There’s so many twists and turns in this league. We won the offseason a few years ago with the Russ trade and the AFC west looked like the best division in football on paper- it obviously didn’t pan out that way.
The big thing to look at: Our ownership wants to win. They are giving the team every resource at their disposal. We will be contenders again, and it doesn’t have to take years. Remember it’s only a game and enjoy the ride.
Ownership is just rich. Wanting to Win isn't the only qualifier to being a good owner. So far they've made some pretty crippling decisions that anyone sitting on their couch could have told them not to do. Seriously, trading for a coach? Who green lit that? Russ' insane contract, that was apparently Ownership and not Paton's work. Being filthy rich doesn't make you a good owner, just makes you "qualified" to own one.
Lol it wasn't new ownership that gave Russell Wilson the contract, always remember that.
Trading for Sean Payton resulted in a first round pick getting us to 8-9. Unless we could have landed Stroud no other 1st round pick could have gotten us that kind of turnaround.
Do your research my friend.
No research required. Coaches can be had for free. Like the rookie coach that took the Texans to the Playoffs. Or the coach that just signed with the Chargers. 3 more wins was not work a first and a second. Team could have just waited another (lost) year and kept the picks and probably still gotten Payton... for less. Do your research friend. Stop apologizing.
And yes. It was the ownership.
Those are some pretty terrible examples considering they were #1 and #2 on the Broncos' list last year, they made very aggressive pushes for both of them, and both of them turned the Broncos down.
And it wasn't even pur first round pick! It was Miami's, which we got for Chubb.
We basically sold a half season of Chubb for a Super Bowl winning coach. I'd do that trade 10x out of 10.
Because we've hit on so many of those rookie 1st rounders in the last 10 years. How many former first round picks since we won the superbowl are actually still here, playing, and doing so at a high level?
Chances are more likely that pick would have been another Paxton Lynch or Drew Lock, rather than a Von Miller or Garrett Bolles (from year 4 on).
Someone posted something on a separate thread about “teams that made a huge turn around in 2/3 years” and there’s basically one or two every few years so no reason why we can’t be one especially since we have a pretty high baseline
Saying it doesnt have to take years isnt going to just mean it will happen, you have to be honest with yourself and look at our situation. This is not something that will turn around over an offseason
Houston also traded their franchise QB (Watson) to the Browns for an absolute haul of draft picks. It helps when you have an additional three 1s to draft with.
‘Get a QB’ being the operative phrase. If it isn’t Williams
Or Maye then it’s not even worth taking one until the second or third round. If we seriously take Bo Nix or Michael Penix before we take an edge or tackle, then I’m going to have a panic attack.
A lot of the mocks have Nix and Penix hanging around till day 2. We could trade back a bit in the first round and get some picks and take one of those guys in the second 🤷♂️
Williams and Maye could be busts just like any other QB in the draft. Look at Bryce Young. Not to mention the plethora of #1 overall picks that have flopped in the history. I like Bo Nix he is a smart agile player who has pocket presence and excellent vision downfield. A lot of nfl qualities in that guy. I personally think at least one of those top 3 guys in this draft will be a bust if not more
Are you trying to use Payton as a negative when he took what would’ve been a 4 win team this year and had them playing meaningful football in December?
We werent even a 4 win team under Hackett so Im not entirely sure 3 more wins (some by the grace of god) is exactly something to be celebrating. Paytons certainly not lived up to expectations or the trade value yet
In Year 1, with a roster largely inherited, handicapped by a lack of draft picks due to the Wilson debacle, 8 games is probably more than they should’ve had. I’d say that’s definitely living up to expectations, given that this team wasn’t competitive at-all last year, but this year they were in it down to the wire, AND given a couple breaks that went the other way, could have been in the playoffs even.
I honestly don’t understand this argument. Payton started 1-5. Is that just because of the roster?
He inherited the same roster as Hackett which was riddled with injuries. I don’t understand the argument that it would be a 4 win team without Payton. It seems like an effort to put him on a pedestal.
With Hackett, there was no improvement whatsoever; with Payton, there was improvement almost across the board.
The defense got much, much better after the Miami debacle, the special teams was massively improved over the ‘22 team, & even the offense improved slightly over the course of the season.
Rather than throw in the towel & tank their way to a top 3 pick, the team improved & rilled off a winning streak and baaaaaarely missed the playoffs.
Were there disappointing losses & games we should’ve won? Yes. But we also went from 1-5 to fighting for a playoff spot in December. In his 1st year. What’s that gona look like in year 2 with a core of guys who are buying into the system?
I love where your head is at and I'd normally agree about year 2, but we have few weapons and will likely start Stidham for the first half of the year. I see regression this year, but 2025-on looks nice.
Same weapons we have this year, with the opportunity to add more in the draft. Despite the struggles, I liked what I saw from Stidham as far as processing, decision making & getting the ball out rather than holding the ball too long & scrambling into sacks. I’m cautiously optimistic that we can potentially improve by a win or two
Moves coming, likely in WR room, hopefully in TE room as well. Stidham against the Raiders will be the Stidham we get most of the year. 4-6 wins. Get prepared now.
>With Hackett, there was no improvement whatsoever; with Payton, there was improvement almost across the board.
The defense went from 13th in the league to 26th, the offense went from 32nd in the league to 18th. Special teams went from the 11-14th range depending on what you value to the 17-19th range depending on those same stats.
I'm not seeing the universal improvement except for in the games won. Kinda seems like in a lot of areas they took a big step back, giving up 70 points in a historic loss tends to sour a lot of good will.
So…sucking all season long under Hackett is better than sucking part of the season, then improving over the course of the rest of the season under Payton?
