Denver Broncos Week in Review: Well-Deserved Honor for Harris

Another off-season week behind us and another week closer to training camp and the start of the Denver Broncos’ 2015 season.

It was still quite an eventful seven days for the Orange and Blue, and here’s a quick review of the news – with some accompanying views – from the week that was in Broncos Country:

Headline: Death of former Broncos player Adrian Robinson Jr. ruled a suicide

Bottom line: Nothing more or less than a true tragedy and a life lost way too young at 25. Hearts go out to the Robinson family. RIP.

Headline: Pro Football Focus ranks the Broncos’ Chris Harris Jr. as the NFL’s top cornerback

Bottom line: Harris came in at No. 4 overall on the analytical web site’s top 101 players of 2014 – ranking comfortably ahead of more hyped corners Richard Sherman (17^th overall) and Darrelle Revis (29^th). The numbers – which emphasize that the 5-foot-10, 190-pound Harris didn’t allow a single touchdown pass in the 89 passes directed his way last season – back up the honor as wholly deserving for a corner who is as effective outside as he is in the slot, and the Broncos deserves much credit for signing him to an extension before he could reach the open market. At the same time, it makes it all the more confounding why the league’s No. 1 corner wasn’t covering the Colts’ No. 1 wide receiver in the playoffs last January.

Headline: Broncos come in 25^th in ESPN’s NFL uniform “power” rankings

Bottom line: The four-letter’s uniform “guru,” Paul Lukas, says the Broncos have a “badly dated look that hasn’t aged well” and ranks the Orange and Blues above only the looks of the Detroit Lions, Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Arizona Cardinals, Cincinnati Bengals and Jacksonville Jaguars. Ouch. The Broncos may not have the freshest or most traditional look in the league, but 25^th? And placing them behind the gaudy Tennessee Titans, bland-as-ever Cleveland Browns and the not-so-politically correct Washington franchise? Please. Lukas hints that Nike could be “poised to make the Broncos ‘the Oregon of the NFL’ ” but, really, we can definitely do without the new-look-for-every-week craze that has tarnished the identities of way too many college programs of late.

Headline: New Denver defensive end Antonio Smith is under investigation for child abuse

Bottom line: We must reiterate that no actual charges have been filed – or have any idea if it will even approach that stage – but if it does in this new league climate, Smith’s career in the Mile High City could be over before it begins.

Headline: Peyton Manning takes part in late-night talk-show host David Letterman’s final tribute-laden show

Bottom line: Even while his teams continue to come up short in the postseason more often than not, 39-year-old QB is as iconic as ever on the national stage. At the same time, it’s also pretty ironic considering the past few weeks that four-time-Super Bowl-winning contemporary Tom Brady has had.