Broncos 2021 Offseason Preview Mailbag

 With free agency and the new League year starting in a few weeks, this is a good time to preview the Broncos potential moves via free agency and trades for this upcoming offseason. With new GM George Paton, it will be interesting to see what moves he will make in his first offseason. Here are some key questions the Broncos will have to answer this upcoming offseason....

Do you think Justin Simmons will be signed long term? Yes, I think the Broncos will prioritize Simmons and eventually get him to sign a long-term deal with the team. If they have to place the Franchise Tag on him again, then I think they will, but I they should and will sign Simmons long term.

What are the other free agents for the Broncos this offseason? The Unrestricted Free Agent list includes:

Elijah Wilkinson, Shelby Harris, Jeremiah Attaochu, Will Parks, Demar Dotson, Demarcus Walker, Sylvester Williams, DeVaunte Bausby, and Joe Jones. 

The Restricted Free Agent list includes: Tim Patrick, Alexander Johnson, and Philip Lindsay

Which of those free agents would you bring back to Denver? I would try to sign Shelby Harris to an extension. Harris had a really good season, and he is good character guy, who brings a lot of production to that defensive line. I would make him my highest UFA priority. I don't know if they will be able to re-sign him because I think he has a bigger market out there than last offseason, but I would try really hard to lock him up. The other UFAs that the Broncos should try to bring back are Elijah Wilkinson and Will Parks. I think both have a role on this team, and you can probably get them to come back at an affordable price. I know that Joe Jones is special team guy, but I think all the other UFAs are all expendable. On the restricted side, I think you have to 2nd round tender all three: Lindsay, Patrick, and Johnson. I would hope that the Broncos do that because I think each guy is valuable enough to return and contribute next year. I wouldn't want to risk losing any of those three RFAs. 

What current players are in danger of being cut for salary cap purposes? The biggest name is Von Miller. He is 32, coming off an injury year, and he is being investigated in a domestic dispute claim, so it is easy to see why the Broncos could potentially let him go and free up more cap space. I hope they try to extend his contract to lower his cap number and allow him to come back to the Broncos, but from the sounds of it in Denver, that could be a 50-50 chance at this point. I want him to come back to Denver-provided he is cleared of all charges-which is something many people in Denver believe will happen, and I think he can still be a valuable piece to this defense and continue to add leadership. The next name that could be let go is DL Jurrell Casey. Casey got hurt in the third game last year and he missed the rest of the season. It looks like he could be a cap casualty this year as well. You could also possibly include RT Juwan James to the list of potential cuts, but it looks like the cap hit and dead money would be counter productive and it might just be better to see if he can come back and win that RT spot and play well next year.

How should the Broncos handle the QB situation this offseason? There is a lot of talk about if the Broncos should move on from Drew Lock or not. First, I like Drew Lock. I believe that he can grow and develop into a winning, solid QB for the Broncos. I'm not saying he is going to be Pat Mahomes or Aaron Rodgers, but I think he can be a good QB in this league and win some games for the Broncos. Secondly, I understand that he needs to play better and more consistent for the Broncos to win some games and be a playoff competitor. I think the talent on Denver is ready to start winning and I think more consistent QB play is going to put them over the top. I think you bring Lock back next year, but also sign a legitimate veteran as the "hedge" QB in case Lock falters and you need someone to come in and save the season. A veteran like Nick Foles or Andy Dalton would be a good choice, but I would also look at trading for someone like Gardner Minshew. Each of those could push Lock, and if they are the backup, they can come in and win a few games or help turn the tide if Lock fails and the team is losing. 

Should the Broncos pursue Deshaun Watson if he becomes available? There is no doubt in my mind the Broncos should be in the mix and pursue Watson if he is available for trade. He wants to be traded from Houston but right now the Texans are not going to put him up for trade, so we will see how this standoff plays out. If he is available for trade, the Broncos have to go after him. Give up players, picks and whatever it takes to get Watson.

