Horse Tracks: Ignoring true Broncos madness to focus on some fun bracket madness

March Madness is the best. Don’t let the current state of the Broncos get you down.

Good morning, Broncos Country!

It’s March Madness season, and thank goodness, because much of the news coming out of Dove Valley is either nothing or nothing great.

Like this prediction for our next QB or this Mike Clay evaluation of the current roster.

But as Jess Place noted yesterday, it’s March. No need to panic. Yet.

Right? Right.

So rather than worry about that true madness, way more fun to do 18 NCAA March Madness brackets and regret every one of them the instant the first round of upsets hits on Thursday. So much fun.

It’s truly my favorite sports event of the year (second to Week 1 of the NFL season…though that is quickly diving to the bottom).

So I enjoyed this announcement from the Broncos regarding their upcoming “Bracket Challenge” with all things Broncos:

And it got me thinking that it would be fun to do a Broncos Madness with 64 of our greatest players – and iconic games – in history.

So I enlisted my favorite Photoshop™ Extraordinaire and friend of the show, AReferee, to organize our own Broncos Madness bracket challenge based on the various eras.

There’s no easy way to tally the results without savvy computer programming skills – which I do not have – so we’re just going to do this old-school. Not quite pencil-it-in-and-mail-to-me old school, but close (and don’t complain about the individual rankings not being a true 1 v. 16…I thought of this silly idea late last night and areferee was kind enough to throw it together for me, so I didn’t have time to “rank” the seeds. So yeah, you’re going to choose between 1 and 2 in the first round a few times. You’ll be fine).

Each Round 1 bracket matchup will have a poll below. Choose your winner and we’ll see who moves on to Round 2 (p.s. – it seems easy until you have to choose!) And with 32 “polls,” this should be fun, lol.

Who wants to bet the odds that The Duke ends up the champ like always?

The OG Broncos

The Elway Era

The Manning/Miller Show

Broncos’ Greatest Hits

Now let us know the toughest and easiest choices you had to make (sorry in advance about Manning v. Von…totally unfair!)

Broncos/NFL News

Oregon QB Bo Nix Mocked Twice to Broncos at No. 12 – Sports Illustrated Mile High Huddle: Denver Broncos News, Analysis and More
The Denver Broncos could be fated to draft Oregon’s Bo Nix.

Former WR Roddy White Slams Sean Payton, Mark Schlereth
Broncos head coach Sean Payton and Fox Sports analyst Mark Schlereth got a staunch critic in a wide receiver who played 11 seasons for 1 team

Jerry Jeudy Throws Shade at Broncos After Browns Trade – Sports Illustrated Mile High Huddle: Denver Broncos News, Analysis and More
Jerry Jeudy had a message of sorts for the Denver Broncos, if you read between the lines.

NFL rumors: Russell Wilson blames injury for struggles with Broncos
Russell Wilson blamed his first-year struggles with the Broncos on a shoulder injury.

Denver Broncos: Here are Michael Burton’s contract details for 2024
The Broncos utilized the NFL’s Veteran Salary Benefit rule to lower Michael Burton’s cap hit in 2024.

2024 NFL Draft: Ranking RB prospects, No. 1 to 29
With the 2024 NFL Draft on the horizon, Maurice Jones-Drew takes a look at this year’s running back class, ranking the top 29 prospects at the position.

Kosmider: All signs point to Broncos grabbing QB in draft — but now or in 2025? – The Athletic
The Broncos need to draft an answer at quarterback to jumpstart the next chapter under Sean Payton, but it may not be easy to do in 2024.

Judging overreactions to 2024 NFL free agency deals, trades – ESPN
Should we be all-in on the Falcons, Ravens and Texans? Are the Broncos set to bottom out? We sized up six free agency takes.

Russell Wilson can get back on Hall of Fame track in Pittsburgh; plus, five underrated free-agent signings
In this edition of the Scout’s Notebook, Bucky Brooks believes Russell Wilson’s relocation to Pittsburgh could put the veteran QB back on a Hall of Fame track. Plus, five underrated free-agent signings that you should NOT overlook.

49ers penalized draft position, will forfeit 2025 fifth-round pick after NFL discovers accounting error – The Athletic
The accounting errors in question were from the close of the 2022 league year.

2024 NFL mock draft: Top-15 pick predictions off free agency – ESPN
How has NFL free agency impacted early-Round 1 draft plans? Will Minnesota trade up? Field Yates updated his predictions for pick Nos. 1-15.