John Elway thinks the Denver Broncos went ‘a little bit soft’
Denver Broncos general manager John Elway is obviously not thrilled with the current state of the team, and had some choice words for what went wrong…
It’s no secret the Denver Broncos have struggled badly this season, and John Elway isn’t pleased with the way things are going. Elway is evoking some patience in his talks with the media, but certainly isn’t mincing any words when it comes to the current state of the team.
Elway’s words were selected very carefully as he addressed the media and what has gone wrong with this team.
Take a look at what he said:
"“I think we’ll look back once the season is over. At this point, we’re still trying to figure out how we can get through it. There is no question that at the end of the year we’ll evaluate it, look back and see what happened. I will tell you, I think we got a little bit soft. To be dead honest with you, we got a little bit soft. We went 4-0 in preseason. We started out 3-1, we get a bye week—if you exhale in this league, you’re in trouble. To be dead honest with you, I think we exhaled. It’s hard to recover from that. It will be a lesson that hopefully we all learn and prevent from happening in the future.”John Elway (quotes via Broncos PR), emphasis mine"
I think Elway is being about as ‘dead honest’ as he can possibly be without getting too emotional. The Broncos did go ‘soft’. They started to get down on themselves for making mistakes, and it led to one mistake after another.
Elway is absolutely right. The Broncos’ undefeated preseason seems like an eternity ago, when they showed the depth of the roster and an ability to overcome some mistakes. Their 3-1 record to start the season also seems like an eternity ago, as the team’s victory over the Oakland Raiders back in week four remains its most recent victory.
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What does this kind of comment say about what Elway thinks of his coaching staff? Well, he apparently still has some faith in those guys. Elway said he thinks Vance Joseph has done a ‘nice’ job in the same interview he called Joseph’s team ‘soft’ after starting so well.
I think these comments and the move today to waive A.J. Derby — along with some other curious roster moves the Broncos have made — indicate that even bigger changes are coming for this Denver team.
John Elway isn’t one to sit and watch this kind of stuff unfold without making drastic changes. Look at what he did after losing a Super Bowl. How much more impactful will the moves be if this team is picking in the top 10, maybe the top five of the draft?
It could get a lot uglier in Denver before it gets pretty again. At least now, the Broncos know their boss thinks they went soft, and can make adjustments accordingly.