The Denver Broncos are not your typical NFL blueprint.
After their Super Bowl victory in February, they lost their Hall of Fame-bound quarterback Peyton Manning to retirement, the kind of personnel change that often causes grown men to weep.
Broncos Nation could have cared less. What they were most concerned with was getting their real superstar, linebacker Von Miller, to sign a long-term contract.
It was Miller, of course, and the Broncos’ No 1-ranked defence which suffocated three of the league’s best offences, and quarterbacks, in the post-season on their way to the title.
After the Broncos finished manhandling Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, and Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers, they had resurrected a dusty notion: Defence wins championships. In their case, defence almost alone.
Manning was a bit player in the run. In the Super Bowl, he passed for a mere 141 yards, and had two turnovers.
Meanwhile, Miller set the tone, sacking Newton two and a half times, and forcing two key fumbles. Carolina never had a chance. Miller was named Super Bowl 50 Most Valuable Player.
With training camps opening this week, the defending champs have no choice but to try to repeat their methodology. Ten starters return on defence.
Meanwhile, the quarterback situation is considerably shakier than it was even a year ago.
Not only did the legendary Manning call it quits after a statistically dismal final year, his backup, Brock Osweiler, who filled in competently when Manning was hurt at mid-season, signed with the Houston Texans.
Vying for the job are journeyman Mark Sanchez, second-year Bronco Trevor Siemian and rookie Paxton Lynch, the 26th pick in the April draft.
Sanchez, who has been a starter with the New York Jets and Philadelphia Eagles most of his six years in the NFL, should win the competition. But no one has ever mistaken him for an elite quarterback.
The best thing you can say for Siemian is that he watched from the bench last season, so he should know what the job requires in Denver: Don’t do anything stupid.
As for Lynch, it is hard to imagine the team would risk putting the offence in the hands of a 22-year-old newbie.
Mostly the Broncos are thrilled that a quarterback battle is their biggest problem. Two weeks ago, Miller and team management were still locked in a contentious fight over his new contract.
Denver had stuck Miller with the “franchise tag” meaning he was under contract for one year, at a US$14 million (Dh51.4m) salary commensurate with the top players at his position.
Miller vowed there was “no chance” he would play without a long-term deal. For emphasis, he skipped the Broncos’ off-season workouts and railed against the unfairness of the system, frightening Denver fans right up to the July 15 deadline.
At the 11th hour, Miller agreed to a six-year contract for $114.5m ($70m guaranteed), making him the highest paid, non-quarterback in the NFL.
In Colorado, it was like Super Bowl victory 1A.
Of course, with the dominating defence virtually intact from last year, and Miller financially rewarded like no other defender in history, anything less than another spirited run through the post-season will be regarded as failure.
No matter who the quarterback is.
For his part, general manager John Elway, a two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback himself, did not seem too worried about the most important position in the game.
“Sometimes people look at things like the sky is falling,” he told ESPN. com. “We like the team we’re putting together.”
Now he does.
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