Find Broncos QB Russell Wilson the right coach and he will win big in 2023

The Denver Broncos are not in the playoffs. The Wild Card Round was full of some great games, and there’s one more to go on Monday night! I think the Broncos can get to the postseason next year, but there is a lot of work that must be done.

I like when the NFL gets to the postseason. This win-or-go-home format in the NFL playoffs is one of the best we see in sports, and the drama that builds within most of these contests is why we love this great game.

I also like contemplating life and sports when driving around with the top down on my old Jeep TJ! The following is a result of those trips during the week.

Buckle up, let’s take a ride through my thoughts.

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Who Knows the Dirty Secret?

There are some ridiculous takes about Broncos QB Russell Wilson out there. I got sick to my stomach with some of the opinions on Wilson from fans or bloggers or national media members who aren’t around the building. Many of these opinions on Wilson were misguided or flat out wrong – and many seemed to sound personal more than critiques of what Wilson was doing on the football field.

We all can agree that Wilson needs to play better in 2023. He will even tell you that. Wilson was below average under former Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett, but late in the year under interim head coach Jerry Rosburg we saw some flashes of vintage Wilson. Using his legs to attack a defense worked. Setting up deep shots on play-action fakes worked. Running the ball to set up the passing game worked – and Wilson looked good doing these things he was asked.

One of the top misconceptions I’ve heard about Wilson is that he refuses to do what he did in Seattle to be a successful starter. That’s BS. Yes, does Wilson have opinions based on his experience that might not have meshed with Hackett? Of course. Yes, does Wilson want to extend his career by running the ball less? Probably. However, it’s foolish to think that Wilson would be ignorant of what works. He’s a smart guy, and Wilson knows this is a results-based business.

Look at the results that the San Francisco 49ers are getting from seventh-round pick Brock Purdy. The 49ers might be the best team in football, and there’s a good chance they win the Super Bowl this year with ‘Mr. Irrelevant’ at quarterback. Purdy was the final pick in this draft, but he looks great running the Kyle Shanahan offense. How does he do that? The answer is simple; fit. The dirty secret in the NFL is that it’s all about fit. Fans that are suggesting Purdy is better than Wilson don’t understand how this game works. Be better.

Purdy>Russell Wilson is a boring take. I think Purdy fits so well with Kyle Shanahan. He's doing a great job of running the system.

I don't think Wilson will be elite again, but you can get good football out of the veteran if you find the right FIT #Broncos @DenverSportsCom

— Cecil Lammey (@CecilLammey) January 15, 2023

The dirty secret in the NFL is – and will always be – it’s all about fit. Purdy fits Shanahan, and it’s oh-so-very clear that Wilson did not fit with Hackett. Find the right fit (*cough, Harbaugh, cough*) and watch Wilson be Comeback Player of the Year in 2023.

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What a Difference a Year Makes

Purdy wasn’t the only out-of-nowhere rookie quarterback that was starting in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs. In addition to Purdy with the 49ers, the Miami Dolphins were starting rookie Skylar Thompson on Wild Card weekend. Like Purdy, Thompson was a seventh-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft.

What a difference a year makes. Roughly a year ago, I watched both Purdy and Thompson up close during the week of practice for the 2022 East-West Shrine Bowl. I went into that week excited about Purdy and curious about Thompson. During the week, Purdy disappointed me as I enjoyed his game in college at Iowa State. Also during those practices, Thompson stood out to me as a ‘sleeper’ prospect I wanted the Broncos to be interested in. During his time at Kansas State, Thompson flashed starter potential in the NFL but injuries and inconsistency caused him to fall to Day 3 of the draft.

Purdy has a great fit with the 49ers, and he is going far above and beyond what most expected him to be in the pros. That’s a sign of his work in the pros, and it’s also a sign of what Shanahan has done to make his young quarterback comfortable. I think the 49ers get Tom Brady this offseason in free agency, and Purdy could learn a lot from the GOAT as a backup in 2023. Thompson fought valiantly against the Bills, but his game is not as sharp as Purdy at this moment. I think Thompson could eventually be the starter for the Dolphins, but for now it looks like he will return to a backup role behind Tua Tagovailoa in 2023.

No matter what happens in their respective careers, Purdy and Thompson continue to show NFL fans that talent can come from anywhere. Neither is Brady – a sixth-round pick (also a Shrine Game alum) who became the best of all time – but both are quality players with upside who can prove teams wrong with their play on the field. The game is not too big for Purdy or Thompson, and I’m happy to see them outperform and outlast quarterbacks who were drafted much higher than they were.

A year ago, I watched QB Brock Purdy and QB Skylar Thompson compete during the week of practice for the @ShrineBowl – great weekend of football from both young passers. Purdy such a good FIT with Kyle Shanahan, Thompson was valiant in defeat today. #NFLDraft

— Cecil Lammey (@CecilLammey) January 15, 2023

I liked both young quarterbacks entering the week of the 2022 Shrine Bowl. Their play this season further highlights why my annual “All-Star Road Trip” is one of the most important things I do in the pre-draft process. I can’t wait to hit the road later this month at both the Shrine Bowl and the Senior Bowl. Who knows, maybe I will see future playoff starters like Purdy and Thompson at these games.

