The Monday Mommy: 2013: A Year of Bronco Distractions in Review
“The Denver Broncos have been through the ringer in 2013 and are still in the driver’s seat for a Super Bowl berth. Let that sink in for a moment.”
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The Denver Broncos have been through the ringer in 2013 and are still in the driver’s seat for a Super Bowl berth. Let that sink in for a moment.
The fact that so many weird and mostly negative things happened throughout the course of this calendar year both on and off the field for the team is pretty bizarre. Sure, teams take on injuries, personnel issues and the like all the time.
However, none of them are able to endure such challenges while maintaining a multi record-breaking season and achieving a record of 13-3 in a very tough NFL climate.
Here’s a look at the top moments of 2013 that could have derailed the Broncos season but somehow did not.
January: 2012 Divisional Playoff game versus the Ravens – Yes, this was technically last season and it did completely throttle the playoff hopes and dreams of the Broncos. However, it did take place in January of this year and was devastatingly heartbreaking for anyone who roots for the orange and blue.
The loss perhaps served as fuel for the team in 2013 and will hopefully propel them past that point in this year’s playoff run.
March: Elvis Dumervil Fax Debacle– This was perhaps the most damaging and destructive of the off field distractions in 2013. The Broncos could have really used Dumervil’s pass rush in the regular season and certainly would love to have his services moving forward. It is still a mystery as to why that fax was not in on time or for what reason Dumervil’s contract was being negotiated via fax in the year 2013.
July: DUI’s all round for the staff- Broncos Director of player personnel Matt Russell and Director of pro personnel Tom Heckert were both popped for driving under the influence within a month of each other and dually suspended without pay as a result. Russell was suspended indefinitely and Heckert received a month.
While these yahoos’ actions did not directly affect play on the field, the distraction and lack of leadership had the potential to cause some harm. Luckily, this story went away fairly quickly and no one else was stupid enough to follow their examples. Let’s hope this continues through the upcoming post season bye week.
August: Von Miller’s High Life – Miller was handed down a six-game suspension by the league over the summer for violating its drug policy. While at first it was thought that this could completely stun and deflate the Broncos chances at post season glory, it was not the case at all.
Denver’s defense though shaky at best, actually performed well without the star linebacker for the first six games. Upon his return to the active roster, Miller was somewhat rounder, ineffective and not exactly a difference maker on the field for the Broncos after all.
They will have to make their playoff run without the services of Miller, as his season ended with a knee injury in Week 16 in Denver’s matchup against the Houston Texans.
September: The infamous Flacco poster- A simple NFL campaign to kick start the season caused a whole state to unify in protest, complete with a local radio guy duct taping signs along the 16th street mall. The league office somehow decided that placing signage depicting the Broncos’ opposing quarterback throughout the city and on the stadium itself was a good idea.
Let’s forget about the fact that the image was of a guy that came into Denver and beat the Broncos in a playoff game that should have rightfully belonged to Peyton Manning and the home town team. We can also look past that Flacco is just a delta bravo and no one wants to see his mug around town.
We all know that the NFL doesn’t give a rat’s patootie about the Broncos’ feelings on this matter, and are only concerned with the bottom line and the promotion of their product. Luckily, the team was totally unaffected and in turn handed the Ravens an enormous loss on a silver platter that opening night.
November: John Fox goes under the knife- Not many teams can lose their head coach for a month and still come out victorious. The Broncos were able to focus and play up to speed while under the direction of defensive coordinator and interim head coach Jack Del Rio.
The team went 3-1 while Del Rio was at the helm and he managed to keep them focused and on track without hijacking the team or changing its agenda.
More injuries than a mash unit – I listed this at the end instead of chronologically since the Broncos were bitten with the injury bug starting in training camp and it continued all the way through the regular season. The losses of center Dan Koppen, Ryan Clady and Champ Bailey were indeed significant however, the Broncos pressed on unfazed.
The theme of this season has been Next Man Up and Denver has rolled with it without major incidence.
After a year of trials and tribulations for this Denver Broncos’ squad, they are poised to make an epic run for Super Bowl glory. Let’s just hope that they can keep all the distractions and issues in check for just another six weeks or so and maintain the laser focus needed for victory.
Happy New Year to all the fans out there in Bronco Country and hopefully we will all see each other on that parade route in 2014.
