Broncos' Marshall Wants Defense To Be More Physical

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (The Sports Xchange) - For a defense that takes extreme pride in its ability to stop the run first, Sunday night's 30-20 loss at Oakland was not only an eye-opener but a cold reality check for the Denver Broncos.

While still stout against the pass, the Broncos aren't a carbon copy of the dominant defense that powered them to a championship last year.

The Raiders gashed Denver for 218 rushing yards - the most the Broncos have surrendered in a single game since Week 5 of the 2012 season. Denver missed 11 tackles, turning moderate Oakland gains into big ones. And by the time the Raiders' work was complete, they had held the football for 41 minutes and 28 seconds -- the most against the Broncos in a 60-minute game since at least 1991.

"I think we've just got to be more physical," linebacker Brandon Marshall said. "It's tough because they have a really good O-line, and sometimes guys might get out of their gaps, or we're not shedding blocks quick enough, or aggressively enough.

"We have to do better than that. We have to get back to the drawing board."

But it wasn't just about the Broncos' woes against Oakland's ground game. They could not exploit the Raiders' struggling run defense, only gaining 33 yards on 12 carries as once again Denver couldn't find offensive balance. The Broncos' were stumped by four consecutive three-and-outs that helped Oakland take a 13-0 lead before Denver even mustered a first down.

"Yeah at some point you're thinking, 'Whatever you've got to do - find a way to get a first down,'" quarterback Trevor Siemian said. "So there. Just try to stay on the field, whatever you've got to do: claw, scratch, fight - just find a way to get a first down, stay on the field, and hopefully get a little rhythm going."

That never happened.

"It's gotten out of whack; that's two weeks in a row," Broncos coach Gary Kubiak said. "Those things get evened out when you stay on the football field. That's our problem right now."

Between the offense not staying on the field and the defense unable to get off of it, the Broncos were trapped in a vortex Sunday night. If they can't get out of it, their playoff hopes and title defense will be in peril.

-- After taking a knee during the national anthem to protest issues of social injustice during the first half of the regular season, Marshall stood on Sunday and plans to continue to do so for the rest of the campaign.

"I felt like I got my point across," Marshall said. "The goal was never for me to kneel forever, for my whole career, the whole season."

Marshall cited the Denver Police Department's decision to review its use-of-force policy as one reason why he would choose to stand going forward. Marshall met with Denver Police Chief Robert C. White after first taking a knee prior to the Week 1 game against Carolina.

In September, Marshall announced a program that would donate $300 for every tackle he made to charities, including domestic-violence shelters. Marshall's mother was the victim of domestic violence, and he and his family lived in one such shelter for a time during his youth.

"My stance on things hasn't changed. I still feel the same way," Marshall said. "But at the same time, I feel like what I did as far as kneeling, it was just a symbol for the ideal or what the issue is. I never saw it as the end-all, be-all.

"I still feel the same way. I just feel like me kneeling is not necessarily the answer."

-- Siemian was hardly the cause of Denver's struggles Sunday night. But the second-year quarterback's first six passes fell incomplete -- including drops by tight ends Virgil Green and A.J. Derby -- and neither he nor the Broncos' passing game quite recovered.

The offense went three-and-out on its first four series before finally getting a first down, and trailed 13-0 before moving the sticks.

"Yeah, it's tough being in a hole like that," Siemian said. "Four three-and-outs -- that's not good for the whole football team. Certainly, I'll find a way to find a rhythm earlier on in the ballgame."

Siemian managed to get the offense going on that fifth drive, and capped it with a 36-yard play-action touchdown strike to Jordan Norwood.

But Siemian and the offense were in pass-intensive mode, and that kept him and the entire unit from ever finding a consistent rhythm. Two fourth-quarter turnovers by Siemian -- a fumble and an interception -- squashed the Broncos' hopes and dropped their record with him as a starter to 6-2.

"Our biggest thing is just staying on the field and when you go three-and-out, it doesn't really matter what they're doing to you," he said. "They're going to give us different looks, each team is different - how they play you, how you're playing that week."