After another rough start, Vic Fangio is finally starting to find his groove

For obvious reasons, the 2020 NFL season has been unusual. The Broncos, specifically, have had a start to their season with a lot of twists and turns. Through all of it, the Broncos are not great, but they have avoided disaster.

There have been changes every week, but one man has remained the constant – head coach Vic Fangio.

I was very critical of Fangio’s first season as Broncos head coach. The team was undisciplined and unprepared. Furthermore, I thought Fangio alienated his players more than connecting with them. The public criticisms of Von Miller were a bit much and unproductive. Had Drew Lock not dazzled the last five games, Fangio’s inaugural season could have been a complete disaster.

This season, I believe the head coach has made strides.

While fans and media continually wrote off the Broncos, it appears Fangio and the locker room have never written themselves off. The team had every reason to pack it in after blowout losses to the Buccaneers and Chiefs. Each time, they bounced back to win the following week.

Injuries have been the continuing storyline of the Broncos 2020 season. The Broncos have fielded almost entirely different rosters week to week. Somehow, Fangio never let the team lean on a “woe is me” attitude. The Broncos have slowly found success despite constant changes to almost every position group.

The Broncos had their bye week moved and a game cancelled the day before they were to play. While some players expressed frustration, Fangio made it clear, the Broncos were not victims in the situation.

The win against the Chargers was impressive for multiple reasons. Fangio was without stud offensive line coach Mike Munchak and defensive coordinator Ed Donatell. The Broncos started rookie wide receivers Jerry Jeudy and K.J. Hamler. It was a revolving door on the field and sideline, but they kept it together.

It would have been very easy for the team to fall back on the one million excuses they could have used and quit. Remarkably, instead of quitting, they won 31-30.

With the COVID pandemic and injuries, Fangio has shown an ability to adapt throughout the season.

This young offense has had continual roster changes while trying to learn a new system. In the Broncos three victories, the offense has found more consistent success. It is believed that Fangio doesn’t pay attention to the offense, but while not great at times, he has overseen an offense that is finally showing promise for the first time since 2014.

During his time in Denver, Fangio has shied away from calling blitzes, but that changed when the Broncos played the Jets. Fangio dialed up blitzes and the defense started making big plays.

Pound for pound, Bradley Chubb is probably the best active player on the Broncos current roster. Coming off of his torn ACL in 2019, Chubb got off to a slow start in 2020. He was ineffective for the first three games of the season.

One of the most frustrating things a coach will do is stick to their “system” or “philosophy.” Since Fangio started calling blitz packages, Chubb has had a sack in four straight games. The change in play calling has allowed the Broncos best player to once again make game changing plays.

In addition to Chubb, Malik Reed is emerging as a pass rushing threat. Fangio has learned he has to put his players in the best position for them to succeed versus being stubborn about how he likes to do it.
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Fangio’s tenure in Denver thus far has been notable for last-minute, fourth-quarter collapses. Against the Chargers, the Broncos played their best fourth quarter under Fangio. The team now knows they can play well late and they are never out of it.

The Broncos three victories are against teams with a combined win total of four games. That isn’t overly impressive to some, but wins are wins. Prior to the Patriots game, everybody was still high on New England. And the Chargers were the toast of the town with Justin Herbert. These were important wins and should not be minimized after the fact.

I have been very critical of Fangio’s losses. It’s only fair that I praise the victories.

The Broncos are one game below .500. That means they are not yet a good team. Fangio has yet to have a .500 record, so there is more work to be done before the argument can be made that he is the long-term answer.

There are still many areas for the Fangio to improve. Special teams are a nightmare, in-game decision making can still be a head scratcher (timeouts for example), and it’d be nice to see Fangio be more assertive with decision making on offense.

The blowout losses, while to great teams, were egregious enough to where the injury excuse doesn’t hold validity. Preparation will have to improve and blowouts in that manner should never happen. At some point, Fangio must prove he can trade punches with the heavyweights.

Fangio has shown improvement from year one to year two. I don’t know if the players “love” their head coach, but they clearly respect what he has to say about football. After the embarrassment that was Kansas City, Fangio’s team stayed focused and won in dramatic fashion the following week. That’s a sign of a coach who has his locker room.

Should the Broncos defeat the Falcons, they will be 4-4 and a playoff push becomes a reality. For Fangio, he has weathered the storm of the difficult start of the season and his squad has momentum. They’ve adapted to the many changes and found ways to win.

If Fangio can build off the victory over the Chargers and have his team secure one of the final playoff spots, he will solidify his future with the Broncos.