Renck & File: Dre Greenlaw’s body let him down. Then he let down Broncos. Time to change that Sunday

You thought we forgot about Dre Everything Dre Greenlaw brings to a gang we have not yet seen His leadership controlled violence and sticky coverage That was the hype Eight months later it is time to examine Greenlaw s reality in Denver Hmm Absent or incomplete Which one fits best First his body let him down a quadriceps injury costing him the first six games Then he let his unit down yelling at official Brad Allen after the walk-off win over the Giants resulting in a one-game suspension This must change Sunday at Houston A Broncos upset could hinge on his performance Greenlaw has made an impact behind the scenes setting an example with his work ethic and daily intensity But it has not translated to the field where his season consists of six tackles on snaps against the Giants Greenlaw revealed accountability on Thursday admitting he should not have put the Broncos in position to play without him because of his outburst This was an essential step Now the Broncos need the best of Greenlaw moving forward They are a contender Whether or not they can win the AFC West or host a playoff matchup hinges on games like Sunday The Texans are scrambling for a wild-card berth The Broncos can move games ahead of them with a win After demolishing the hapless Raiders the Broncos would then host the Chiefs on Nov in the franchise s biggest battle since Super Bowl This will not happen without Greenlaw returning to his form without the former star filling the vacuum left by Pat Surtain II s absence There is evidence that Greenlaw s ability remains that he can instill fear for roughly snaps on Sunday But he cannot talk about it He has to be about it Related Articles Renck Avs deal with Martin Necas is easy to evaluate The payoff must come in playoffs Renck Thank you DeMeco Ryans for going to Houston Broncos would not be contender again without Sean Payton Renck vs Keeler Can Broncos extend win streak at Houston without Pat Surtain II Renck With this version of Bo Nix the extraordinary seems accomplishable for Broncos Renck Blame Sean Payton s play-calling if you must but truth is Bo Nix necessities to play better Will the real Dre Greenlaw please stand up Return of Naz Lost in the Avs agreeing to an eight-year million extension with Martin Necas rumors continue to percolate about Colorado pursuing Nazem Kadri in a agreement It is way too early to get excited about the prospect But it cannot be dismissed out of hand The Flames are going nowhere and Kadri s history in Colorado was real and spectacular He played himself into a huge contract after helping the Avs win the Stanley Cup in Making his million salary fit would be messy But when has GM Chris MacFarland ever shied away from a challenge If Kadri is willing to return the Avs have to look into it Lost season for Hunter This brings no pleasure to write Travis Hunter s rookie season is a bust The Jaguars spent two months showing they had no idea how to use him Now he might not play again after landing on the injured reserve with a non-contact knee injury Hunter boasts catches for yards and one touchdown and tackles This is not the return the Jaguars expected when they shipped the No overall pick a second-round pick No a fourth-round pick No and their first-round pick to Cleveland to draft him This week the Jags promised to make him the focus of the passing match So if there is any good news it is this When Hunter returns either this season or next the Jaguars might certainly have a plan for him Imagine that Shohei-Wemby comp Shohei Ohtani is already a first-ballot Hall of Famer Those of us lucky enough to stay up for the Dodgers -inning Encounter win will never forget his -for- two-homer five-walk performance But as soon as baseball ends we are privileged with another unicorn With apologies to Nikola Jokic that is Victor Wembanyama He is the future a -foot- pterodactyl who is averaging points rebounds blocks and assists while shooting from the -point line As with Ohtani no one has ever seen anything like this Want more Broncos news Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis