Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Broncos Mailbag Part 1: The Regular Season

Now that the Broncos 2017 season is mercifully over, we can turn to the offseason and the changes that will be made in Denver. Before we get to the changes and the offseason, I like to take a look back at the regular season with my traditional mailbag of questions. Up first is the regular season....

Did this Broncos regular season match up to your expectations going into the year?
I had Denver pegged for a 7-9/8-8 type of season. I didn't think the Broncos would be in the playoffs this year, but I thought they would be in the mix till the end. I didn't think that they would end up 5-11. Am I totally surprised that happened? No, not with the QB situation that the Broncos had and a rookie head coach manning the helm. No one, including myself, really thought the Broncos would end up 5-11 though.

What did you think of Vance Joseph in his first year as head coach?
Vance Joseph did not do a good job this year. He looked lost at times-especially after they started off 3-1. The team looked unprepared, undisciplined, and VJ looked lost and the team played poorly and uninspired. He made rookie mistakes, and it showed. I think that he could eventually turn around and become a better coach, but his first year left a lot to be desired. To be fair, the Broncos were blown out in so many games that it was hard to evaluate some of his game management decisions because the games were already out of reach.

Do you think that Vance Joseph should have been fired after this season?
I think the Broncos and John Elway should have moved on from Vance Joseph, but I understand why Elway is bringing him back. You want to try to give him one more year to turn this around after a rough rookie year. The Broncos need some stability, and firing another head coach is not the solution. Also, what coach was going to come in and replace him? If there was no other viable candidate, then maybe it is easier to keep VJ and hope he can turn it around in year two.

What was the problems with the offense this year?
It starts with the quarterback. We all saw how bad the QB play was all year. Starting in the second half of Week 3, Trevor Siemian was awful and it showed that he is not a starting QB in this league. Nice story for a while, but Siemian is not the answer or the guy. Brock Osweiler probably looked the best of the three QBs to start, but he wasn't a difference maker, and it looks like he will be a backup going forward in this league. Paxton Lynch was hurt most of the year and started only two games. He looked better in his last game, but he looks lost at times, and he doesn't look like a guy who was a first round pick a few years ago. It looks like he might be a guy that moves on and develops somewhere else. The bottom line is the Broncos got awful QB play and it killed their chances and totally destroyed this team's confidence.

What was the area of weakness on a solid defense this year?
The Broncos defense got torched a few times for sure, but overall the defense was pretty solid. They were given bad situations and bad field position all season long. The one area that they didn't do well was when the Broncos offense turned it over. The Broncos defense could not stop opponents and shut the door after giveaways. For whatever reason, the Broncos defense collapsed in those spots./

Why do you think the Broncos struggled after starting off the year 3-1?
The Broncos struggled because Trevor Siemian got figured out, he played poorly, they turned the ball over at an alarming rate, and they got exposed as a weak team. September is like the extra preseason now in the NFL and you really don't get a good feel of your team until October. I think once the Broncos got off to ta 3-1 start, everyone looked at it like business as usual, but in reality they weren't a good team.

What was the turning point in the season?
That is an easy one. The Broncos loss to the 0-5 Giants at home on Sunday Night Football really changed this season. The Giants were missing most of their receivers, were dealing with turmoil, and coming into Denver to take on the 3-1 Broncos on SNF. The Broncos played poorly, got beat handily, and after that 23-10 loss, the Broncos fell to 3-2 and never recovered. They had a three game road stretch coming up and the Pats at home after that, and after this brutal loss to the Giants, the Broncos were cooked and they lost eight in a row starting with this Giants loss.

What was the most memorable game of the year?
There weren't a lot of great games to remember this year, but I feel like the game against the Colts on that Thursday night was probably the most fun. The Broncos were out of playoff contention at 4-9, but they rallied to beat the Colts for their only road win of the season. Brock Osweiler came in for the injured Trevor Siemian, played great, and helped the Broncos win going away 25-13.

Is this the worst Broncos season of your lifetime?
Yes, there is no doubt this is the worst Broncos team of my lifetime. 1990 was bad but the Broncos had just been to three Super Bowls in four seasons. 1999 was bad but the team had just won two Super Bowls and John Elway just retired. In 2010, the Josh McDaniels era ended in a 4-12 season, but the Broncos didn't have a lot of talent, and the Broncos were more competitive that year than they were this year. This team got blown out in so many games. They lost eight games by at least 10 points. The team was just so bad on so many levels. I couldn't wait for this season to end, and the Broncos were done when they got buried by the Eagles by the beginning of November.





No comments: