By John Sarianides

After winning Super Bowl 50, the Broncos failed to make the playoffs last season. Gary Kubiak resigned due to health issues and John Elway hired Dolphins defensive coordinator Vance Joseph to replace.

Elway liked Joseph when he interviewed him for the job in 2014 so when the opportunity to interview and hire Joseph presented itself, Elway hired him.

Joseph hired former Chargers coach Mike McCoy to turn around an offense that really struggled at times last season. McCoy has to get more out of quarterback Trevor Siemian who a game manager last season. The Broncos need him to make plays down the field in the passing game. 

Siemien has a lot of weapons at his disposal. C.J Anderson and Devonte Booker along with veteran Jamaal Charles are in the backfield while Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders form one of the most receiving combos in the league.

The Broncos still boast one of the top defense’s in the league. Led by all pro defensive end Von Miller, Denver will be going back to the 4-3 defense under Joseph. Miller will play a hybrid defensive end, outside linebacker position depending on the personnel package on the field. 

Denver returns one of the top secondaries in all of football although it will be interesting to see how they replace the recently released T.J Ward. 

Here are three keys for the 2017 Broncos.

1. Get Back to Broncos Football: The Broncos have to run the football effectively again and they need to make big plays in the passing game. They also have to win with their defense. This is the formula that helped them Super Bowl’s in 1998, 1999 and 2015. 

2. Siemian Must Make More Plays: New offensive coordinator Mike McCoy will open up the playbook and push the ball down the field more in the passing game. He has to if the Broncos want to get more out of Trevor Siemian. He cannot be just a game manager.

3. Recapture the Home Dominance: The Broncos need to be dominant at home again. Teams hate playing in Denver because of the altitude and the crowd. The Broncos need to make playing in Denver a tough task again. 

In the End: Denver plays in one of the toughest divisions in football in the AFC West. Realistically speaking, they probably need to win the division if they want to make the playoffs. Even if they don’t, they’ll have a good shot st a wild card spot because this team is good enough to win 11 games.