Broncos Establishing Underdog Culture: Ryan Edwards

“Seems like a lot of the media is doing that for us. We still don’t get the credit. I don’t know.” – Broncos Safety T.J. Ward on the perceived disrespect the Broncos defense is receiving.

The Broncos entered Super Bowl 50 as an underdog vs the Carolina Panthers. Analysts and fans from around the country couldn’t imagine the vaunted Broncos defense containing Cam Newton and the Panthers offense. Simultaneously, most believed the impressive Panthers defense would get to Peyton Manning with ease and force the veteran quarterback into too many mistakes for the Broncos to keep the game close enough for victory. Listening to some, the Broncos didn’t stand a chance.https://twitter.com/TroyRenck/status/729757892992106497

Considered the most dominating Super Bowl performances by a defense, the Broncos emerged with a 24-10 victory. In Super Bowl history, no team had ever won posting under 200 yards of total offense. Denver’s defense, aside from a few mental mistakes, was flawless. They were relentless. Most importantly, they were victorious and enter the 2016 season as the “team to beat” in the NFL. Wait, they aren’t? Seriously? How is that possible? Well, maybe a couple of teams could be ahead but surely they are in the Top 5, right? Here’s a hint: In the latest ESPN NFL Rankings, they are 8th.

Maybe that was just ESPN? After all, these things are very subjective, right? NFL.com has the Broncos 5th and CBS Sports has them 8th. T.J. Ward may have a point about the best defense in the NFL, following the best defensive performance in Super Bowl history, not getting the respect they deserve. In fact, according to ESPN.com’s latest Power Rankings, there are THREE better teams in the AFC than the Broncos entering the 2016 season and two of them (Patriots and Steelers), Denver beat en route to a championship.

In fairness to the national media that puts these May Power Rankings together, their argument for not considering the Broncos as an elite team is based on the uncertainties at the quarterback position. These are legitimate concerns and most of Broncos Country shares that anxiety. Truth be told, the Broncos quarterback position last year set new lows for efficiency and performance, being the second worst in passer rating and leading the league in interceptions. Yet, this defense was able to mask those offensive deficiencies, finish the regular season with a 12-4 record and the #1 seed in the AFC, and win the Super Bowl.

On Schlereth and Evans, Mark believes that T.J. Ward’s comments were simply part of him keeping his edge as an aggressive player in the league. “Playing the disrespect card works,” said Schlereth Tuesday morning. “If you perceive the fact that the national media isn’t paying attention to you and not giving you the proper amount of respect, then you’ll lean on that stuff.”

Obviously, being the underdog worked out well for the Broncos in Super Bowl 50 where, two years ago, they were the favorite and got trounced by the Seahawks. Perhaps this is part of the identity and culture of this Broncos team?

Mike Evans echoed the sentiments of some who don’t buy the Broncos gripes about media coverage of a team that just won the Super Bowl. “As a fan who looks at this logically, I do a lot of eye-rolling when a defending champ talks about not getting enough respect.” Evans has a point, but Ward’s comments are not intended to be taken at face value. Specifically, the Broncos have fostered a culture of being the underdog and utilize every perceived slight as a motivation for their performance on Sundays.

“Having that chip on your shoulder is a great asset and the great players, regardless of how much success they have, are still [angry] about something,” said Schlereth. It’s clear that this Broncos team continues to find motivation from those media and fans who don’t believe in them. As questions continue about the future of the quarterback position, lukewarm media coverage of this team won’t be going away any time soon and the defense couldn’t be more thrilled to hear that.