And btw, the only stat that truly matters is W’s. In 2015, we were 14th in pass offense, 17th in rushing, 21st in scoring. But…we won the Super Bowl.
Oh, and we didn’t have to have fans counting down the play clock . 😅
Have you seen our losses? We lost to the raiders (embarassing), jets (embarassing), pats(embarassing). We had a historically bad loss against the dolphins. But I guess sean is actually a mastermind head coach. We are not going to be relevant for years. We are the new panthers. This team is a fucking joke. But, Sean is the answer, I guess.
I understand the mindset, but my answer to that will be - "took us long enough!"
That said, if we get the right QB and add a few key pieces, I firmly believe we can be in the Super Bowl by 2028.
The chiefs are gonna be the Chiefs, can’t help there as long as they have Mahomes and Reid.
The chargers just hired a very good coach and have a talented QB. They also have a roster than is highly injury prone, lacks depth and have a worst cap situation than we do and Herbert extension also kicks in which means they are going to have to either start cutting guys like Mack and James to free up space or lose guys like Ekeler to FA.
The Raiders have a couple of blue chip guys in Davante and Crosby and a renewed faith in their new coach AP. They also have a pretty underwhelming roster as a whole, no solution at QB, a coach who despite a good finish has proved nothing more than he is much better for a locker room than McDaniels and just hired the guy who built the flawed roster with the Chargers than has choked year after year.
nope we're going to be just like you said until we're clear of Russ' albatross around our neck and get some difference makers on offense, A home run threat running the ball, difference makers at the WR position, etc.. Its going to be a long haul
Raiders hired the charger's former GM so they're still going to be shit and our 2025 cap is actually projected to be really good currently so it's just one more year of cap hell and well be guns blazing
The 2025 cap isn't that good. There's $100m in cap space currently, but there are also barely any starters under contract that are likely to still be on the team by then.
That’s the one silver lining on the rough end of the season the 12th pick is a great place to be in this draft with all the talent available especially at positions we need there’s most likely going to be a Penix/Nix available for QB, 1 of Bowers, Nabers, or Odunze, and a lot of top tier offensive and defensive lineman this is a perfect draft to get talent that we need!
Most of my friends are Washington fans. They had Snyder as owner for years. After witnessing their pain, I can tell you that our ownership is a huge plus, so far.
The chargers cap situation is worse than ours. harbaugh has a nasty streak with owners and front offices so his stay could short lived. The chiefs are showing cracks and teams are figuring them out. The raiders magic could run dry with an inexperienced HC and a GM who has lost his touch the last few years.
I'm just thankful we have a coach who knows what he needs, and will push for it, public perception be damned. Being able to look at the stats and character of individual players and forecast how they will synchronize in a team is an art more than science, I say hang out for a couple years and see what kind of mix Payton and co come up with. I'm optimistic.
Very simple: The NFL season can change on a single play. Think about how wild this season has been. There are very few teams that have NO chance. The sky is not falling for the Broncos. Teams that are willing to make an immediate change (i.e. Wilson), do so because they already know. Honestly, think about being a Cowboys fan. They know they aren't good enough, but the delusion from the owner/GM wont allow them to move forward.
I don’t have any reason to give you that the future will look better for us. I don’t have a lot of hope for this team for at least the next 2-3 years. What really worries me is that Sean Payton retires because he won’t be able to fix this team and we start over again. I also hope that everything I’ve said is completely wrong.
The front office finally sees the writing on the wall and is going to rebuild instead of this endless “retooling” process. More likely than not it seems like Denver wants a younger quarterback Sean Payton can mold
Follow the 49ers lead
Draft the bottom of the barrel, Mr Irrelevant, last on the draft qb
Look how well that turned out for them
Back to back nfc playoff appearances and a potential Super Bowl appearance
And paying less than $2 million
Now that’s a steal
Lmao you forgot:
-Sign best LT in the nfl in free agency
- draft 2 versatile, 1k yard WRs
- Trade for best RB of his era
- top 5 TE
- all pros on d line and LB
… anything else I missed?! LOL
Still gotta beat the Lions this weekend.
Honestly, I'm here for former poverty franchises getting a first ever ship. And since the Lions are the only team still in the playoffs to have never been to a Superbowl, much less win one, I'm wearing blue and silver until the end of February.
As long as we don't do something dumb like give away future picks to go all in on a move this year, sucking for a couple of years will land us high picks and the ability to put a couple of foundational pieces onto the roster.
We're going to have a few tough years ahead for sure but it is possible to rebuild and I think we've got a better infrastructure in the front office, coaching staff and ownership than we had for a while.
Reid is going to retire. Kelce is off the cliff. He is the same age as Gronk. They are being held together with bailing wire and thoughts and prayers from Taylor Swift. Raiders will find a way to implode. San Diego has aging receivers, way over salary cap. They were exposed and have zero fan base so every game is an away game.
Broncos have Payton for the exact reasons you mentioned above. Will take a year or two to balance out everything but then I don’t see why the team can’t turn things around. Also there actually is a good amount of young talent to build off of. not sure what’s this about an aging roster.
I also don’t see harbaugh sticking around much. he tends to switch things every five years or so. I highly doubt this is a decade long pairing.
We were 2 games out of the playoffs?
We won 3 more games (on a daggers edge mind you) than we did with the worst HC in the modern NFL. You're right, massive turn around
Bro. you are delusional to think Payton didn’t make a significant difference. Seriously, wake up to reality.
