AFC West: Are Broncos' Defensive Problems Fixable?

(Sports Network) - In the end, the role of savior was a little more than Calvin Lowry deserved to be saddled with.

Was a third-year safety with 11 games of NFL starting experience, a player who had been deemed expendable by the Tennessee Titans this past summer, really going to prop up one of the league's worst defenses on Monday night against the New England Patriots?

Uh, no.

But this was the one alteration made last week to a unit that was last in the league in passing defense (255.5 yards per game), 26th in NFL rushing defense (137.5), and next-to-last in yards allowed per rush (5.1), so Denver fans were hoping it turned out to be a meaningful one.

Turns out Lowry, like too many of his Broncos unit-mates, is just a guy.

The Penn State product had 12 tackles but made no discernable impact in an eye-opening 41-7 loss that saw Denver allow the Patriots' running game (257 yards, 2 TD) and quarterback Matt Cassel (18-of-24 passing, 185 yards, 3 TD) to do whatever it is they wanted.

Three New England running backs - Sammy Morris (16 carries, 138 yards, 1 TD), formerly anonymous rookie BenJarvus Green-Ellis (13 carries, 65 yards, 1 TD), and Kevin Faulk (4 carries, 50 yards) - combined for 253 of the ground yards on just 33 combined carries. That breaks down to a whopping 7.7 yards per rush.

Cassel was sacked six times, but still had arguably his best game as a pro, and the Denver secondary was lost in space after cornerback Champ Bailey exited in the second quarter with a groin injury. For one night, Randy Moss (5 receptions, 69 yards, 2 TD) and Wes Welker (6 receptions, 63 yards, 1 TD) managed to approach the production level they had enjoyed with Tom Brady in the lineup.

And, though Jay Cutler and the Broncos offense turned the ball over five times and did nothing to put the defense in favorable situations on Monday night, let there be little doubt that it is the defense that most threatens Denver's postseason viability.

The mounting suspicion that this could be the worst defense in the league, and that there is no Bob Sanders-type figure to swoop in off the injured list to fix things, was thrust into the fore against the Patriots.

"Obviously, we have to do much better with our rush defense," said Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan following the contest. "Going into the game we thought we had improved. Obviously, they ran the football very successfully on us. We did some good things early with the pressure on the quarterback. Obviously we couldn't get it done down the stretch."

Though the team has almost exclusively converted to a 3-4 defense and made token adjustments like subbing Lowry for Marlon McCree, it is clear that this is a group that needs more than a couple tweaks to become even average before it emerges to face Miami following the bye week.

Firing defensive coordinator Bob Slowik probably isn't the answer, but if there is another one, Shanahan wasn't forthcoming with it in a cliche-laden postgame presser.

"We just keep on working," noted Shanahan. "Obviously we gave up some big plays today and we missed some tackles. When you play an eight-man front and you miss one, the running backs make some big plays. We just have to go back to the basics."

CHARGERS: Sunday figures to conjure up all sorts of emotions for the San Diego Chargers, not the least of which will be a burning hunger to get back into the win column after last week's 27-20 loss at the Bills.

Thanks to the Broncos' loss at New England on Monday night, the Chargers (3-4) remain a game back of Denver, and need to get on the type of mid-season roll that lifted the talented team all the way to the AFC Championship a year ago.

The Bolts' final assignment of the first half will come in London's Wembley Stadium for the latest edition of the NFL's international series, and the desire to play well before a foreign audience will likely also play into San Diego's mindset.

Perhaps overshadowing all of the above elements, however, is the opponent. The Chargers will be facing the New Orleans Saints, quarterbacked by none other than former San Diego star Drew Brees.

Brees, a second-round pick of the team in 2001, started 58 games as a member of the Chargers from 2002 through 2005. But the Purdue product's struggles in his first two seasons prompted San Diego to secure the services of 2004 first- rounder Philip Rivers, a situation that commenced an intriguing two-year push- and-pull in which the organization labored over its long-term future at the position.

Rivers' training camp holdout helped Brees win the starting job in 2004, and he promptly led the Chargers to a surprise playoff berth while earning his first career Pro Bowl citation that season.

