Coming off of a Super Bowl victory in which the Broncos defense was as impressive as any group in NFL history, it is somewhat surprising to see how few members of the national media consider this team a championship contender moving forward.

After losing multiple starters on both sides of the ball through free agency and retirement, Denver is not perceived as the type of team that could win back-to-back championships. Broncos safety T.J. Ward says the national lack of respect is nothing but fuel to their fire and within the Denver locker room, the expectation remains the same; this defense still believes they are the best in the league and are ready to prove it.

“We still don’t get the credit,” Ward said, according to a quote sheet released by the team. “I don’t know. Just be better than last year. That’s what we want to do. Be better than last year. We were learning the defense coming in and it’s so much easier coming in that second year when you already have the defensive plays and you know what you’re doing. It’s like right now, it’s [repetitive] for us. The rookies need to hear it. We’re light years ahead of where we were last year. That’s a lot of confidence going into the season.”

The 2015 season was as bizarre as it was thrilling and throughout the up’s and down’s on offense, the one aspect that remained constant for the orange and blue was the tenacious and relentless effort on the defensive side of the ball. Even with the departures of DE Malik Jackson, LB Danny Trevathan, S David Bruton and more, both through free agent signings and the depth the Broncos already possessed, the defense is still stacked with talent.

The idea that the defense could be even better in 2016 may not be as unrealistic as the national media claims it to be, and Ward is comfortable with the current defensive talent in place.

“Those are some good players that you just mentioned and we’re going to miss them, but this is the NFL,” Ward said about the players lost through free agency.

“There is turnover every year. We have the younger guys. We drafted a couple of guys. We got a couple of the free agents. They have to come in and step up. That’s the name of the game. If they do that, we’ll keep on grinding away. That was our motto last year kind, just keep grinding. Hopefully we’ll have the same success we had last year.”

The defense stepped up for the offense in 2015, and was forced to play a lot of minutes in crucial times. Week after week the offense was bailed out when they failed to produce. With an improved offensive line and what assumingly will be a more productive offense in 2016, the defense should have some help carrying the load.

Along with a defense’s best friend, a good offense, the Broncos defense can improve by cutting down mental mistakes in 2016. A large amount of personal fouls and momentary lapses in judgement cost the Broncos at times last year and as incredible as they were, they could have been better. Obvious moments like the Aqib Talib eye-poke and Super Bowl face mask were glaring mistakes, and Ward’s personal foul against Kansas City Nov. 15 cost the Broncos as well.

In both the loss against the Colts (Nov. 8) and Chiefs (Nov. 15), the defense lost their composure in crucial moments and ultimately those type of mistakes were the difference. The Broncos had a chance to comeback and win both of those games, but ill-timed mistakes made that not possible. Ward knows that if the Broncos cut down mental mistakes, this defense can be just as special, if not better moving forward.

“We want to get our missed tackles down and less mental errors,” Ward said. “Play the defenses the way they’re supposed to be played at all times. Knock out some of the mental errors.”

Along with cutting down mental mistakes, Ward knows the defense will need to be more flexible and versatile in schemes and defensive looks this season. Constantly evolving is the key to success in the NFL and the Broncos will need to mix up what looks they give offenses this season.

“Right now, we’re just going over the basics,” Ward said. “But I’m sure coach is going to throw some new defenses in for us. We ran a lot of the same things last year. Some teams are going to try and catch onto what we’re doing. We just have to change it up a little bit.”

The national media may not be paying attention to the Broncos right now, but is clear this team has every intention of being one of the NFL’s biggest baddest defenses once again. If the Broncos are able to improve on some of the aspects that held them back last season, it is not inconceivable that this team will be competing for another world championship.

As far as the national media and lack of respect surrounding this team goes, respect is earned on the field and this defense knows what they are capable of. The national media never gave the Broncos a shot last year and it all turned out pretty well.

Their doubt does nothing but make this team hungrier for more success. Their bitterness makes victory that much sweeter, so Broncos fans should relish the underdog role. You will love it all the more when this team proves the doubters wrong again.