Oakland Raiders: Predicting How The AFC West Plays Out This Season
By Kevin Saito
3. Denver Broncos
Fresh off their Super Bowl win, the Broncos then went out and lost their top two quarterbacks – Peyton Manning to retirement and Brock Osweiler to a pretty hefty pay raise given to him by the Houston Texans. It’s not every day you see a Super Bowl winning team lose their top two quarterbacks.
Seemingly so desperate for a quarterback, John Elway went out and signed the man more famous for the “Butt Fumble” than anything else – Mark Sanchez. This, after the Broncos tried and failed to strike a deal with the San Francisco 49ers for embattled quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Broncos lost a couple of key pieces to that hellacious defense they had. Malik Jackson and Danny Trevathan were signed away, and though fans and the organization are downplaying those losses, they are going to hurt a bit.
Denver’s defense is still going to be good this season, there is no doubt. Opposing offenses are going to have their hands full. But unless the defense finds a way to score all the points too, The Broncos are going to be in some serious trouble.
Fans and even the team itself has tried to minimize the impact of both Manning and Osweiler in regard to the success of the team as a whole. How many times have you heard somebody say that the Broncos won despite “poor quarterback play?” Chances are, quite a few.
While it’s true that Manning was something of a shadow of his former self, between he and Osweiler, the Broncos still fielded a middle of the pack offense. They ranked 16th in offensive yardage and 19th in scoring.
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So to say that their offense was terrible is a bit of a stretch. It wasn’t great, by any measure. But it was adequate. Denver’s offense wasn’t prolific, but the attempts to completely minimize its role in their success last season are disingenuous. At best
A team has to have a good quarterback and solid field general to have success. Though physically, Manning wasn’t anywhere near what he once was, he still provided those intangibles that can help elevate a team to another level.
Denver can’t say they have the same thing this year. Sanchez and rookie Paxton Lynch aren’t going to be able to provide the knowledge and leadership that Manning – and even to some extent, Osweiler – provided for the team. And that lack of leadership from under center is going to hurt this team.
Denver still has some impressive offensive weapons in C.J. Anderson, Emmanuel Sanders, and Demaryius Thomas, but their talents are going to go to waste unless they have a quarterback who can properly utilize them.
For their part, the Broncos are saying all the right things and putting on the public face that they have all the confidence in the world that either Sanchez or Lynch can get the job done. But at the end of the day, you have a guy who is sporting a career 75-72 record and hasn’t been a starter for two years, and a rookie.
They may not realize it just yet – or are simply denying reality – but the Broncos are going to come crashing back down to earth this year. Their time at the top of the AFC West has come to an end.
Record: 7-9 (3rd in the AFC West)
Next: Some Smoke and Mirrors Last Season