This weekend marked the halfway point in a disaster of a season for the Denver Broncos, who find themselves at the bottom of the AFC West and the butt of the professional football world. The team is enjoying a respite from the physical beatings during this bye week, but that isn't translating to a break from brutal off-field criticism. In fact, football's talking heads are piling it on. The Denver Post's Woody Paige points out that despite Kyle Orton's prolific passing season so far, the quarterback can't win when the pressure is on in the fourth quarter, and he isn't likely to last long in Denver.

A Post report also notes that the team's offensive nucleus is much too young, while the defensive heart of the team is aged and on the verge of giving out. Yet another Post article urges the team to focus next year's draft on the offensive and defensive lines.

Then there's Josh McDaniels, the boyish head coach once full of bravado but now relegated to standing alone on the sidelines chewing his fingernails and looking over his offensive play-calling sheet, which apparently has no answers for the position he finds himself in. While McDaniels' job seems safe for two more years, The Associated Press reminds us that after starting 6-0 last year, McDaniels is now a woeful 4-14 overall.