Broncos need Lindsay on team
It’s an underdog story too good to be true. And that’s precisely why the Broncos need running back Phillip Lindsay — proud Denver native, South High alum and an undrafted rookie out of Colorado — to make the football team.
There’s a love affair between the Broncos and Denver. Always has been. Always will be. But, right now, the NFL team that Broncos Country adores has bruised the hearts of the fans that love this team the most.
The reasons why are personal, as unique as each fan’s Sunday ritual to help coax the Broncos to victory. Maybe you lost a little trust because Vance Joseph hasn’t demonstrated he can coach. Or maybe it was because Trevor Siemian wasn’t the answer at quarterback, or you were irked when linebacker Brandon Marshall kneeled during the national anthem. Or maybe that 5-11 record within two years of winning Super Bowl 50 was a shock to the system.
Phillip Lindsay, as infectiously upbeat as any athlete I’ve met during my 35 years covering Denver sports, can be the antidote to what ails fans in Broncos Country.
I’m not going to predict Lindsay will elbow his way past fellow rookie Royce Freeman and every other running back on the roster to the top of the depth chart. But if Lindsay stays healthy, I guarantee he will stick with the team. Why? Because the stuff Lindsay brings to a football team is as powerful as anything Denver has seen since Tim Tebow departed town. Make no mistake. Winning requires talent. But winning is also an attitude.
Lindsay is chasing a dream at Dove Valley Headquarters. It’s a dream, a dream sorely in need of rekindling in Broncos Country.
When my media brethren gathered Friday, as the rookie class of 2018 talked about their first 24 hours as professionals, Lindsay was asked: When did it become a reality he could play in the NFL?
“Right when I stepped foot here,” replied Lindsay, standing on the same turf where linebacker Von Miller and Broncos executive John Elway go to work. “Just to be around all my teammates and be able to see some of the veterans and seeing the locker room, it’s like, ‘Dang! It’s really here.’ Now it’s time to go seize the moment and get after it.”
Lindsay was given $15,000, chump change by NFL standards, to sign with his hometown team as an undrafted rookie free agent. But that’s the American story all Americans find so irresistible: When nobody else really believes in you, bet on yourself.
Why did Lindsay decide Denver was where he wanted to chase his dream, as opposed to Baltimore or any other city in the league looking for a running back with small stature but heart too big to ignore?
“One,” replied Lindsay, immediately ticking off his primary reason as “being home and being able to play for my home state and represent my home state.”
He’s not an NFL mercenary. Lindsay will bleed orange, just as fans in the South Stands do.
So without sitting him down in a rookie seminar to explain the nuances of being a pro, the natural intensity Lindsay brings to the field can combat a problem that has gradually grown for the franchise, as the health of longtime owner Pat Bowlen slowly fades and season tickets are abruptly seized from fans when the club deems their loyalty unworthy. Damage the pure passion for pro football in Denver and there’s collateral damage to the business.
Of course, what determines whether Lindsay sticks with the Broncos will be all the usual football stuff. Can he pick up the blitz, or circle out of the backfield and catch a pass to move the chains on third down? Does Lindsay understand the first responsibility of a kick-returner is to not drop the ball? After being a big star at Colorado, is Lindsay willing to get his nose dirty with all the menial tasks assigned the back end of a 53-man roster?
But those are the X’s and O’s, not the real reason Lindsay is here, given a shot to be the coolest underdog story of 2018.
Broncos Country needs a reason to believe, some tangible evidence that anything and everything is possible for this team.
Lindsay was born to do that job.
What’s the best reason to believe Lindsay will make the Broncos?
Love for football begins with the heart.
Mark Kiszla: mkiszla@denverpost.com or @markkiszla