The Broncos 2020 season is shaping up as a free pass for all involved
Sep 29, 2020, 6:44 AM
I can see where this is going. As the Broncos continue to get hit with injuries, the groundswell is building to just blow off this year as just, well, a tough break. “What can you do? Oh well.”
So that’s it? The Broncos season is over after three games? Just another example of “2020. What a year.” (shrug shoulders)?
No pressure? No accountability? Just, what? What is this season about then?
I hate two excuses in sports – officiating and injuries. Lord, we just went through the officiating dance with the Nuggets. Forget about Nikola Jokic disappearing in the fourth quarters of Games 3 and 4. Forget about having to rely upon Jerami Grant as your third scorer. Forget about giving up crucial offensive rebounds. Let’s just blame the zebras. So weak.
Now, the Broncos and their injury bug. It does suck. I’m not denying that. And losing the likes of Von Miller, Drew Lock, A.J. Bouye, Courtland Sutton and Jurrell Casey hurts. But these injuries shouldn’t sink a season.
In case you haven’t noticed, there is an injury epidemic around the NFL. Big names are going down, but the season doesn’t end. You’re still expected to go out and perform.
Look at the San Francisco 49ers. In one fell swoop, they lost the likes of Jimmy Garoppolo, Nick Bosa, George Kittle, Dee Ford, Raheem Mostert and Jordan Reed. What did they do as a response? Did they fold their tents? No, they went out on the road and hammered the Giants.
Now, I know what’s coming. “Evans, the 49ers went to the Super Bowl!” That’s exactly my point. This is a team that was 4-12 as recently as two years ago. Under John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan, they have drafted expertly to build not only a team capable of going to the Super Bowl, but also one that is able to withstand injuries and keep producing.
This is my biggest fear for the Broncos if folks just decide to blow off this season. It lets John Elway and Vic Fangio off the hook.
I have been banging the drum for four years now about the poor job Elway and his staff have done. Poor drafts. Poor free-agent signings. Since winning the Super Bowl, the Broncos have gone 27-40. Coaches have come and gone. Coordinators have come and gone. Quarterbacks have most definitely come and gone (eight different starting QBs since Peyton Manning rode off into the sunset). The one constant remains Elway and his yes man-er, loyal staff.
Yes, the Broncos have suffered injuries. But take a closer look at the guys who got hurt. Von was going into a make-or-break season that could decide whether he has a future here or not. Bouye and Casey were “in the moment” trades for guys who probably only have a two-year window here. The Broncos showed how much they thought of Sutton as a long-term fixture they went out and drafted Jerry Jeudy and K.J. Hamler. Lock’s injury genuinely stinks, but the good news is he should be back in time to get a good feel as to if he can be the team’s quarterback of the future.
Where are all the young players who are ready to step in and replace these injured vets? Why did the Broncos have to go out and trade for Bouye and Casey in the first place? Shouldn’t they already have young players in place?
The fact is this team isn’t very good. They need a major upgrade in talent. The focus, and the accountability, should focus around that. Not on crying about who’s hurt.
The Broncos are in serious trouble. They are putting up win-loss records that threaten to be the worst since Denver came into existence as an AFL franchise in the 1960s! They can’t afford to have another bad season that just gets written off as bad luck.
If they’re not careful and the organization believes they are just snakebit and happy days are right around the corner, then they could easily become the new Browns, or Bengals.
