Can the Denver Broncos win it all with a lot of good and very little great?
In Broncoland it seems that every day the gap between those who love John Elway as GM and those who hate him grows wider. Those who hate him claim that any success the team saw from 2012 to 2015 was thanks only to Peyton Manning and the influence he had in bringing in other top free agents. Those who love him claim that he built one of the greatest offenses and greatest defenses of all time in only a matter of a few seasons and are willing to forgive him his (especially recent) faults as a talent evaluator.
Of course, as with all things, the truth is undoubtedly somewhere in the middle. Is he the greatest GM of all time? No, probably not. Is he the worst? No, probably not. But still we see the Twittersphere and comment sections boiling to the brim with factions from both sides duking it out over the ineptitude or...eptitude of the Broncos’ current General Manager.
I’m personally on team Elway and though I do think he has dug a deep hole for himself and the team the last few years, it’s not something that hasn’t happened a million times to other teams in the NFL and it’s not like there is no light at the end of the tunnel.
Of course I could argue my point about Elway being the bomb for a good 3,000 words but I would probably lose half of the readers after the words “I’m team Elway”, so I’ll stick to trying to decipher if this team really is headed in the right direction under the guidance of #7.
As everyone and their mother knows by now, the Broncos signed an older but very solid defensive back yesterday - Kareem Jackson - to a contract that seems quite fair in this insane market. Then they went and made Juwan James the highest paid right tackle in the league and spent a huge chunk of their available money in the process. The feelings in the public forums about this move are about as varied as those about Elway as G.M and they seem to run along the same lines with the above mentioned factions.
For those who hate Elway, any questionable move is, of course, anathema. For those who love him, it’s the greatest signing since PFM. For me, it’s again, somewhere in the middle. He’s a guy with very solid talent and huge upside that fits a need but comes at a cray cray price and could become a bad overpay if he doesn’t progress as a tackle.
Since he will have OL whisperer, Mike Munchak, saying sweet nothings into his ear and telling him how good a boy he is, there seems little doubt in the minds of team Elway that he will become the best RT in football. Maybe.
Each move the front office has made this offseason indicates that they are in a “win now” or at least a “win soon” mode and that obviously is good news for Broncos’ fans. They re-signed Sanders and Shelby Harris, added a veteran CB and NFL proven RT, hired a grizzled old head coach and traded for Joe Flacco. This in no way looks like a rebuild of any sort. Yay for us....right?
Only, the issue is that it’s only good to be in a “win now” mode if you are good enough to...win now. To really succeed in the NFL in 2019 means that you have to have some group or at least a few players that are great. The Broncos have, in my opinion, one great player (Von), one very, very good player (CHJ), one super high potential player (Lindsay) and a good defensive line (Chubb, Wolfe, Harris, Von). Other positions rank anywhere from solid to horrible.
Yes, that’s all from my own grading system (which is proven to be about as accurate as PFF by the way) and you may - and most certainly will - disagree with me. Keep in mind though, that I am an Elway apologist. I defend him at nearly every turn and look at him as the GOAT who can practically do no wrong but I still am left incredibly uninspired by this team as it sits right now. This could change in a manner of days with some great F.A additions or in April with a phenomenal draft but it will have to be something off the charts to boost my feeings about the Broncos and “winning now”.
It’s rarely that we see a solid or good team win the Super Bowl unless they are led by a HOF QB or coach. Philadelphia a few years back is maybe the best example of a team that had few “greats” but still managed by the sum of their parts to win the trophy. Maybe the Broncos can immitate that team and through gutsy coaching, team effort, a streaky QB and a lot of luck, they can still be playing football in February.
Here’s to hoping.
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