Renck: The fake games are over. Time for real impressions. The Broncos enter Week 1 with a new quarterback, a dramatically reshaped roster and the insatiable hunger that comes from being young and overlooked. Now that the roster is set, did coach Sean Payton morph into Gordon Ramsay and create a culinary masterpiece, or will the Broncos once again be devoured by superior opponents? Sean, what do you think? Will the Broncos win more than their sportsbook over-under total of 5.5 victories or fall below into an abyss that nets them a top-five pick?
Keeler: Ramsay? Sunshine Sean’s been as chummy as Bobby Flay lately, my friend. Mind you, he also hasn’t lost a game in eight and a half months, so let’s see what happens once the seas get choppy. That said, Payton’s a high-floor coach with a resume that doesn’t do tank jobs. I believe in the back of the baseball card. Or football card, in this case. Which is why I believe Payton cajoles, twists and drags this roster to seven wins — at the worst.
Renck: Maybe I spent too much time in the sun this weekend, leaving me with fever dreams of adequacy, but I believe the Broncos trip the over. My prediction before camp was six victories with a wink, wink. Now? Give me six with conviction. Bo Nix might as well be Bo the Builder as the Broncos’ construction project takes shape. I think the Broncos were better after the cuts. Losing Tim Patrick hurts, but it means more targets for Courtland Sutton, and Jaleel McLaughlin will emerge as the third-down back to replace Samaje Perine. It’s not like they broke up Don “Air” Coryell’s 1970s Chargers. Denver has plenty of weapons to flirt with mediocrity.
Keeler: Perine is a good pro who became surplus to requirements the minute Payton fell in love with Audric Estime as the “thunder” to McLaughlin’s “lightning.” I’m still not convinced this is a better receiving corps without Tim Patrick, though — largely because a passing game without proven home-run threats needs all the good-hands dudes it can muster. We’re going to see a lot of dinking and dunking by Nix to keep drives alive, and a healthy Patrick has a history of keeping the chains moving. As the Motor City is about to find out.
Renck: I am a realist, not an optimist. If the Broncos get off to a slow start — entirely possible with so many young players on the two-deep depth chart — they will not recover. Not this year. All of their first eight games are winnable, and they must beat Pittsburgh, Las Vegas, New Orleans and Carolina. That means if they post victories in two of the following three home games over the final nine — Atlanta, Cleveland, Indianapolis — they will experience the joy of six. This Broncos team fascinates me because the franchise finally has a proven coach, who has never won fewer than seven games in 16 previous seasons, a young quarterback and a clear direction.
Keeler: It’s The Bo Show, for better or worse. But really? It’s The Sean Show. Last fall was the great experiment to see how well Russell Wilson fit Payton’s system, and it turned into an 18-week tug-of-war. The coach won. This offense is being hammered and molded entirely in his image now, and the locker room’s following suit. Which is how he likes it. Dove Valley’s basically Saints North. Payton’s New Orleans rosters never found themselves landing below the seven-win mark. The Bayou Broncos won’t, either.
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