Brees started every game for the team in 2005, but when he injured his throwing shoulder in the season finale, it gave the organization the impetus it needed to elevate Rivers and let Brees walk away as a free agent.

A conflict arose between then-head coach Marty Schottenheimer, who preferred Brees, and general manager A.J. Smith, a purported Rivers supporter, over this decision, tension that did not help the already-strained relationship between the two.

After a 14-2 season that was followed by a first-round playoff exit in 2006, Schottenheimer was fired.

Now, after all of that poisoned water under the bridge, Brees will be facing his former mates for the first time, which should make for some high drama.

"I'm not excited about competing against him because he's a heck of a competitor and a (heck of a) quarterback," said Chargers linebacker Shaun Phillips of his former teammate. "That'll be kind of different, but at the same time I think it'll be fun being out there on the same field with him again...but this time hoping that he throws some interceptions."

"He never ceases to amaze me to be honest with you, all the passing yards he has and touchdowns. I see in the offseason how hard he works because we work out together. It doesn't amaze me the success that he's having now."

CHIEFS: It's a tricky situation for the Kansas City Chiefs. With Brodie Croyle now out for the season with torn knee ligaments - the latest in a long line of ailments for the third-year-pro - Herm Edwards needs to determine who will pilot the ship for the final 10 games.

The two quarterbacks currently on the roster are Damon Huard and Tyler Thigpen, both of whom played, along with Croyle, in the team's 34-10 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. The 35-year-old Huard (9-of-16 passing, 96 yards on Sunday) is more ready to play in the NFL at this moment, but he injured his passing hand against the Titans and might not be ready this week at the Jets.

Almost certain to start in New York is the 24-year-old Thigpen (5-of-11, 76 yards vs. Tennessee), who has made four appearances this year, including a start against Atlanta in Week 3, but has for the most part fared poorly.

The backup on Sunday could be ex-Packer Ingle Martin, who has never thrown an NFL pass.

The only other option for the desperate Chiefs would be Plan D, which involves immediately playing whatever veteran QB the team signs this week. Ex-Buccaneer Bruce Gradkowski was reportedly scheduled to work out for the team on Tuesday, and could be in uniform against the Jets. The team reportedly contacted retired QB Daunte Culpepper as well, but his would-be arrival in Kansas City appears to be a long shot.

The prudent approach in this case would normally be to throw the green Thigpen into the fire, allow him to sink or swim, and re-assess the possibilities at the position when 2008 ends. But Edwards and GM Carl Peterson are both embattled at this stage, and since Huard gives them the most realistic chance to win games right now, the brain trust might force him into the lineup in the interests of being competitive.

Any way you slice it, it's not a good problem to have for an organization that has had more than its fair share of bad problems through the first seven weeks.

RAIDERS: Whenever his career as a head coach comes to an end, even if it lasts only 10 more games, the Raiders' Tom Cable can always talk about the day he beat Brett Favre.

Favre is the most prolific quarterback in NFL history and a certain Hall-of- Famer. Cable is the latest brave soldier placed in a seemingly impossible situation at the helm of a crumbling organization, and may soon fade into obscurity just like the Lane Kiffins and Mike Whites of the world.

But Cable got the best of Favre on Sunday, leading Oakland to a 16-13 overtime victory and forcing the venerable signal-caller into an afternoon to forget.

Favre (21-of-38 passing, 197 yards) was under constant duress all day, throwing two interceptions without a touchdown, fumbling three times (none were lost), and generally struggling to connect with top deep threat Jerricho Cotchery (1 reception for zero yards).

Meanwhile, notable offseason acquisitions Javon Walker (5 receptions, 75 yards, 1 TD), DeAngelo Hall (7 tackles, 1 INT, 4 pass breakups) and Gibril Wilson (10 tackles, 1 INT) all had big days for a Raider team that snapped a three-game losing skid.

Moreover, Cable got his first win as an NFL head coach.

"We made some strides and we're not going to worry about what went wrong or what we could have done better right now," said Cable.

"We're 1-0 today, and that's our goal."