Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

9-5 in 1976

Three straight playoff seasons from 1977-1979, two division titles, a SB appearance, and Broncomania

10-6 in 1981

But in between was a puzzling 8-8 season in 1980

Red Miller surprisingly got the boot despite being to that point DEN's best coach ever

You'd think 77/78 would have given him some benefit of the doubt, but apparently not

They were good enough to hold Air Coryell to 13 points (IN San Diego!) and put up 41 points on Dallas

But they got swept by the mediocre Chiefs (last time the Chiefs swept them until 1995)

So what happened here?

Losing twice to the Raiders down the stretch hurt the Broncos as well. Starting 1-3 put them in a hole with a lack of firepower on offense. Odoms led the team with 6 TDs. Upchurch, like Devin Hester much later, was better as a returner than wide receiver.

First off, I think that QB was a big reason.

In the draft, Red Miller wanted BYU QB Marc Wilson. However, they didn't think he would be there with the 20th overall pick. So, they made one of the worst trades in team history when they sent a first and second round choice (in the 1980 draft) to the Jets (along with QB Craig Penrose) for QB Matt Robinson.

Matt went 4-3, but he only had two TD's, 12 picks, and a 39.7 QB Rating. After replacing Matt as the starter, Morton didn't really set the world on fire in his nine starts, either. He threw for 12 TD's & 13 INT's with a 77.8 rating.

Also, the defense with from fifth in points allowed and tenth in yards allowed (in 1979) to 16th in points and 25th in yards in 1980. They had two key injuries at LB. Star OLB Bob Swenson missed the whole year with an injured leg, and Joe Rizzo only played in four games. Also, FS Bernard Jackson only played in four games, which meant that Aaron Kyle had to start nine games (he is better suited for playing FS than starting CB).

Robinson didnt have Wesley Walker with the Broncos ... Moses still had some speed but never was a prolific catcher. Imagine if Morton or Robinson incorporated Steve Watson sooner? With his hands, Watson was crucial to Elway's development. I wish the Cowboys had him then ...

I guess injuries forced him to retire by 1988.

7DnBrnc53 wrote: ↑Wed Jul 02, 2025 7:21 pm First off, I think that QB was a big reason.

In the draft, Red Miller wanted BYU QB Marc Wilson. However, they didn't think he would be there with the 20th overall pick. So, they made one of the worst trades in team history when they sent a first and second round choice (in the 1980 draft) to the Jets (along with QB Craig Penrose) for QB Matt Robinson.

Matt went 4-3, but he only had two TD's, 12 picks, and a 39.7 QB Rating. After replacing Matt as the starter, Morton didn't really set the world on fire in his nine starts, either. He threw for 12 TD's & 13 INT's with a 77.8 rating.

Also, the defense with from fifth in points allowed and tenth in yards allowed (in 1979) to 16th in points and 25th in yards in 1980. They had two key injuries at LB. Star OLB Bob Swenson missed the whole year with an injured leg, and Joe Rizzo only played in four games. Also, FS Bernard Jackson only played in four games, which meant that Aaron Kyle had to start nine games (he is better suited for playing FS than starting CB).

concur with what you and others are saying. Graidshar had a let injury for at least part of the year. Kyle was not healthy in 1980, or maybe was not 100%, better put that way. Both he and Foley may have been better as a safety but seems like Collier thought Foley would be better back and Kyle at CB. Kyle was a hitter, but could get beat. Even as a safety in 1982 when he had to step in. Swenson was one of those underrated guys who made a difference in a game or two in a year. Just having him may netted a win or two.

At some point Broncos even went with 4-man rush on passing downs ... something they didn't do a lot before 1980. Boyd and Jones were both excellent and would be side-by-side in 40 nickel defense ... and also had a full rotation in the 3-4 ... have to think that used of 4 DL may have had some to do with LBers being hurt ...

But QBing ... just not good. And in some games it was just not bad enough to lose.

Upside is that year brought in Dan Reeves. Broncos brass didn't wait for Miller to correct he ship, they got a new captain and in 1981 LBers healthy and QBing better ... and a winning record ...

Upside is that year brought in Dan Reeves. Broncos brass didn't wait for Miller to correct he ship, they got a new captain and in 1981 LBers healthy and QBing better ... and a winning record ...

Reeves was brought in because he was the same age as Edgar Kaiser, the new owner (he also changed GM's because he wanted someone closer to his age there, too). He was a good hire early on, and getting the Dallas system installed really helped Morton, but he wasn't the right type of coach for Elway.

7DnBrnc53 wrote: ↑Thu Jul 03, 2025 6:15 pm

Upside is that year brought in Dan Reeves. Broncos brass didn't wait for Miller to correct he ship, they got a new captain and in 1981 LBers healthy and QBing better ... and a winning record ...

Reeves was brought in because he was the same age as Edgar Kaiser, the new owner (he also changed GM's because he wanted someone closer to his age there, too). He was a good hire early on, and getting the Dallas system installed really helped Morton, but he wasn't the right type of coach for Elway.

Maybe, the scheme Reeves had could have been changed to help Elway, but to me, unrelated to him being hired in 1981 after Miller was gone-- not sure they could have known Elway would be a Bronco in 1983 ... My understanding is that Reeves had a good reputation as an assistant coach and the 1980 season was another step backward from 1977, i.e. things were stagnant, not getting better, getting slightly worse ...

Reeves and Elway -- that's a big subject, worthy of it's own discussion.

I like Reeves, and felt he was a good coach, but I feel the Broncos would have done just as well with Miller. They both had Collier but the Broncos never brought in enough talent to execute the Dallas finesse system. Both coaches were snake-bitten by their offensive lines. I felt Miller deserved more time. He held off a strong division for three seasons. Morton was a statue by then.

Brian wolf wrote: ↑Thu Jul 03, 2025 8:22 pm I like Reeves, and felt he was a good coach, but I feel the Broncos would have done just as well with Miller. They both had Collier but the Broncos never brought in enough talent to execute the Dallas finesse system. Both coaches were snake-bitten by their offensive lines. I felt Miller deserved more time. He held off a strong division for three seasons. Morton was a statue by then.

Miller drafted O-linemen in Round 1 in 1977 and 79, but they didn't work out. In 79, a street FA that was with the Colts in 78 (Dave Studdard) beat out rookie first-rounder Kelvin Clark for the LT spot.

Outside of 1980, Miller's drafts generally weren't great (maybe he started listening to personnel man Carroll Hardy more by 1980. Joel Buchsbaum gave Carroll great reviews in Pro Football Weekly in 1981).

7DnBrnc53 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 04, 2025 11:51 am Outside of 1980, Miller's drafts generally weren't great

That's on the kind side. They hit on just a few guys, and the misses were pretty big. That said, not sure it was Miller's fault. I don't know how their organization worked --- but you'd think he got final say ... but I don't know that for sure. Maybe you or others do.