A 58-yard kickoff return? For the Broncos? No really, I’m not making this up. Quincy Morgan went 58 yards against the 49ers on Monday.
Granted, it was a preseason game, a relatively meaningless exhibition game that even Mike Shanahan acknowledged the Broncos had little interest in. But still, it was encouraging to see Shanahan’s team make a positive play on special teams.
To put that 58-yarder in perspective, the Broncos had one longer last season – a 64-yarder by Morgan. For the season, they averaged 22 yards a return compared to 26.9 for their opponents. And you wonder why they had the worst average starting field position in the league.
The simple truth is, if the Broncos are going to hang in there with the Chargers in the AFC West, they need their special teams to have a positive influence on their season, not a negative one.
They have a new special-teams coach in Scott O’Brien, and several new players. Now all they need is some new results.