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Number One For Now

I have Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh as my number one choice for the Broncos in their search for a new head coach. The answer for the Broncos is easy, and he’s right in front of them ready to come to Denver if chosen. Harbaugh has plenty of head coaching experience, and he’s the type of ‘splash’ hire the Broncos need. It’s not just the ‘splash’ that would be created by Harbaugh, but it’s the substance he’ll bring to the field as well.

Harbaugh worked wonders with San Francisco 49ers QB Alex Smith, and he ran a system that was specific to what Smith did best (a lot of check downs). However, when the 49ers had to switch to backup QB Colin Kaepernick we saw Harbaugh take a different approach for the team’s offense. With Kaepernick, we saw more bootlegs and rollouts from the offense. Harbaugh would give Kaepernick two reads, one high and one low, then tell him to take off and run if neither of those options were open. Kaepernick did a great job of running that offense because it was tailored to what he could do at the time as a young passer. The 49ers made the Super Bowl that year, falling short to the Baltimore Ravens after the 2012 season.

Harbaugh is my first choice, but to quote Yoda “There is another.”

Mike McDaniel was a ballboy for the Broncos during the Mike Shanahan days. He worked his way up the coaching ranks quickly and became the head coach of the Miami Dolphins last offseason. When the hire was made, those in the know were aware that the Dolphins could move on from him after one year if things didn’t look great. With guys like Harbaugh or Sean Payton available for Dolphins’ owner Stephen Ross it meant that McDaniel had to prove himself quickly. The Dolphins made the playoffs, but they lost in the Wild Card Round to the Buffalo Bills. Now, the future for McDaniel may be up in the air more than some think.

Jim Harbaugh.

EASY call for me. What he did with Alex Smith then switching things up for Colin Kaepernick shows how MULTIPLE Harbaugh can be in his philosophy. Strong presence, great leader. #Broncos @DenverSportsCom https://t.co/4zI2whb6KR

— Cecil Lammey (@CecilLammey) January 15, 2023

I hope McDaniel gets to keep his job with the Dolphins. He’s a football savant who connects with the younger players. McDaniel had the Dolphins in the playoffs in his first year as head coach, and he led the team without first-round quarterback Tua Tagovailoa for part of that time. He’s done enough to earn another year (at least), but if he’s available then I’d put him at the top of the list for the Broncos.

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When Worlds Collide

Todd McFarlane is my favorite comic book artist of all time. He also happens to be a big sports fan – especially of Major League Baseball. When he was growing up in Canada, McFarlane was a good baseball player. In fact, he earned a scholarship to play college baseball for Easter Washington University. A serious ankle injury in his junior season prevented McFarlane from pursuing a professional baseball career. Instead, he worked on being a comic book artist – and through rejection finally was able to work on titles such as “The Incredible Hulk” and “The Amazing Spider-man” before leaving to start his own comic book company and launch his title “Spawn” for Image Comics.

In 1999, McFarlane had become a rock star in the comic book world, but he never lost his passion for baseball. That year, McFarlane created headlines across the world of sports when he won an auction for St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Mark McGwire then record-setting no.70 home run ball. The winning bid was $2.6 million, and McFarlane went on to purchase home run balls from Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds for six figures each. It was cool to see my two worlds that I love, sports and comic books, collide when that happened. I would have people who were sports fans ask me about McFarlane, and I would have comic book fans then ask me about baseball.

The baseballs are not worth half of what they used to be, but I’ve heard McFarlane talk about the purchases as investments for his business – and it worked. McFarlane bought the baseballs to create attention and turn heads in the sports world – right before he launched his toy company McFarlane Toys. Through the attention he garnered with those big-money purchases, McFarlane was able to get licensing deals with all four major sports to create action figures with statue-like qualities. While the baseballs have lost value, McFarlane Toys is one of the biggest and best toy manufacturers in the business.

If I were to become a multimillionaire, I would not be buying baseballs. However, as a lifelong football fan purchasing something like a Walter Payton game-used jersey would be pretty cool. I have watched a real estate tour of Michael Jordan’s house that is for sale for a cool $14 million in Chicago – and that would be pretty crazy to buy. Needless to say, as a sports fan with money (if/when I get my millions), I would be buying some interesting sports memorabilia.

Today in 1999: The ball that Mark McGwire hit for his 70th home run is sold at an auction for $2.7 million to Todd McFarlane, creator of the Spawn comic books series.

Today, it's estimated the ball is worth $250,000 – $400,000. pic.twitter.com/VCsWcbMWku

— Baseball Reference (@baseball_ref) January 12, 2023

What would be your favorite piece of sports history to own? Hit me up on social networking and let me know!

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Follow Cecil Lammey on Twitter and Instagram: @cecillammey

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