A shift from past seasons has this 2019 Denver Broncos team ready to break out of the cycle of mediocrity and into something special.
0-3. It’s not easy as a Denver Broncos fan to look at that number and feel much optimism. Not after the last few years. Not after the Vance Joseph
error
era.
This year has a different feel though.
The players are angry about this. They feel like this is unacceptable and that the work they are putting in during practice is going to pay off. There is already a shift in the culture of this team from the past few years. Mediocrity is no longer something that can or will be tolerated.
This year is different though. A look at the work the defense is putting forward shows that outside of a lack of turnovers or sacks, it’s still one of the best in the league. The offense is doing a decent job of moving the ball, sitting ahead of New Orleans and behind Indianapolis in yards per game.
However, both of those teams are averaging almost 10 points per game better than Denver at this point. How much different would the Broncos record be right now if they had an extra 10 points in these first three games? Let’s dive into why this isn’t going to be another 5-11 or 6-10 season.
The Offense
Is this team going to blow the doors off opposing defenses and set scoring records? No. But the talent is there and it is maturing. Finding players in recent drafts like Dalton Risner, Courtland Sutton, Royce Freeman, Noah Fant, and Drew Lock is going to be huge in the near future.
Continuing to find guys like Phillip Lindsay after the draft doesn’t hurt either. Missing on early draft picks doesn’t tend to cripple a team during the first year. It’s 2-3 years later when they aren’t every game contributors that it starts to haunt you. Missing on guys like Garett Bolles, Paxton Lynch, and Devontae Booker, players who should be foundational pieces at this point, are impacting this team now.
Bolles was taken in lieu of Ryan Ramczyk, Lynch over guys like Derrick Henry or Dak Prescott, and Booker taken ahead of Jordan Howard or Tyreek Hill. Recent drafts have been much better, but it is still going to take time to come into their own as NFL stars.
Joe Flacco has been an upgrade over both Trevor Siemian and Case Keenum. I know that’s not saying much. But progress is progress. Flacco also wasn’t brought in to be the long-term answer at QB. He’s keeping the seat warm for cannon-armed Drew Lock.
That being said, Flacco currently sits just behind Carson Wentz in total QBR and ahead of names like Stafford, Rivers, and Rodgers. The big plays are going to come. I can guarantee the Broncos won’t finish the season averaging 15 points per game.
The Defense
Raise your hand if you think a defense led by guys like Von Miller, Bradley Chubb, Derek Wolfe, Justin Simmons, Chris Harris Jr, Kareem Jackson, etc is really going to finish the season with no sacks and no turnovers.
This defense is going to get theirs and when they do it’s going to come in bunches. Chubb is becoming a complete player, a force to be reckoned with every game. Von is one of the best pass rushers the league has ever seen. It is going to get better. This team sits right behind Chicago in total defense and ahead of much more talked about defenses like Green Bay, Baltimore, and Jacksonville.
When the sacks and turnovers start getting mixed into that, it’s going to be a dangerous unit.
The time to jump on the Denver Broncos bandwagon is now. The coaching staff is getting better game by game. The offense and defense are going to continue to improve. By the end of the season, 0-3 is going to look like a distant memory. Starting Sunday against the Minshew led Jaguars, we’re going to see this team’s true potential.