The hopeful six

[NWPATSFAN]

This isn't about sunshine. This is about trying to compare Sanchez at his worst compared to what the Broncos put out on the field last year. Even at his worst he still played better than what the Broncos put out on the field last year at the QB position. So it shouldn't be all that crazy for Bronco fans to actually think they could have better QB play this year compared to last year. The bar was set pretty low. That doesn't mean it is all sunshine in Denver. I mean this is us going from embarrassing to maybe now just bad QB play. Nothing to write home about but it gives us a little glimmer of hope that things on the offensive side of the ball could actually be better this year.

Sanchez at his worst? Hexs had one winning season. I used his statistically his best season by using the metric of 15 games or more.

If you want to cherry pick last year in 4 games Sanchez was perfect. 4 TDs and 4 INTs.
2014 in 9 games 14 TDs and 11 INTs.

If anything you two were comparing one of Peyton's worst years.

There is a reason Sanchez couldn't hold a starting job. That reason isn't because he didn't have Kubiac as his coach.

 

[Chewbaccer]

What great QB play did you see in Denver last season that leads you to believe QB play will keep them out of the playoffs?

When the opposing QB is running for his life and constantly on his back, you just need a QB who can hand the ball off and not turn it over.

I believe Denver just sacked their way to a Super Bowl title last season with arguably the worst QB play in the entire league.

 

[NWPATSFAN]

What great QB play did you see in Denver last season that leads you to believe QB play will keep them out of the playoffs?

When the opposing QB is running for his life and constantly on his back, you just need a QB who can hand the ball off and not turn it over.

I believe Denver just sacked their way to a Super Bowl title last season with arguably the worst QB play in the entire league.

If you're asking me? I never said there was great QB play in Denver last season. I've actually said jus the opposite.
If you think you saw bad play in Denver wait till Sanchez plays 16 games there. 6 career play off games and 5 turn overs.

 

[Chewbaccer]

If you're asking me? I never said there was great QB play in Denver last season. I've actually said jus the opposite.

I was more referring to the original post.

 

[cdumler7]

Sanchez at his worst? Hexs had one winning season. I used his statistically his best season by using the metric of 15 games or more.

If you want to cherry pick last year in 4 games Sanchez was perfect. 4 TDs and 4 INTs.
2014 in 9 games 14 TDs and 11 INTs.

If anything you two were comparing one of Peyton's worst years.

There is a reason Sanchez couldn't hold a starting job. That reason isn't because he didn't have Kubiac as his coach.

I don't think we are quite on the same page here. Sanchez at his worst is probably what the Broncos saw this past year from the QB position. He didn't throw quite the number of interceptions but still he wasn't great. What us Bronco fans are saying though is Sanchez at his worst is still right at or even a little better than what we got from the QB position this past year. All that we are talking about is last year and what we saw. Manning any other year is great and I would take that in a heart beat over anything Sanchez can do. We are not talking full career here though we are talking one season and what we saw.

Now if we can get what Sanchez has shown while an Eagles of 18 touchdowns and 15 interceptions like I said that is a nice step up from what we saw out of the QB's this past year. We are not expecting to get top-10 QB production. I think every Bronco fan out there knows we can at best hope that Lynch can become that sooner than later if he develops but this upcoming season probably the best we can hope for is middle of the pack production. I think we would jump for joy to get that because paired with our defense and what we think should be an improved run game gives our team a chance to compete. Doesn't mean we win the Super Bowl and doesn't mean we make the playoffs but it would at least have us competing almost every single game.

 

[cdumler7]

If you're asking me? I never said there was great QB play in Denver last season. I've actually said jus the opposite.
If you think you saw bad play in Denver wait till Sanchez plays 16 games there. 6 career play off games and 5 turn overs.

See when you post something like this you make it sound like Sanchez should be an even bigger step down that what the Broncos saw this past year...I'm not sure you realize just how bad it was for us. I mean we had 19 touchdowns out of the QB's to that of 23 interceptions. If Manning had remained in the entire season he was on pace to break his own interceptions thrown in one season record. On top of that QB Rating we finished only above that of the Rams who just traded up to the #1 draft pick to get a QB because of how terrible their QB play was. The Cowboys finished with a QB Rating higher than that of the Broncos with all the back ups they rolled out.

So is it really us just going full homer to say that even with Sanchez that we can maybe expect better QB play this upcoming season than what we saw last year?

 

[NWPATSFAN]

I don't think we are quite on the same page here. Sanchez at his worst is probably what the Broncos saw this past year from the QB position. He didn't throw quite the number of interceptions but still he wasn't great. What us Bronco fans are saying though is Sanchez at his worst is still right at or even a little better than what we got from the QB position this past year. All that we are talking about is last year and what we saw. Manning any other year is great and I would take that in a heart beat over anything Sanchez can do. We are not talking full career here though we are talking one season and what we saw.

Now if we can get what Sanchez has shown while an Eagles of 18 touchdowns and 15 interceptions like I said that is a nice step up from what we saw out of the QB's this past year. We are not expecting to get top-10 QB production. I think every Bronco fan out there knows we can at best hope that Lynch can become that sooner than later if he develops but this upcoming season probably the best we can hope for is middle of the pack production. I think we would jump for joy to get that because paired with our defense and what we think should be an improved run game gives our team a chance to compete. Doesn't mean we win the Super Bowl and doesn't mean we make the playoffs but it would at least have us competing almost every single game.

All I'm saying is give Sanchez a full 16 games in Denver and he will likely play worse then the QB production you witnessed last year.
Good luck, time will tell.

 

[cdumler7]

All I'm saying is give Sanchez a full 16 games in Denver and he will likely play worse then the QB production you witnessed last year.
Good luck, time will tell.

I guess so. I have watched Sanchez plenty and what we saw last year in Denver he is a notch above that. I'm not saying he will light the world on fire but we are talking some of the worst QB play I have ever witnessed and I lived through the Tebow years. I would have taken Tebow last year compared to what the Broncos put on the field. I'm not exaggerating on that either. AT least we could have tried running the football and just relied solely on our defense and special teams to go win games instead of throwing a ton of interceptions putting our defense in terrible spots.

 

[Broncos6482]

What great QB play did you see in Denver last season that leads you to believe QB play will keep them out of the playoffs?

When the opposing QB is running for his life and constantly on his back, you just need a QB who can hand the ball off and not turn it over.

I believe Denver just sacked their way to a Super Bowl title last season with arguably the worst QB play in the entire league.

I think people are so hung up on names that they aren't paying attention to actual production. You hear the Broncos are going from Peyton Manning at qb to Mark Sanchez and wow, that looks like a huge downgrade at the position.

But when you look at Manning's production last year, it was basically worse (or at least just as bad as) Sanchez at his worst. That's why Broncos fans are cautiously optimistic. We had the worst qb play ever from a Super Bowl winning team. It's not unrealistic to think it's possible that Sanchez can give the Broncos moderately better qb play this year.

No Broncos fan is expecting Sanchez to turn into 2013 Manning; we just hope he can be a slight improvement from 2015 Manning.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Jacksonville, Tennessee, Oakland, Denver, Tampa Bay, and LA.

People think Jacksonville will be a playoff team. People think Tennessee will be a playoff team. People think Oakland will be a playoff team. People think Denver will still be a first round bye, people think TB will finish third or second in NFC South. And people think LA will improve. Well, all six of these teams have connections in one way or another with the schedule.

Jacksonville and Tennessee play Indy and Houston in their own division and also play KC, Denver, and Oakland. They also play Green Bay, Chicago, and Minnesota. Someone's going to be disappointed.

Oakland, KC, Denver play TB and Carolina. And TB and Carolina play LA, Seattle, and Arizona. LA plays Seattle and Arizona, plus NE(as does Seattle and Arizona).

So who do all of these teams beat to do what people predict of them with them all basically playing each other?

IDK who all of these people are, but to your point...not all of that will come to fruition in '16.

TN is not going to be a playoff team this yr...you don't make quantum leaps like that too often in the NFL...8-8

JAX...I like what they have done a lot...nearly on par with OAK, but again, we're talking about a big jump in the standings...8-8 maybe 9-7 top side.

OAK...imo they have the best chance to make the playoffs this season...they have 10 win talent...gotta continue the baby steps they made on the road. NO, TN, BAL, JAX, TB...out of DIV...ATL, HOU, CAR, BUF, IND at home...9-7, maybe 10-6

 

[Across The Field]

Jags/Raiders, your 2018 AFC Championship game. Unbelievable, but it's damn near impossible to find teams out there with more young, ratable talent.

 

[eaglesnut]

Some of you Bronco fans have definitely not watched enough Sanchez. Hopefully, for your sake, you don't have.

 

[Broncosr0k]

Some of you Bronco fans have definitely not watched enough Sanchez. Hopefully, for your sake, you don't have.

And a lot of the rest of you did not watch the broncos last year. QB play was atrocious. Manning was leading the league in INTs in week 17. After sitting out for 8 weeks. Too many people getting caught on the Sanchez name.

Broncos fans are not claiming he will be great. If he ranks 25 out of 32 that is an improvement over last year. And I am sure Kubiak will play it similar to late last season. Run a lot, make the easy throws but don't make too many mistakes for the defense.