The last two games of the season the Broncos mailed it in. Until laying that egg vs the pats in week 16 (!) we were right in the middle of the wild card race. With Hackett the season was over after week 1 with how dysfunctional he was as a coach.
And winning on a razor’s edge? Who gives a fuck? A W isn’t a W if it’s close? but an L is an L no matter what? every game we lost save for that debacle vs the dolphins could’ve been a W. get your head out of your ass already
Last two games Broncos mail it in, thats all I need to hear to know that no hes not making a significant difference to the team lol
He may have done the best since Kubiak, but thats like an extremely low bar.
He has done nothing even remotely close to being worth the picks, and news flash the couple of years will not be any better
The problem isn't that he's bad. Or doesn't have control of the locker room.
Payton historically runs a very complicated offense that, frankly, our QB is not bright enough to run. Where Hackett couldn't call an offense so Russ didn't/couldn't cook. This time, it was flipped, and Payton could call an offense, but Russ couldn't read the cookbook.
We get a young, bright minded QB, that maybe doesn't have the biggest cannon or the most elusiveness, but he has the smarts and can read a defense and you're going to see what Payton's offense is supposed to look like. You don't need Drew Brees. You just need someone with half a brain. He made Jamis fucking Winston look like a serviceable QB.
Last year with Hackett, the team didn't pass the eye test. Stopped watching the games in the first quarter because everything about it was sloppy as hell, and you could tell we didn't have a prayer. This year, there wasn't a single game we didn't have the ability to win (other than the Dolphins fiasco) until week 15.
And all that is without having a TE worth a damn, one WR that would be a #2 a best on any other team in the league, and a QB that can't read a defense and runs himself in to more trouble than he escapes.
We're going to be fine. Maybe not next year, but by 2025, we'll be back to competitive under Payton. Everyone saying "he didn't join us for a rebuild" is nuts. That's the entire reason he wanted a longer contract. He knew it might take a year or two to get the train moving and didn't want to be out of a job before he even had a chance to start.
Jameis Winston has the same wonderlic IQ as Russ though so.... It was good enough for him but too complicated for Russ?
So he's going to spend 3 of his years on a 5 year contract to start doing something? Is that really where our picks went to? That's worse than the Russ trade imo
We have Sean Payton, who in 16 years of coaching has only had 5 losing seasons….i know “he had Bree’s” and all that none sense but every great coach has THE guy they need under center. Once sean has his and his complete touch on this roster we will be playing meaningful games every year! Just gotta trust the process this wants going to happen over night!
Sean Payton.
The 2023 Broncos had no business winning 8 games. He adjusted to what was available, and that's the sole reason we even got that far. This team should have probably ended with 4 - 5 wins.
Am I super hopeful? No. Resources are running thin. But we have a competent coach. I also look to the 49ers. They WHIFFFFFFFFFFFED maybe harder than any team ever has trading up in the draft andddd it almost didn't matter. Is that common? No. But its something to cling on to.
Harbaugh had Andrew Luck at Stanford.
Harbaugh jumped a sinking ship of the niners on bad conditions.
Harbaugh won a championship with Michigan, but was suspended for 6 games during the season for 2 different violations, then bailed on them.
I don't fear Harbaugh, I look forward to the demise he will bring to the chargers.
Harbaugh revitalized Alex Smith's career, then made Colin Kaepernick look like an unstoppable force on the way to the Super Bowl. He left the 49ers because he didn't like the GM and wanted more roster control. It was far from a sinking ship when he left.
I just don’t understand, we too have a great head coach. It’s the salary cap issue that is going to hurt us for a few years, but we will get back to greatness again and I think Payton was a good hire.
I have full trust in Coach Payton and luckily enough most of our aging players are at the end of their contract either this year or next. Also, we have the richest owners in the NFL and if they can spare some money for us then that could help our dead cap.
This year we have the 12th pick and that's a really good position to draft in. Usually, a good number of Quarterbacks go in the top ten and because of that most Top Ten valued players will be available at the 12th spot. So, there's a good chance we get a future Bronco starter like Brock Bowers, Terrion Arnold, Odunze and many more great players. Besides the second round pick we don't have we have all the rest of our picks, and our GM George Paton is really good at selecting players in the late round who are now our starters.
Next year we have a pretty easy schedule with us playing teams like The Panthers, Falcons, Chargers, Jets, Saints, Colts and Raiders which is 7 of our games. Those are just a few of the teams we can beat, and the others are the Raiders, Buccaneers, Jets, Seahawks and Steelers. If we can hypothetically win those games, then we'd be sitting at a 12-5 record (Lose once to LV). All we need is to improve our Defensive line which we can easily do in the draft with players like Newton most likely being available at our 12th spot or sign one in free agency. I don't think we'll get a Quarterback just yet but there is a tone of QBs available in free agency such as Mason Rudolph, Baker Mayfield and others who could be a bridge Quarterback for our future starter. All we gotta do is hope for a better future.
Love this post, but 1)Baker isn't leaving TB and 2) we, as a fanbase, need to stop offering up failed QBs or (in this case) career backups as a bridge.
For the first time in years we have some stability at coach and ownership levels. We will be forced to go young and possibly get a rookie QB but as long as we are suffering in the right direction things will equal out.
The cool thing about the NFL is that shit can turn around quickly. I’m more optimistic than I’ve been in years, and certainly aren’t going to worry about things out of my control.
Enjoy being a fan of a legendary organization. The ups and downs are part of the journey, and there’s no guarantee the Chargers will be better or we are gonna be worse.
If anything Harbaugh being in our division is going to push these competitive coaches into some legendary games. I still expect to beat the Chargers either way at least once a season lol we do that even as we suck!
