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<\/p>\nHow low can the Broncos go? I fear there is no bottom, because this team has no foundation of strong leadership to stand on.<\/p>\n
The worst part of surrendering 70 points was how the Broncos quit on themselves. At 0-3, the players in Denver\u2019s locker room are no longer playoff contenders, but a punch line. And make no mistake, they hear the abuse that results from giving up 10 touchdowns in a single game.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat noise is real loud. You\u2019re going to hear it. But it\u2019s about what you retain,\u201d Broncos edge-rusher Frank Clark told me Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you hear the noise, they\u2019re telling you: \u2018Oh, man, you suck. You\u2019re (crappy) at your job. Broncos this, Broncos that.\u2019 If we really listened to all that, would we really call them fans?\u201d<\/p>\n
Clark, sidelined by a hip abductor muscle injury, had to stand by with the rest of us and watch as Denver get clowned by the Dolphins in a 70-20 loss.<\/p>\n
It seems highly unlikely Clark will be able to return to the field Sunday in Chicago to bolster a pass rush that has produced a meager four sacks in three games. \u201cWe\u2019re just not doing the job,\u201d he said. \u201cAt the end of the day, if you do the job better, you get to the quarterback.\u201d<\/p>\n
Champions don\u2019t accept excuses for losing. And that\u2019s what motivated me to seek out Clark in these tough times for the Broncos. Before signing with Denver as a free agent in June, Clark spent four seasons with Kansas City, where he was named three times to the Pro Bowl and won two Super Bowl rings.<\/p>\n
If nothing else, Clark knows the habits of highly effective football teams. So how do the Broncos, who have lost 15 of their last 20 games dating back to last season, get out of this mess?<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first thing is relying on your leaders. You\u2019ve got leaders in the coaching department, you\u2019ve got leaders on the players\u2019 side,\u201d Clark said.\u00a0\u201cYou\u2019ve got to rely on your leaders, the guys a team chooses to lead them through the times of adversity, through the times of struggle and in times of triumph. You are always going to look at a specific set of guys that define: How will this team react? What is this team made of? That\u2019s the foundation of the team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then Clark said something that caused me to glance over my left shoulder, peer beyond the stall where the gear of Russell Wilson was stashed and take a good look around the locker room.<\/p>\n
According to Clark, it would be foolish to believe a quarterback can build the foundation of a winning culture by himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cRussell came here to Denver last year to be quarterback. His job ain\u2019t to save anybody and be Superman,\u201d he said. \u201cHis job is simply to be the quarterback of this team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Clark did not point a finger of blame at any teammate for the Broncos falling in the trap of habitual losing.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to understand the struggle comes in this game, and when the struggle comes, it comes hard. We \u2013 and I say we, because I am now part of this team \u2013 have been in a struggle since last year,\u201d Clark said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you get to a point where you want to change the tide \u2026 Nobody wants to be the talk of the town, no one wants to be the topic of negative conversation. All we\u2019re trying to do is get better.\u201d<\/p>\n
I was left to wonder: How strong is this team\u2019s foundation? Who are the leaders the Broncos can count on in hard times?<\/p>\n
We want and expect it to be Wilson, but he has been under siege from almost the first minute he pulled on an orange-and-blue uniform. And the most talented veterans who have logged serious service time with this team, from safety Justin Simmons to receiver Courtland Sutton to offensive tackle Garett Bolles, have known nothing except losing in the NFL.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
That leaves cornerback Pat Surtain II alone on an island. He might be a shutdown corner. But Surtain needs help to fix this mess.<\/p>\n
Perhaps even worse: Sean Payton has been so busy kicking everyone\u2019s tail the new coach hasn\u2019t taken the time to wrap his arms around these Broncos as his guys. So maybe it should be no mystery why Denver quit in Miami.<\/p>\n
Clark believes the losing in Denver will end. And end soon. But it won\u2019t be easy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is going to be a season of grit,\u201d Clark said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to have to take some (bleep).\u201d<\/p>\n
With pretty dreams of making the playoffs dead and gone, Payton now must get down to the dirty work of identifying the gritty players he can trust to be foundational pieces of a rebuild, and then decide whether the Broncos would be better served by shipping out Simmons, Bolles or Sutton before the NFL trade deadline.<\/p>\n
Want more Broncos news? Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis.<\/em><\/p>\n Suzanne Morphew's remains found in Saguache County<\/li>\n 40,000 drivers caught on camera cutting illegally in and out of Colorado highway express lanes<\/li>\n Keeler: Where's Cormani McClain? Stuck in Deion Sanders' doghouse. There's only one way out. "It's time to grow up."<\/li>\n Lauren Boebert escorted out of "Beetlejuice" musical in Denver after "causing a disturbance"<\/li>\n Here's how the Floyd Hill project on I-70 will affect ski traffic this winter<\/li>\n Parent sues Denver school board member Auon\u2019tai Anderson in test of Colorado\u2019s new social media law<\/li>\n Construction starts on $125M, 81-acre technology park in Broomfield<\/li>\n Pot boom wakes sleepy Dinosaur, Colorado: \u201cThere\u2019s money running out of our ears\u201d<\/li>\n Kiszla: Jamal Murray, strawberry Starburst and why the Nuggets don't care if the Bucks traded for Damian Lillard<\/li>\n Six buddies open gay bar in former Prohibition Bar space on East Colfax<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nShare this:<\/h3>\n
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