B737 CAPT LOST SITUATIONAL AWARENESS AFTER BEING CLRED FOR A VISUAL APCH DUE TO BEING HELD HIGH; CLOSE IN AND FAST RESULTING IN LINING UP WITH THE WRONG RWY. THE FO QUICKLY DIRECTED THE CAPT TO THE CORRECT RWY WHERE A SUCCESSFUL LNDG WAS MADE.

Narrative

UPON ARR INTO DEN FROM THE E WE WERE VECTORED COUNTERCLOCKWISE AROUND THE ARPT (FROM APPROX 5 O'CLOCK POS TO 12 O'CLOCK POS; WITH 12 O'CLOCK AS N) AT 11000 FT AND 220 KTS. WE WERE HELD AT THAT ASSIGNED SPD/ALT UNTIL CLRED BY APCH FOR VISUAL APCH TO RWY 17R. WE HAD PREVIOUSLY CALLED THE FIELD IN SIGHT (APPROX 30 SECONDS PRIOR TO APCH CLRNC). AS THE PNF I WAS CONDUCTING CHKLISTS AND REARRANGING OUR NAV SETUP AS WE WERE GIVEN A RWY OTHER THAN EXPECTED (WHICH WAS RWY 16). THE CAPT (PF) ATTEMPTED TO MAKE THE TURN TO RWY 17R AND START THE DSCNT; BUT THE TAILWIND AT ALT WITH THE ALREADY HIGH AND FAST CONDITION MADE IT NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO LINE UP ON RWY 17R. WE ENDED UP LINED UP ON RWY 16. THE CAPT ASKED WHICH RWY WE WERE GOING TO. I CONFIRMED 'THE MIDDLE; RWY 17R.' WE MADE THE CORRECTION; CHKED IN WITH TWR AND LANDED. LATER WE CONTACTED APCH VIA PHONE LINE AND DISCUSSED THE PROBS ENCOUNTERED. APCH AGREED THAT WE WERE GIVEN 'MORE THAN WE COULD CHEW' WITH THE HIGH; FAST WITH A TAILWIND CONDITION. OUR MISTAKES WERE: 1) ACCEPTING THE VISUAL WITHOUT THE SPECIFIC RWY AGREED UPON BY BOTH OF US; 2) ALLOWING THE HIGH AND FAST CONDITION TO EXIST. WE SHOULD HAVE CALLED FOR A SPD AND ALT REDUCTION.