Last week, I asked Denver Broncos fans if they thought new head coach Sean Payton would get the team back into the playoffs this season. I expected a bit more push back on the optimism given our seven years of frustration, but two-thirds of fans voted in support of that optimism.
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You can sense the change of culture Payton has already brought to the franchise and that alone is the source of most of my optimism for the season. His free agency clearly focused on the trenches and run game, while his draft went after athletic traits. I’m more excited about the former and think those signings will lead to a much different offense in 2023.
His latest free agent signing was more insurance policy than big time move. Payton signed soon-to-be 30-year-old Frank Clark. He thinks Payton is the key to this team turning things around too.
“You can say what you want about their record, Clark said this week. “But if you know football, if you understand it, that’s the type of team that can turn it around in a heartbeat.”
This team has been close at various times over the last five seasons. It’s been more of being close on the defensive side of the ball than the offensive side. If Payton can establish a strong rushing attack in 2023 and have Russell Wilson take advantage of the opposing defenses new focus on the run game, we could see some success on offense finally.
What did you think of these survey results? Let’s discuss in the comments section below.
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