As I said earlier in the offseason, periodically I will post random Super Bowl thoughts as the offseason commences. The draft is over, free agency has died down, and now the Broncos are into rookie mini-camps and offseason training. Super Bowls last forever, and I wanted to keep the memories of Super Bowl 50 alive this offseason. Here are some random post-Super Bowl thoughts that have come up in my mind in recent months and weeks....
1) After watching the Broncos season highlight DVD that I received in March, one of my favorite scenes is after Von Miller sacked and stripped Cam Newton in the 1st quarter and Malik Jackson recovered it for a touchdown. NFL Films captures Miller celebrating right after the sack and touchdown, and Miller does a little dance with a "Dab" at the end. It is perfectly coordinated with a sea of Broncos fans in the background going nuts. It is just a very cool shot from the highlights of the Super Bowl.
2) Just like John Elway's helicopter dive was the indelible moment in Super Bowl XXXII, and Elway's bomb to Rod Smith was the memorable moment in Super Bowl XXXIII, the moment from Super Howl 50 will be that strip sack by Miller on Newton in the 1st quarter that put the Broncos up 10-0.
3) Think about this: The two worst losses in Broncos playoff history were the 1996 AFC Divisional Playoff loss to the Jaguars, and the 2012 AFC Divisional Playoff loss to the Ravens. It's not even a debate that those games were worse than any of the Super Bowls. What is interesting is that the Broncos were able to rebound from those losses and eventually win a Super Bowl not long afte tose defeats. After getting upset by the Jaguars in 1996, the Broncos won the Super Bowl after the 1997 and 1998 seasons. After getting their hearts broken in Peyton Manning's first year with the team in 2012 by the Ravens, the Broncos won the Super Bowl in Manning's last year with the team in 2015. That is pretty neat that the Broncos responded with Super Bowls in the wake of their two worst defeats in team history.
4) I still think that this defense will rank up there with one of the best defenses ever to win the Super Bowl. Re-examining this offseason, it is pretty clear that you can rank the '85 Bears and 2000 Ravens at numbers one and two, but this Broncos defense is right behind them in terms of what they accomplished in 2015.
5) When you think about turning points in a playoff run, look no further than the key moment of the AFC Divisional Playoff between the Broncos and the Steelers. Down 13-12 in the 4th quarter with the Steelers driving in Denver territory. Bradley Roby stripped Fitzgerald Toussaint and Demarcus Ware recovered. The Broncos scored on the ensuing drive, won the game 23-16, and went on their run to the Super Bowl. The Broncos never trailed from that moment again in the playoffs. They took the lead over the Steelers and never looked back against the Patriots in the AFC Championship and the Panthers in the Super Bowl. Talk about a turning point in a postseason run.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment