Not every hangover is created equal. There’s the kind that greets the morning with some head pain and body aches but is quickly vanquished with a hearty breakfast and a few aspirin. Then there’s the bad kind of hangover that leaves you flat on your back and unable to get out of bed, the room spinning as you curse the very existence of the organic compound that is alcohol.
As Super Bowl hangovers go, the room is starting to spin for the Denver Broncos and soon they may be grabbing for the nearest trash receptacle to deposit the contents of their stomach.
Not so long ago, a Super Bowl repeat in 2016 looked like a realistic possibility for the Broncos. In fact, it was written about in this very space in early March. Even though Peyton Manning retired and Brock Osweiler left for greener pastures in Houston (that just so happened to be the exact shade of green as cash), the bulk of the NFL’s best defense remained and finding a quarterback that could play to the subpar level the once-great Manning did in 2015 didn’t seem so daunting. If losing a few complimentary players to retirement and free agency was the full extent of Denver’s Super Bowl hangover, they’d start the season with little more than a slight headache. The Broncos were poised to be among a handful of Super Bowl favorites if everything went smoothly from then on.
Things have not gone smoothly. Denver’s choice for its Manning-Osweiler replacement was Mark Sanchez, a punchline QB best known for fumbling off a butt and inspiring the worst thing Rex Ryan ever did with his body, beating out an undoubtedly crowded field. Then star defensive back Aqib Talib shot himself in the leg, joining Plaxico Burress and this obvious Mensa member among the luminaries to accomplish the feat/shoot at their feet. And now the team’s best player, Von Miller, is so frustrated with contract negotiations that he’s cropping Broncos VP, GM and franchise legend John Elway out of Instagram posts. If there’s one thing we’ve all come to learn about modern sports, it’s that the surest sign of locker room discord is passive-aggressive social media usage.
It might be time to wonder if the 2016 Broncos will more closely resemble the 1999 Broncos than the 2015 Super Bowl champion edition. That ‘99 team saw Elway retire after back-to-back championships, lost Terrell Davis to injury, and promptly plummeted from 14-2 to 6-10 and last place in the AFC West.
Even with the free agency losses of valuable defensive end Malik Jackson and linebacker Danny Trevathan, the Broncos are still slated to return nine of 11 starters to their top ranked defense. They also still have the skilled Wade Phillips as defensive coordinator, but even the lovable son of Bum has been stricken by Denver’s poor offseason.
The Ring Ceremony was great. Receiving the Ring was awesome. Seeing that they had the wrong name on my Ring,not so good.
— Wade Phillips (@sonofbum) June 13, 2016
For the Denver defense to stay at the top it will have to count on DeMarcus Ware, who missed all of OTAs with back problems, to stay healthy at 34. Linebacker Brandon Marshall is also coming back from two offseason surgeries. But the biggest issue on defense is the 30 year-old Talib. He could face charges and league discipline for his gun incident even if he has no physical issues from the incident.
Burress was never the same player after he shot himself, although that was mostly thanks to serving 20 months in prison due to Manhattan’s strict gun laws. Talib at least had the good sense to shoot himself in the state of Texas. Forget jail time, it wouldn’t be surprising if Texas governor Greg Abbott gives Talib a medal for supporting lax gun control in the most personal way.
The Von Miller contract impasse is an issue for the Broncos, but not as big as the linebacker’s photo editing skills might make it appear. Even if the two sides can’t come to terms on a long-term deal – Denver’s latest offer was for $5m less in guaranteed money than the Eagles just bestowed upon Fletcher Cox – the Broncos still have Miller under contract via the franchise tag for the 2016 season. An angry and unhappy Miller hellbent on proving he’s worth huge money would be a most unwelcome sight for opposing offensive players.
Sanchez won’t be one of the quarterbacks forced to face Miller in games, but that’s about all the former Jet and Eagle has going for him. While it’s true Denver won the Super Bowl with poor QB play last season, throwing the quarterback formerly known as The Sanchise out there and hoping for another ring feels like daring the football gods to strike you down. The Broncos are high on rookie first round pick Paxton Lynch, but his last game action was out of the shotgun in a University of Memphis uniform. If he sees any time under center for the Broncos in 2016, it’s because they’re already well on their way to matching the dropoff of that 6-10 1999 Denver team.
Even a slight tick down from 2015 could spell doom for Denver. While the Broncos were the best team in football a season ago, they also won 11 of their games by less than a single touchdown. Their margin for error was small and left no room for shooting themselves in the foot, pun most definitely intended. The 2016 schedule won’t let them ease into their title defense either. The Broncos kick off the season versus the NFC champion Panthers in the season’s debut game, next welcome a Colts team that should be improved and then go on the road to Cincinnati for Week 3, the exact time of year the Bengals are usually at their best. A slow start could find Denver in a deep hole in the division behind Kansas City and Oakland.
The Broncos still have much going in their favor. Most every team would happily swap their issues for those of the defending champs. But you don’t have to scratch the surface much to see how the Broncos could go from dominant to disaster.
It’s enough to drive a team to drink. But then that would only prolong the hangover.
