Everyone outside Denver seems to think the Broncos have no shot at repeating this year, but why not?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, Manning is gone. We know that. And we know the Broncos haven’t exactly found a top-notch replacement, either. What people seem to be forgetting, though, is the fact that football games are won on both sides of the ball, and the Denver defense is still a historically great unit.

Former NFL player Mike Pritchard joined Eric Goodman and Les Shapiro on the Afternoon Drive to discuss why people shouldn’t count Denver out just yet.

“What’s changed on the team, other than Peyton Manning retired? The coaching staff is still there, the front office is still there,” Pritchard said. “They still have that championship mentality.”

AFTERNOON DRIVE LIVE STREAMSure Malik Jackson and Danny Trevathan are gone, but the core of that unit, the guys who really matter, are still there. More importantly, so is the culture. These guys have the mentality of champions, and that’s not going away.

“You got the Denver Broncos coming off of a Super Bowl victory,” Pritchard said. “I don’t know who you are, but it’s going to be difficult to play in that stadium next year.”

If the Denver Broncos taught us anything last year, it’s that it takes a team to win a championship. Until someone proves differently, this is still the best team in the NFL, quarterback or not.

To listen to the full conversation, click on the link below…

https://soundcloud.com/milehighsports/5-9-16-michael-pritchard-tells-afternoon-drive-that-the-broncos-deserve-lots-of-respect?in=milehighsports/sets/afternoon-drive

Catch the Afternoon Drive every weekday from 4p-6p on Mile High Sports AM 1340 or FM 104.7, or stream live any time for the best local coverage of Colorado sports from Denver’s biggest sports talk lineup.