Somewhere along the line, the enamoring of Tim Tebow and his fourth quarter heroics has concussed some Denver Broncos fans into forgetting what brought them back to back Super Bowls in ’97 and ’98. Do you not recall the heartbreaking blowout losses to the New York Giants in 1987, the Washington Redskins in 1988 and the San Francisco 49ers in 1990? All of those great seasons laid to waste because of a lack of a running game which left an unbalanced attack. Surely you remember Sammy Winder and Bobby Humphries, along with the publicity stunt that was Tony Dorsett. Then all the years of below average QBs such as Brian Griese, Jake Plummer, Kyle Orton, and of course losing Jay Cutler.
As a fan of the Broncos for the past thirty years, I have gained the utmost respect for the city of Denver and its surrounding areas that have made the Mile High city one of the toughest home-field advantages in the NFL. The fans have always been the ultimate 12th man and are usually some of the most knowledgeable in the league. Yet the past two weeks, as this preseason has begun to unfold, I have been witnessing some unrealistic views about the direction of the orange and blue.
The defense this year will undoubtedly be the best the Broncos have put on the field in years. Gone will be the memory of a weak secondary, minus Champ Bailey of course, and a defensive line that was a sieve when trying to stop the run. Against the Seattle Seahawks, the first team defense allowed only three field goals in the first half. That wasn’t enough? Manning had a solid two minute offense going in rhythm and put together a well played scoring drive capped off with Willis McGahee’s TD run. I guess that wasn’t enough either.
The preseason will never be about the wins and losses as long as Manning is your QB. Look back at all of his years as an Indianapolis Colt and tell me that his preseason numbers looked good. Manning is exactly where he needs to be and so is the defense. Yes, there are injuries now that have left them a little thin, but the trenches are shored up and the secondary is full of quality talent. McGahee, while nowhere near the talent Terrell Davis was, is still a 1000yd rusher and Lance Ball, Knowshon Moreno and Ronnie Hillman will be viable back-ups.
Forget about the interceptions and the third and fourth team giving up 21 unanswered points to the Seahawks. Look ahead to the 49ers this week as Manning will play three quarters against a great defense as he tries to nail down his timing and reps with his receiving corps. It is nice to have a QB again that passes for 177yds in a HALF, not in three games. The Broncos have won before with a bend, but don’t break defense, quality WRs, an aging QB and an excellent running game. Now is the time to show the Mile High support that was present in training camp, when record attendances were set, and understand that this team is exponentially better than a year ago.
My question remains: Are you actually missing Tim Tebow? And if so, can you tell me what his stats were against the Giants this past week and how he really looked? Probably not.
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