As John Elway, followed by Vic Fangio, occupied a chair at Broncos headquarters Saturday afternoon during a Zoom media conference, the seat wasn’t as sizzling as the temperature outside (98), but it could be described in the mode of a fictitious Western ranch hand.
Luke Warm.
The Broncos’ president of football operations and the coach were discussing the merits of the team’s quasi-established 53-player roster. Yet, the franchise’s top two football men must be evaluated themselves at season’s conclusion.
Will John and Vic achieve enough in 2020, the most extraordinary offseason and regular season in NFL history, to bring the Broncos back from the precipice to the postseason, or will this just become another ordinary year?
After the Super Bowl 50 championship, the Broncos have a 27-37 record, zero playoff appearances, three coaches, seven starting quarterbacks and a makeover of a roster that Saturday included 51 active players who weren’t here in 2015.
Alas, 5-11, 6-10, 7-9 murky marks are unacceptable, and a fifth-straight also-ran finish will be intolerable. Even though Elway is in the final year of his contract, he won’t ever be fired, and even though Fangio won’t be dismissed midway of his four-year deal, three of the Broncos’ last four coaches were gone before they reached a third season.
This is a pivotal point. The future may not be now, but it’s approaching for a franchise without a true owner and an opening game without fans.
I’ve seen 47 Broncos’ opening-game rosters, and this certainly is one.
Those 53 players introduced Saturday have much to prove, but so do The Boss and The Coach, who have to improve. Both made mistakes in ’19.
Defensively, the Broncos have a veteran cavalry, but, offensively, they are dependent primarily on an unseasoned, young quarterback and mostly inexperienced wide receivers and tight ends and an unverified offensive line.
Outside forces aren’t heralding the Broncos as a championship contender. One ludicrous gumshoe has claimed Drew Lock is the No. 32 starting quarterback in the league, and another buffoon has picked the Broncos to win only five games. The other-under in Las Vegas is 7.5 victories, and the so-called insiders at NFL.com put the Broncos 12th as a wild-card team.
Nobody is picking the Broncos to win the AFC West because of the presence of the defending champion Chiefs and the World’s Richest QB — Patrick Mahomes. Most believe the Broncos will be in the fray with the Raiders and the Chargers — both of whom are playing in new, empty stadiums — for second place. Could that mean that all three teams tie at 8-8, as they did in 2011 (and the Chiefs were 7-9), with the Broncos advancing to the playoffs based on a tiebreaker?
The Broncos and their two leaders are quite optimistic, but, then, most others are, too. The Washington Football Team might as well be nameless and as pessimistic as Romanian philosopher Emil Cioran.
The Broncos’ unveiled roster will be exceptional defensively on the line (Jurrell Casey in the middle), with edge rushers (if Bradley Chubb can recover completely to aid Von Miller) and inside linebackers (with the addition of Mark Barron), at cornerback (A.J. Bouye and Bryce Callahan) and All-Pro types Kareem Jackson and Justin Simmons at safety. The Broncos should be among the best five on that side of the ball and get a label that matches Orange Crush and No-Fly Zone.
Offensively, the Broncos must exceed 24 points every game. Otherwise, it’s a lost season. Last year the Broncos surpassed 23 four times and were held to 20 points or below in 11 games.
That means Lock must be at least a B quarterback, Melvin Gordon and Phillip Lindsay combine for 1,700 yards and 15 touchdowns, Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy have to challenge the Demaryius Thomas-Emmanuel Sanders numbers. How about 1,000 yards and 100 catches each? And someone from the quartet of tight ends Noah Fant, Nick Vannett, Albert Okwuegbunam and Comeback Kid Jake Butt needs to emerge into Julius Thomas terrain with 12 touchdowns.
The guards, tackles and a rookie center don’t have to be The Line Kings, but they need to be capable and competent.
Let’s see a Broncos bustout against Tennessee.
Note: This column published before Von Miller’s season ending tendon injury.
More from The Woody Paige Sports Network:
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- Woody Paige: That time I played blackjack with Michael Jordan in Monte Carlo
- The best dressed player from each team in the NBA bubble
- Is Drew Lock the next franchise QB for the Denver Broncos? Let’s pump the brakes for second
- Deshaun Watson signs four-year contract extension with Houston Texans
- Jadeveon Clowney signs one-year contract with Tennessee Titans
