Well, That Was Fast
It ended early on a Thursday night.
All of the hopes and dreams of the Denver Broncos merely improving their place among other NFL teams compared to a season ago have been put away.
The white flags are being flown at half-mast at Dove Valley.
I haven't actually seen white flags at Broncos headquarters, but the team has certainly surrendered.
With the trade of one of the last few members of the Super Bowl 50 champions, it's abundantly clear that Denver has given up on winning in 2019.
After a modest two game winning streak and some aspects of the team coming together ahead of their clash with the division rival Kansas City Chiefs, the Broncos strangely folded like a house of cards before half-time. Or folded like a cheap suit. Or a lawn chair. Or folded like Joe Flacco holding on to the ball too long. Anyway, there was a lot of folding going on last Thursday night.
I like Flacco. I think his reputation as a Super Bowl champ will always be a highlight as he helped his former Ravens stun a Broncos squad led by Peyton Manning on his way to the title game. However, the same stuff I like about the veteran signal caller is the same quality that gets him in trouble.
He stays consistent in his approach as a classic drop back thrower, which is great, until the offensive line vanishes around him. The best QB's adjust to the extra pressure, they find ways around or through or simply get the ball away quicker.
So now the guy brought in to stabilize the all important field leader position is going to be added to the stable of players who are not the answer.
Denver snagged a youthful gunslinger in the second round of the NFL draft, who may yet be able to turn this sinking franchise around, but no one in the front office seems to be in a hurry to see Drew Lock out on the field. A minor injury and they put him on the IR shelf. Now Lock is ready to roll and the team as of today, doesn't seem excited about activating him.
The very first team under John Elway's tenure started 2-5, but his coach the, John Fox threw Tim Tebow into the fire and that run first, throw wild quarterback got the Broncos to 8-8 and a first round playoff victory against Pittsburgh.
Heck, the Broncos didn't have much protection for Elway when he started either.
After trading Emmanuel Sanders, it's time to throw Lock into this mess and see if he has what it takes to make it in this league that seems to devour young quarterbacks at a record rate.
Let Lock be Lock too.
Yeah, he still throws at weird arm angles and off his back foot. So does Patrick Mahomes and no one is complaining about that kid's technique. I'm not saying Lock is the next Mahomes, but this is a strong armed guy who loves to compete. Let him loose.
This also means the offense has to game plan with a little more imagination than run twice and throw it on third and long. That strategy only worked for Dan Reeves because he had Elway.
Pull down the white flags. Play like there is nothing to lose and see what the younger guys can accomplish while they gain experience.
And don't trade Von unless he wants to leave. Miller has earned that choice to stay or go.
All of the hopes and dreams of the Denver Broncos merely improving their place among other NFL teams compared to a season ago have been put away.
The white flags are being flown at half-mast at Dove Valley.
I haven't actually seen white flags at Broncos headquarters, but the team has certainly surrendered.
With the trade of one of the last few members of the Super Bowl 50 champions, it's abundantly clear that Denver has given up on winning in 2019.
After a modest two game winning streak and some aspects of the team coming together ahead of their clash with the division rival Kansas City Chiefs, the Broncos strangely folded like a house of cards before half-time. Or folded like a cheap suit. Or a lawn chair. Or folded like Joe Flacco holding on to the ball too long. Anyway, there was a lot of folding going on last Thursday night.
I like Flacco. I think his reputation as a Super Bowl champ will always be a highlight as he helped his former Ravens stun a Broncos squad led by Peyton Manning on his way to the title game. However, the same stuff I like about the veteran signal caller is the same quality that gets him in trouble.
He stays consistent in his approach as a classic drop back thrower, which is great, until the offensive line vanishes around him. The best QB's adjust to the extra pressure, they find ways around or through or simply get the ball away quicker.
So now the guy brought in to stabilize the all important field leader position is going to be added to the stable of players who are not the answer.
Denver snagged a youthful gunslinger in the second round of the NFL draft, who may yet be able to turn this sinking franchise around, but no one in the front office seems to be in a hurry to see Drew Lock out on the field. A minor injury and they put him on the IR shelf. Now Lock is ready to roll and the team as of today, doesn't seem excited about activating him.
The very first team under John Elway's tenure started 2-5, but his coach the, John Fox threw Tim Tebow into the fire and that run first, throw wild quarterback got the Broncos to 8-8 and a first round playoff victory against Pittsburgh.
Heck, the Broncos didn't have much protection for Elway when he started either.
After trading Emmanuel Sanders, it's time to throw Lock into this mess and see if he has what it takes to make it in this league that seems to devour young quarterbacks at a record rate.
Let Lock be Lock too.
Yeah, he still throws at weird arm angles and off his back foot. So does Patrick Mahomes and no one is complaining about that kid's technique. I'm not saying Lock is the next Mahomes, but this is a strong armed guy who loves to compete. Let him loose.
This also means the offense has to game plan with a little more imagination than run twice and throw it on third and long. That strategy only worked for Dan Reeves because he had Elway.
Pull down the white flags. Play like there is nothing to lose and see what the younger guys can accomplish while they gain experience.
And don't trade Von unless he wants to leave. Miller has earned that choice to stay or go.
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