Broncos Mailbag Part 1: The Regular Season

As the NFL season is now officially over, I decided to do my season ending Broncos mailbag in three parts. The first installment deals with the regular season….

Did this Broncos regular season match up to your expectations going into the year?
Going into the regular season the Broncos were considered Super Bowl favorites out of the AFC with the Patriots. A 12-4 record, AFC West title (going 6-0 in the division), and the #2 seed in the conference all seemed to fit the bill. You really couldn't ask for more out of this year's group in the regular season outside of being the #1 seed, so yes I think they finished where I and all Broncos fans thought they would finish: At the top of the AFC heading into the playoffs.

How would you rate the Broncos offense this year?
It was a very weird year for the Broncos offense. At times, they looked like the 2013 offense. Other times, they looked like they couldn't get out of their own way. They only scored over 30 points as an offense in 7 out of 16 games compared to 13 out of 16 in 2013. Teams obviously adjusted to them from 2013. The WR screens, bubble screens, and the running game never seemed to get going at times. The offensive line struggled for most of the year and it was shifted during the middle part of the year. Wes Welker was a non-factor, Julius Thomas was banged up for the second half of the year, and Monte Ball never lived up to expectations. Peyton Manning was dominant in the first half of the year and pretty average the second half, but he still threw for 39 touchdowns and over 4,700 yards and a QB rating of 101.5. Demaryius Thomas  was sensational with 111 catches for 1,619 yards and 11 touchdowns. Emmanuel Sanders had no problem filling in for the departed Eric Decker and he totaled 101 receptions for 1,404 yards and 9 touchdowns. C.J. Anderson started to get a load of the carries during the 9th game and he finished with 849 yards rushing and 8 touchdowns down the stretch, and he was one of our best players the last 8 weeks of the season. This offense scored 482 points which was the most in the AFC, and even after taking away the 21 points scored by the defense, the Broncos still finished with 461 points, which averages out to 28.8 points a game. Obviously, it didn't match the numbers, stats, and points from 2013, but no one was expecting it to. Like I said earlier, at times the offense and Peyton Manning looked unstoppable, but at other times is looked downright ordinary.

Did the defense live up to the preseason hype?
At times during the season they did. They were certainly better than last year, and that was apparent from the beginning of the year. Overall, the defense gave up 354 points, which equates to 22 points a game, but they ranked in the top five in overall defense in the NFL. They held opposing offenses under 20 points in 8 out of 16 games. Von Miller returned and led the team with 14 sacks. Terrence Knighton, DeMarcus Ware, Chris Harris, Aqib Talib, T.J. Ward, rookie Bradley Roby and Brandon Marshall were all key contributors to the defense each week. Ware added 10 sacks. Talib and Ward all lived up to their free agent expectations and really came in and solidified the defense. It is safe to say that Ware, Talib, and Ward were all upgrades from last year, and they all were very solid free agent signings.

Which games will be remembered the most from 2014?
When you look back to the season, you start with the first game of the year and the win over the Colts 31-24. That was memorable because Denver looked so good taking a 24-0 lead, and then they had to hold on at the end. The stretch of games in which they went 4-0 and defeated the Cardinals 41-20, Jets 31-17, Niners 42-17, and Chargers 35-21 was probably the best set of games they played all year. They were 6-1 at the time, and they looked like the best team in the AFC. Their only loss was a 26-20 defeat in overtime at Seattle in Week 3. Also, the 39-35 win over Miami at home in Week 12 was a great game because they were down 14-3 and 21-10, and they were coming off a bad loss at the Rams the week before. Those five games stand out the most in 2014.

What was the turning point of the year?
To me the 43-21 loss at New England in Week 9 wasn't a surprise, and it only put Denver at 6-2. The 22-7 loss to the Rams in Week 11 was the turning point. Denver's offense got buried, Peyton Manning started to really look old in that game, and it was such a lackluster loss that it seemed to be the first time all year where you started to worry about this team.

What was the biggest surprise of the regular season?
The biggest surprise was how the offense and the offensive line just couldn't get going at times. Denver couldn't run the ball at all in the beginning of the year, and it only started to run the ball better when C.J. Anderson started to get the bulk of the carries. With Ryan Clady coming back from injury, you felt that Denver's offensive line would be better than it was last year. Orlando Franklin moving to LG only started to help towards the end of the season, Chris Clark was a disaster at RT, and he eventually got benched. They had to move Louis Vasquez from RG to RT, Manny Ramirez from C to RG, and they inserted Will Montgomery to C. It worked for a little bit, but Vasquez is not a tackle, Ramirez was bad all year, and Montgomery is just an average player. I was very surprised at how lackluster the offensive line was all year long.

What moment stands out the most when you look back at 2014?
Peyton Manning breaking the all-time passing TD record in Week 7 over the Niners was the moment you will always take away from this year. He needed 3 TDs to break the record and he got 2 right away, and you could feel him getting that 3rd one. His record breaking pass to Demaryius Thomas was a really cool moment, and when you think about 2014 that moment will always stand out. Plus, he did it in Denver on a Sunday night which makes it just as good.

Where does think Broncos season rank in terms of regular season success?
This season reminded me a lot of the 2012 season. Obviously, as far as regular seasons go, this was a very good year. They won the division, finished with 12 wins and got a bye in the playoffs. Their offense all year reminded me of 2012. It was a very good year, up until the playoffs, but it was a different year. They weren't as dominant as 2013, 1997, or 1998. If you had to compare it to any other year, then 2012 would be the best comparison. It was just a weird year overall. They started off looking like the team to beat at 6-1, but they never recovered after the losses to the Pats and the Rams. Even as they were winning the key games at the end of the year (Miami, at KC, Buffalo, at SD), it just didn't feel right. I can't explain it, but you could tell if you are a Broncos fan and watch them every week.