Key Losses:

Eric Decker (WR)

Robert Ayers (DT)

Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (CB)

Trindon Holliday (KR)

Michael Huff (S)

Quentin Jammer (CB)

Dan Koppen (OL)

Chris Kuper (OL)

Knowshon Moreno (RB)

Shaun Phillips (DE)

Wesley Woodyard (LB)

Champ Bailey (CB)

Key Additions:

DeMarcus Ware (DE)

Aqib Talib (CB)

TJ Ward (S)

Chris Harris (CB)

Will Montgomery (OL)

Emmanuel Sanders (WR)

Andre Caldwell (WR)

Many spectators of Super Bowl XLVIII were surprised at the blowout handed to the Denver Broncos courtesy of Pete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks. What you may not know is that fans of the Mile High City know the feeling all to well. That actually was not the Broncos worst loss in the Super Bowl. In 1990 Jerry Rice and the San Francisco 49ers delivered a 55-10 loss capping the worst loss in the history of the Super Bowl. Two years before that the Broncos lost to the Washington Redskins by 32 in 1988. This has become all too familiar of a feeling to the Denver fans. John Elway has vowed to resurrect a season that shattered countless records on offense only to lose by 35 in the biggest game of the year.

After hearing ‘it’s a passing league’ over and over for the past couple years the Seattle Seahawks reminded everyone that ‘Defense Wins Championships.’ Denver took notice and tried to do their part to improve their defense from the past season. The Broncos got picked over by multiple teams losing a bunch of players that now had Super Bowl experience. Denver lost starting defenders including Champ Bailey, Wesley Woodyard, Sean Phillips, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Robert Ayers, and others. There were many holes to fill on that side of the ball. The Broncos acquired DeMarcus Ware to bolster an improved pass rush. Aqib Talib, TJ Ward and Bradley Roby were brought in to help with the release of Champ Bailey and the loss of Rodgers-Cromartie as well as Michael Huff. The Broncos defense looked dominant in their last preseason game allowing zero points against a formidable 49er offense.

There is not doubt that Peyton Manning makes everyone around him better. At the same time Manning had great receivers that made the 2013 Denver Broncos the most prolific offense in NFL history. Eric Decker played a large roll in this success feeding off the attention paid to Demaryius Thomas, Wes Welker, and Julius Thomas. Decker was lost to free agency this past year taking his talents to New York to play for the Jets. The Broncos addressed the void and then some left by Decker with the signing of Emmanuel Sanders and Andre Caldwell. The best offense in NFL history has revamped and reorganized after their devastating Super Bowl loss.

The Broncos are poised to make another playoff run this year despite losing a lot of key contributors this offseason. The Broncos should breeze by the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders but will undoubtedly run into some resistance from the Kansas City Chiefs. This will make for some great battles in the AFC West late in the year that will affect playoff seeding. All in all the Denver Broncos should have another successful year if their defense can regroup and rebound as they have been proving possible this preseason. After going over the Broncos 2014 regular season schedule and matchups meticulously their record will be…Denver Broncos 12-4

Let William Eissler know how you feel about his post. Follow him on Twitter @Thoughts_On_Ice but more importantly follow @SportsRuckus for everything sports related.