There’s not a single team in the NFL that has it all. Not one.
The closest one, arguably, is the Los Angeles Rams. They’ve got stars on both sides of the ball, and a mix of veterans and young players, all of whom are contributing at a high level. They’ve got a legendary defensive coordinator and a hot-shot young coach. And perhaps what makes all of the above feasible is the fact that they don’t have much money tied up in star quarterback. Oh, they’ve got one, but Jared Goff just happens to be a third-year player locked up by his rookie contracting and only costing the Rams $7.6 million against the cap. Next season, his cap hit will be $8.9 million.
Still, the Rams are the exception. Think of the “other” best teams in the NFL. The Patriots never have a bevy of stars outside of Tom Brady. The Chiefs have stars on offense, but is anyone believing that Kansas City’s defense can rise to the occasion all the way to a Super Bowl? Yesterday against the Broncos, the Chiefs D was slashed at a rate of 6.3 yards per carry by Denver’s run game.
The Saints, Packers, Vikings, Eagles, Redskins and Steelers are among the “next level” teams – good, but certainly not great, and missing pieces here or there.
That’s the norm in the NFL. Very few teams, if any, are complete.
The Denver Broncos aren’t complete either. Sitting at 3-5, and losing five of their last six, nobody will argue that – not exactly a newsflash, right?. The glass half-full approach says that if one looks at the Broncos versus most any other team in the NFL , Denver is – oh, for the sake of estimating strictly by the numbers – “a few” pieces away from being a playoff-caliber team.
Problem is, the Broncos come up short in some of the game’s most important pieces.
Quarterback. Head Coach. Offensive and defensive coordinators.
And it’s not even that Denver is necessarily terrible in any of those areas.
Case Keenum is the definition of average. He has his moments. He’s serviceable most of the time. He’ll play beyond himself on occasion. He’s an upgrade over Trevor Siemian.
On the sidelines, the coaching staff sort of “is what it is.” Vance Joseph shouldn’t have been hired in the first place. He’s not really a ‘leader of men’, as evidenced by the Broncos consistent lack of discipline week in and week out. But again, Joseph should get some credit for getting his team up to play the top teams in the NFL. Even though they’ve got five losses, the Broncos best three games, arguably, have been in games they came up short – one against the Rams, and one against the Chiefs. To some degree, Joseph put forth a valid effort and has little to be ashamed about in those three losses. Sure, a win or two would have been better, but you know, not too bad, not great either.
Joe Woods and Bill Musgrave are mediocre, too. Musgrave isn’t Josh McDaniels or the next Sean McVay. Woods is – as Aqib Talib or Chris Harris Jr. might suggest – not quite Wade Phillips. Again, that doesn’t make them bad football men, just nothing to write home about.
If one looks at the bright spots, the Broncos have plenty of strengths, too. Von Miller. Bradley Chubb. An above-average wide receiving corps, and a backfield that’s not only effective, but deep (even Devonte Booker was a nice contributor against the Chiefs on Sunday).
What you have in Denver – in a nutshell – are a few nice pieces and a few that need upgraded. That’s what most teams have.
The teams that make the playoffs, are likely the ones that have holes but an above average quarterback or coach. It’s really that simple. It’s a quarterback league, so being better than the norm in that position alone almost promises a playoff game. Then there are teams that don’t have a “great” quarterback, but have plenty of other things (the Broncos could fall into this category). But those teams – if they find their way to the postseason – do so because of great coaching. Look no further than the 2015 Denver Broncos. Peyton Manning was far from great that season, same with Brock Osweiler, but Gary Kubiak (and Wade Phillips) constructed game plans that leaned on the Broncos’ strengths and deemphasized their weaknesses.
Back to the here and now. Denver has a quarterback who’s just so-so, but a coaching staff that can’t quite hide the weaknesses or assert the strengths.
It’s a combination that spells “mediocre” or perhaps worse.
Want to fix the Broncos? While easier said than done, it’s a simple formula: Upgrade at quarterback and coach, something John Elway has eight games to figure out.
