It’s best to temper expectations about the Broncos defense

As the Denver Broncos inch closer to training camp, high hopes rest upon the defense. On paper, the Broncos look to have one of the best defensive depth charts. Combined with the confidence that Vic Fangio is one of the best defensive minds in football, Broncos Country figures the defense can keep them competitive.

Before we start sizing up this defense for gold jackets, we should wait and see.

This isn’t 2015. The Broncos can just assume the defense will win them games. Since Fangio arrived in Denver with high expectations, Denver’s defense has been far from bad but also has been largely ineffective.

Upon his arrival in Denver in 2019, Fangio has been praised for being a defensive guru. Derek Wolfe even dubbed Fangio an “evil genius.” Fangio has been a defensive guru in all his stops prior to Denver, but in the Mile High City it has been lackluster.

Fangio’s defense in Denver has lacked big plays and collapsed late in games, all of which have been big reasons he has a 12-20 record as a head coach.

The 2020 Broncos defense totaled 16 turnovers, which ranked 29th in the NFL. Four of those turnovers came in Week 17, a game they managed to lose. In 2019, Denver’s defense ranked 25th in the NFL with 17 turnovers, which is impressive when you consider it embarrassingly forced zero turnovers in the first four games of the season.

Denver’s offense has been pedestrian (to put it nicely) for five seasons. However, if the defense is unable to create momentum by creating turnovers, it’s hard for the offense to build leads.

It goes both ways, yes. The offense has failed to score with consistency. But the defense has failed to put the offense in advantageous positions.

Furthermore, the Fangio defense has collapsed in moments where the offense has given them a lead.

In two seasons, Fangio’s defense has blown fourth-quarter leads against the Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars, Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Vikings, Tennessee Titans and Las Vegas Raiders. That’s six games in two seasons Denver could have won if the defense could have held for just one drive.

If the Broncos won those six games, the view of Fangio is likely very different in Denver.

Right now, the Broncos defense looks great — on paper. That’s all. Until we actually see Fangio make his defense dominant, it’s best we not assume.

There seems to be a continuing belief Denver’s quarterback can just “manage” games and the defense will lead the team to victory. Again, this isn’t 2015. The 2015 Broncos had a top-five all time quarterback and a top-five all time defense. Neither of those exist with Denver right now.

What we saw in 2015 was an outlier, not something that is easily reproduced.

The current Denver defense is loaded with talent. Von Miller and Bradley Chubb are finally going to play together again. Justin Simmons is the best safety in the NFL, the defensive line is underrated and the cornerback room should be vastly improved.

It’s up to Fangio to put this talent in a position where they can truly dominate.

Since Fangio has arrived in Denver, his defense has been decent but, ultimately, ineffective in helping the Broncos win games. Denver has a lot of weapons on offense, but are likely going to be limited by the quarterback position. The Broncos success does hinge on the defense. Unfortunately, for now, it’s best to temper excitement and believe it when we see it.