Maybe it's because I didn't expect a win, or even a strong showing, but I am not terribly upset with the outcome.  In fact, I find myself a little bit pleased.  Maybe I've got a shot in the pain Olympics...

I like truth.

Let me rephrase that:  I have an intransigient dedication to the supremacy of truth.

Everything I see is colored by this belief.  What I saw in this game was brutally honest and truthful, and therefore I like it.  To review:

1.  We were not shutout.  To be clear, this isn't a compliment, but if we would have been shutout, that wouldn't have accurately reflected some of the efforts we saw tonight in a pitched battle.  We would be defending ourselves unecessarily.  As it is, we weren't shutout, so we can focus on what the real problems are.
2.  Our O-line struggles are the heart of our offensive woes.  It's not Marshall, Cutler, Young, Henry, Walker or Graham.  It is our run-blocking and pass protection.  You lose your center and your backup center, and move your right guard to left and insert a FA at right guard, so that your left guard who is now playing center doesn't have any veteran help around him, while your left tackle plays right tackle while your other left tackle ages like a bottle of Ecco Domani, and see where it gets you.  We kept from slipping off the razor's edge for a while by the grace of two not entirely unforseen moves:  first we signed a blocking TE, one of the best in the business and second we scored a terrific pass-blocker in one of our rookie tailbacks.  Is Henry a good pass-blocker?  No, and he isn't supposed to be.  He is supposed to run behind blocks while the 3rd down back is supposed to be a better pass blocker.  But it doesn't work out when you pass every down and have to give the 3rd down back a breather by inserting your grinder for a few downs in obvious pass rush situations.
3.  Marshall is one of the great young players in this league.  The 2007 Denver Broncos are built to dissappoint, whether in the confines of their home stadium or in nationally televised games.  But Marshall hasn't dissappointed, on any stage, and recent comments indicate that he wants to grow as a person, and that he is ready to grow as a person.  Victor Hugo once said, "If I wrote for only my time, I would have to break my pen and throw it away."  Say this as well of Marshall, though substitute "awesome hands" for "pen."  Marshall is a 2008 and beyond championship contender stuck in the body of a 2007 Denver Bronco.
4.  Phillip Rivers is faderesque in his a-holiness.  HT just put up a great reminder of the soul of the Faders, and Philip Rivers showed tonight why we are going to have some freaking great grudge matches in the AFC west for years to come.  I know that KC doesn't necessarily feel this way (they have a lot of Bronco hatred, oh well) but I look at our division and I see Denver and KC in prime position to take on the roll of the "white hats" to the A-hole Faders and hypocritical chargers.  I have rarely wanted to smack somebody with a cod as much as I want to sweep a scaly wet one across Rivers' kisser.
5.  We can only stop the run with 8 in the box.  I realize that this is hardly a news flash, but even with the last line of motivation left to cross (future employment) it is obvious that Denver does not have the right personnel.  THEY DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT PERSONNEL.  Burn it in fire across your desk or wall, if we do not get our D-line upgraded, we will never stop the run.  I would rather take my chances with our current secondary and being burnt by the occassional big play, then to get consistently manhandled in the heart of the game, the trenches.  We have more top talent in our secondary than any team that has ever tried to insitute this scheme. I understand that this argument does not exist in a vaccuum, and that money and contracts is a part of it, but if you want to see a different, better, Broncos next year, than look for one or two new faces starting at DT, and one new face starting at DE.  And yes, the new face at DE may already be on the roster (Eck or Moss) in the form of a player whom we haven't got much of a chance to see in 2007.
6.  Last but not least:  Shanny has the Bronco's tageting system locked on, but it's not on wins.  At least not this year.  I have felt that for about the last three games (since CHI, really).  Maybe I'm crazy for seeing this.  Maybe I need to stop sniffing glue before each game (they drove me to it!).  But what I see is a psychologically relevant trial by fire for Cutler, and it isn't coming at the hands of opposing defenses and their coordinators...its coming from Shanny himself.  Since the CHI game, there have been numerous opportunities and indeed a distinct need for max protect, but it is used so sparingly that I have picked it out only twice since then.  10 sacks in two games.  Numerous pressures leading to ugly INTs.  Pockets collapsing like a house of cards.  We have been seeing it on every passing down for almost 3 weeks now, and a remedy exists, but Shanny won't use it.  This isn't primarily about Cutler, but he will benefit the most from this process.  This isn't as egregious as actually setting fire to Cutler's jersey to see if he remember's 'stop, drop, and roll'.  But it can't be ignored that Shanahan could stop the madness if he wanted.  He can pull players.  He can max protect from begining to end.  But he doesn't.  Call for his head if you want to, but we are making more progress in these losses than we made in the blowout of KC.

They are playing to grow.