The first day of mini camp in Denver Colorado has now come and gone and I gotta admit that seeing Joe Flacco wearing blue and orange still seems very odd to me. Once a Super Bowl MVP, Flacco seems to be impressing teammates on the field so far from what I can tell. Linebacker Von Miller said today he saw Flacco throw one 75yrds just beyond the outstretched reach of converted wide receiver Brendan Langley. That’s a big time arm in the NFL but, it’s not just about the long ball or the arm strength. It’s more about leadership and the ability to read defenses and check into the right play when defenses are moving at the snap.
I have said before that I’m not really a Joe Flacco fan but, he is our QB this year and I am a Denver Broncos fan. I just hope he can do some great things for us early in the season to get me on the bandwagon so to speak.
Every wide receiver except Emanuel Sanders is almost 10 years younger than QB Flacco so needless to say we don’t have a lot of experience on the outside this year. Sanders is recovering from an Achilles injury but, head coach Vic Fangio said today in his press conference that Sanders should be back healthy before more people even expect him to be. That’s great news for Broncos fans because Sanders is really our only big play maker at receiver while we wait around for some youngsters to make a big step forward this year. If Sanders is not ready week one, Denver could have a long year with experienced NFL corners feasting on the inability and inexperienced wide receivers we currently have. Sure, Courtland Sutton flashed last year but, this year he has huge expectations and hopefully he is ready to emerge as the dominant wide out everyone in Colorado thinks he can be.
Our prized Pro Bowl running back who went undrafted last year is healing from a serious wrist injury but, early reports say he is gonna be ready week one so we just have to keep our fingers crossed. Either way, the Broncos MUST get an improved effort and season out of Royce Freeman to have success this year. A big back who can carry the 4th quarter load and punish linebackers is a must in the NFL and Freeman is a run away beer truck when he really gets moving. Flacco hit Freeman out of the backfield several times this afternoon and that combo is a must for offensive success this year. A revamped offensive line should help but, coaching and discipline will be the key factors for turning this proud franchise around from a dismal stint lead by Vance Joseph who clearly looked like he was out of his league as far as a head coach is concerned.
The Broncos should be better than last year but winning the West away from the Chiefs or Chargers should prove to be a tall task right out of the gate for Fangio. Our defense should be top 10 in the league this year which will certainly keep us in a lot of games but, the NFL is about scoring points, especially with the gun slingers in our division. I’m getting excited for things to really get going later this summer with training camp but for now all we can do is watch the news clips, highlights and press clippings and hope Joe Flacco is the guy he has been for Baltimore in the past. I think he can be but, the NFL is a tough game and doing it well for 16 weeks is a talll order. Go Broncos!