While the Denver Broncos, and the rest of the NFL, watch Peyton Manning ride off into the sunset and celebrate his Hall of Fame career, the rest of the league is moving forward. Yes, enjoying the Super Bowl victory is nice, but it’s best to not get too caught up in it. As teams prepare for the next step of the off-season, the NFL draft, general managers and coaches alike will be getting their teams ready to for another season to achieve the ultimate goal; winning the Super Bowl. This includes the Broncos as well. Do they have what it takes to become repeat Super Bowl champions?
While their 2013 Super Bowl appearance was powered by a historic offense, it was the defense’s turn in 2015 to lead the attack, and some might say that in a literal sense. In 2016, the Broncos may have to lean on the defense once again. Denver’s fefensive coordinator Wade Phillips commanded the league’s most vicious defense in 2015, after spending the entire 2014 season out of the NFL. With a dominant pass rush and a no-fly-zone secondary, the Broncos boasted 52 sacks, 14 interceptions, and 22 forced fumbles while ranking no worse than fourth in points, total yards, passing yards and rushing yards. A tough defensive line with guys like Derek Wolfe, Malik Jackson and Demarcus Ware, along with several great linebackers like Von Miller, Danny Trevathan, and Brandon Marshall, and a very talented secondary with Chris Harris, Aqib Talib, T.J. Ward, and Bradley Roby, all helped contribute to their team’s success. After losing some pieces on both sides of the ball in free agency, do the Broncos still have enough talent to contend in 2016?
As with any NFL team, especially the ones that just won a championship, re-signing your own top free agent players can be difficult to do. With free agent quarterback Brock Osweiler signing with the Houston Texans and Manning retiring, the void at the quarterback position in Denver would be enough to worry any fan. By trading for Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Mark Sanchez the Broncos front office made an attempt to fill the void with a veteran presence. But is Sanchez a Super Bowl caliber quarterback? Well, he doesn’t have to be. To be fair, the former USC Trojan has never been an outstanding NFL quarterback. But, he hasn’t been terrible either. In 2015, the combination of Manning and Osweiler wasn’t all that great, as they posted a combined 4,206 yards, 19 touchdowns and 23 interceptions. To put it in perspective, Washington Redskins signal caller Kirk Cousins had almost as many yards, ten more touchdowns, and nearly half the interceptions. While you do want your quarterback to thrive and do well, if a team has a number one defense that can wreak havoc whenever they are on the field, they can win games even if the guy under center is less than perfect. Sanchez filled in nicely as the starter in 2014 while with the Eagles. He played nine games, threw for 2,418 yards, 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. If the Broncos need him to just be a fill in guy, he should do well, given the talent around him.
The Broncos also lost players such as Trevathan to the Chicago Bears, Jackson to the Jacksonville Jaguars, safety David Bruton to Washington, and guard Evan Mathis to the Arizona Cardinals. Otherwise, it would seem that they’ve done a fairly good job at keeping their guys in Denver. With Super Bowl 50 MVP, Miller, given the franchise tag, the restructure of Ware’s contract, and the matching of Miami’s offer for running back, C.J. Anderson, the Broncos have many of the key pieces they had during their Super Bowl winning season, available for the 2016 season. Next February, at Super Bowl 51, we may see the Broncos there again. But will we see them hoisting the Lombardi Trophy again as repeat Super Bowl champions?
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