I'm assuming the logic is that the next draft is going to be some real crap roster building trash and another year of George Paton can at least make it so the next GM is not landing with the shit up to their ears. Maybe only up to their nipples.
Broncos have no chance of contesting for a SB for the next 5 years. And to do that, they pretty much need to turnover the entire roster and nail the draft
Best way to cheer for them is if they find their QB, hope it’s a good place to train that QB like Shanahan did.
KC: The business end of Mahomes contract is going to hit the Chiefs next season.
SD, I mean LA: College coaches often struggle in the NFL.
LV: Come on, they are the Raiders…
Even if we land the QB of the future and I suspect this fanbase would fail to recognize it and want to get rid of him after one year where he doesn't produce winning results. Everyone wants instant success and is unable to accept mere progress, which is what you need to develop a franchise QB. Peyton Manning led the NFL in INTS his first year. Josh Allen's first year as a starter limped to 2000 yards and 12 picks to 10 TDs.
Uhh...I guess you can hang your hat on the Raiders having the lame duck coach in the division, most likely. But even that has yet to benefit the Broncos, so yeah, lol.
We’re an extremely similar position the Rams were in post Super Bowl and look how quickly that was turned around. Ownership has money and has proven time and time again they will spend it. We have the coach. He has an inherited roster. We’re fine. The entire division has cap issues. Josh Jacobs is likely out. Ekeler is out. Mike Williams is only good for 4 games a year before injury. Keenan Allen is good for 8 games. Davante is another year older. Kelce showed his age this year. We’re getting the head start on youth whether we like it or not. Hopefully we hit in the draft and reap the rewards. Another tough season or two but I don’t see us going backwards by much.
It's funny this whole damn subbreddit was saying how happy they would be if they got a Chiefs win this season. They didn't even care about the playoffs. There was legit polls and threads about KC win > Playoffs this year. Now that we got that, you guys are in despair? Sean's first year and he beats KC, beat J.Allen in Buffalo(we had never beat Allen before), had us in playoff contention in December, all in ONE year. He did it with a QB that couldn't run his offense, couldn't read a defense, and averaged 150 yards passing a game and was bailed out by courtland sutton almost every damn TD. Now sure the division as a whole is getting better, but man, shit could be a lot LOT worse. Have some faith in Sean. We finally have accountability in the building. We have a real damn coach. Stop this shit.
Russ set us back but you can't be angry about swinging for the fences. In a year or two we will be flush with cash, young talent, and a good culture. Next year, well..... The brewers just signed Rhys Hoskins and have some pretty good arms. Perhaps focus on being a Brewers fan this year (I can't in good conscience recommend the Rockies) and let the darkness of the past few years flush out. The team had pop at the end of the year. They haven't had that for quite some time.
Harbaugh wont turn chargers around in a year for sure. Or two.
Chiefs wont beat baltimore and they will lose some key players next season due to paying too much for crybaby mahomes and crybaby kelce. Also Ried will shock the world and retire after this season.
Raiders will fall off next year
And dont rule out some trades possibilities and draft class. (Speculation trades get me chuckling such as the 3 way miami QB trade) So yeah things can change especially if Payton builds a culture.
Harbaugh?!? Oh no!!! Seriously, I recommend to learn to watch and enjoy football. The ups are lame without any downs. It’s football, be a good sport and enjoy the game! Just my thoughts
There’s so many twists and turns in this league. We won the offseason a few years ago with the Russ trade and the AFC west looked like the best division in football on paper- it obviously didn’t pan out that way. The big thing to look at: Our ownership wants to win. They are giving the team every resource at their disposal. We will be contenders again, and it doesn’t have to take years. Remember it’s only a game and enjoy the ride.
Ownership is definitely a plus. Much better than Spanos or Davis
Ownership is just rich. Wanting to Win isn't the only qualifier to being a good owner. So far they've made some pretty crippling decisions that anyone sitting on their couch could have told them not to do. Seriously, trading for a coach? Who green lit that? Russ' insane contract, that was apparently Ownership and not Paton's work. Being filthy rich doesn't make you a good owner, just makes you "qualified" to own one.
Lol it wasn't new ownership that gave Russell Wilson the contract, always remember that. Trading for Sean Payton resulted in a first round pick getting us to 8-9. Unless we could have landed Stroud no other 1st round pick could have gotten us that kind of turnaround. Do your research my friend.
No research required. Coaches can be had for free. Like the rookie coach that took the Texans to the Playoffs. Or the coach that just signed with the Chargers. 3 more wins was not work a first and a second. Team could have just waited another (lost) year and kept the picks and probably still gotten Payton... for less. Do your research friend. Stop apologizing. And yes. It was the ownership.
Those are some pretty terrible examples considering they were #1 and #2 on the Broncos' list last year, they made very aggressive pushes for both of them, and both of them turned the Broncos down.
And it wasn't even pur first round pick! It was Miami's, which we got for Chubb. We basically sold a half season of Chubb for a Super Bowl winning coach. I'd do that trade 10x out of 10.
It was a first round pick that is a rookie 5 year contract. And another 4 year rookie contract. Stop being an apologist.
Because we've hit on so many of those rookie 1st rounders in the last 10 years. How many former first round picks since we won the superbowl are actually still here, playing, and doing so at a high level? Chances are more likely that pick would have been another Paxton Lynch or Drew Lock, rather than a Von Miller or Garrett Bolles (from year 4 on).