What free agents should the Broncos look to add via free agency? It is hard to say which players are going to get cut from teams and be available but looking at the current list of free agents, the Broncos should focus on these positions: OT, CB, and DL. At Cornerback, they could target guys like Mike Hilton from Pittsburgh, Bashaud Breeland from KC, and Xavier Rhodes from Indy. At Defensive Line, they could target guys like Daquan Jones from Tennessee, Johnathan Hankins from Las Vegas, and Sheldon Rankins from New Orleans. All of these guys are rotational, affordable players that could help bolster the depth on the roster.

Buccaneers and Tom Brady Win Super Bowl LV in a Blowout Win over the Chiefs

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are Super Bowl LV Champs after a dominating 31-9 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. The game was a great game as the Bucs and their defense handled the Chiefs and their offense, but I thoroughly enjoyed this game. Seeing the Chiefs and Pat Mahomes get hammered was a delight, and it was fun rooting for Tom Brady. This game will long be remembered for Brady getting his 7th Super Bowl ring, the Bucs defense, and Mahomes proving he is actually human after all. Here are my thoughts one the game.

1) The Bucs defense was awesome in this game. They harassed Pat Mahomes, pressured him 29 times, sacked him 3 times, forced 2 ints, and made him have the worst game of his life. Their pass rush and defensive line destroyed the Chiefs depleted offensive line. They got there with four rushers all game long and just made Mahomes' life miserable. Give Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles credit. He had a great game plan and did a phenomenal job executing this game plan. Devin White and Shaq Barrett were all over the field and they snuffed out everything the Chiefs were trying to do.

2) Tom Brady wins his 7th Super Bowl and he was really good and efficient all game long. He won the Super Bowl MVP and he deserved it. He finished 21-29 for 201 yards, 3 TDs and no INT. He did what he had to do and the Chiefs had no answer at times for him. He is the greatest QB of all time and there is no debate.

3) Give Bruce Arians and his staff credit. The Bucs and their coaching staff completely outcoached Andy Reid and his staff. This was a complete drubbing in that department. This was not Reid's finest hour.

4) To me this game was over during the following sequence. Up 14-6 right before the half, TB got the ball back with 1:01 left on their own 29 yard line. The Chiefs took two timeouts and it killed them. It gave Brady time and the Bucs moved the ball. A big pass interference call moved the Bucs to the Chiefs 24 yard line. Then, Tyrann Mathieu, who had a bad game, got called for a pass interference in the end zone.  Brady hit Antonio Brown for a 1 yard TD and that made it 21-6 with just seconds to go in the half. After halftime, the Chiefs put a drive together but had to settle for a field goal to make it 21-9. On the next drive, Brady hit Rob Gronkowski for a big pass down the middle and then Leonard Fournette burst through for a 27 yard TD run to make it 28-9. That is when you felt like the Chiefs were done, and the Bucs were going to win this game.

5) Pat Mahomes played the worst game of his NFL career, but his offensive line just couldn't protect him. Mahomes was running for his life the whole game, and he looked skittish out there and just was out of sorts. I'm sure the turf toe injury didn't help either. It proved that Mahomes can't do it all by himself. He had a rough day and got the crap kicked out of him by the Bucs. It was also the worst defeat of his NFL career, and the most humbling.

6) You could just tell in the first half that this game was just not going to go the Chiefs way. They had an amazing throw by Mahomes that went off Tyreek Hill's facemask that would have been a TD, so they settled for a field goal. They had numerous pass interference calls, a defensive holding call that negated a Mathieu interception, and an offside that negated a Bucs field goal. If there is no penalty for offside, then the Bucs lead 10-6. Instead, the penalty gave the Bucs a first down and Brady hit Rob Gronkowski for a touchdown and that made it 14-6. Everything just fell apart for them in this game. Even Hill and Travis Kelce had big drops in the game. It just wasn't their night.

