No, it’s not Gronk but I thought long and hard about this one as I struggled with the thought that I am being biased as a long-time fan of the Denver Broncos, but could not talk myself out of the thought that Joe Flacco earns the NFL comeback player of the year in 2019. Yes, this comes the week after predicting Andy Dalton throws for more than 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns.
Flacco, in his own right, was well on his way to easily surpassing 4,000 yards last year before suffering a hip injury in week 9 of the 2018 NFL season which opened the door for the Ravens to start their newly-acquired first-round rookie Lamar Jackson who instantly opened eyes to the team and it’s fans leaving Flacco permanently planted on the Ravens bench.
That doesn’t mean that Flacco was a failure by any means and for those who question whether I would draft either of these guys (Dalton or Flacco), I will gladly share my Going for 2 Writers League roster which will display both of these guys as my only 2 quarterbacks drafted/rostered and am anxious to share the outcome of their results after the season no matter if the results are good or bad as both quarterbacks are adapting to new offensive schemes and coming off injuries so it certainly presents a hit or miss scenario that I hope to hit on.
Enough on Dalton as this is all about Flacco. Joe has already earned respect in the Broncos locker room as he has been nicknamed “Pretty Boy Joe”, “Joe Cool” and “Papa Joe” by his teammates such as Emmanuel Sanders and Garett Bolles due to his being “smooth” in the offense as Sanders says or the “Dad on the team” as Bolles refers to him. Either way, he appears to have earned the respect of his teammates and is ready to help his team reach the next level and compete for a Championship.
The Broncos have committed to improving their offensive line through the draft as well as adding youth to their receivers with the additions of offensive tackles Bolles (2017 1st round rookie selection) and Dalton Risner (2019 2nd round rookie selection) along with wide receivers Courtland Sutton, Daesean Hamilton and tight end Noah Fant. Wide receiver Tim Patrick is another weapon who actually produced better numbers than Sutton and Hamilton when Sanders tore his Achilles in early December.
Early news from training camp is that Kevin Hogan is overthrowing receivers without pressure and rookie Drew Lock has a long ways to go before he is considered an NFL quarterback which is what was expected when the Broncos drafted him in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft so it appears Flacco has nobody tapping his shoulder as he enters the 2019 season.
Royce Freeman who was selected in the early third round (3.07) last year and undrafted free agent Phillip Lindsay will keep the defenses honest as they pound the rock out of the backfield to take pressure off the quarterback.
The changing of the guard may once again be taking place in the Mile High City as Peyton finally hands over his dominance to Flacco after a couple fumbles.
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With all that said, the stars are aligned for Flacco and the Broncos offense to have a stellar season and could very well turn some heads of those not paying attention.
As always, I will own up to my predictions in the end but am not greatly concerned as my past Predictions have not been ones to be ashamed at the same time are not controversial which is why they are labeled BOLD predictions.
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