GM John Elway believes his team can win now—why else acquire a 34-year-old QB
and hire a 60-year-old head coach?—but the roster simply has too many soft spots.76
× THE DEFENSE IMPROVES, BUT IS NOT
YET BEARS-LIKE. First-time head coach
Vic Fangio, hired from Chicago, where
he was the coordinator, is football’s best
defensive schemer. His system is predi-
cated on two-deep safety presnap looks
that morph into blurry hy-
brid coverages with both
man and zone principles.
His calls, with all their
wrinkles, are difficult for
a QB to process and for an
offensive coordinator to
anticipate. High-level line-
backer play, particularly on
passing downs, can propel
Fangio’s scheme into the
stratosphere. The Broncos,
unfortunately, are average
at linebacker. Sixth-year
veteran Todd Davis and
2018 fourth-rounder Josey Jewell have
both sharpened their pass protection,
but are still better suited to stop the run.
× VON MILLER AND BRADLEY CHUBB
ARE FOOTBALL’S BEST EDGE-RUSHING
TANDEM. Miller predominantly works
off the weak side and Chubb off the strong
side. And less sexy than their pass rushing
but still important: They have the athleti-cism to play in space on first and second
down, which Fangio’s scheme will ask
them to do against certain slot formations.
×CHRIS HARRIS BECOMES A TRAVELING^
CORNER. Known for his mastery in the
slot, Harris gets his wish to travel with
the opposing team’s top receiver. Fangio
normally doesn’t use corners this way,
but Harris is far and away his top cover
man. Aided by the scheme’s natural
safety help outside, the ninth-year star
has more cracks at interceptions. As for
Harris’s old nickel-slot duties, they fall
to Bryce Callahan, who thrived in that
role under Fangio in Chicago.
× JOE FLACCO STRUGGLES.
The 12th-year quarterback
is not an ideal fit for new
coordinator Rich Scan-
garello’s system, which is
predicated on outside zone
runs that also set up crafty
mutlilevel route combina-
tions. With functional mo-
bility and a still-lively arm,
Flacco can run the of-
fense, but to be truly suc-
cessful he must overcome
two problems. The first is
Denver’s ho-hum receiving
corps. The second is that he is playing be-
hind a weak line that features 30-year-old
left guard Ronald Leary, who’s coming off
a right Achilles injury; 2016 fifth-rounder
Connor McGovern, who’s still settling in
at center; right guard Dalton Risner, a
second-round rookie from Kansas State;
and right tackle Ja’Wuan James, who
constantly needs help in pass protection.WHAT LIES AHEAD
SI’S 2019
PREDICTION
7 – 9
2018 RECORD 6Ð 10
SEP T. 9
@ OAK
SEP T. 15
VS. CHI
SEP T. 22
@ GB
SEP T. 2 9
VS. JAX
OC T. 6
@ LAC
OC T. 1 3
VS. TEN
OC T. 17
VS. KC
OC T. 2 7
@ IND
NOV. 3
VS. CLE
NOV. 10
BYE
NOV. 17
@ MIN
NOV. 24
@ BUF
DEC. 1
VS. LAC
DEC. 8
@ HOU
DEC. 15
@ KC
DEC. 22
(Flex)
VS. DET
DEC. 29
VS. OAKSt
re
ngthQB
26
RB
10
WR/TE
28
OL
29
FRONT 7
4
DB
12
JAM
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CHW
AB
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MIL
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BBI
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IMA
GES