Tag Archives: John Elway

Denver Defense Plays Like It’s 2015 Again

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“Little too close for comfort there at the end.”

My buddy Ryan’s synopsis of the Broncos’ win over the Raiders hit the nail right on the head. That was more or less my first thought after the game concluded, as it was just an ugly win overall and much closer at the end than it needed to be. But after reflecting on it for a bit, I remembered that the 2015 season was littered with ugly wins and that turned out pretty well for the Broncos.

Not to say that the Broncos can make it that far this year without improving in some crucial areas. They can’t. All I’m saying is that it’s a reminder that the defense is and has been the backbone of this team, and that the offense doesn’t have to be the best in the league for the Broncos to win most Sundays. For instance, if McManus makes that field goal he missed yesterday and Siemian and co. come away with just one more touchdown, the outcome of the game isn’t even close to being in doubt. And I don’t think it’s too much to ask of this offense to score 20+ points per game and give their defense a cushion to work with, especially when it’s already happened twice this season.

We’ll see if they are improved or not after the bye, but for one week at least, we were all back in the glorious year of 2015, watching the dominant Denver defense close the door for another hard fought win. Almost brings a tear to my eye.

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And Just Like That, Broncos’ Football is Back

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Before Sunday, it had been a hot minute since we’d last seen the Broncos play anything closely resembling a complete game. I’m thinking maybe back in 2015 against the Packers? That’s a long damn time. Then they went out and did something that basically no one outside of their locker room thought they could do: for four quarters, they largely bullied and battered the beleaguered Cowboys en route to a 42-17 blowout.

It was the brand of Broncos’ football that we’ve all come to know and love, and the one that has typically been most successful for the team. Run the ball with authority, take what they give you in the passing game and play great defense.  It was a beautiful sight to behold and reestablished the Broncos as legitimate contenders in the AFC.

And though there’s plenty of credit to go around, we may as well start with everyone’s favorite seventh-round quarterback.

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Hopefully, the Broncos Aren’t Who We Thought They Were

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A good rule of thumb is to not overreact to week 1 of the NFL season. You don’t wanna get too high or too low, unless you’re a Bengals fan and you just watched your quarterback toss four picks and your team get shutout. Then you can overreact with impunity. For the rest of us, it’s important to stay on an even keel. Case in point? The Bills, Jaguars and Rams are all currently in first place in their respective divisions.

That’s why I’m trying not to read too much into the Broncos’ nail-biting win last night over the Chargers. On the one hand, it was encouraging to see the team eek out a close game over a division rival in Vance Joseph’s first game as head coach. On the other, it was eerily similar to last year’s opener against the Panthers. The Broncos almost blow a fourth quarter lead, only to be bailed out when they ice the other team’s kicker and then he misses his second attempt.

One game a season does not make, and there were enough promising signs to suggest that the Broncos are improved from last year’s squad that missed the playoffs. That’s why, for now, I’m not going to get too concerned that they may not have improved enough on the flaws that hindered them in 2016, and will happily take the win. More thoughts and analysis (mostly happy) after the jump.

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Another Crack at the Broncos’ Final 53

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Back in June, I got bored one day and attempted to predict what the makeup of the Broncos’ final 53-man roster would look like. For the most part, my opinions haven’t changed that much since then, but considering tomorrow is the last preseason game and I found myself kind of bored again, I figured it would be a good time to take one more shot at predicting those 53.

This will mainly consist of me offering up my insight with a couple of self-deprecating jokes mixed in, but now we also know that the Broncos are rumored to move on from T.J. Ward. And we have to talk about that too, right?

Hit the jump and we’ll get to it.

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Broncos vs Bears Recap: Heroes and Zeros

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Hello everyone. It’s been a long time since we had some actual Broncos news to dissect. It’s also been a long time since we’ve posted a new article around here. Both of those end today.

In lieu of doing a straight up game recap, I thought it would be a good idea to highlight some players who I thought did well against the Bears last night, and some who well… you know.

Maybe this will be a regular column at Pegboards. I don’t know. I don’t like to promise anything with this blog, but if I can make it happen, I will.

I don’t care that it’s preseason. Damn it feels good to have Broncos football back. Let’s get to it.

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Way Too Early Predictions for Broncos’ Final 53

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With OTA’s and minicamp in the books, we are entering the most boring time of the calendar year for the Broncos. Quite frankly, the only time any breaking news emerges from late June to early-mid July, it’s always for the wrong reason. So let’s all knock on wood and hope that none of the Broncos do anything to grab our attention until training camp starts.

In the meantime, now is as good a time as any to take a crack at what the Broncos’ final 53-man roster will look like. Let’s get to it.

