Good morning Denver Broncos Hats , Broncos Country! Winning football games is hard. The Denver Broncos are learning how much harder it is with an incompetent coaching staff and a bad quarterback. Case Keenum let the air out of Mile High on more than one occasion against the Cleveland Browns. And at the end, a lack of confidence in Orton-lite caused the coaches to make a series of cowardly play calls. The one big takeaway from the Broncos loss to the Browns is that Joseph and his staff, and Keenum shrank in the biggest moments. It isn’t just time for the Vance Joseph era to end, but he can take Keenum with him. As Ian St. Clair and I discussed on the MHR Radio podcast after the 17-16 loss, this combination is orange sherbet and sardines. Gross. The worst part in all this is how much Broncos history was made. Von Miller passed Simon Fletcher for all-time sack leader in franchise history. And the Broncos lost to the Browns for the first time since 1990. Bradley Chubb inched closer to the rookie sack record, and the Broncos inched closer to their second consecutive losing season, a feat not accomplished since 1972. The game was supposed to be a highlight of the young players in the league. A Future’s game, as I called it in my preview article. And it was. Rookies and young players were on display all over the field. It was sloppy, with too many penalties to count (someone else can count them). The Browns bottled up Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman, daring Keenum to beat them. He didn’t.Baker Mayfield got the win for the Browns, but he wasn’t exactly lights out. He had his issues as well. Even though many in Broncos Country pine for a quarterback with his future, myself included, he still has a long way to go before he is a superstar in the league.There were a couple defining moments in the game. Key plays that tell you all you need to know about the Denver Broncos in 2018. The first came after Von Miller’s record breaking sack. As the stadium continued to celebrate Von Miller’s record breaking sack, Case Keenum did what Case Keenum does. The first play after the punt he throws off his back foot, under pressure, into the waiting arms of the Browns TJ Carrie. The feeling wasn’t of air escaping Mile High. It wasn’t a bursting balloon. It was the sad realization that this was exactly what we all should have expected. No one should have been shocked to watch Keenum float a ball harmlessly into the arms of a player wearing the wrong colored jersey. And that sadness shifted for many into anger. We have been fooled time and again this season. If the loss to the 49ers was a cold shower on Broncos Country’s playoff hopes, that interception was your little brother flushing the toilet while you were showering. You knew it was coming, you just hoped you could get away without too much shrinkage.The second defining moment was the play calling as Denver moved into scoring position at the end of the game. With a broken and battered secondary, a defense that was tired and light on man power, Bill Musgrave shrank. Perhaps it was his lack of confidence in Keenum, but from the 8 yard line, Denver ran the ball three times. Phillip Lindsay, Phillip Lindsay, Phillip Lindsay - field goal? Really? Down by four, and you play for three? The laughter you may have heard came from all the fans who just didn’t want to cry.The Broncos needed a touchdown right there. No question about it, the defense had left everything they had out on the field. They gave up 17 points. That was all. It was a number that most in Broncos Country would have been happy to see. But instead of lifting the defense up, after they had held the offense up all game, Joseph and Musgrave, shrank in the moment, and kicked a meaningless field goal. Is there a better metaphor for the 2018 Denver Broncos?The MHR Radio Podcast is now on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, Acast, Stitcher, TuneIn and a few other podcast hosts. Please subscribe to the one that fits your fancy, and also rate and review what you hear.Horse Tracks NFL playoff picture 2019: How the Browns can earn an AFC Wild Card spot - SBNation.comThe Browns have to win out to have a chance, but it’s not that outrageous of a scenario.Broncos' attempt at game-winning drive comes up short, leaves emotions rawQuarterback Case Keenum spoke after Saturday's 17-16 loss to the Browns about a failed third-down conversion attempt and the final offensive drive of the night.Browns defeat cornerback-depleted Broncos, 17-16 | 9news.comCase Keenum sacked by Peppers on fourth down at midfield to drop Denver's record to 6-8Broncos' playoff hopes shatter as they fall 17-16 to the BrownsWith too few exceptions, the Broncos have bathed in the darkness the past two seasons, the warm glow of wins hard to remember.NFL Tracks NFL playoff picture 2019: Which teams can clinch a spot in Week 15? - SBNation.comLos Angeles is currently home to 50 percent of the NFL’s playoff teams. That’ll probably change this weekend.Alex Smith injury: Strange coincidences, recovery time and what’s next - SBNation.comThe veteran quarterback’s season came to an end during Washington’s Week 11 loss, 33 years to the day after Joe Theismann’s broken leg.The Chargers’ very good 2018 season, explained - SBNation.comThe Chargers are no fluke. Bill Connelly dives deeper into three specific reasons why they’re the second best team in the AFC Denver Broncos Womens Hoodie , with a chance to be No. 1.Which NFL team has been the most