I am sure this question has popped up for every Broncos fan. Where did it go wrong? Sometimes it feels like yesterday when the Broncos won Super Bowl 50 and sent Peyton Manning into retirement a champion once again. Von Miller was 1 of 10 defensive players to be named Super Bowl MVP. Everything was good in Broncos Country. Fast forward 7 and a half years and the Broncos have become one of the laughing stocks of the league. Why is that?
Kubiak Stepped Away
After Peyton Manning retired, the Broncos were looking to Brock Osweiler to lead this team for the foreseeable future. Osweiler started 7 games in 2015 in relief of Peyton Manning after he suffered Plantar Fasciitis. In those 7 games, he threw for 9 Touchdowns and 5 Interceptions. He led the team to some big wins vs the Bengals and Patriots which led to the Broncos capturing the top seed in the AFC. Osweiler was very solid in his 7 starts and gave fans hope that he could keep the Franchise relevant for years to come. Instead, Osweiler took a 4-year, 72-million-dollar deal from Houston and that left the Broncos scrambling to find a QB. In the 2016 offseason, the Broncos signed FA Mark Sanchez and drafted QB Paxton Lynch in the first round. Trevor Siemian was the 3rd QB in their QB room as he was drafted a year earlier. Sanchez was cut and Siemian beat Lynch for the starting job. Siemian had a solid first season finishing with 18 TDs and 10 INTs and led the Broncos to a 9-7 record but just missed the playoffs. After that season Kubiak decided to step away from coaching due to health complications. This moment I feel played a key role in the beginning of the demise of the Broncos
QB and HC Musical Chairs
Had Kubiak been able to continue coaching, I believe Siemian and him would have played 4 to 5 years together. However, this wasn't the case and the Broncos have had numerous combinations of Quarterback and Head Coach. The Broncos have started 12 Quarterbacks since Peyton Manning and have hired 4 Head Coaches since Kubiak In that same span. The QB and HC are the main catalysts for building a culture for a franchise. If it keeps changing, you can't expect a team to create a culture of winning. And that has been the main issue for this team. Lack of stability and continuity from arguably the 2 most important facets of a team.
Drew Lock's Failed Development
This take may not be as obvious to Bronco fans as the last 2 points I made but I feel like Denver mishandled Drew Lock's development. In his rookie season under OC Rich Scangarello, He went 4-1 as a starter throwing for 7 TDs and 3 INTs. Not eye-popping stats but he made winning plays and gave Denver fans hope for the first time since Peyton Manning. Inexplicably, in the 2020 offseason, he was fired and the Broncos hired Pat Shurmur. This move made no sense to me because why not let Scangarello and Lock grow together? Their pairing, though not perfect, showed promise. Now Lock has to learn a whole new system during a year he couldn't get many reps in during the offseason because of the pandemic. Lock of course is not absolved of blame as he, of course, is responsible for how poorly he played in the first half of 2020 but he received no help from the coaching staff at all. Despite. a very tough beginning to the 2020 season, he ended the season on a solid note and put together some very good games and deserved a shot to show this team he can play QB for them in 2021, especially with a non-covid offseason and no OC turnover. That same offseason, the Broncos signed Teddy Bridgewater. I thought it would make more sense to start Lock in 2021 and if he fails, then start steady Teddy, and if he succeeds then that's great. Unfortunately, Fangio held an open QB competition between the 2 QBs and he named Teddy the starter even though the numbers and tape don't say that he outplayed. Tim Jenkins, a former NFL QB and the host of the YouTube channel "All Things QB", broke down both the QBs in the preseason and stated that Lock had the upper hand in the competition. It just never worked out for Lock in Denver as I feel like he made major strides in his game especially in the fundamentals and between the ears despite being stunted by the coaching staff.
Russell Wilson
March 8, 2022. The Broncos traded for Russell Wilson giving up their entire future including Noah Fant, Shelby Harris, and Drew Lock along with some first-round picks. Optimism was at an all-time high. The hype for this team was unreal. They had also hired the golden boy of coaches in Nathaniel Hackett and he was the one teams were keeping their eye on especially after he was the OC helping Rodgers get back-to-back MVP awards. Everything was looking good for this team. Fast forward 10 months and the Broncs finished 5-12, Russ had the worst year as a starter, and Hackett was fired after Christmas after losing 51-14 to the Rams. As a matter of fact, Russ played 2 of his best games in the final 2 games of the season scoring 6 total TDs vs KC and LA Chargers. This led to the speculation that Hackett was the issue and once Russ gets a good HC, he'll be back to form. The Broncos hired Sean Payton and once again the optimism reared its ugly head in Broncos country. Fast forward about 8-9 months and they are 1-5 on the verge of a rebuild.
Division Woes
It also doesn't help that the Broncos cannot defeat their divisional opponents. A 16-game losing streak vs KC and a 7-game losing streak against the Raiders are recipes for disaster. Thank goodness for the Chargers I guess.
Overview:
The Broncos need to take the Denver Nuggets' approach and build from the ground up. Russ needs to go, Jeudy or Sutton needs to go, and some other players as well. This team just needs to hit the reset button and establish a culture. I believe Sean Payton can do that with a young QB whether it be Caleb Williams or anyone else in the draft. Unless something dramatic happens, it can be concluded that the Russell Wilson trade was an utter failure and not all of it is because of him but when you trade for a QB of his caliber you expect a Superbowl or bust and now we would be lucky to win 5 games.
Sources:
Tim Jenkins:
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