Mike Freeman’s 10-Point Stance: Broncos, Panthers Face Tough Questions Ahead

How the Broncos and Panthers got here, what was Terry Bradshaw thinking and the unbelievable Bill Belichick.

    

1. What Went Wrong in Denver and Carolina?

A lot. And in many ways, the pasts, presents and futures of each club are intertwined.

The Broncos didn’t make it back to the playoffs because they had a talent problem. The Panthers (according to some players on other teams) didn’t make it back because of a possible attitude problem. (I disagree with this, which I’ll explain in a moment.)

Neither team faces easy fixes.

In Denver, the problem was poor offensive line play (40 sacks allowed, tied for 24th in the NFL), which led to a lack of a running game (3.6 yards per rush, 28th in the NFL) that didn’t help prop up the often poor play of quarterback Trevor Siemian (83.9 passer rating, 24th in the NFL), who may not be all that good. That’s the trifecta of issues John Elway will face when he tries to repair this offensive mess.

There has been a lot of talk that deposed Dallas starter Tony Romo wants to play for the Broncos, and that is indeed accurate. He wants off the Cowboys, several Dallas players said, because he believes he can play another two to three years, at least. And Romo believes he could turn the Broncos into instant Super Bowl contenders.

He isn’t wrong.

But if you believe the Broncos want Romo, well, that may be a totally different story. I’m told by one Denver team source that interest in Romo from the Broncos is “limited at best for right now.” We’ll see if that changes in the near future.

In Carolina, the problem is different.

In my almost daily survey of players around the league in search of news, tidbits and good places to buy Star Trek comics, one player said something that struck me about the Panthers.

“That fire was gone,” he said.

Now, this player is in Carolina’s division and often has expressed great respect for the Panthers. Still, he noticed something was missing when he played them this season.

“They weren’t as tough,” he added. “We could push them around easier.”

In other words, Carolina lost its edge.

That wouldn’t be unprecedented for a team coming off a run to the title game. And it illustrates just how difficult it is for Super Bowl runners-up to not only toake it back to the Super Bowl, but also to even make it back to the playoffs.

When I wrote about the challenge Carolina faced earlier this year, I heard veteran players on opposing teams say they didn’t think the Panthers fully understood just how difficult it would be to return.

Compounding the task, the player in the Panthers’ division said, was the animosity Carolina engendered. Some teams, the player explained, hated the antics of Cam Newton and played harder when they faced the Panthers. (Although it should be noted Newton stopped dabbing this year—that’s not a sentence I thought I would ever write in my journalism career.)

That may be a belief on the part of some, but when I watched the Panthers, what I saw was an injured team that faced the best shot of every opponent. To me, more than anything, those injuries were the biggest factor, including the loss of linebacker Luke Kuechly to a concussion as the Panthers were fighting for their playoff lives.

Carolina was also up against history. Few teams make it back to the Super Bowl, let alone win it, and a surprisingly high number fail to make the playoffs.

Were the Panthers too satisfied after they made it to the Super Bowl? I don’t buy it, but there are players who do. I just think it was the curse of the Super Bowl loser.

But the Panthers have company this time in their disappointment, and for both Carolina and Denver, it will be a tumultuous offseason.

    

2. On the Bright Side for the Panthers

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