Mile High Monday: Good things for the Broncos to build upon

The Broncos are building something worth watching. It is fun watching Denver now that they seem to be having more fun on the field and performing at a higher level.

I like the idea of what this team could be in the future. The 2020 season could be one where the Broncos find themselves back in the postseason for the first time since 2015.

I also like contemplating life and sports when driving around with the top down on my old Jeep TJ – even in December! 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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Gotta Love Shelby

Broncos defensive end Shelby Harris has been playing good football over the 2019 season. He started out the year miscast as a nose tackle and did not play as well. When the team moved him to defensive end, Harris started to flourish.

Set to be an unrestricted free agent in 2020, Harris has likely played his way out of the Broncos price range. Harris had a batted pass against the Lions, and leads the league in that category this season. He’s got a career-high six sacks in 2019 to go along with 28 tackles and one forced fumble.

In Week 17, Harris will want to end his season with a bang – against his former team.

“Being a former Raider myself, we definitely want to knock them out of the playoff hunt. We’re going to go in there and play our game. They have a lot riding on the game, so they are going to come out swinging, but we want to end the season on a good note, so we’re also going to come out swinging,” Harris said.

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Don’t Forget About Dre’Mont

The Broncos have a nice young core on both sides of the ball thanks in large part to the good job they’ve done in the last two NFL drafts. The 2019 NFL Draft class has been especially exciting to watch this year.

First-round pick Noah Fant has put up outstanding numbers for a rookie tight end and looks like a dangerous weapon on the football field. Second-round picks Dalton Risner and Drew Lock have to be leading in jersey sales because of their play – at least jersey sales in the rookie class.

On Sunday, it was third-round pick Dre’Mont Jones who came through with big plays. The defensive end from Ohio State was my No. 50 overall graded prospect. He’s strong, quick and fast when seeking out the quarterback. Against the Lions on Sunday, Jones had 2.0 sacks even though he wasn’t feeling great going into the game.

#Broncos Dre’Mont Jones hates that more opportunities came because of injuries. But he capitalized. He had 2.5 sacks and received game ball. Has had strong finish to season. #Denver7

— Troy Renck (@TroyRenck) December 23, 2019

Vic Fangio knows what they have in Jones.

“He was a guy that came off the mat. We weren’t really sure if he was going to be able to play today. He worked out before the game, really didn’t practice much all week, but the one thing that kept coming up with him throughout our discussion with him from Tuesday all the way until today is he really wanted to play. To me that kind of illustrates the resolve and the mentally of the team. It’d have been very easy for him not to play because he has a sprained ankle, a pretty good one, but he found a way to play,” the Broncos head coach said.

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Better With Lock

Things just seem different with Drew Lock at quarterback. The fun is back with the Broncos, and watching Lock have fun before, during and after the game is infectious for his teammates.

The confidence and swagger that Lock brings to the field is outstanding. That’s the key to Lock’s game because he’s not a finished product when it comes to mechanics and footwork.

I’m okay with Lock being a bit of a “work in progress” because I know that he’s got the work ethic to be better. In the meantime, Lock is going to have fun leading his team and showing off more of his personality.

The game is not too big for Lock. Good or bad, the kid is going to play with a slow heartbeat and believe in his ability to get the job done.

WITHOUT DREW LOCK THIS YEAR
3-8 record
15.9 points per game
27.7% on 3rd downs
81.5 passer rating
2.6 TD%

WITH DREW LOCK THIS YEAR
3-1 record
22.8 points per game
44.9% on 3rd downs
89.6 passer rating
4.7 TD%

— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) December 23, 2019

Needless to say, I’m excited about opening the Drew Lock jersey my kids got me for Christmas.

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Good Not Great

I have now seen the new Star Wars movie “Rise of Skywalker” multiple times and there’s a lot to think about. I won’t spoil the movie here, but instead talk about my overall feelings on how the Skywalker saga came to a close.

It’s a good movie, but it’s not a great movie. There are plot holes to be sure, but the pace of the movie is good. That “all action” approach does kind of gloss over these holes that super fans are moaning about. I do like the action scenes and I felt some of the character development was good.

Just got done seeing #RiseofSkywalker – seeing it again tomorrow morning. First reaction? pic.twitter.com/ER280bCtIS

— Cecil Lammey (@CecilLammey) December 20, 2019

Even if you’re not a big Star Wars fan, I think you should see this movie. It’s far from perfect, but it is a lot of fun. It felt like a Star Wars movie should feel and I think they did the best they could with the position they were put in after the last movie.

Let me know what you think on social media!

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