HOUSTON — Winter break ended in Denver as soon as the party began in Houston.
This past week, new Broncos coach Vance Joseph and his staff returned to Englewood to begin draft preparation, roster evaluations and a plan for the offseason. About 1,000 miles south, the streets of downtown Houston were converted into an NFL playground.
The Broncos’ run as reigning Super Bowl champions was nearing an end. Talk of their historically great defense in 2015 was supplanted by talk of two quarterbacks: Tom Brady, who is one win from earning his fifth Super Bowl ring, and Matt Ryan, the Falcons’ veteran on the cusp of his first bit of bling.
On Monday evening inside Minute Maid Park, the two stood side-by-side, each praising the other before taking their positions on the floor and fielding question after question about their teams, their seasons, their competition, their expectations, their families, their political affiliations, their heroes, even their hot tub regimens. (No question is off-limit on Opening Night).
But really, neither Brady nor Ryan needed to say anything to remind the Broncos of what they’ve sorely lacked for more than a year: an elite quarterback. The Broncos of 2015 featured a historically great defense. Injuries and age caught up to Peyton Manning and although his mind enabled him to do what most quarterbacks may never be able to, Denver’s offense rode the coattails of its defense to its Super Bowl 50 title.
Broncos quarterback Trevor Siemian surprised this past season, but he was unable to jumpstart the offense. Neither could rookie Paxton Lynch.
“Look at the history of the NFL,” said Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. “Teams that don’t have one of those guys usually struggle to be there at the end of the year unless they have one of top defenses in Super Bowl history, or NFL history. Everyone knows that. You need a quarterback to be consistently competitive.”
In New England, it always started with Brady, a guy many of the greats of the game are calling the greatest ever. Sunday will be his seventh Super Bowl appearance. He enters Sunday’s game having already tied for the most Super Bowl victories (four) and MVP awards (three) among quarterbacks. He holds virtually all the Super Bowl passing records.
“There are others, I know — Otto Graham is one who always seems to get lost in that conversation — but I think that anyone who wants to make a case for Tom Brady being the greatest of all time, they certainly can do that regardless of whatever happens Sunday,” said Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman. “I know that five (titles) would be extremely meaningful to him. I would have to believe that if there is a fifth that then there would be no arguing his place in history….(He’s) surpassed anything that I’ve ever seen from anyone else who put on the uniform and played that position.”
Ryan, meanwhile, had his most efficient and prolific season in his ninth year. He the league with a Falcons-record 117.1 passer rating in the regular season — the fifth-highest all-time — and so far has topped it with a 132.6 rating in the postseason. For good measure, he also threw for a franchise record 4,944 yards, second-most in the NFL this past season.
“He does everything well. He makes all the throws. He is athletic,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. “We saw it last week against Green Bay when he scrambled for 20 yards or whatever it was for a touchdown. He can buy some time in the pocket, but he throws deep, throws short, hits receivers on the run so they get a lot of yards after the catch. He has good poise in the pocket. He does a good job on the line of scrimmage getting the offense into the right play based on the defensive look. There really are no weaknesses in his game.”
In recent seasons, such praise has been given to the Broncos’ defense, with its bevy of playmakers. And, frankly, it would be unfair to expect the same sort of praise for Siemian or Lynch. The former surprised with what he could do when healthy and when protected by the offensive line. The latter showed the highs and lows expected of a rookie.
The potential of both is unknown — much as many will try to claim otherwise — given the struggles of the Broncos’ offense as a whole the past two seasons. They, too, could one day join elite status.
But if the Broncos’ regular-season woes weren’t enough, may Super Bowl LI and its dueling quarterbacks serve as additional reminders: Denver, a town known for hosting star quarterbacks, needs another to lead the way.
