Going into Super Bowl XXXII Customized Denver Broncos Jerseys , the Green Bay Packers were considered heavy favorites. The AFC hadn’t just lost 13 straight Super Bowls, they weren’t even competitive. Conventional wisdom said the Broncos had no chance after they scraped by the Steelers and Chiefs to get into the game, while Green Bay cruised past their opponents.Even the advanced numbers favored Wisconsin, though FootballOutsiders DVOA statistic hinted at a much closer game than pundits were calling. Green Bay was number 1 while the Broncos were 2. If you fire up Youtube and re-watch the game it will became painfully clear that Terrell Davis may have been the MVP and John Elway the story, but Steve Atwater and the defense were the difference in the game.The last time I watched Super Bowl 32, I was a freshman in high school. Even then I could appreciate how the Broncos’ defensive scheme centered around calculated gambles, but it took the years since to fully appreciate how the Atwater & Braxton play on the back end made it feasible. The First Half: Atwater sets the defensive toneGreg Robinson’s defense was notorious for corner blitz and pressure packages that could disorient even the most grizzled quarterbacks in football. The Broncos rode that mentality to a top 10 ranking in DVOA in 1997 and looked to capitalize on three-time MVP Brett Favre’s gunslinger mentality. It took a little patience to see the results. The first drive was textbook for the Packers, with Favre connecting on a long pass to convert a third down. The 26-year-old stood tall in the face of a six-man rush to find Antonio Freeman for a 13-yard gain. Atwater made him pay for it. Favre finds Freeman on a crossing route, but so does the Smiling Assassin. That first drive ended with Favre throwing his first touchdown when Antonio Freeman managed to keep his feet in bounds despite Atwater’s best efforts. Mike Shanahan’s offense quickly responded with a score of its own to tie the game up 7-all. Then on the first pass of the Packers’ second drive, Robinson put trust in Atwater to hold up over the top as he dialed up a corner blitz. The result was an interception by Tyrone Braxton to set up the drive that ended in Elway’s 1-yard touchdown run. Favre and the Packers managed to run two more plays before the Broncos’ D struck again. Atwater’s forced sack fumble was the second straight turnover by the Packers D. Words can’t properly describe the onions it takes to send both safeties on a blitz, but the six-man rush overwhelmed the Packers’ pass protection. With Dorsey Levens opting to block Braxton on the play side, Atwater is completely free to rush Favre’s blind spot and blow him up. The ball squirts out like ketchup to a shirt and Neil Smith makes the easy recovery. The turnover leads to a long Jason Elam field goal, and Denver’s 10-point lead. After Favre finds Mark Chmura to end the second half www.authenticsdenverbroncos.com , the deficit is cut to three.The Second Half - Atwater saves the gameThe third quarter opens with a Terrell Davis fumble and the Packers ready to take control. Robinson and the Denver D force one field goal try, but an Alfred Williams penalty gives Favre a new set of downs within the 20. After a Dorsey Levens run for no gain, Green Bay goes to the air on 2nd-and-10, and Atwater makes his presence known once more.This 2nd down pass defense saved the Broncos from a touchdown drive. Two baffling false starts later and the Packers are forced to settle for a 27-yard field goal. After trading points and punts for the next six possessions, the Broncos finally pull ahead for good when TD scores his third namesake with less than two minutes remaining.Atwater stops a Packer touchdown on this pass deflection in the 4th.It takes Favre all of 35 seconds to get Green Bay to the Denver 35. With 42 seconds left on the clock, facing a 3rd-and-6, the Fun-slinger launches a bomb for Robert Brooks that could have brought the Pack to the 11. Instead Brooks can’t haul in the pigskin and Atwater destroys him anyways. Mobley’s pass deflection on 4th is the climax, but Atwater’s kill shot on 3rd set it up. If any of the above plays go against the Broncos, Pat Bowlen never says, “This one’s for John!” Even beyond the GIFs, Atwater was ever-present throughout the tape - he was a missile cleaning up the second and third level, much like he was the entirety of his career. It had been so long since I had last watched him play that its easy to forget how much ground he could cover. Without Atwater, the Robinson scheme wouldn’t have held up to Favre and the Packers Denver Broncos T-Shirt , and if the D doesn’t carry its weight, TD and the Broncos would have needed 50+ points.These “what ifs” are easy to dismiss with history growing ever longer, but winning Super Bowl 32 altered multiple legacies forever.John Elway became a winner rather than the QB who couldn’t win the big one. Shanahan became “The Mastermind,” and his zone running scheme survived to present day. Denver itself underwent a transformation.Super Bowl 32: John Elway, Broncos upset Packers | VaultSteve Atwater represents the missing piece in all those legacies changing forever. He was the defensive anchor for the last 9 years of Elway’s career. Like “The Duke,” “The Smiling Assassin” deserves his own bust in Canton to forever cement his legacy.Denver Broncos vs. Chicago Bears: Five things to watch during the Broncos week two preseason matchup Today, the Denver Broncos will host quarterback Mitch Trubisky and the Chicago Bears in week two of the Preseason. Last week, the Broncos first team offense and defenses struggled against the Vikings, but Chad Kelly provided some excitement in the second half. How will things shakeup this Saturday night? I give you five things to watch during tonight’s week two preseason matchup against the Chicago Bears.1: How will the first-team offense and defense rebound?Last week, the first team offense entered the game against the Vikings with a ton of hype. Case Keenum was tossing dimes in practice, rookie Courtland Sutton was making big plays, and the offense in general just seemed much improved from last year. Unfortunately, they had two drives and both times went three and out. Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY SportsNow this week Denver Broncos Hats , quarterback Case Keenum had a bounce back week during the joint practices and will look to continue that during tonight’s game.As for the Broncos first-team defense, they also struggled. They struggled against the run and quarterback Kirk Cousins went 4-4 for 42 yards, and a touchdown. The Broncos leaky run defense was a big reason for these struggles, but Head Coach Vance Joseph believes it is something they can correct easily moving forward.This week, they will face the Bears strong rush attack led by Jordan Howard as well as the Bears tight ends who gave the defense some fits during practice this week. They bounced backed nicely during the second day of joint practices so it will be interesting to see how they perform on the field tonight. 2: Chad Kelly with the second-team offenseThe big news around Broncos Country this week was Paxton Lynch being demoted to the third-team and Chad Kelly moving up to the second team offense. Now we will get to see how Kelly performs as tries to prove to the Broncos that he can be their backup quarterback in 2018.Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY SportsHead Coach Vance Joseph told media earlier this week that the expectations for Kelly remain the same as he moves from the third team to the second team. General Manager John Elway also spoke to the media this week and told reporters that he “had a feeling that he(Kelly) was play well”.Kelly threw for two touchdowns last weekend and added a spark to the offense that really was struggling before he entered the game. With Paxton Lynch struggling and being demoted to the third-team(and potentially off the roster) Kelly has a good chance to become the Broncos new developmental young quarterback on the roster. He also has a chance to prove to Elway and Vance Joseph that he can be trusted to be their backup quarterback behind starter Case Keenum. So how Kelly performs, good or bad, will likely be a big topic at the end of this game. 3: Can Isaac Yiadom nail down the third cornerback job?Last week, we saw Yiadom on the wrong end of some big plays against the Vikings. He was manned up against Stefon Diggs a few times which is a tough matchup for any cornerback in the NFL, especially a rookie playing in his first NFL game. In the end, he gave up a touchdown while covering Diggs during the Vikings first series last weekend. The silver lining for Yiadom is that he was in good position for a lot of these plays and wasn’t beat badly by any means, It shows that he knows what he is doing out there and reading/reacting well. Not bad for a rookie corner making his first NFL appearance.Head Coach Vance Joseph echoed these thoughts when asked about Yiadom after the game.Against the Bears, we may see Yiadom start or get some valuable playing time with the first-team offense with cornerback Chris Harris Jr. likely sitting out this game. This will give Yiadom a chance to improve on his decent showing week one and try to lock down the number three corner job. Veteran Tramaine Brock will likely play as well so it will be a big game for the Broncos third-round pick in this years NFL Draft. 4. Royce Freeman the starting running back?Rookie running back Royce Freeman put up the Broncos first offensive points in 2018 as he scored a 23-yard rushing touchdown against the Vikings last week. After the game, Quarterback Case Keenum was asked about Freeman and he praised the rookies pass blocking ability. Pass blocking is usually where rookie backs struggle and why they do not see the field Denver Broncos Hoodie , so it is promising the see he is excelling in this area early on. Add that to his running ability, and Freeman could be on the brink of a breakout season for the Broncos. Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty ImagesThen earlier this week, Head Coach Vance Joseph dropped a nugget that could point to Freeman likely being the Broncos starting running back. He was asked about the difference between veteran Devontae Booker and rookie Royce Freeman. He called Booker a “third-down back” with good pass-catching ability while calling Freeman the “one cut, downhill pounder with good vertical speed”. To me at least, Joseph pretty much named Freeman the starter right here without officially saying it. You don’t call your starting running back a third-down guy while praising a rookie back with bell-cow running back traits. If Freeman comes out and gets plenty of reps with the first-team offense and plays well, I think this running back competition will be all but settled. 5. Looking for a rebound from rookie Bradley ChubbEntering the game. I had high hopes for the Broncos fifth overall pick thinking he would wreck the Vikings second-team offensive line. However, he ended up having a tough night and was responsible for a few big run plays. He also didn’t record any sacks. Maybe it was rookie jitters, maybe the defense in general just played sloppily, or maybe it was a combination of both. Either way, it wasn’t a great showing for the Broncos fifth overall pick. However, I think he will bounce back in a big way tonight against the Bears.Chubb has been having a great camp and was bringing the heat during the joint practices this week. General Manager John Elway was asked about Chubb, and he had some high praise for the Broncos first-round selection. Chubb figures to get the start opposite of Von MIller once again tonight and will look to make life a living hell for Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky.