It just feels different

[MileHigh64]

This off season for the Broncos just feels so different than the past few years. It has my expectations rising. Most of the stuff is intangible and in no way am I predicting Super Bowl but it JUST FEELS DIFFERENT:

• Our draft consisted of "football players" or BPA vs. years past that felt a bit like a reach or a project
• When watching all the rookie video interviews from today, they all seem to really get it.
• A ton of college leaders and team captains have been added to the team
• Don't sleep on our 2017 draft class. I think we're going to be impressed with that group this year
• Joseph and Elway seem to understand the mistakes of the past and are quickly moving past them
• The QB room, although not filled with superstars, feels more measured, committed and humble.
• Most national media doesn't rank the Broncos as having a chance to make much noise
• The rest of the AFCW seems to be in various levels of transition as well
• The schedule for 2018 looks to be an opportunity for this team to take advantage of
• Denver Bronco Hoooplans seem relaxed and ready to get after it.

None of this means jack squat once real football comes around but color me enthused in general. Bring on the football!

 

[MikeMed]

Josey Jewell is going to be a hell of a player.......Was hoping GB would draft him..........Chubb is the real deal......That DIV is wide open IMO......Guess it comes down to weather QB C. Keenum can maintain last years level of play.......He has a couple good WRs and Sutton looks promising with his size and speed.....CJ is gone but Royce Freeman is intriguing with his 240 LB frame and quick feet...

Yeah, despite last years rough season there is no reason to believe the Broncos cant bounce back and make a playoff run.

 

[fightinredantz]

I completely agree. Last year's team was not as bad as the record indicted. They were bad at the QB position and that really derailed the season. The Oline wasn't great either, but they were made to look worse then they were.

Moving into this year we get Jake Butt back and he should be very good and with Troy Fumagalli we have 2 TEs that could be very good and cause opposing defenses problems week in and week out. We also have possibly the best WR depth in recent memory. Sutton and Hamilton both could contribute this year. As long as Keenum plays with reasonable efficiency the offense should have the weapons to be successful.

RB is the one questionable spot. It seems that we are counting on Freeman/Williams to bring a physical presents to the RB position. Booker/Henderson bring some versatility and would be serviceable in a pinch.

The Defense should be pretty good. Opposing offensive linemen may be losing sleeping with the OLBs we can run out there. Chubb/Ray/Barrett/Miller is maybe the best group in the NFL. Wolff and Gotsis being available for the whole season would really solidify the Dline and really setup the Dline rotation nicely. Roby/Brock/Yiadom/Langley group needs to have 2 solid CBs to work with Harris. I think Roby and Brock start out with Yiadom potentially taking snaps before the end of the season.

 

[cdumler7]

Really the biggest thing for me that makes me have some hope for a much better season is the team knows already who the starting QB will be and it isn't just picking one from the trash pile and hoping they turn into something decent. I can't imagine how it weighed on the team last offseason to go through the entire time not knowing the starter until about a week before the start of the season. There are definitely a lot of positions I feel better about today than I did this time last year for the team...

QB--Easily the position that needed the biggest upgrade and even an average QB feels pretty good to have
OL--Year 2 with most of these guys all together plus Veldheer added to the mix.
TE--Butt finally healthy and a decent back up in Fumagali
WR--We actually have options this year! Will be a fun competition for that #3 WR

OLB--Any time you add a guy like Chubb to the mix the team should feel very good about it
Off-Ball--Jewell added with Todd Davis and Marshall. Not the best group by any means but better depth than last year.
Safety--Cravens added to this group should make them one of the deeper units in the NFL at the Safety position.

Really to me there are only two groups that I worry there has been a big drop off

CB--Lose someone like Talib and there is going to be some growing pains
RB--Anderson was a decent RB that knew his job on every play. Smart player that will be missed

I almost forgot about the Special Teams unit--Punter should be improved and I would hope that our return units can improve on the disaster that was last season.

 

[Draft Crazy]

Punter was our most active position last year so needed to sure that one up.

 

[Mingo]

Punter was our most active position last year so needed to sure that one up.

Based on the volume of punts the Broncos needed a punter with better conditioning.

 

[nflbronco]

Based on the volume of punts the Broncos needed a punter with better conditioning.

For the first time in NFL Denver needed P backup in 17 because of a putrid O.

 

[Ojb81]

Is this a new banner for the broncos board? I like it

 

[Mingo]

The rookies were wearing "Accountability" tee-shirts.

 

[iknowftbll]

I tend to be optimistic at this time of year. There’s no reason not to be. Going into 2016 the Broncos were coming off a Super Bowl win and had one of the greatest defenses to ever do it. Even last year there was no way to know Simian would regress to the level he did from a solid debut the year prior.

So yeah...I’m optimistic and take what I say with a grain of salt.

With that said there does seem to be a new focus on this team the 2016 and 2017 teams lacked. I think having a QB named starter is the cause for that. It feels like everything else is set to move forward with a clear direction. No QB questions. It’s amazing what else falls into place from there.

The draft sent a clear message: this team is in “win now” mode. They’ve been overlooked and left for dead. And as mentioned they play in a division where the only team not undergoing some substantive transitioning is also notorious for under performing. In other words the AFC West is wide open.

It really does feel different this year. This team appears stacked on both sides of the ball. The sky is the limit if it comes together the way it should.

 

[randymon]

I tend to be optimistic at this time of year. There’s no reason not to be. Going into 2016 the Broncos were coming off a Super Bowl win and had one of the greatest defenses to ever do it. Even last year there was no way to know Simian would regress to the level he did from a solid debut the year prior.

So yeah...I’m optimistic and take what I say with a grain of salt.

With that said there does seem to be a new focus on this team the 2016 and 2017 teams lacked. I think having a QB named starter is the cause for that. It feels like everything else is set to move forward with a clear direction. No QB questions. It’s amazing what else falls into place from there.

The draft sent a clear message: this team is in “win now” mode. They’ve been overlooked and left for dead. And as mentioned they play in a division where the only team not undergoing some substantive transitioning is also notorious for under performing. In other words the AFC West is wide open.

It really does feel different this year. This team appears stacked on both sides of the ball. The sky is the limit if it comes together the way it should.

Just a fyi......there's this new thing called carpletunnell going around I've been hearing about.