Broncos Season Ending Mailbag-Postseason Edition

Now that the Super Bowl is set, it is time to look back on the Broncos 2012 season. It has been over a week since their crushing loss at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Divisional Playoffs. What better way to put the final touches on their year with a mailbag of questions.......

How are you handling the loss to the Ravens?
Bad. The game still hurts. It is all I think about. When I go to bed at night, I think about it. When I wake up, I think about it. When I am sitting around watching television, I think about. When I was watching the other playoff games, I think about it. When I am driving in my car, I think about it. It will be on my mind the entire offseason, and I won't let it go until the season starts in September. Years from now, I will still be thinking about that game. I am officially scarred from that game for the rest of my life.

What was your immediate reaction when you watched the end of that game? 
Stunned silence. When the Ravens got the ball back late in the game at their own 23 with no timeouts left, I was still nervous. Joe Flacco had been killing them all game long, and I had a feeling that he was going to at least move the ball enough to get the Ravens to midfield and take some shots to win the game. I didn't expect that the Broncos would let Jacoby Jones get behind them and give up a 70 yard touchdown with 30 seconds left, but I was still nervous when Flacco had the ball late in the game. After the Ravens kicked the game winning 47 yard field goal, I just took my Broncos visor off, took off my Broncos shirt, and sat there in a catatonic state watching the Ravens celebrate on the field. I basically just stared at the television in stunned disbelief for at least a hour after the game ended. I sent out some texts, and just watched the 49ers-Packers game in numbed silence. I actually went back and read the play by play of the game on ESPN just to try to recall what I just witnessed. That night I didn't sleep at all and woke up on Sunday so upset and angry that I was a shell the entire day.

Does it hurt more that the Ravens are going to Super Bowl?
It didn't matter to me who won between the Ravens and the Patriots in the AFC Championship. In my mind the Broncos should have been playing on Championship Sunday. The result of the Pats-Ravens game certainly didn't matter to me, I was just still upset that the Broncos weren't in that game.

Now that the season is over, what team did this year's group remind you of?
That is easy: This is 1996 all over again. Both years the Broncos were a surprise 13-3 team, #1 seed in the AFC, and had homefield advantage. Both years the Broncos were big favorites at home in the Divisional Playoffs, and both teams featured future Hall of Fame QBs at the age of 36. After spending the entire year which season this year's Broncos reminded me of the answer became pretty simple: The 1996 Broncos.

Is the loss worse than the loss to Jacksonville?
Right now it is worse and not because it is fresh. The loss to Jacksonville was crushing, but the Broncos were able to quickly rebound from that game, and win back-to-back Super Bowls in 1997 and 1998. That game served as the setup for the runs in '97 and '98. We don't know how this is going to turn out the next few years, so it is hard to say that the Jacksonville game was worse. Both of these games were very tough defeats and both were harder to deal with than any of the other Super Bowl defeats in the '80s. One other aspect about the two games is that in the loss to Jacksonville the Broncos were really outplayed after the first quarter. In this year's loss to Baltimore, the Broncos had a 35-28 lead with under a minute to go and the Ravens facing a 3rd and 3 at their own 30 yard line. The Broncos should have been able to close it out.

Will you be able to look back and smile about this season at some point?
Yes, I can definitely say that I will be able to look back and reflect on this season in a positive way. I have all the games on DVR, and I am sure that I will be able to watch all the games again in the offseason. I will definitely watch all the games, and I will be able to look back and think about how cool it was to watch Peyton Manning quarterback your team. It will be fun to watch his performance this year, and it will make me get excited for next season by watching how good the Broncos played their last 11 games. Put it this way: It won't help me get over the loss to the Ravens, but it will definitely make me appreciate Manning and what he did for this franchise this year. It will set me up to get ready for the 2013 season.

Speaking of 2013, who are the key free agents for the Broncos heading into the offseason?
Here are the Unrestricted Free Agents for the Broncos:
Justin Bannan-DT
Keith Brooking-LB
David Bruton- Safety
Ryan Clady-OT
Dan Koppen-C
Jim Leonhard-Safety
Tracy Porter- CB
Brandon Stokley-WR
Kevin Vickerson-DT
Matt Willis- WR

Restricted Free Agents
Lance Ball-RB
Chris Clark-OT
Britton Colquitt-P
Chris Gronkowski-FB

Exclusive Rights Free Agents
Tony Carter-CB
Mitch Unrein-DT

Who do the Broncos need to keep in 2013?
The Broncos have to sign Ryan Clady to a long term deal. If they can't, then they will put the Franchise tag on him, so he isn't going anywhere. You would like to see them bring David Bruton back because is was so valuable on special teams. It will be interesting to see what he gets on the market. Also, I think the Broncos need to bring back at least one of the two starting defensive tackles (Bannan or Vickerson), but they will it will be tough. You would like to have Stokley back in the fold, but he is going to have to comeback for the veteran minimum and fight for a job in training camp. The other names on the list are all expendable in my opinion. Tony Carter isn't going anywhere because he is an Exclusive Rights free agent, so he should be back in 2013.

What do the Broncos need to do in free agency and the draft?
The Broncos are going to be big spenders in free agency, so expect some low level veterans to team friendly contracts to be brought in. The Broncos need to address the receiver position to give them another weapon to go with Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker. Defensively, I would continue to add depth to the defensive line, and I think the Broncos need a run-stuffing MLB for 1st and 2nd down. Plus, I would add some depth at cornerback and safety. The Broncos are picking 28th in the draft, so I wouldn't be surprised if they traded out of the first round again to accumulate more picks in the 2nd and 3rd round again.

Who are the Broncos 2013 opponents?
Home: Oakland, Kansas City, San Diego, Baltimore, Jacksonville, Tennessee, Philadelphia, and Washington

Away: Oakland, Kansas City, San Diego, New England, Indy, Houston, New York Giants, and Dallas

How many primetime games are the Broncos going to get in 2013?
They will be on primetime a lot next year. After the season they had in 2012, and with Peyton Manning once again at the helm, the Broncos were be featured in a lot of big games. They will get three Sunday Night Football games. Look for New England, Indy and the Giants in those spots. They will get two Monday Night Football games with Washington and Baltimore in those spots, and they will probably get a Thursday Night Football game with someone in their division. Also, they could be getting the Thanksgiving game at Dallas this year because CBS has that spot for the Cowboys this year and the only two choices are Denver and Oakland, so it will be hard to pass up the Broncos for CBS in that game. NBC will fight hard to get the Broncos-Pats on SNF because CBS got that game this year. You know CBS and NBC are going to fight hard for the Manning Bowl, and CBS, NBC, and ESPN are all going to jostle to get Peyton's return to Indy to take on Andrew Luck and the Colts.

With that said, it was an unforgettable year to be a Broncos fan. It will be a very long and difficult offseason, but the NFL season really never ends. Free agency always brings some interesting moves, and it will be fun to see how the Broncos try to improve their roster. The NFL Draft will be up in April, and that is always one of my favorite events of the offseason, and then next thing you know it will be time for training camp. It will be difficult to forget what happened against the Ravens, but by the time the season gets going next September it will be fun and exciting once again. Eventually, the pain will subside and the focus will be on watching the Broncos make their run at the Super Bowl in 2013. Go Broncos!