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Assessing the Broncos’ Draft Needs

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Trying to predict which players an NFL team will take in a draft is a fruitless endeavor. In the age of social media, there are plenty of rumors fueling the fire, but good luck seeing the truth through the smoke. It’s a lot of fun though, which is why Pegboards will be presenting its fifth annual mock draft in a couple days. You know, the one where we spend more time making fun of each other for our bad picks than trying to provide any semblance of useful insight. Think of it as mock draft rehab.

Anyway, what isn’t hard and in a way can be equally enjoyable is figuring out what a team needs to get out of a draft, so in the meantime I’ll be going position by position and taking a stab at why the Broncos may be addressing that part of their team on Thursday. I was just going to cover the positions of need and then I realized that the Broncos are rather needy and require all kinds of help. More than you would think since they are barely a year removed from hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.

But that’s life in the NFL, no? Not for long. Let’s get to it.

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Romo’s Back Could Support Broncos Playoff Run (or it Could Break by August)

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Ah, the NFL offseason. Where the rumors are rampant and the desperation even more so. If your team is active in free agency and loves making big splashes, then the start of the league year is like a second Christmas. For us Broncos fans, John Elway may as well be Santa Claus, because he usually delivers an assortment of shiny new toys every March. Except last year, but hey he helped bring us a Super Bowl. How greedy are you people?

Anyway, there is one rumor that keeps coming up that I just can’t ignore. That of course is the prevailing theory that the Broncos are the front-runners to be Tony Romo’s rebound if the Cowboys file for divorce. You never know what will happen with these kinds of relationships, especially in Texas, but it seems likely that Romo and the Cowboys have reached a crossroads. The question of the day is whether or not Romo is even worth pursuing, or if at this point he is just damaged goods.

Let’s be clear on one thing: signing Peyton Manning was as good as punching an annual ticket for a first-round bye, and clearing a path to the Super Bowl. Signing Tony Romo is more like scheduling your annual eye-exam a year in advance, but then that appointment comes around and it’s not that great of a fit for you anymore. You may not have liked that joke very much (stay with me, I’m warming up), but you can at least agree with me when I say that there is a very clear difference between bringing in the Sheriff and bringing in a guy that probably dresses like one.

So here’s what I’m going to do: I’ll gave you three reasons for why signing Tony Romo would be beneficial for the Broncos, in my humble opinion, and three reasons for why it would make me extremely nervous. You with me so far? Okay, let’s do it.

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Vance Joseph Could Be the Coach We Need, and the One We Deserve

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The announcement of Vance Joseph as the next head coach of the Denver Broncos was met largely with anger and confusion. I’ve described this process as a search for the best bad option, because there was so much unknown and risk involved to truly feel good about any of the available candidates.

And yet, the more I let this marinate, the better I started to feel. If you’re still pissed off or puzzled as to why Joseph ultimately wound up being the choice, maybe this will help bring you around. If Kyle Shanahan represents the coach that Broncos fans wanted, the flashy X’s and O’s guy whose offense may catapult Atlanta to its first Super Bowl victory, then Joseph teeters at the other end of that spectrum. He’s the coach we deserve, not for his ability to coordinate a defense, but for his knack at getting players to fall in line and do whatever it takes to win. If need be, they will go down kicking and screaming, as John Elway demands.

There are coaches who are better suited as coordinators instead of running an entire team. Why can’t the same be true of men who are fit to lead the entire 53-man roster, more so than designing gameplans for one side of the ball? Is that such a crazy idea?

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Von Miller and the Broncos Will Find Common Ground

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Contract negotiations in sports are like relationships. You have to compromise, talk things out and come to an arrangement that makes both sides happy. Oftentimes, feelings are hurt and that will cause someone to lash out or send a not so subtle message about how disgruntled they are. Look no further than Von Miller’s somewhat comical cropping of a White House picture that left John Elway on the outside looking in.

Maybe these negotiations are more like high school relationships?

Nevertheless, from Elway “lowballing” Miller to Von supposedly threatening to sit out the season if he doesn’t get the deal he is looking for, the prevailing theory is that tensions are high between the Broncos and their franchise player, making the likelihood that a new contract will be reached dismal at best. It’s kind of pathetic how much drama the media tries to fabricate surrounding these situations every year. What’s really alarming is how many people seem to take the bait, hook, line and sinker.

My prediction? You will hear a lot more about how contentious these talks have been, only to watch as Miller signs a long-term deal by the July 15 deadline that will either make him very rich or super rich. A lot of journalists will feign surprise even though absolutely no one should be surprised. Here’s why.

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