DMac: Flacco move signifies ‘entire season of Band-Aids’ for Broncos

Feb 26, 2019, 7:09 PM Updated: Feb 27, 2019, 1:13 am

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Earlier this month, new Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio told The Gazette’s Woody Paige that he’s not interested in putting “Band-Aids” on the problems facing the club heading into the 2019 season.

What we’ve got to do, I believe, is let’s go out there and evaluate this team, find out where we need help. Make some good choices for the future, not just for today, if I’m making sense,” Fangio said.

And Orlando Franklin, filling in on “The Drive” on Tuesday, said if he were in the same shoes, he would have given the same interview.

“The reason why I would have said that is because, at this point, when I’m going to do that interview, I believe that I and upper-management are in sync because we’re going in the right direction with everything,” Franklin said.

To that point, Franklin said, Fangio had been given everything he wanted.

Gary Kubiak, whom general manager John Elway said would have some sort of role with the team during his post-season press conference, differed philosophically from Fangio and ended up moving on to Minnesota.

Then, Fangio was able to hire Ed Donatell as defensive coordinator, who worked under him with the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers.

Those, and other, key moves, Franklin said, indicated Fangio had the Broncos “going in the direction that he wants.”

Insert Denver’s agreement in principle to trade for Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, which happened just days after Fangio’s interview with The Gazette.

“It literally took a 180 all of a sudden. We were going in the right direction and then we made a U-turn,” Franklin said. “We did a complete 180.”

But instead of a lack of foresight, “The Drive” co-host DMac said the Flacco acquisition signifies that there’s no other plan for Elway and company other than going for broke in 2019.

“It’s literally about right now. And this is why the Joe Flacco move happened,” DMac said. “This is an entire season of Band-Aids. It’s not just one Band-Aid. It’s like everything’s a Band-Aid. Everything is nuclear.”

While exciting, DMac said, the Broncos win-now mentality could also be “very, very dangerous.”

“If things fall apart, if you don’t have the right thing going on, this ship could sink,” DMac said.

But DMac said either Denver needs to have a successful run to the postseason or completely bomb because a middling season is a worst-case scenario.

“You want it one way or the other,” DMac said. “The biggest nightmare the Broncos could have is an 8-8 season, unless the 8-8 season wins the AFC West, which happened. But in all honesty, is that going to happen with Patrick Mahomes with the Chiefs? No.”

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.