disappointing in 2018? - SBNation.comThere’s been no shortage of heartbreak this fall, but which franchise has been the dirt worst?NFL playoff picture 2019: How the Browns can earn an AFC Wild Card spot - SBNation.comThe Browns have to win out to have a chance, but it’s not that outrageous of a scenario.Why NFL games are suddenly on Saturdays in December - SBNation.comYep, it all revolves around college football.Four Must-See Matchups in the NFL Week 15 - The RingerThe playoff picture is taking shape but there are more pressing questions this week. Can the Cowboys continue their winning ways? Will the Rams reignite their passing attack against the Eagles? Will Rob Gronkowski continue to torment the Steelers?NFL creates list to strengthen Rooney RuleThe NFL is moving to strengthen the Rooney Rule by creating a list of minority candidates and mandating that teams interview a minority candidate outside the organization or from the list.Bill O'Brien: Sam Darnold has 'great future' in the NFL - NFL.comSam Darnold has had a nice couple of games since returning from a foot issue, and a 1-1 record to show for it. While Saturday night produced a loss, it also provided more encouragement for the future.Nagy named top NFL coach by AP writersA panel of 10 Associated Press football writers has selected Matt Nagy as the NFL’s top head coach. Nagy, who has led the Bears to the top of the NFC North with a 9-4 record in his first season, received seven of 10 first-place votes.Broncos’ No. 1 offense big winner in first joint practice Day 13 of Broncos’ training camp featured the first of two joint practices with the Chicago Bears, and by the most important measures, it was a success - no brawls and no serious injuries.“It was a lot better than I expected it to be, honestly,” said guard Ron Leary. “It’s the first joint practice I’ve been a part of and there wasn’t a brawl. That’s a good thing. I think there are just pros out here that are just trying to work and get better.”And on a few other measures, it was also a great day for the more than 4,000 fans on hand for the final public practice of training camp.Mostly because Emmanuel Sanders put on a show.First-team offense ‘sharp’ against Bears’ best DDuring one-on-one drills, the Case Keenum-Emmanuel Sanders connection had Bears’ cornerback Kyle Fuller befuddled all day long.But Keenum wasn’t content with just Sanders. He threw - and completed - to a host of receivers, including Demaryius Thomas, De’Angelo Henderson, Jeff Heuerman, Phillip Lindsay and Tim Patrick.Ryan Koenigsburg of BSN Denver described the first two plays of the 11-on-11 period for the Broncos’ No. 1 offense:“I will take away a lot,” Keenum said of his day on the field. “I think we communicated well. There’s still some things pre-snap I want to hammer down. I need to get better with that offensive line. Some different miscommunications and things like that. It’s on my plate, it’s on me. Then we’ll watch the film—I need to go watch the film—and see what we can get better at.”Vance Joseph was also happy with his first-string offense, calling his quarterback “sharp” - a nice rebound from the weekend’s dismal showing by the unit.For his part, Keenum definitely seemed to take Saturday’s lackluster performance to heart - making sure the first-team offense did not pick up where it left off against the Vikings.“I think for me, the best part of adversity, the best part of not playing well is being able to get back out there and bounce back,” he said. “That’s what so tough about going those two series, is that we never had a chance to bounce back on Saturday. Getting out on the practice field, Monday, Tuesday, today versus these guys, I think it showed that we can bounce back, and I’m proud of the way we responded.”The offensive line even drew some praise.“I think they’re in a great spot. I think they’re playing well together as five. ...The offensive line I thought did a great job against some of those pressures that Minnesota does. And I think that we’re doing so much good stuff that, even the miscommunications that we have, we’re able to go talk about it. It’s pressures that we’re going to know like the back of our hand and in season we’re going to be able to see it, recognize it, and block it up. I think they’re doing a great job.”As for the second team offense, Chad Kelly’s performance was “up and down,” according to Joseph.“It wasn’t perfect, but he made some plays,” Joseph said. “They’re like Chad always does. He made some nice scramble plays. It wasn’t perfect, but I was OK with his performance.”Defense ‘sharp’ ... unless pass went to a tight endIn general, the first-team defense was also highly effective - except when Mitch Trubisky threw to his tight ends, a.k.a the Achilles heel of the Broncos’ D.According to Zac Stevens of BSN Denver, once Trubisky found his first tight end in the 7-on-7 period (after not throwing a single pass in the first team period) Womens Customized Denver Broncos Jerseys , he didn’t let up.The Bears’ second-year quarterback threw a quick pass in the middle to a tight end where Todd Davis had the coverage. From there it was just academic.Six of Trubisky’s next seven completions were also to tight ends, including a touchdown pass to Trey Burton who could not have been more wide open on his way to six points.In goal line 7-on-7 periods, Trubisky targeted tight ends four out of six times, completing all four and hauling in two touchdowns in the process.But the pressure on the quarterback was real, thanks to Von Miller - proving that even when he’s not going full-out, he’s still dangerous.Miller denied doing any holding back when he’s on the field.