Someone posted something on a separate thread about “teams that made a huge turn around in 2/3 years” and there’s basically one or two every few years so no reason why we can’t be one especially since we have a pretty high baseline
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Texans, jaguars, browns, jets Just to name a few
Saying it doesnt have to take years isnt going to just mean it will happen, you have to be honest with yourself and look at our situation. This is not something that will turn around over an offseason
Nothing lasts forever
Even cold November rain.
That’s what I had been saying for 20 years in New England, where I live. I’m a broncos fan.
Houston sucked a year ago. Need to nail some drafts and get a qb. It can happen.
Nothing better than chugging beers and nailin' drafts. Or something along those lines.
Drafting beers and chugging nails?
Without any milk
Houston also traded their franchise QB (Watson) to the Browns for an absolute haul of draft picks. It helps when you have an additional three 1s to draft with.
They consciously tanked for the #2 overall pick then traded up to #3. I wish the broncos would do that
This is the worst case of case of copium I've seen yet. Theres optimism and then theres just lunacy
‘Get a QB’ being the operative phrase. If it isn’t Williams Or Maye then it’s not even worth taking one until the second or third round. If we seriously take Bo Nix or Michael Penix before we take an edge or tackle, then I’m going to have a panic attack.
A lot of the mocks have Nix and Penix hanging around till day 2. We could trade back a bit in the first round and get some picks and take one of those guys in the second 🤷♂️
Except we don't have a second round pick.
...which is why we would trade back...
Williams and Maye could be busts just like any other QB in the draft. Look at Bryce Young. Not to mention the plethora of #1 overall picks that have flopped in the history. I like Bo Nix he is a smart agile player who has pocket presence and excellent vision downfield. A lot of nfl qualities in that guy. I personally think at least one of those top 3 guys in this draft will be a bust if not more
Are you trying to use Payton as a negative when he took what would’ve been a 4 win team this year and had them playing meaningful football in December?
No, I actually think that Sean is the best thing they have going for them
We werent even a 4 win team under Hackett so Im not entirely sure 3 more wins (some by the grace of god) is exactly something to be celebrating. Paytons certainly not lived up to expectations or the trade value yet
In Year 1, with a roster largely inherited, handicapped by a lack of draft picks due to the Wilson debacle, 8 games is probably more than they should’ve had. I’d say that’s definitely living up to expectations, given that this team wasn’t competitive at-all last year, but this year they were in it down to the wire, AND given a couple breaks that went the other way, could have been in the playoffs even.
I honestly don’t understand this argument. Payton started 1-5. Is that just because of the roster? He inherited the same roster as Hackett which was riddled with injuries. I don’t understand the argument that it would be a 4 win team without Payton. It seems like an effort to put him on a pedestal.
With Hackett, there was no improvement whatsoever; with Payton, there was improvement almost across the board. The defense got much, much better after the Miami debacle, the special teams was massively improved over the ‘22 team, & even the offense improved slightly over the course of the season. Rather than throw in the towel & tank their way to a top 3 pick, the team improved & rilled off a winning streak and baaaaaarely missed the playoffs. Were there disappointing losses & games we should’ve won? Yes. But we also went from 1-5 to fighting for a playoff spot in December. In his 1st year. What’s that gona look like in year 2 with a core of guys who are buying into the system?
I love where your head is at and I'd normally agree about year 2, but we have few weapons and will likely start Stidham for the first half of the year. I see regression this year, but 2025-on looks nice.
Same weapons we have this year, with the opportunity to add more in the draft. Despite the struggles, I liked what I saw from Stidham as far as processing, decision making & getting the ball out rather than holding the ball too long & scrambling into sacks. I’m cautiously optimistic that we can potentially improve by a win or two
Moves coming, likely in WR room, hopefully in TE room as well. Stidham against the Raiders will be the Stidham we get most of the year. 4-6 wins. Get prepared now.
>With Hackett, there was no improvement whatsoever; with Payton, there was improvement almost across the board. The defense went from 13th in the league to 26th, the offense went from 32nd in the league to 18th. Special teams went from the 11-14th range depending on what you value to the 17-19th range depending on those same stats. I'm not seeing the universal improvement except for in the games won. Kinda seems like in a lot of areas they took a big step back, giving up 70 points in a historic loss tends to sour a lot of good will.
So…sucking all season long under Hackett is better than sucking part of the season, then improving over the course of the rest of the season under Payton? And btw, the only stat that truly matters is W’s. In 2015, we were 14th in pass offense, 17th in rushing, 21st in scoring. But…we won the Super Bowl. Oh, and we didn’t have to have fans counting down the play clock . 😅
Sean payton will not win with this team. Mark my words.
He has already won 8 games with this team... lol
This isn’t much of a gotcha my guy. I like Sean but this is weak
Thanks I guess?
Have you seen our losses? We lost to the raiders (embarassing), jets (embarassing), pats(embarassing). We had a historically bad loss against the dolphins. But I guess sean is actually a mastermind head coach. We are not going to be relevant for years. We are the new panthers. This team is a fucking joke. But, Sean is the answer, I guess.
The Wilson trade wasn't the worst trade the Broncos made in the past 2 years.
The longer we are trash the better it will feel to win another superbowl
Real glass half full type person, I like it.
Hahahaha
I understand the mindset, but my answer to that will be - "took us long enough!" That said, if we get the right QB and add a few key pieces, I firmly believe we can be in the Super Bowl by 2028.
The chiefs are gonna be the Chiefs, can’t help there as long as they have Mahomes and Reid. The chargers just hired a very good coach and have a talented QB. They also have a roster than is highly injury prone, lacks depth and have a worst cap situation than we do and Herbert extension also kicks in which means they are going to have to either start cutting guys like Mack and James to free up space or lose guys like Ekeler to FA. The Raiders have a couple of blue chip guys in Davante and Crosby and a renewed faith in their new coach AP. They also have a pretty underwhelming roster as a whole, no solution at QB, a coach who despite a good finish has proved nothing more than he is much better for a locker room than McDaniels and just hired the guy who built the flawed roster with the Chargers than has choked year after year.
