Throughout the past two weeks, the Denver Broncos have been able to break two streaks. The first being against the New York Jets, breaking an eight-game losing streak; the second being against the Indianapolis Colts, winning their first road game of the 2017 NFL season this past Thursday. However, those records come after weeks of bad football, bringing up the question of why promises from the coaching staff came so late.
A Promise From Vance Joseph to the Denver Broncos
After countless weeks of penalties, sloppy playing, and inconsistency in their performance, the Denver Broncos have finally begun to look like the team they were two years ago. Within these past two weeks, fans have seen the Broncos play a lot smarter and more physical coming off the line against their opponents. They’ve even minimized the number of turnovers and ran the football against opposing defenses with a purpose – to get the ball into the end zone by any means necessary. In return, their defense has been able to return to their dominant form on the field, which has always been the model for the Broncos.
“To finally see it the last two weeks, it’s good, but it could’ve been six weeks ago, seven weeks ago,” coach Vance Joseph said. “It’s bittersweet, but I’m happy for the players. No one has stopped working and no one has stopped believing. That was fun to see the guys play so hard.”
Is the Wait Over?
So, why did it take almost 15 weeks of football for head coach Vance Joseph to get the performance, he promised at the beginning of the 2017 NFL season?
That’s a question all have wondered, and a question Joseph will have to answer to the general manager John Elway, and team president Joe Ellis once this season is wrapped up and in the books.
With the Denver Broncos standing at 5-9, fans are torn apart. To put it another way, they aren’t sure if they should root for their team to win, or accept the fact that their season is practically over and embrace their position in the upcoming draft?
Unfortunately, that’s not the only question haunting the Denver Broncos fan base right now. In other words, Joseph is also in question – and what the future has in store for him.
To begin with, the Broncos hired coach Joseph after a disappointing season shortly after winning the super bowl. However, in a season that’s been filled with lots of drawbacks, has Denver’s head coach shown the fans anything worthy of keeping him around for the 2018 season?
For those who have this question lingering in the back of their mind, coach Joseph has a message for those worries.
“My message would simply be something good is happening here,” Joseph said. “We have a good team. We have a good locker room. We have to fix some things in the off-season, but it’s going to get fixed. I promised.”
Although Joseph promised to turn the ship around, Broncos country is finding hard to believe. Despite the lack of faith in his ability, however, Joseph has shown the world just how mentally tough he really is – which involves the ability to produce consistent results in practices and in games according to Ohio University. Maybe this is why fans are having a hard time swallowing this pill since the Broncos have done the exact opposite and shown more inconsistency in their playing abilities.
But leading a team to their worse franchise performance in half a century will do that to your fans. Nevertheless, Joseph still has a lot to prove. Although some fans may not want to hear this, these past two weeks have shed some light on Joseph’s abilities as a coach.
It’s unlikely the Broncos will fire him after just one season – mainly because no one can’t expect a coach to turn things around in one year. But there was one thing Joseph noted in a post-game interview, “The team is far from perfect,” and he’s right.
As of right now, the Broncos simply don’t have enough time to make a playoff run. Instead, they will, unfortunately, have to watch the dust build up on their wood lockers and plan for the upcoming year. That being said, the 2018 season is going to be perhaps the most intriguing off-season we’ve seen in awhile.
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