Here’s the best reason to believe the Broncos will beat the Seattle:
Does coach Vance Joseph really have any other choice?
There are no must-win games in Week 1 of the NFL season, unless you’re lucky to still be employed as head coach of the Broncos. This is a must-win game for Joseph.
He desperately needs to prove his disastrous rookie season was all the fault of unsuitable quarterback Trevor Siemian, lousy offensive coordinator Mike McCoy and that messy firehose from which Joseph drank.
“It’s a big job, and it takes time to digest it all. Obviously, in my second year, I’m more comfortable with all of it: Having a quarterback that I feel good about and having a better offense line and those things, because players play. It’s a players’ game, and I’m a coach and I don’t play,” said Joseph, comparing himself to the untested NFL coach who prepared to lead the Broncos on the field for their opening game of 2017. “It definitely feels better my second time around.”
So fire up the Broncos bandwagon. Let’s start rolling down the road to the AFC West championship. But do you really feel confident about the driver of this bus? Joseph dropped 11 games in 2017 by an average of 14.7 points.
Not to beat a dead horse, but something was rotten in Dove Valley last year. The Broncos stunk. When looking back at a last-place finish and everything that went wrong, both personally and as a team, linebacker Shane Ray said: “I’m sick to my stomach.”
We know the feeling, brother. Broncos Country is still recovering from a chronic case of the orange-and-blue flu.
What’s more, the queasy feeling lingers that perhaps Joseph doesn’t know what he’s doing. Then again, maybe adding a nearly 35-year-old cornerback with a lengthy history of off-the-field trouble is what a 5-11 team that struggled living up to the high standards set by franchise owner Pat Bowlen needs. For better or worse, Adam “Pacman” Jones will reflect on Joseph’s judgment as a leader of men.
If you want to cut Joseph slack for inheriting a mess so big it made Gary Kubiak quit, that’s fair. But it’s also reasonable to think 18 months is long enough to establish how Joseph wants to operate his own business.
“I’m in a good place. Our team is in a good place right now,” he said. “So I’m looking forward to Sunday.”
With the signing of Case Keenum, an adult has been put in charge at quarterback. In Bill Musgrave, the team is blessed with an offensive coordinator working for the benefit of his players rather than his ego. In first-round draft pick Bradley Chubb, second-rounder Courtland Sutton and third-rounder Royce Freeman, the Broncos have a rookie class so stellar it will make everyone forget John Elway is the same general manager who selected Paxton Lynch (first round, 2016), Montee Ball (second round, 2013) and Carlos Henderson (third round, 2017).
The Broncos have upgraded their talent from a 53-man roster that finished 5-11 a year ago. Joseph seems less like an accidental tourist on the sideline and more like a coach comfortable in his own skin and confident speaking his mind.
Is a return to the playoffs more than wishful thinking? Yes. But, truth be told, Denver probably finds itself in the pack of NFL teams that can go 10-6 if everything goes right and 6-10 if everything goes wrong. What will make the difference? The luck of a football’s bounce. The health of key players (especially Chris Harris). And the soundness of Denver’s coaching.
“We’ve put in the work,” Joseph said, “and, obviously, we’re judged on Sundays.”
No NFL team has ever been mathematically eliminated by losing its opening game. But the lone way Joseph can prove he’s a coach who has grown and changed for the better? Win.
Joseph has two choices: 1) Beat the Seahawks on Sunday, or 2) Buy an asbestos suit before Monday, when a hot seat would certainly be waiting for him at Broncos headquarters.