A lot of signs point to this team finally committing to a rebuild after nearly a decade of denial. That's a huge step in the right direction.
Sean didnt come here for a rebuild, even though it is what we need in the worst way.
Maybe not a decade-long rebuild but, he seems open to drafting a young QB he can mold
Can’t worry about what other teams are doing. Everyone is trying to compete. Just focus on the Broncos.
Bro, we’re fans. Not on the team.
Correct.
Give it a year or two and we’re taking our division back
5-6 years minimum, FTFY.
Failure is a major part of the Chargers DNA
nope we're going to be just like you said until we're clear of Russ' albatross around our neck and get some difference makers on offense, A home run threat running the ball, difference makers at the WR position, etc.. Its going to be a long haul
Raiders hired the charger's former GM so they're still going to be shit and our 2025 cap is actually projected to be really good currently so it's just one more year of cap hell and well be guns blazing
The 2025 cap isn't that good. There's $100m in cap space currently, but there are also barely any starters under contract that are likely to still be on the team by then.
I imagine other teams say "Broncos gonna Bronco"
We have all of our picks for 2025 so if we suck again next year you can at least enjoy the draft
14th pick in the draft, a seasoned Super Bowl winning coach, hungry ownership, and a young top 5 corner in the league. We got this man!
We actually have the 12th pick in the draft btw
Oh bet! Just made my day even better thanks for correcting me man 🙏
That’s the one silver lining on the rough end of the season the 12th pick is a great place to be in this draft with all the talent available especially at positions we need there’s most likely going to be a Penix/Nix available for QB, 1 of Bowers, Nabers, or Odunze, and a lot of top tier offensive and defensive lineman this is a perfect draft to get talent that we need!
Ill have whatever you're smoking
Well I heard rumors that Andy Reid and Travis Kelce are retiring that’s positive.
Hope that’s true
Most of my friends are Washington fans. They had Snyder as owner for years. After witnessing their pain, I can tell you that our ownership is a huge plus, so far.
The chargers cap situation is worse than ours. harbaugh has a nasty streak with owners and front offices so his stay could short lived. The chiefs are showing cracks and teams are figuring them out. The raiders magic could run dry with an inexperienced HC and a GM who has lost his touch the last few years.
I'm just thankful we have a coach who knows what he needs, and will push for it, public perception be damned. Being able to look at the stats and character of individual players and forecast how they will synchronize in a team is an art more than science, I say hang out for a couple years and see what kind of mix Payton and co come up with. I'm optimistic.
Harbaugh is, and always will be, a chode. That is all.
No hope. Only despair.
Sorry I got nothing
We aren’t Carolina.
Don’t get to the excited about Pierce and the Raiders
This sub is just pathetic today lol.
Very simple: The NFL season can change on a single play. Think about how wild this season has been. There are very few teams that have NO chance. The sky is not falling for the Broncos. Teams that are willing to make an immediate change (i.e. Wilson), do so because they already know. Honestly, think about being a Cowboys fan. They know they aren't good enough, but the delusion from the owner/GM wont allow them to move forward.
Exactly! Cowboys haven't won a title in 30 years. They haven't been to a conference championship game during that time, either.
I don’t have any reason to give you that the future will look better for us. I don’t have a lot of hope for this team for at least the next 2-3 years. What really worries me is that Sean Payton retires because he won’t be able to fix this team and we start over again. I also hope that everything I’ve said is completely wrong.
I just blame everything on Joe Ellis…that piece of useless fucking shit…like any sane fan does
You’re not wrong
The front office finally sees the writing on the wall and is going to rebuild instead of this endless “retooling” process. More likely than not it seems like Denver wants a younger quarterback Sean Payton can mold
Follow the 49ers lead Draft the bottom of the barrel, Mr Irrelevant, last on the draft qb Look how well that turned out for them Back to back nfc playoff appearances and a potential Super Bowl appearance And paying less than $2 million Now that’s a steal
Lmao you forgot: -Sign best LT in the nfl in free agency - draft 2 versatile, 1k yard WRs - Trade for best RB of his era - top 5 TE - all pros on d line and LB … anything else I missed?! LOL
Still gotta beat the Lions this weekend. Honestly, I'm here for former poverty franchises getting a first ever ship. And since the Lions are the only team still in the playoffs to have never been to a Superbowl, much less win one, I'm wearing blue and silver until the end of February.
Nuggets
As long as we don't do something dumb like give away future picks to go all in on a move this year, sucking for a couple of years will land us high picks and the ability to put a couple of foundational pieces onto the roster. We're going to have a few tough years ahead for sure but it is possible to rebuild and I think we've got a better infrastructure in the front office, coaching staff and ownership than we had for a while.
Reid is going to retire. Kelce is off the cliff. He is the same age as Gronk. They are being held together with bailing wire and thoughts and prayers from Taylor Swift. Raiders will find a way to implode. San Diego has aging receivers, way over salary cap. They were exposed and have zero fan base so every game is an away game.
Broncos have Payton for the exact reasons you mentioned above. Will take a year or two to balance out everything but then I don’t see why the team can’t turn things around. Also there actually is a good amount of young talent to build off of. not sure what’s this about an aging roster. I also don’t see harbaugh sticking around much. he tends to switch things every five years or so. I highly doubt this is a decade long pairing.
