ST. LOUIS — When an NFL bully punches the Broncos in the mouth, they bleed. Too often, Denver coach John Fox stands there on the sideline and lets his players take it.
The real surprise Sunday was not that St. Louis beat Denver 22-7. The stunner: How little fight the Broncos showed, and how little Fox demanded from his players. This nonsense must stop, or the Peyton Manning era in Denver will end without a championship ring.
“I can’t predict the future, but I still like our chances as a football team,” Fox said after the most inept regular-season performance by the Broncos since Manning joined the franchise in 2012. “This obviously was a setback.”
Worse, the total domination by the Rams was a reminder of Fox’s greatest weakness as a coach. It’s not so much Fox is conservative, although I get why angry Broncomaniacs often cite his lack of aggression as a fatal flaw. To me, the problem is Fox too often coddles players, allowing them to take a knee instead of exhorting them to fight back.
Here are two questions to illustrate my point:
If the Broncos are the most unstoppable force in the NFL universe, why would Fox leave timeouts in his pocket as St. Louis milked the clock late in the first half, instead of doing everything in his power to get the football back in the hands of Manning?
If a place-kicker cannot be trusted to attempt a field goal longer than 50 yards in a domed stadium, then why is Brandon McManus on the Denver roster?
I asked Fox about both situations.
The Broncos trailed 13-7 late in the second quarter after the Denver offensive line that struggled to control the Rams’ pass rush finally gave Manning time to hit Emmanuel Sanders with a 42-yard touchdown pass. The Broncos were gaining a semblance of rhythm, according to receiver Demaryius Thomas.
But with St. Louis trying to run out the clock before halftime, Fox was reluctant to burn any of three timeouts to return the ball to Manning. Denver got the ball back with only seconds left in the half, not enough time to do anything. This lack of aggression seemed to perplex Manning.
“(Fox) told me we get the ball first in the second half and it had been kind of a grind the entire first half,” Manning said. “We did score on a third-down play on our last possession, but he just said: “We get the ball first in the second half, let’s go do it.’ “
Why not give Manning a shot to orchestrate a two-minute offense in the hurry-hurry style that made him famous? “If you get too cute the other team can go down and score,” Fox explained.
There’s nothing cute or risky about asking a pro kicker to score three points from beyond 50 yards, especially in a dome. Denver regularly demanded that of Matt Prater. With McManus? Not so much. Twice in seven possessions to begin the game, the Broncos did not trust McManus to connect from 54 or 55 yards, and the catch-up math for the visitors became more difficult the longer the game went.
Fox told me the far point of McManus’ range was 50 yards. Let’s hope that’s not an issue when trying to win an AFC West game on a frigid, windy day in Kansas City.
It might be overstated to label Denver, which owns a 7-3 record and remains atop the division, tied with Kansas City, as a team in crisis. “I’m not concerned,” said Broncos receiver Wes Welker, unblinkingly staring down my creeping doubts about a team that has been whipped soundly twice in its past three games.
But would it be fair to suggest these Broncos are front-runners that don’t like to get dirty?
When the Broncos are dragged in the muck of adversity or challenged by a defense unimpressed with their fancypants offense, television cameras seldom look to Fox for sideline leadership, and instead pan to a shot of Manning wearing the most famous frown in sports on the Denver bench.
I like Fox. Heck, everybody likes Foxy.
His ability to build chemistry in a locker room during an age when all NFL players are transient mercenaries is both laudable and underrated.
When the Broncos get punched in the mouth, or watch Sanders knocked from the game with a big hit, does Foxy have the moxie to pull the trigger and fire back? He has been given a roster ready-made to win the Super Bowl. Part of that responsibility is demanding the Broncos always hit ’em with their best shot.
There is no Plan B. And we all know Broncos executive John Elway hates it when a leader is afraid to pull the trigger.
Pull the trigger, Foxy.
Mark Kiszla: mkiszla@denverpost.com or
