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Are the Broncos soft?

Denver has been waiting for exactly this moment to prove otherwise
Denver’s finesse offense, the one that shattered NFL records for 16 weeks of the regular season, was hapless against Seattle’s bullying style of defense in Super Bowl XLVIII. It started with a Seattle safety’s punishing hit on a Broncos receiver and carried through a game in which the NFL’s highest-scoring offense scored its fewest points during the Peyton Manning era in Denver.

ENGLEWOOD – If you really want to irk an NFL player, question his toughness.

Say a guy is old, or slow, or tell him he needs to tackle better, and he might glare at you. But tell a player he’s soft? There is no worse insult in football.

So imagine what it’s been like in Denver, where for more than seven months, the Broncos faced questions about their toughness after their 43-8 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. From the offensive line to the skill position players, especially the wide receivers, Denver’s offense got pushed around from the opening snap of the Super Bowl.

Denver’s finesse offense, the one that shattered NFL records for 16 weeks of the regular season, was hapless against Seattle’s bullying style of defense. It started with a Seattle safety’s punishing hit on Broncos receiver Demaryius Thomas and carried through a game in which the NFL’s highest-scoring offense scored its fewest points during the Peyton Manning era in Denver.

Thomas has heard about that hit too many times to count since February and said it didn’t bother him – he wound up with a Super Bowl-record 13 catches for 118 yards and a touchdown. Still, that hit was a tone-setter, and one of the lasting images from that February game.

“All I can say is give them their props and try to come back this Sunday and do better,” Thomas said.

Indeed, the Broncos understand that the challenge from Seattle’s defense will be the same Sunday when they head to CenturyLink Field for a Super Bowl rematch, and they understand only they can change their reputation by standing up to the NFL’s nastiest defense.

“They’re a very physical team, and we’re definitely going to have our hands full as far as that goes, and making sure we’re not backing down,” Broncos receiver Wes Welker said.

Isn’t that the old-school way to beat a bully? Hit him before he hits you?

Broncos players said this week they have to set a tone Sunday in Seattle that they will be the aggressors. Too often in the Super Bowl, the Broncos were retreating, blown backward by Seattle’s ferocious pass rush, or knocked off their routes by the Seahawks’ aggressive defensive backs.

“That’s our mindset every game. But we understand what sort of defense we’re facing, a very physical defense, so we need to bring a little bit more,” running back Montee Ball told USA TODAY Sports on Friday. “That’s definitely our mentality going into this game, and we plan to execute it.”

One group in particular seems to have taken the Super Bowl blowout to heart more than any others: the offensive line.

Denver’s line notoriously is tight-lipped, even more so this week on the eve of such an important game. But Ball and other Broncos said they’ve noticed a major change in attitude from the Broncos’ offensive line in recent months. The group has been reshuffled since February, with the return of left tackle Ryan Clady, who missed all but two games last year with a foot injury, and with former right tackle Orlando Franklin moving to left guard. Chris Clark will move from left tackle to right tackle.

“Those guys, they didn’t like how we played. We feel like we lost up front, and that’s how we lost the game. The o-line has really taken it upon themselves to bring it this game,” Denver cornerback Chris Harris told USA TODAY Sports. “It starts with d-line and o-line. If they bring their a-games ready to play, we should follow that.”

Broncos players think they have showed they are a tougher group in their first two wins against Indianapolis and Kansas City – in both games jumping out to a big lead and needing to hold on late.

Still, the rest of the NFL won’t really believe it until they do it against the Seahawks.

“When you’re going up against a playoff team three weeks in a row, you’ve got to keep on making a statement to everybody else in the league about what type of team we’re going to be this year,” tight end Julius Thomas said.

© USA TODAY Sports. All rights reserved.

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