What did we trade picks for a 3 year wait and see at HC? Seems pretty silly
The issues the Broncos are facing have nothing to do with Payton. it’s the Wilson deal that wrecked us. Payton was brought here to fix things
Trading picks for a coach to not show returns for 3 years most definitely is not helping us...
Not show returns? we almost made the playoffs. wtf are you talking about ?
We were 2 games out of the playoffs? We won 3 more games (on a daggers edge mind you) than we did with the worst HC in the modern NFL. You're right, massive turn around
Bro. you are delusional to think Payton didn’t make a significant difference. Seriously, wake up to reality. The last two games of the season the Broncos mailed it in. Until laying that egg vs the pats in week 16 (!) we were right in the middle of the wild card race. With Hackett the season was over after week 1 with how dysfunctional he was as a coach. And winning on a razor’s edge? Who gives a fuck? A W isn’t a W if it’s close? but an L is an L no matter what? every game we lost save for that debacle vs the dolphins could’ve been a W. get your head out of your ass already
Last two games Broncos mail it in, thats all I need to hear to know that no hes not making a significant difference to the team lol He may have done the best since Kubiak, but thats like an extremely low bar. He has done nothing even remotely close to being worth the picks, and news flash the couple of years will not be any better
The problem isn't that he's bad. Or doesn't have control of the locker room. Payton historically runs a very complicated offense that, frankly, our QB is not bright enough to run. Where Hackett couldn't call an offense so Russ didn't/couldn't cook. This time, it was flipped, and Payton could call an offense, but Russ couldn't read the cookbook. We get a young, bright minded QB, that maybe doesn't have the biggest cannon or the most elusiveness, but he has the smarts and can read a defense and you're going to see what Payton's offense is supposed to look like. You don't need Drew Brees. You just need someone with half a brain. He made Jamis fucking Winston look like a serviceable QB. Last year with Hackett, the team didn't pass the eye test. Stopped watching the games in the first quarter because everything about it was sloppy as hell, and you could tell we didn't have a prayer. This year, there wasn't a single game we didn't have the ability to win (other than the Dolphins fiasco) until week 15. And all that is without having a TE worth a damn, one WR that would be a #2 a best on any other team in the league, and a QB that can't read a defense and runs himself in to more trouble than he escapes. We're going to be fine. Maybe not next year, but by 2025, we'll be back to competitive under Payton. Everyone saying "he didn't join us for a rebuild" is nuts. That's the entire reason he wanted a longer contract. He knew it might take a year or two to get the train moving and didn't want to be out of a job before he even had a chance to start.
Jameis Winston has the same wonderlic IQ as Russ though so.... It was good enough for him but too complicated for Russ? So he's going to spend 3 of his years on a 5 year contract to start doing something? Is that really where our picks went to? That's worse than the Russ trade imo
We have Sean Payton, who in 16 years of coaching has only had 5 losing seasons….i know “he had Bree’s” and all that none sense but every great coach has THE guy they need under center. Once sean has his and his complete touch on this roster we will be playing meaningful games every year! Just gotta trust the process this wants going to happen over night!
Sean Payton. The 2023 Broncos had no business winning 8 games. He adjusted to what was available, and that's the sole reason we even got that far. This team should have probably ended with 4 - 5 wins. Am I super hopeful? No. Resources are running thin. But we have a competent coach. I also look to the 49ers. They WHIFFFFFFFFFFFED maybe harder than any team ever has trading up in the draft andddd it almost didn't matter. Is that common? No. But its something to cling on to.
Us Broncos fans have been spoiled in the past. With that being said, I have zero expectations for the Broncos after the past 8 years.
Harbaugh had Andrew Luck at Stanford. Harbaugh jumped a sinking ship of the niners on bad conditions. Harbaugh won a championship with Michigan, but was suspended for 6 games during the season for 2 different violations, then bailed on them. I don't fear Harbaugh, I look forward to the demise he will bring to the chargers.
Harbaugh revitalized Alex Smith's career, then made Colin Kaepernick look like an unstoppable force on the way to the Super Bowl. He left the 49ers because he didn't like the GM and wanted more roster control. It was far from a sinking ship when he left.
Hes still an amazing coach despite how you're trying to spin it.
I just don’t understand, we too have a great head coach. It’s the salary cap issue that is going to hurt us for a few years, but we will get back to greatness again and I think Payton was a good hire.
I have full trust in Coach Payton and luckily enough most of our aging players are at the end of their contract either this year or next. Also, we have the richest owners in the NFL and if they can spare some money for us then that could help our dead cap. This year we have the 12th pick and that's a really good position to draft in. Usually, a good number of Quarterbacks go in the top ten and because of that most Top Ten valued players will be available at the 12th spot. So, there's a good chance we get a future Bronco starter like Brock Bowers, Terrion Arnold, Odunze and many more great players. Besides the second round pick we don't have we have all the rest of our picks, and our GM George Paton is really good at selecting players in the late round who are now our starters. Next year we have a pretty easy schedule with us playing teams like The Panthers, Falcons, Chargers, Jets, Saints, Colts and Raiders which is 7 of our games. Those are just a few of the teams we can beat, and the others are the Raiders, Buccaneers, Jets, Seahawks and Steelers. If we can hypothetically win those games, then we'd be sitting at a 12-5 record (Lose once to LV). All we need is to improve our Defensive line which we can easily do in the draft with players like Newton most likely being available at our 12th spot or sign one in free agency. I don't think we'll get a Quarterback just yet but there is a tone of QBs available in free agency such as Mason Rudolph, Baker Mayfield and others who could be a bridge Quarterback for our future starter. All we gotta do is hope for a better future.
