks Elway has drafted are on the
roster, so what the Broncos want to do with Keenum next season and beyond
matters with regard to what they do early in the 2019 draft.
Can the Broncos repeat their work of the 2018 draft? As
the Broncos came down the season's stretch, they had 13 rookies on the roster,
including eight picks from the 2018 draft to go with undrafted running
back Phillip
Lindsay, who became the team's leading rusher. They pulled that
group together by concentrating on players with proven college résumés,
multiyear starters who were leaders or captains. The payoff was a rookie class
that was at the heart of the team's success and offered some optimism. The
Broncos need a repeat in the coming spring to snap themselves out of the
playoff drought.
Coach Jon Gruden, in his first year back with the Raiders,
went about rebuilding the roster with owner Mark Davis’ blessing, and general
manager Reggie McKenzie paid for it with his job. Entering Game 15, seven of
McKenzie’s 50 pre-Gruden draft picks were on the 53-man roster, and 39 current
players had not spent a day on the 53-man roster a year ago.
The Oakland
Raiders ended the season a with a 35-3 loss at the Kansas City
Chiefs to finish the season at 4-12. Here's a recap of the
season and what's next:
Season grade: Below average. Didn't the Raiders
simply need a good roster-scrubbing and better coaching to finish more like
12-4 (which they did in 2016) after the 6-10 nosedive of 2017? Instead, coach
Jon Gruden, in his first year back with the Raiders, went about rebuilding the
roster with owner Mark Davis' blessing, and general manager Reggie McKenzie
paid for it with his job. Entering Week 17, 38 players on the Raiders' 53-man
roster did not spend a single day on Oakland's 53-man roster last season. Also,
just seven of Reggie McKenzie's 50 draft picks made before Jon Gruden's return
are on the current 53-man roster. Talk about turnover.
Season in review: The shock of the Khalil Mack trade
on Sept. 1 barely had worn off as the Raiders got off to quick starts, holding
halftime leads in their first three games against the Rams, Broncos and
Dolphins, but late collapses led to an 0-3 start. An unlikely overtime victory
over the Browns followed, but then the team returned to its losing ways. The
season reached a nadir with an embarrassing 34-3 defeat at the Bay Area rival
49ers, two weeks after wide receiver Amari Cooper was
traded, dropping Oakland to 1-7 and leading many to wonder whether the Raiders
were en route to a 1-15 finish. The team showed improvement in wins over the
Cardinals, Steelers and Broncos, though. These victories hurt Oakland's draft
slot, but they gave fans some hope for the future and belief in Gruden's
system.
He said it: "I always look in the mirror,
and the buck stops with me. Where this team is right now is my fault. We
haven't been able to build a 22-man [starting] roster. We haven't been able to
give this team a chance to win because the reconstruction failed. We failed
from 2014 on to have a roster right now." -- Raiders owner Mark Davis
OFFSEASON
QUESTIONS
Is Derek Carr truly
Gruden's QB? It did not seem like it in the aftermath of both Mack and
Cooper getting traded, as Carr struggled mightily to master Gruden's offense.
And with Gruden's affinity for veteran quarterbacks, Joe Flaccostarted
being whispered about. But Carr flipped a switch around the bye week. While he
was not as explosive as he has been in the recent past (think 2016), he was
more efficient, a valuable trait in Gruden's scheme. Carr completed a
career-high 68.8 percent of his passes and passed for more than 4,000 yards.
"We know we've got to get better around him," Gruden said of Carr,
"and that we will."
What about all those draft picks? Because of
those Mack and Cooper trades, three of the Raiders' 10 draft picks come in the
first round. The Raiders have needs all over the field, especially at pass-rusher
-- Oakland had only 13 sacks as a team while Mack had 12.5 by himself in
Chicago -- and receiver. Cooper looked re-energized in Dallas, amassing more
than 700 yards receiving and six TDs in his nine regular-season games there.
Expect Gruden to address those needs early in free agency or in the draft. But
keep in mind, the last time Gruden had ultimate power in a draft room, in Tampa
Bay from 2002 through 2008, only three of his 90 draft picks made it to at
least one Pro Bowl. Gruden and the Raiders need to hit on these draft picks to
make the trades worthwhile and the rebuild successful.
Where will the Raiders play in 2019? Oakland?
San Diego? San Francisco? Santa Clara? Reno? Glendale, Arizona? Parts Unknown?
All that is known at this time is that the City of Oakland has announced plans
to file a federal lawsuit against the team and the league
over the Raiders' move to Las Vegas, to which the Raiders responded by removing
their lease offer of $7.5 million to play next season at the Oakland Coliseum.
The NFL needs to know by early February at the latest where the Raiders will
play home games -- they most assuredly will practice during the week at their
Alameda complex -- and, you'd imagine, free agents will want to know as well,
considering the move to Southern Nevada in less than two years.
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS
The Los Angeles
Chargers ended the season a with a 41-28 loss to the New England
Patriots in the AFC divisional round of the playoffs. Here's a
recap of the season and what's next.
SEASON GRADE: Above average. Coach Anthony Lynn
improved on a 9-7 campaign his first season to lead the Chargers to a 12-4
record and the team's first postseason appearance since 2013. Philip Rivers had
one of his best seasons as a pro, earning his eighth invitation to the Pro
Bowl. However, the Chargers still stubbed their toe in the playoffs, and Rivers
is 5-6 all time in the postseason.
SEASON IN REVIEW: The Chargers won more games in
a season than they had since 2009 and finished 8-0 when they boarded a plane
during the regular season (including a "home" game victory over the
Titans in London). Rookie Derwin James led
the team in tackles with 105 and already is one of the best safeties in the
game. By making the postseason, the Chargers are slowly gaining some momentum
in building a fan base in Los Angeles, as the new Inglewood Stadium opens in
September 2020.
HE SAID IT: "I thought we were a tough team
when we finished the season last year, but this year I think that culture kind
of carried over. 8-0 [in games played away from Southern California].
Obviously, we were 12-4 this year, so we did something better. I thought the
execution with the offense, our balance was much better. Defense did a heck of
a job setting up and stopping the run. This year, we improved in those
areas." -- Lynn on his team's 2018 season.
KEY OFFSEASON
QUESTIONS
WILL THE CHARGERS GET A CONTRACT EXTENSION DONE WITH
RIVERS?Rivers, 37, has one year left on his current contract that pays him
$16 million for the 2019 season. Rivers has said he still wants to play when
the Chargers open the new Inglewood Stadium in 2020. The Chargers should begin
negotiations this offseason on a new deal for their franchise quarterback.
HOW WILL THE CHARGERS BETTER PROTECT THEIR AGING QB? Overall,
the Chargers' offensive line played solidly in 2018. However, Rivers faced more
pressure late in the year, which affected his ability to lead the offense. Left
tackle Russell Okung turns
32 next season, and second-year pro Sam Tevi is
improving but has been uneven as a pass-blocker. The Chargers probably will
consider adding young talent at the tackle position either through the draft or
free agency.
A NEW DEAL FOR MELVIN GORDON? The
workhorse running back has improved every year he has been with the team, and
he enters the final year of his rookie contract in 2019 scheduled to make $5.6
million in his rookie extension. Gordon has made Rivers' job easier, and the
Chargers should figure out how to keep the Wisconsin product around long term.
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