“No, I’m definitely trying to wreck it,” Miller said. “I think as a human being, we all struggle with consistency, and I’m the same as everybody else. ...I don’t come out here to practice with an agenda, I just try to practice hard and play. Sometimes it works in my favor and sometimes it doesn’t.”Other than the tight end coverage, Miller was also happy with how the defense stepped up.“We have to clean up our two-minute defense a little bit. We could use some improvement there. We talked about that as a defense afterwards. That’s the thing about this defense. We’re not going to let things just get swept under the rug. When there is an issue we’re going to address it, fix it and then come out and do that.”Hopefully that is also the attitude among the second string defense - which did NOT have a good day against Chicago’s second-team offense.Joseph noted that a big reason for the “terrible” performance was having “only six corners” and only “five safeties” - a few of whom just were added to the team this week.“We’re just beat up. We’re down to five safeties - guys who have played in our system. We’re beat up,” Joseph said. “That being said, we’ve got a game on Saturday and those guys have got to do their jobs.”Horse Tracks - docllv’s pick of the dayHow Su'a Cravens Fell Apart in Washington | SI.comTwo years ago he was a promising rookie with a chance to become a cornerstone player in Washington. Then came the falling out, and a year marked by isolation and paranoia, mistrust and betrayal. Is Su’a Cravens a quitter or a victim? The answer depends on who—and what—you believeHorse TracksBroncos-Bears camp notes: The Case and Chase Show | 9news.comKeenum, the Broncos' starting quarterback, completed several passes – many for big gains -- to the likes of Demaryius Thomas, Jeff Heuerman, De'Angelo Henderson, Phillip Lindsay and Tim Patrick.Joint Practice Takeaways: Unsung offensive unit shines on first day – BSN DenverCase Keenum dropped back, scanned the right side of the field, then to the middle of the field and finally, to his left, where Demaryius Thomas was cutting toward the middle of the field deep in the secondary. Keenum unleashed a rocket right onto the hands of Thomas—who was looking particularly spry on this day—who made the catch and took it the rest of the way for the score. To be continued...Von Miller on Bradley Chubb's preseason debut: 'He played great in my eyes'Joe Woods and Von Miller weighed in on the fifth-overall pick's first game action.Under the Headset: Loren LandowWe caught up with the Broncos' new head strength and conditioning coach as he begins his first season with the Broncos.Broncos claim WR DeAndrew White off waivers and sign DL DeQuinton Osborne; waived/injured WR Corey Brown and DL Paul BoyetteThe Broncos announced the moves Wednesday morning.Broncos training camp Day 13 observationsThe joint practice with the Bears saw some good work from the first-team offense, but some struggles for the backups on defense.Key players could be close to return to practice field for BroncosJeff Heuerman returned to practice Monday, but a few other big names should be close to returning to practice.Broncos are counting on Jeff Heuerman to produceThe Broncos’ initial preseason depth chart dropped last week and the collective outside reaction over the tight end hierarchy was summed up in a single word: “Why?”John Elway: Broncos might look at veteran backup QB - NFL.comBroncos GM John Elway said there is a chance Denver could add a veteran to the QB room. The Broncos promoted Chad Kelly to the backup role after the first preseason game, demoting Paxton Lynch.Denver Broncos: Emmanuel Sanders torches Kyle Fuller in practiceDenver Broncos veteran wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders showed age is just a number with the moves he put on Kyle Fuller in practice...NFL suspends Carlos Henderson of Denver Broncos one gameThe Broncos' Carlos Henderson has been suspended for Week 1 for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy.Denver Broncos: A look at some winners and losers from training campThe Denver Broncos are wrapping up their 2018 training camp. Here are winners and losers from this summer.Broncos-Bears camp notes: The Case and Chase Show | 9news.comKeenum, the Broncos' starting quarterback, completed several passes – many for big gains -- to the likes of Demaryius Thomas, Jeff Heuerman, De'Angelo Henderson, Phillip Lindsay and Tim Patrick.Joint Practice Takeaways: Unsung offensive unit shines on first day – BSN DenverCase Keenum dropped back, scanned the right side of the field, then to the middle of the field and finally, to his left, where Demaryius Thomas was cutting toward the middle of the field deep in the secondary. Keenum unleashed a rocket right onto the hands of Thomas—who was looking particularly spry on this day—who made the catch and took it the rest of the way for the score.Fantasy Football 2018 beginner's guide: The best draft picks for Rounds 1-3 - The Washington PostNew to fantasy football? Follow this foolproof script to selecting your top three players for the 2018 season.Jalen Ramsey unloads: Josh Allen is ‘trash,’ Matt Ryan is ‘overrated,’ Joe Flacco ‘sucks’ - The Washington PostThe Jaguars cornerback has thoughts, some of which are positive and all of which are interesting, about every single NFL QB.