SAN DIEGO -- The NFL's newest genius had to make a big decision shortly before his Broncos faced the Chargers on Monday night.
Hoodie or no hoodie?
"There's a bunch of things hanging in my locker," Josh McDaniels had said a few days earlier. "You have to wear something on game day."
Yep, even on a warm night in San Diego, it's probably not a good idea to coach only in your tennis shoes in front of 68,215 people and all of those cameras.
Kid Belichick chose the hoodie for the third week in a row.
Like all his decisions, a smart one. Trade quarterback Jay Cutler for draft picks and QB Kyle Orton, as the mile-high mob brays for your head and the pundits cluck. Suspend star receiver Brandon Marshall and watch him slowly wilt before returning like the prodigal son. And, yes, wear genius garb, then look the part.
Kid Belichick's first big AFC West game, as it turned out, was just more proof that the 33-year-old coach's son is special.
His Broncos de-pantsed another opponent in the second half, leaving the Chargers exposed as the NFL's biggest flop after Denver's 34-23 victory made it the AFC's only 6-0 team.
"I think everybody would admit we're not the same team that we were last year," McDaniels said.
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| Josh McDaniels is having no problems in his first stint as a head coach. (AP) |
Now if only some other team will rat on him about secret videotaping of opponents, maybe the overrated Chargers (2-3) will have a chance.
Halloween's around the corner, but unless the NFL bans halftime and the second halves of games, the Broncos aren't turning into pumpkins anytime soon.
They've made a habit of dominating after intermission, and they needed to do it again on Monday after Philip Rivers put up 172 yards passing to send San Diego to a 20-17 halftime lead.
Mike Nolan, the veteran coordinator hired by McDaniels last offseason, met with his defense and planned more blitzes up the middle and more man coverage on the outside. Voila!. In the second half, Denver sacked Rivers four times, recovered a fumble and held the Chargers to 104 yards. Orton went 11 for 16 with two TD passes in the second half, and now the Broncos have outscored foes 76-10 after halftime.
Players on both teams said Nolan's tweaking made the difference.
"Mike Nolan dialed it up," Broncos linebacker Andra Davis said.
"They double-mugged us," Chargers center Scott Mruczkowski said.
Pressuring Rivers throughout the second half, Denver sent each middle linebacker in its 3-4 defense toward an A gap -- between Mruczkowski and a guard.
"Whatever guy I slid to, the other guy came in," said Mruczkowski, who was making his fourth career start. "They schemed it so whatever side I'd slide to, they'd go through the other gap. Obviously it cost us."
The Broncos also are finishing like Usain Bolt because McDaniels ran them hard at high altitude.
The Chargers gasped and sputtered late, unable to hold up on either side of the ball. And they cramped in the brain, such as when cornerback Antonio Cromartie failed to down Broncos receiver Brandon Stokley a foot from the goal line, making things murky for the refs, who awarded Denver a clinching TD.
The way a few Broncos told it, Rivers and the Chargers got their comeuppance for mouthing off during pregame warm-ups.
"Rivers made everybody mad, talking about how many points they were going to put up and how unstoppable they were," Broncos linebacker Darrell Reid said. "Basically, he told us we weren't going to be able to stop them. I just told him I didn't think that was the wisest thing to do. San Diego does a lot of talking."
Reid's comments came well after the game, by which time Rivers had already spoken to reporters and was no longer available for comment. The Broncos are 6-0, so anything they say is brilliant and true.
McDaniels was coming off a victory over his mentor Belichick. Now that he's beaten a Norv Turner team, it's settled. He's McGenius.
"He's very smart and he believes in the system and he's got all of the coaches and players believing in the system," Davis said. "We're all in."
Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson isn't expecting the Broncos to collapse like they did last year, which San Diego parlayed into its third AFC West title. It's simple. The Broncos now have a reliable defense.
"They adjusted well and they played well," he said. "They showed they are a top defense, and they frustrated us in the second half, and it was tough to get anything going."
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