“Here Goes Nothing” #3
This is the third part of a new thing i’ll be starting called “Here Goes Nothing.” Soooo, without further adieu, here goes nothing. The Denver Broncos. As of right now? The Broncos are 5-8-0 and are basically eliminated from the playoffs as the Steelers and Titans would have to lose out, not to mention the Broncos would also have to win out against the Chiefs, Raiders, and Lions, which is not unlikely given the way they have been playing, it’s just the fact that the Steelers and Titans will almost certainly not both lose out. To the numbers. Denver’s offense this year has been mediocre, sitting at 27th out of 32 teams in points for (236). Their defense has been doing its usual and playing well, placing 10th out of 32 teams in points against (261). Their coaching staff is very strong in my opinion, as they have managed to rebuild the team after Peyton Manning and DeMarcus Ware retired, and they traded away Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas. They have put together a lot of young guys on the offensive side of the ball, and they have been producing for the past 2 weeks that they have been playing together. They have built a defense around veterans who have been able to train up the younger players so they can keep the unit strong for years to come. Vic Fangio is the coach the Broncos desperately needed and hopefully he stays for a long time to come.
Through the first eight weeks of the season under Joe Flacco, the Broncos went 2-6. Joe Flacco then suffered a concussion and Brandon Allen was put into start in Week 9. The Broncos won that game and then went on bye. They came back from bye and under Brandon Allen, lost their next two games. Allen was then benched in favor of rookie Drew Lock out of Missouri. Drew Lock won his first start at home against the Chargers in a thriller, and then went on to win his second start of the year on the road against an 8-4 Texans team that leads their division. In Flacco’s eight starts, he threw for 1822 yards and 6 touchdowns. However, he threw 5 interceptions and was sacked 26 times. In Allen’s just three starts, he mustered up 515 yards and 3 touchdowns, but threw 2 interceptions and was sacked 9 times. However, in Lock’s first two starts, he put up 443 yards and 5 touchdowns while only throwing 1 interception and being sacked 1 time. He’s averaging just about as many yards per game as Flacco averaged in his time at QB, the big difference is he is averaging 2.5 touchdowns per game, to the 0.75 touchdowns per game that Flacco averaged and isn’t being sacked nearly as much. Lock has changed this offense. He has turned it into an explosive powerhouse that needs to be taken seriously. With a list of offensive talent that includes but is not limited to Drew Lock, Phillip Lindsay, Royce Freeman, Devontae Booker, Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick, Diontae Spencer, and Brandon McManus. This is a lineup that when you look at it on paper, is dangerous. With an explosive three headed run game, Freeman for size and power, Lindsay for speed and agility, and Booker for pass catching, it’s hard to predict what they’ll do. While Phillip Lindsay is the clear number one back in this offense starting all 13 games this season and gaining 817 yards, 6 touchdowns, 31 first downs, and breaking 30 tackles this year. However, don’t underestimate the contributions of Royce Freeman, who as the secondary back, still rushed for 460 yards, 3 touchdowns, 20 first downs, and breaking 6 tackles so far.
The passing attack that the Broncos have right now hasn’t been seen since their Super Bowl 50 run with Peyton Manning, Emmanuel Sanders, and Demaryius Thomas. This unit has been utterly dominant under the control of Drew Lock and coach Vic Fangio. Courtland Sutton has become the number one receiver on this roster and has been nearly unstoppable. Playing with 3 different quarterbacks this year, he has put together a monster season, catching 59 passes for 940 yards and 6 touchdowns. He has picked up 42 first downs and also broken 6 tackles. The big deep threat on this roster is Tim Patrick. Coming off of injury mid year, he has only caught 7 passes, but has picked up 130 yards and is averaging 18.6 yards per catch. He will continue to develop and grow his game, and I can see him as a strong wide receiver 2 to Sutton. Now to my favorite player on this roster. Noah Fant. He’s a powerhouse at 6’4, 249 pounds, I can see why defenders wouldn’t wanna be matched up against him. He’s a rookie too which means that he’s only going to get better. So far in his rookie season, he has caught 35 passes for 492 yards and 3 touchdowns. His chemistry with Lock in undeniable and was put on full display this past week as he caught four of four passes for 113 yards and a score. You can’t ignore the effect that a good kicker has on a team though. Brandon McManus has been amazing this year, which is notable because not a lot of teams have consistent kickers. McManus is 21 for 22 on extra points, 5 for 5 on 20-29 yard field goal attempts, 7 for 7 when kicking from 30-39 yards, 8 for 10 from 40-49 yards out, and 3 for 5 from 50 or more yards away. It has been fun to watch this group and they have given this team and us fans hope for the future of this offense. This unit should continue to dominate for years to come if they stay at this rate, as almost all of the key pieces are in the first few years of their careers.
Now, the defense. This unit has been consistently good for years, and although they are not nearly as young as the offense is, they should still be good for years to come and the strength of the offense allows management to focus on the defense in drafts and free agency. As I previously mentioned, they are 10th in the league in points against, only giving up 261 points so far this season. Led by Von Miller, who has actually missed the past two games, this group has worked together to put up respectable numbers. Big names include, Von Miller, Justin Simmons, Todd Davis, Alexander Johnson, Kareem Jackson, Chris Harris, Shelby Harris, Bradley Chubb (IR), Malik Reed, and Derek Wolfe (IR). Von Miller has been huge this year. Through the first twelve games that he started, he has racked up 6 sacks, pressured the opposing QB 25 times, hit the QB 14 times, and tackled 8 times for a loss of yards. Todd Davis has started 11 games and has grabbed an unbelievable 103 combined tackles. The turnover causer in this group is safety Justin Simmons, who through 13 games has 3 interceptions, 1 forced fumble, 13 successfully defended passes, and 76 total tackles. Although losing both Derek Wolfe and Bradley Chubb for the remainder of the season to injury hurts the team overall, they have still been able to put together a respectable season thus far. This group should continue to be reinforced through free agency and the draft and will be strong for as long as Ed Donatell is the coordinator.
At the end of the day, the Broncos should continue to develop as a whole and if they keep this trend up, they could be a serious threat in the AFC as soon as next season. A lot of people are underestimating this team, I wouldn’t do that given how they’re developing. They aren’t bad, and they are very close to being very good. Just give it a little bit more time. That’s all.
Source for Basic Statistics:
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/den/2019.htm
Source for Advanced Statistics:
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/den/2019_advanced.htm
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