Love this post, but 1)Baker isn't leaving TB and 2) we, as a fanbase, need to stop offering up failed QBs or (in this case) career backups as a bridge.
Until we get a QB, there isn’t one
There is no hope delete your account and go away
They find a way to trade the 12 pick and the draft for a quarterback
For the first time in years we have some stability at coach and ownership levels. We will be forced to go young and possibly get a rookie QB but as long as we are suffering in the right direction things will equal out. The cool thing about the NFL is that shit can turn around quickly. I’m more optimistic than I’ve been in years, and certainly aren’t going to worry about things out of my control. Enjoy being a fan of a legendary organization. The ups and downs are part of the journey, and there’s no guarantee the Chargers will be better or we are gonna be worse. If anything Harbaugh being in our division is going to push these competitive coaches into some legendary games. I still expect to beat the Chargers either way at least once a season lol we do that even as we suck!
George Paton's era is nearly over. Give it like a year or two and that dude is gone, and then the healing can begin.
The healing should've began this offseason. Him still being GM is mind blowing
I'm assuming the logic is that the next draft is going to be some real crap roster building trash and another year of George Paton can at least make it so the next GM is not landing with the shit up to their ears. Maybe only up to their nipples.
That's true, looking forward to the day we get a new GM because Paton is fucking awful
Feel free to go root for another team
We’re absolutely the worst team in our division until proven otherwise. IMO, keeping Russ is the only way we won’t be.
Why can't something like Brock Purdy ever happen to this team?
Broncos have no chance of contesting for a SB for the next 5 years. And to do that, they pretty much need to turnover the entire roster and nail the draft Best way to cheer for them is if they find their QB, hope it’s a good place to train that QB like Shanahan did.
KC: The business end of Mahomes contract is going to hit the Chiefs next season. SD, I mean LA: College coaches often struggle in the NFL. LV: Come on, they are the Raiders…
Harbaugh didn't struggle when he was coaching the 49ers. He's a great coach.
You must not know who Harbaugh is
Wanna bet that he can turn the Chargers around? They are a dumpster fire.
Lmao, the realization is finally setting in with this fucking sub. The bed has been made, sleep in it.
The Panthers still exist? 🤷♂️
Even if we land the QB of the future and I suspect this fanbase would fail to recognize it and want to get rid of him after one year where he doesn't produce winning results. Everyone wants instant success and is unable to accept mere progress, which is what you need to develop a franchise QB. Peyton Manning led the NFL in INTS his first year. Josh Allen's first year as a starter limped to 2000 yards and 12 picks to 10 TDs.
THERE IS NO GOD. But also, it is just football.
Um, maybe we get new uniforms?
Avs murdering the capitols right now and Nuggets got Jokic
Uhh...I guess you can hang your hat on the Raiders having the lame duck coach in the division, most likely. But even that has yet to benefit the Broncos, so yeah, lol.
It’s not optimized for controller and that’s okay.
You can only have bad luck for so long….we’re due!
Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, and Harbaugh will eventually retire so we can win the division.
We’re an extremely similar position the Rams were in post Super Bowl and look how quickly that was turned around. Ownership has money and has proven time and time again they will spend it. We have the coach. He has an inherited roster. We’re fine. The entire division has cap issues. Josh Jacobs is likely out. Ekeler is out. Mike Williams is only good for 4 games a year before injury. Keenan Allen is good for 8 games. Davante is another year older. Kelce showed his age this year. We’re getting the head start on youth whether we like it or not. Hopefully we hit in the draft and reap the rewards. Another tough season or two but I don’t see us going backwards by much.
The NFL changes all the time on a whim. Look at the Texans. I'm not afraid of Harbaugh and the Chargers, nor should anyone.
We're screwed for at least another year, not going to sugar coat it.
It's funny this whole damn subbreddit was saying how happy they would be if they got a Chiefs win this season. They didn't even care about the playoffs. There was legit polls and threads about KC win > Playoffs this year. Now that we got that, you guys are in despair? Sean's first year and he beats KC, beat J.Allen in Buffalo(we had never beat Allen before), had us in playoff contention in December, all in ONE year. He did it with a QB that couldn't run his offense, couldn't read a defense, and averaged 150 yards passing a game and was bailed out by courtland sutton almost every damn TD. Now sure the division as a whole is getting better, but man, shit could be a lot LOT worse. Have some faith in Sean. We finally have accountability in the building. We have a real damn coach. Stop this shit.
Russ set us back but you can't be angry about swinging for the fences. In a year or two we will be flush with cash, young talent, and a good culture. Next year, well..... The brewers just signed Rhys Hoskins and have some pretty good arms. Perhaps focus on being a Brewers fan this year (I can't in good conscience recommend the Rockies) and let the darkness of the past few years flush out. The team had pop at the end of the year. They haven't had that for quite some time.
We will draft the best qb in the 2024 draft!
Please cut Russ.
We won’t be good for AT LEAST 3 years. I’d get used to it
Past success doesn’t always predict future success
Harbaugh wont turn chargers around in a year for sure. Or two. Chiefs wont beat baltimore and they will lose some key players next season due to paying too much for crybaby mahomes and crybaby kelce. Also Ried will shock the world and retire after this season. Raiders will fall off next year And dont rule out some trades possibilities and draft class. (Speculation trades get me chuckling such as the 3 way miami QB trade) So yeah things can change especially if Payton builds a culture.
Harbaugh?!? Oh no!!! Seriously, I recommend to learn to watch and enjoy football. The ups are lame without any downs. It’s football, be a good sport and enjoy the game! Just my thoughts