The Broncos yesterday "began to turn the page" to '18 after a disappointing 5-11 season while "hoping to assuage disgruntled fans still flabbergasted by two years of disappointment," according to Nicki Jhabvala of the DENVER POST. Two years removed from winning Super Bowl 50, the team is "starting from the bottom." Broncos Exec VP/Football Operations & GM John Elway said, "Can we get back there? Sure we can. That’s our goal." Elway "believes he took the first step to achieving that when, after some long days of contemplation, he decided to retain" coach Vance Joseph for another season. Jhabvala writes the Broncos have a "puzzle and plenty of pieces to rearrange," but they "don’t know the final picture yet." Their work to find it "includes not just revamping the roster and the staff, but also altering the inner workings of both." Broncos President & CEO Joe Ellis said that he had "recent discussions with Joseph and Elway and will do so with the rest of the organization about a tenor of complacency throughout the organization" (DENVER POST, 1/3). ESPN.com's Jeff Legwold noted yesterday Ellis, Elway and Joseph "all pointed to the prospect of far more tough love." Ellis said that in his discussions with Elway and Joseph, he discussed the topic and "would meet with others" in the weeks to come (ESPN.com, 1/2). In Colorado Springs, Paul Klee writes Ellis and Elway yesterday delivered "collective-but-separate messages" reassuring fans of the team going forward. Yesterday "wasn't just a warm bear hug telling Broncos Country it's all going to be OK." It was a "humbled presentation on the what (went wrong), the why (it did) and the how (the big-wigs are going to fix it)." Elway "might fail," but his track record more than earns the "benefit of the doubt" (Colorado Springs GAZETTE, 1/3).
HOLDING STEADY: The POST's Jhabvala noted the Broncos "will not raise ticket prices" next season after a 5-11 campaign in '17. This marks the "second consecutive year in which they’ve held pat." The Broncos "failed to make the playoffs" in '16 before Gary Kubiak "stepped down from coaching, then fell further while trying to make it back" in '17. Last year the Broncos "faced heavy criticism for 'weeding out' season-ticket holders who did not attend a single game" in '16. At the time the team said that the "legal revocation of certain season-ticket holders put 'more tickets in the hands of Denver Broncos fans.'" But it "outraged many who claimed they weren’t warned of the policy and who remained skeptical the team could prove what tickets were sold." Broncos President & CEO Joe Ellis said, "That process last year, we had unveiled a lot of people that quite frankly were selling their seats for straight profit. That’s not what we want. We have a big waiting list. I’ve also encouraged our people to get these tickets in the hands of people that have been waiting and that will come to games. That is our intention." (DENVER POST, 1/3).
