Season Summary - Next Up KC

Now that the season is almost over and a new decade is upon us, I'd just like to say what an up and down year this has been in Bronco Country.

1.) The firing of a legend
2.) The hiring of a noobie
3.) A block buster quarterback trade
4.) A release of a lot of familiar faces
5.) A lot of new faces
6.) A fast start 6-0
7.) Hitting a wall 2-7
6.) And now a play off run that needs help.

1. The firing of Mike Shanahan was one thing that I applauded. I loved his coaching style back when he took Elway and company over the hump into back-to-back World Championships. But when you're the best you get studied and broken down. You're habits form and other coaches will key into that. Your ego is huge with two championships and it throws caution to the wind and you don't give respect to those that are at the top of their game. You've made yourself vulnerable, you get burned by the best opponents top players, you become very predictable, defiant to ownership, and finally out the door. His turnover rate at defensive coordinator was very questionable along with the poorly ranked and leaky defenses it produced. And when he tried to solidify his best friend from college Bob Slowik as defensive coordinator after being told to fire him and refusing, well the upper brass got their way by firing Mike, and then Bob as well.

2.) The hiring of first time head coach and former offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels from New England was something I scratched my head about. As a true rookie at 33 years old hes made some rookie mistakes in his arrival. However, brought in one heck of a defensive coordinator in Mike Nolan. And he changed the atmosphere of the Denver Broncos as a team. He placed TEAM above the ME and I attitude that somehow crept in during the previous coaching era. No one was untouchable. And he brought in the same spread offense that he ran successfully with New England.

3.) This turned the Rocky's upside down for months, including me. The trade of Jay Cutler to Chicago for Kyle Orton and a handful of draft picks. I thought this was a bad move, and I still think that Jay would've thrived in the spread offense. As the year has progressed I've grown to like Kyle Orton and his consistency. I love the way he protects the ball and throws it away when he has to. He plays to his ability and has continually improved as the year has moved on. Re-sign him Pat to at least a 3 year deal!!!

4.) A lot of players that were familiar over the years in the prior era were all given their pink slips. For some it was a blessing, look at Mike Bell who is a running back for New Orleans. Others like Dre Bly were picked up as injuries plagued other teams early on in the league. And for others it was their last roster spot on an NFL team. Thanks for playing for the Broncos fellas. I wish you lots of luck.

5.) The new faces to come along and have made their impact were Brian Dawkins, Reynaldo Hill, Correll Buckhalter, Vonnie Holliday & Andre Goodman plus rookies Robert Ayers and Knowshon Moreno. I still think Peyton Hillis should be our premier running back. I don't like Knowshon's running style nor his ability to fumble the ball. But he's coach's guy. Let's hope he leads all rookie again next year because leading the league is way to much for Knowshon next year!

6.) Winning the first 6 games out of the gate was very unexpected, including Cincinnati, Cleveland, Oakland, Dallas, New England, and most importantly San Diego. The sky was the limit going into the 7th week and a bye. It was an awesome feeling. I still can't believe it, and they passed my expectations so fast, I though the playoffs were a shoo in.

7.) Losing 7 out of 9 games to Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Washington, San Diego, Indianapolis, Oakland, & Philadelphia. Beating only New York Giants and Kansas City (whom we play this weekend.) The downward spiral and injury to Kyle Orton really took the wind out of our sails. We limping along down hill for the last mile of a 16 game season and there is still a chance to make the play offs.

8.) Which leaves the team at 8-7, very near last years 8-8 team. If we loose this game much like last year, we are out of the play offs. However it is a game against Kansas City, and we blew them out of the water in KC. Therefore we should win this game easily. If we don't then we never belonged in the play offs from the get go, even with a 6-0 start. You have to finish strong in anything. I hope we make it into post season play.

Regardless, my prediction of a 5-11 season is grossly off the mark, and rightfully so. I was a doubter of Josh McDaniels and also a doubter of Kyle Orton. I hope we sign Kyle to a long term deal. I think he can take us further than any other QB out there, including the 6 in Chicago. He fits perfectly in the spread offense, although he don't have any scrambling ability his arm strength has definitely improved as well as his passing yards. For the first time in his career he's gone over 3000 passing yards and his rating is almost ten points higher than last year at 89.3 with 20 touchdowns and only 9 interceptions. If he didn't roll his ankle during the Redskins game, we probably would have won that game and had a much better chance against San Diego the week after.

Giving those two games away and seeing how the rest of the AFC is playing I think we are a better team then the rest with the exception of Pittsburgh. You have to give the World Champs props. Big Ben sat out against the Ravens and gave that one away also. Other teams have had most of their impact players on offense.

I really enjoyed this season. There have been some very close games, nail biters, 90 yard drives, goal line stands, and the unbelievable start of the season in Cincinnati. Not expecting to win many games this year, we won against some good teams that are play off bound. I hope we can play some of them again! Good Job Josh, you are the right coach we needed. Now go and kick KC's ass!

PS... I would have gone for it on 4th and 3 instead of giving McNabb the ball with 3 downs to travel 13 yards into field goal range. You got to give the stars on other side of the field props.

Kansas City Blow Out, Thoughs of Indy

The Denver Broncos blew out the Kansas City Chiefs (Chefs) rather easily, dispatching them 44-13. The Broncos moved the ball seamlessly and KC felt the wrath of defensive coordinator Mike Nolan's 3-4 defense for the first time this season. It was fun to watch as the Chefs are our AFC West Rivals, and during previous decade was our biggest threat. Now, they are our punching bag, W00t!

Next up is Indianapolis. They are currently undefeated, have basically wrapped up home field advantage, and are playing for a perfect season. So, don't be surprised if the score from the last game results are reversed, with Denver looking like KC. Indy is a superior team with a superior QB in Peyton Manning, who is having an MVP year. The only way I can see us pulling an upset is if the Colts begin to rest it's starters knowing they have playoff home field advantage. I hope former coach Tony Dungey is correct in that is what is going to happen. But you never know.

Funny thing is, we need to win this game and hopefully will take advantage of any opportunities the Colts give us. For now I'm hoping for the best, but won't be too surprised to see the worst. Cheers.