7) Gronk played great. He scored two touchdowns and it felt like him and Brady were just going to take the game over as old Patriots and steer the Bucs to victory. His second TD was a play where he broke off his route to the corner of the endzone and turned backed in, and Brady connected with him for a wide open TD. Their combination was huge in this game.

8) This game was fun to watch for me personally. I loved watching the Chiefs get killed. It has never happened so far in Mahomes' career, but it happened on Sunday. The Chiefs have beat up on the Broncos and the rest of the AFC for three years now, so for them to get embarrassed in the Super Bowl and watch them lose in a bid to repeat was just enjoyable for me. The image of the Chiefs and their fans sitting through an embarrassing blowout in the 4th quarter of the Super Bowl will warm my mind all offseason.

9) Are the Chiefs and Pat Mahomes going anywhere? No. Are they still the favorite to get back to the Super Bowl next year? Yes. The Chiefs will be back. I know that, but it was really sweet to see get them thwarted in their attempt to win back-to-back Super Bowls. Maybe this loss derails their dynasty plans a little bit. Sometimes losses like this can have a lingering effect. Russel Wilson hasn't been back to a Super Bowl since his third loss. Aaron Rodgers hasn't been back to a Super Bowl in 10 years. You just never know for sure if you will get back and win one. 

10) Tom Brady signed with the Bucs in the beginning of the free agency period in March, and I thought that it was going to translate into a playoff season for the Bucs and maybe one playoff victory. I am surprised that he got the Bucs to the Super Bowl and won it. It is a remarkable story and amazing how in one year, Brady took this team to this level. Just incredible at 43 years old and after spending his whole career with the Patriots. I wonder how Bill Belichick felt about that after watching Brady win Super Bowl MVP honors.

11) The NFL got through Super Bowl LV and they played their entire 2020 season. This will always be remembered as the Covid season. Yes, there were some hiccups along the way. The Broncos got screwed and played without a QB against the Saints. The Browns had to play a playoff game without their head coach. Teams had to move games to Monday afternoons, Tuesdays, and even Wednesdays. Teams missed some key players at times, and their bye weeks got moved around. In the end, the NFL was able to play their 16 games for each team in 17 weeks and all of their playoff games on schedule. The playoffs weren't compromised by missing any key players due to Covid and the Super Bowl was played on schedule. Give the NFL credit. No one thought they would be able to play this season on time. Dr. Fauci said in June that there was no way they would be able to play an entire season outside of a bubble, but they did. It was an amazing accomplishment considering the circumstances. Although the Broncos had a shitty season, at least there was NFL football to look forward to each week. I'm looking forward to hopefully seeing a normal NFL season come the fall of 2021 and getting this pandemic behind us. 

12) Now, that the season is over, I am looking forward to taking some time away and then I'll be back at some point with preview of the Broncos offseason before free agency starts. If there is any news regarding the Broncos, I will comment on it. Until then......Go Broncos!

Super Bowl LV Preview and Prediction

Super Bowl LV is here and the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will kickoff on Sunday for a right to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. I also like to look at the game through the lens of the storylines heading into the game. There are enough strategic breakdowns of the game all week, so I like looking at the angles leading up to the game. There are plenty of storylines heading into this game. . This game will always be known as the Covid Super Bowl. For the first time in my life, the Super Bowl just feels like a normal game this year. There was no big media night, radio row was basically empty, there was not a lot of media members down in Tampa all week, and even the Chiefs flew in on Saturday like a normal road game. You just didn't get the feel of the Super Bowl atmosphere all week. In any event, here are the storylines for this matchup before I get to the preview and prediction) 

I)The GOAT against the new GOAT: Tom Brady vs. Pat Mahomes is the QB matchup for this Super Bowl and it might be the greatest QB matchup of all time in a Super Bowl. You have the greatest QB of all time going up against a guy that could be on his way to challenge that. It is a passing of the torch type of matchup.

II) The Chiefs Attempt to Become the Next Dynasty: After winning last year's Super Bowl, the Chiefs are now looking to win back-to-back Super Bowls for the first time since the 2003-2004 Patriots. The Chiefs have a chance to establish their own dynasty by grabbing back-to-back Lombardi Trophies. 

III) Tom Brady Going for #7: Brady is playing in his 10th Super Bowl and he going for his seventh Super Bowl title. That is such an amazing stat and his legacy is further cemented by taking Tampa Bay to this Super Bowl. If he can pull off his seventh Super Bowl title, with a new team no less, it will put Brady up there with some of the greatest athletes of all time.

IV) Bucs Playing a "Home" Super Bowl: This is the first time ever in Super Bowl history that a team is playing in its' home stadium. The Buccaneers are playing in Raymond James Stadium in Tampa and you have to wonder how much of an advantage that will be for them. It will be interesting to see for the first time how this will affect both teams.

V) Andy Reid's Legacy: Andy Reid was always considered one of the best coaches to never win a Super Bowl. Then, last year he broke through and won his first Super Bowl. Now, Reid has a chance to win his second Super Bowl and that could put him in a tier of some of the greatest coaches of all time.

VI) Covid Super Bowl:  As I stated earlier, the Super Bowl will look different this year. There will only be 25,000 fans in the stands. There won't be all the media and usual weekly Super Bowl activities leading up to the game. The Chiefs will be arriving only a few days before the game. It will feel like a regular game instead of the event that the Super Bowl has become. Plus, you are playing the game on the backdrop of a pandemic that is still taking a toll on our country. 

Now, onto the picks for Super Bowl LV....

Last Week's Record (1-1)

Playoff Record: (5-7) 

Overall Season Record: 131-130-12)

Super Bowl LV

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

A Case for the Chiefs: How can you bet against the Chiefs? They have lost only one game when Pat Mahomes was starting the last year and a half. They are pretty much unstoppable on offense with Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Tyreek Hill. No one can guard these players. They ripped through the Tampa Bay defense in November when they played in Tampa Bay. The Bucs had no answer early in that game and the game was not as close as the score indicated. The Bucs secondary might also be banged up for this game. If they are down a few players in the secondary, then the Chiefs will exploit them and take advantage. Plus, one of the few bad games that Mahomes has ever played in was in last year's Super Bowl, and the Chiefs still won the game. I can't see him playing poorly in another Super Bowl. I can see him having his usual big day. The homefield that the Bucs would normally have playing in their home stadium might not mean much at all because there will only be 25,000 fans at the game. We are in the Pat Mahomes era right now in the NFL. The Chiefs are the best team, Mahomes is the best QB, and Andy Reid is the best coach. They are the new dynasty in the NFL.

A Case for the Bucs: The Bucs are the underdog but have a legitimate case to make on why they can win this game. Their defense has guys playing at a big time level: Jason Pierre-Paul, Shaq Barrett, Devin White, and Lavonte David have all had strong postseasons. If they can keep it going in this game, they can give themselves a shot. Also, Vita Vea came back from injury for the NFC Championship Game and played really well. He could be a factor as well. Plus, with both KC offensive tackles out of the game with injury, then maybe the Bucs pass rush can disrupt Mahomes just enough. I like what Todd Bowles has done as far as a defensive coordinator and I think he could potentially formulate a plan to somehow slow Mahomes down. I think the home crowd won't be a factor in terms in crowd noise, but I think playing at Raymond James Stadium and being home all week just like a regular home game could help the Bucs in preparation for this game. Finally, they have Tom Brady at QB. The greatest QB of all time is still playing at a high level and he brought this Bucs team to this point. Anytime you have Tom Brady, especially in the Super Bowl, you have a great chance to win. 

Prediction: Kansas City (-3) over Tampa Bay: The Chiefs will win their second straight Super Bowl and their third overall in franchise history. Pat Mahomes will win the Super Bowl MVP award as KC builds a big lead and holds off Tom Brady and the Bucs to win by 10.

Final Score: Chiefs-34 Buccaneers-24