Former greats sense more big things from these Broncos
DENVER — Denver Broncos Ring of Famers Rod Smith and Shannon Sharpe were among the final people to leave the Broncos' locker room late Thursday night after Denver's 35-21 win against the San Diego Chargers.
Smith and Sharpe, the top receiver and tight end of the Broncos' Super Bowl champion teams, lingered as they talked with current Broncos players, and they enjoyed a reunion with running back Terrell Davis, in town for the NFL Network telecast, and receiver Ed McCaffrey, who does color commentary for the Broncos' radio broadcast, and of course, with their quarterback John Elway, the man who has built their beloved team into arguably the best team in the NFL.
Smith and Sharpe know what a championship team plays like, and they know what a championship locker room feels like. This season might only be nearing its midpoint, but they can sense that Elway has built something special here in the wake of the Broncos' Super Bowl heartbreak in February.
"The one thing I love about this team is its improvement on defense. If they're going to win the Super Bowl, it's going to be on defense," Smith told Paste BN Sports.
That certainly wasn't meant as a slight to quarterback Peyton Manning and a Broncos' offense that has scored 77 points in the past five days, both prime-time, nationally-televised games against the San Francisco 49ers and the San Diego Chargers, two playoff teams from last year. Smith even described Manning's offense as "more dynamic" and "more cerebral" than the Elway-led group that won back-to-back Super Bowls in 1997 and 1998.
Instead, it's acknowledgement that the Broncos' investment into getting better around Manning has paid off, with big-time production from free agent additions defensive end DeMarcus Ware (seven sacks), cornerback Aqib Talib (two interceptions) and safety T.J. Ward (29 tackles) and first-round draft pick Bradley Roby (34 tackles and a sack).
The Broncos defense, a group that finished ranked No. 19 in total defense last season, moved up to No. 5 Thursday night, including No. 1 against the run heading into the rest of the Week 8 games. The Broncos have yet to allow a 100-yard rusher this season and had held the Chargers to 38 rushing yards on 14 attempts before a 23-yard gain on the final play of the game.
"We're a total team. We have our identity already," cornerback Chris Harris said. "We're going to stop the run, and y'all are going to come out here and throw at me and Talib. That's going to be a long day if you have to do that."
Manning threw three more touchdowns in Thursday's win, all to Emmanuel Sanders, on a night that should have made Broncos fans completely forget about Eric Decker, if they haven't already.
Decker, who caught 24 touchdowns from Manning in two seasons together in Denver, signed a five-year, $36.25 million contract with the New York Jets in March after the Broncos failed to make an offer in free agency. The Broncos signed Sanders, the former Pittsburgh Steeler, for three years and $15 million, believing he'd be a perfect fit with Manning because of his versatility, ability to force missed tackles in space and speed to provide another deep threat.
Now Sanders has four touchdowns in five days, after catching his first score of the season on Sunday night, and four 100-yard receiving days this season. He didn't have a single 100-yard game, or any multi-touchdown games, in his four seasons in Pittsburgh. No wonder Sanders called Denver "wide receiver heaven" when he signed his contract in March.
"That's the reason why I came here," Sanders said. "I wanted to go to a team that is going to spread the football around and that's going to throw it. ... I'm just happy to be part of it, obviously, and hopefully we just keep throwing the football."
Follow Lindsay H. Jones on Twitter @bylindsayhjones.
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