Strip away the heroic finishes and the mania that surrounding an overachieving team, and you get to reality: There remains a significant talent gap between the Denver Broncos and the elite teams in the NFL. They are still very much in rebuilding mode.
No way around it: This season was a very significant first step for the Broncos. A team with five or six win talent ended up winning a play-off game. One giant leap for Bronco-kind.
Now, after the New England Patriots put Denver back in its place, it’s time to evaluate what are the top ten things the Broncos need to do before training camp starts next July.
10. Attitude: Keep it. Unlike some recent Bronco teams, sprinkled with malcontents that can screw up any locker room, this team brought a great attitude to the game every week. It’s not easy to manufacture that all important “us against the world” attitude, and the Broncos won’t be the underdogs as much next season. Therefore, it’s critical for the leaders in the locker room to keep the team focused on team goals and playing for each other. In other words, continue being the anti-New York Jets.
9. Depth: Get some. This sounds simple, but it’s not…not in the salary cap era. You can’t pay back-ups like starters, even though you need them to play that way. So it’s critical to find some guys who can accept being part time players and being paid accordingly. The last time the Broncos had real good depth was when they won back to back Super Bowls. They could rotate their defensive tackles, for instance, without any drop off. Of course, that was right at the beginning of the salary cap era and the Broncos didn’t exactly follow the letter of the law when it came to abiding by the cap, as Pat Bowlen’s accountant remembers well.
8. A play-making Tight End. Heck, the Patriots have TWO of them. Either find out if the current group that includes Daniel Fells, Virgil Green, Julius Thomas and Dante Rosario has a guy or two in it who can become a big time contributor(s), or get out on the market and find someone who can. It’s becoming a really REALLY important position on every NFL offense. Your tight end has to be able to be a pass catching threat AND a great run blocker.
7. The “Quarterback of the Future.” By most accounts, Tim Tebow is destined to be a shooting star – sort of a cross between Mark “The Bird” Fidrych and Gayle Sayers. He’s a short termer. Team Tebow views football as a platform for more important future endeavors. Spreading the word and saving the world is much higher on the list that winning the Super Bowl. It’s very likely that Tebow will only play a few NFL seasons and then step away to pursue what he and his family believe is a greater purpose. That means finding someone to replace Tebow in the not-too-distant future IS important.
6. A Back-up QB: Vince Young, anyone? Okay, so his stock isn’t very high. He had a couple decent passing games this season filling in for Michael Vick, but threw a lot of interceptions. Still, Young would fit into any offense that Tebow fits into. He’s a better passer than Tebow and a very good runner, still. The question is whether or not his act would fit into what is otherwise a really good locker room. Would he be a positive influence or a distraction? If not Young, the Broncos need to find a veteran back-up who could fill in should Tebow falter…and the guy has to be able to run.
Number five down to number one in Part II…
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