Well, you missed the guy who's currently being horribly outplayed by his former backup Geno.
I'm not saying that these guys have been great at every other stop. I'm saying they've all tasted much more success somewhere else. Didn't you think that Flacco was
completely done three years ago when he was sacked 9 times by KC in Mile High and got blown out by Matt Moore? He looked like he had absolutely nothing left that year. Yet, somehow, a three years older version of him looked far better in a weak Jets offense this year. And he obviously looked better at any given point in Baltimore.
Keenum was 11-3 the year before joining the Broncos and was 2nd in voting for Comeback POY. And it's not like he was on a team with filthy talent. Yeah, his record sucked in Washington the year after he left Denver, but that was an impossible situation. Remember...I'm not saying that Denver had the worst roster in the league. There obviously were/are worse. But according to people like Q Joe, there have been roughly 27 worse.
The last few years, he hasn't had a chance to be a full-time starter, but he's 2-0 and played fairly well in those games (including beating Denver head to head with 3rd string RBs and other key players missing).
A couple years before going to Denver, Bridgewater went 5-0 in New Orleans. 9/2 TD/int ratio. A few years earlier he went 11-5 for an average Minnesota franchise and went to the Pro Bowl.
We have no comparison for Lock, but he was a pretty highly touted 2nd round pick who didn't come close to living up to expectations. And reports indicated that the competition between he and Geno was close. Before Lock had to miss time in preseason due to Covid, he was actually running the 1st team offense in practice and was going to start vs the Bears.
It's not like I'm saying that any of these guys are great. I'm saying that an average/mediocre QB can do fine in a decent situation, and these guys have proven it. So why can't they do fine with a "loaded" Denver roster?
Fans like Q Joe claim that Denver has a talent advantage over KC at 16 of 22 positions. AND that some of their backups are better than the Chiefs' starters. So why is it that KC looked better with Matt Moore a few years ago than Denver has at any point since 2015? He won 2 of 3 games, beat a really solid Minnesota team and his only loss was a close game vs GB when he went toe to toe with Rodgers. Henne's also looked pretty decent when he's gotten a chance. Even helped them win a playoff game. And we're talking about spot starts. They didn't have the advantage of getting starter reps in training camp. Do you think either of those guys would look as good in Denver? And then there was Mahomes' first career start. Green rookie goes on the road surrounded by names that most people haven't heard before or since, and moved up and down the field vs Denver's starting D. They even pulled him early because it seemed to be so easily in hand. Then put him back in to lead the game-winning drive when the 3rd stringer blew it.
Every year I see Denver fans saying that the roster is stacked and they're just a QB away. And the narrative is that they just
happen to keep finding the worst QB in the NFL every year. THEN they make a mega deal to land a guy who was considered by many to be a HOFer....and HE looks like one of the worst QBs in the league and has actually made their offense worse. While journeyman Geno looks like a star with his old weapons.
I'm not sure why you're in denial about this. Q Joe is delusional, I get it. But you seem more rational.
Obviously coaching is part of it too. HC and QB will always be by far the two most important boxes to check, and they haven't been able to check either one in quite awhile.