Broncos assume their true identity

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The tip-off Sunday came during Denver Broncos introductions when safety Roderick Rogers came trotting through the inflated horse's head. Applause that had greeted various members of the Broncos defense paused in mid-clap.Broncos fans seemed to be wondering, is he one of ours or one of theirs? The same could be asked of Mario Haggan and Josh Bell and Wesley Woodyard, or on offense Peyton Hillis even Tatum Bell, a name from the dimming past.These were the Broncos since last seen at Invesco Field, a collection of fill-ins and unfamiliar bodies, somehow still the winners of two on the road and full of restored confidence, in charge of whatever happens next."We control our own destiny," said receiver Brandon Marshall, speaking truth to irrelevancy. And, just like that, the Broncos became what they are supposed to be -- injured, inconsistent, incomplete. And out of comebacks.For all of that to be exposed at home in a shocking 31-10 loss to the Oakland Raiders may be particularly depressing, but nonetheless real, with tougher tasks ahead and no reason to be encouraged."Hopefully, we'll get that confidence back," said coach Mike Shanahan.Hope is an optimistic emotion but not a great game strategy.This is as low as it gets, worse than the rout in New England because the Raiders are a godawful football team, inept on offense and vulnerable on defense, coached by hunch and quarterbacked by surprise, not quite the empty threat that Kansas City was, but that turned out no better.The Broncos made the Raiders -- which had not scored an offensive touchdown in 15 quarters before a third-quarter run by Darren McFadden -- appear every bit as authentic as they used to be."We didn't look past them," said receiver Eddie Royal. "We came out and fought hard, and so did they. We have to give them credit."Giving credit is more comfortable than taking blame, or relying on the alibi of injuries, and if next week the game against the New York Jets should turn out the same, all credit is due.But these Raiders are so dysfunctional, so entirely without merit, swimming in self-created turmoil that the Broncos should have put this one away laughing."Make a turnover on the 5, miss two field goals, it's tough to recover," said Shanahan.The success of the last two weeks disputes that. The Broncos were hopelessly out of the game in Cleveland and came back. In Atlanta, there was never a whiff of not being able to win.In this game, the Broncos were ragged and wobbly, just as they should be given their use of retreads and spare tires.Oakland's JaMarcus Russell, more gimmick than quarterback, was allowed to shine as he seldom has, completing 10-of-11 passes, one for a touchdown and others to Ashley Lelie, the once and unwanted Bronco."He made those plays when he was here," said Shanahan, refusing to be amazed by Lelie.As for Lelie, this was his revenge."I've been dreaming about his moment since I left," he said. "It's kind of like getting wronged by your ex-girlfriend cheating on you and you come back at her and stab her in the back."Lelie's image is only unwittingly feminine. Surely he was not comparing the Broncos to something less than manly, no matter the evidence. The Broncos defense that had been spackled into what seemed to be better than before the loss of all the linebackers and half the secondary lapsed into something worse, authenticating Justin Fargas as an NFL runner and watching McFadden score twice."We made a lot of mistakes, on offense, on defense, on special teams," said linebacker Jamie Winborn, pretty much covering the waterfront. The offense had only the very willing but limited Hillis to sustain the running game (Bell started the game, the fourth new back in four weeks) and again leaned on Jay Cutler to pull the same kind of recovery he had managed the last two weeks, a case of a game too far.Cutler was only ordinary, no miracles in his pocket this time, nor rescue on his arm. He threw more incompletes than receptions, no touchdowns and one vital, momentum-turning interception."My fault," Cutler said.Well, laudable of him to take the blame, though Cutler was talking only about the fumbled exchange with Hillis that stopped the first Broncos drive at the Oakland 5.The game-turner, the one stunner that the Broncos seemed not to come back from, was an 89-yard punt return just before the half by Johnnie Lee Higgins, a dash along the sideline past the Broncos bench when not one Broncos player was able to nudge Higgins out of bounds.Nor did anyone on the sideline think to stick out a foot and trip him.This was the Broncos-Raiders, after all. Or used to be.(Contact Bernie Lincicome of the Rocky Mountain News at lincicomeb(at)RockyMountainNews.com.)