The Denver Broncos are your defending Super Bowl Champions after a big time win over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50. That being said, the loss of Peyton Manning is going to be huge to not only this offense, but the team as a whole.
Now, the Denver defense is the best in the league. The pass rush, the secondary, they dominated the field and preyed on an opposing quarterback’s mistakes. But, there are several questions surrounding this team as the season approaches.
Quarterback situation aside, there is concern over Von Miller and the inability of both sides to reach an agreement in regards to a contract extension.
The reigning Super Bowl MVP is a huge part of their defensive staff and a vocal leader in the huddle. The talks of him potentially sitting out for the 2016 season, if both sides are unable to reach an agreement, is concerning considering the defense is this teams strong suit.
According to NFL.com, Miller declined a deal that would make him the highest paid defensive player that included a total of $114.5 million.
Miller has even skipped the Broncos’ offseason workouts as a result of a standstill in contract negotiations.
While the Miller situation has no impact on how Mark Sanchez will do with the team, it creates a divide amongst his teammates and drama as the season approaches. With Peyton Manning retiring, they can’t afford to lose another star player.
Both sides seem confident a deal will be made by the deadline, but we’ll just have to see how it plays out.
The defending champs will feature a much different offense in 2016 with Sanchez replacing Manning. While Manning missed six games due to injury, they had a solid backup for him in Brock Osweiler, who earned himself a hefty deal with the Houston Texans.
It’s no secret Sanchez has struggled throughout his career. He entered the NFL with high expectations he never came close to, and to see him with this team should be interesting to say the least.
Last year, Manning threw for 2,249 yards, nine touchdowns, and 17 interceptions.
In eight games, Osweiler threw for 1,967 yards, 10 touchdowns, and six interceptions.
Sanchez played in four games with the Philadelphia Eagles last season, passing for 616 yards, four touchdowns, and four interceptions. In his six seasons of experience, he has accumulated 15,126 yards, 86 touchdowns, and 84 interceptions.
Despite a decline in Manning’s performance last year, and even when he missed starts due to injury, he was always a veteran presence on the field and on the sideline. He had 18 years of experience in this league and is a future Hall of Famer whom the entire Denver roster admired. They are losing that leadership they felt with Manning, and Sanchez cannot replace that.
There was always a sense of the Broncos being capable to win any game, not only because of their strong defense, but because Peyton Manning was under center. In his career he has led numerous comebacks, and just having that in the back of an opposing defenses’ mind gave the Broncos an advantage. Sanchez, not so much. He struggles under pressure, unlike Manning who has shown throughout his career that he is more than capable of leading an offense to the end zone with limited time on the clock.
Presence and leadership aside, Sanchez is not a quarterback to lead an offense to a Super Bowl let alone win it. His supporting cast will have to give even extra effort, and despite a dominating defense, the offense has to put points on the board to win.
Defenses will attack Sanchez and his weaknesses, giving this offense a disadvantage.
All that being said, it is possible a change of scenery could do wonders for the quarterback and he could be more than serviceable and a solid quarterback this season. The Broncos have a very good team with big name players, and have dominated the AFC West the past few years.
It’s an interesting change, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out on the field.