 

[Clayton]

I think its easier to question whether the Broncos can maintain the level of defense they played last year as opposed to question their QB play coming into next year.

 

[Broncosr0k]

I think its easier to question whether the Broncos can maintain the level of defense they played last year as opposed to question their QB play coming into next year.

Solid criticism. I think we can still be top 5 but I am not sure we get all the breaks we had last year with turnovers and injuries. I think the offense needs to up its game if we want to repeat but I think as of now we have the talent to challenge for a playoff spot.

 

[cdumler7]

I think its easier to question whether the Broncos can maintain the level of defense they played last year as opposed to question their QB play coming into next year.

I don't disagree with this. It would be very difficult for them to maintain a similar level of defensive play 2 years in a row. Although we have seen with the Seahawks they have pretty much stayed very similar for almost 4 straight seasons now. So not unheard of for the Broncos to still expect top-3 defensive ability this upcoming season. They do still have a majority of the pieces on the defense and already had some young players in place learning from those that we lost that the coaches have been excited about all off season.

Right now I don't think anybody can really know what to expect from the Broncos. Manning was about the worst fit of any QB in the league to try and run Kubiak's scheme. So there was always this tension between what the Broncos wanted to do and what Manning wanted to do. What ended up happening was a mesh of the two that just looked awful. So this is the first year we will really see Kubiak's scheme actually fully implemented. For the most part in his career he has been known for producing a top-10 rushing attack. If that is the case this upcoming year that should be a huge help to the defense. Just as an example they ranked as one of the worst teams in the league with TOP even though the defense was one of the best forcing 3 and outs and limiting drive time of the opponent. So if they can get a strong running game going that limits the number of drives our defense actually has to face every game keeping them more fresh and less times of having to hold the opposing team.

 

[Broncos6482]

I think its easier to question whether the Broncos can maintain the level of defense they played last year as opposed to question their QB play coming into next year.

Now this makes a lot more sense than the "Broncos don't have a qb anymore" narrative.

 

[Clayton]

Solid criticism. I think we can still be top 5 but I am not sure we get all the breaks we had last year with turnovers and injuries. I think the offense needs to up its game if we want to repeat but I think as of now we have the talent to challenge for a playoff spot.

I think they'll be top 5 as well but there is usually a pretty clear difference between a top 5 D and the best D when you get to high level of play. Broncos were 10th in regular season point differential last year. 1st was Carolina the Super Bowl loser. The year before, the Pats and Seahawks were 1 and 2 and the Super Bowl teams. The year before the Broncos and Seahawks were 1 and 1 and the Super Bowl teams. You have to go back to 2012 where the Ravens were 11th in Point differential to find a team that got 'hot' to win a Super Bowl and the Ravens went 8-8 the next year.

Obviously point differential isnt everything but its usually a decent indicator.

 

[Broncos6482]

I think they'll be top 5 as well but there is usually a pretty clear difference between a top 5 D and the best D when you get to high level of play. Broncos were 10th in regular season point differential last year. 1st was Carolina the Super Bowl loser. The year before, the Pats and Seahawks were 1 and 2 and the Super Bowl teams. The year before the Broncos and Seahawks were 1 and 1 and the Super Bowl teams. You have to go back to 2012 where the Ravens were 11th in Point differential to find a team that got 'hot' to win a Super Bowl and the Ravens went 8-8 the next year.

The Broncos won a lot of close games last year. They were 9-3 in one score games in the regular season and 3-0 in overtime. That's a pretty small margin for error. The offense simply must perform better this season if Denver is to challenge for the Super Bowl again.

That said, I don't think the characterization that the Broncos simply got "hot" in the playoffs is accurate. Certainly they reached another level in the playoffs, but this was a team that started 7-0, finished with 12 wins, was the number one seed in the AFC, and won 5 games over playoff teams during the regular season. They were a really good regular season team that became a great postseason team.

 

[Clayton]

The Broncos won a lot of close games last year. They were 9-3 in one score games in the regular season and 3-0 in overtime. That's a pretty small margin for error. The offense simply must perform better this season if Denver is to challenge for the Super Bowl again.

That said, I don't think the characterization that the Broncos simply got "hot" in the playoffs is accurate. Certainly they reached another level in the playoffs, but this was a team that started 7-0, finished with 12 wins, was the number one seed in the AFC, and won 5 games over playoff teams during the regular season. They were a really good regular season team that became a great postseason team.

Maybe hot is the wrong word. Clutch would be a better one. One of the Chiefs issues in the beginning of the season was that they had the worst red zone defense in the league and when they shored that up they went on a win streak. Being clutch or unclutch is often coaching and leadership but I'm guessing that there is a big luck factor, too