Are Fans of the Denver Broncos Spoiled
By Joe Morrone
Sep 7, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Fans wait outside the stadium before the game between the Denver Broncos and the Indianapolis Colts at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
The Denver Broncos have spoiled their fans over the past two plus seasons to the point where a solid opening night win over a playoff team is met with disdain from some. Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty to work on as I outlined in an article earlier today: The Good and the Bad from the Denver Broncos Opening Night Win https://milehighmaniac.com/2014/09/08/good-bad-denver-broncos-opening-night-win/ …
However I think it’s easy to be overly critical especially of a team that has now gone 26-7 in their past 33 regular season games. I understand that the standards are high and everything is being measured against one question, can the Broncos win the Super Bowl?
Are they ready to win the Super Bowl today, no but the last time I checked that game is still close to five months away. The Broncos may not even be ready to beat the Seattle Seahawks in two weeks but then very few teams go to the northwest and win.
The Broncos showed who they are capable of being but they also showed how much work they have left to do, and that’s ok. Let’s not lose sight of the fact that for three and a half quarters, the Broncos were dominating the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts, a good team, made some plays and the Broncos did make some mistakes but there were a lot of positives.
For three plus quarters, the revamped defense held a very good offense to 10 points. That effort included forcing two turnovers, a goal line stand and solid play in the secondary. In all honesty, the offense or lack of offense in the second half was just as responsible for the Colts comeback as the defense was.
The Colts did not really get back into the game until the Broncos offense continually went three and out which left the defense on the field too long. Had the offense gotten even a couple of first downs in the last couple of series, then chances are the game ends at 31-17 and everyone is feeling better today.
If Julius Thomas, who played great, makes a simple play on the Colts onside kick after closing the gap to 31-17, then the Colts probably never get within one score. Maybe the Broncos take what would’ve been great field position and turn it into points, which also would have made people feel better about the win.
It’s not my in intent to play the what if game because whatever happened, happened but I do believe the defense is getting an unfair share of the blame.
It’s also important to remember that this defense is a work in progress; the talent is there but its talent that hasn’t played together a lot in games. The defense is going to get better every week and by mid-season, they will look a lot better than they do right now.
Remember Peyton Manning’s first season with the Broncos? The offense really struggled in the first five weeks of the 2012 season and people were in a panic. Then in the second half of the game in San Diego, everything clicked and they’ve been scoring points ever since.
This defense features new starters, players returning from injury and rookies who are playing big roles. They deserve some time to gel before we start making final judgments.
As for the offense, is anyone really worried about that side of the ball? They struggled to run the ball and were ineffective for most of the second half, and still scored 31 points. The Broncos will win a lot of games if they continue to score 31 points and if that’s considered a bad night, then I think the offense will be fine.
Its human nature to focus on the negative especially when expectations are so high, but it’s also easy to overlook how good things really are. Would you rather be a fan of the Dallas Cowboys today? The Broncos are a very good football team with a lot of room to get better and that should excite people.
The win over the Colts wasn’t perfect but the Broncos did win the game; let’s not forget that when we are being so critical.