With the exceptions of the folks in Laalaa-Land (I visited a few times myself), we all knew at the beginning of the season, that we were not a super bowl team as of yet.

Here are of couple of our goals from the start:

1. Get to the playoffs. Most of us thought this would be through a wild card spot. Who knew the Chargers would collapse like they have.

2. A lofty goal was to win the division. See above. (Reference the paper tiger)

Where are we now?

We are on the cusp of obtaining our high water mark for the season. While we should be smiling from ear to ear, I hear murmurings of folks speaking ill of our beloved Shanny. This post is mainly to provide perspective of our expectation at the begining of the year and seeing how far we come.

Shanny has fielded one of the most powerful offenses in the NFL. The Defense... not so much. However, we don't call Shanny the mastermind for his defensive strategy. Not saying that I always agree with all Shanny does, but there is no other coach in the whole league I would rather have running the Orange and Blue.

We all knew in our hearts at the beginning of the season, that this was a reloading year.

Here is what we know about our team now:

Offense:

1. Jay Cutler is our franchise QB. Jay has played well... and sometimes outstanding. His diabetes is not an issue.

2. We have proven ourselves stout on the O-Line.... who knew it would be so good. We had good expectations, but we are awesome and young. I won't rehash too much about each player and how we should replace or start replacing at center because of age, But we should be a force to deal with on the o-line for years to come. Can I have any more love for Ryan and Ryan?

3. Receiving Core: Marshal has matured emotionally and is settling nicely in his elite status. Eddie Royal was a steal in the draft and will only get better. Together they are one of the top tandems in the league. Add Stokely, the TE's, and the receiving RB's and Jay has lots of options.

4. Running Back. It has been very unfortunate to see our RB situation this year. HT has mentioned conditioning in a few of his latest posts. I could not agree more. However, if it were not for the injuries, we would have never had the opportunity to see Hillis step up. I have never been so excited for preseason for one position. Hillis, Torian, Pitman, Aldridge - Larsen. Power! And who knows what Bobby Turner (thanks to MHR I know his name) will find in the late rounds of the draft. However, I think we are primed for a great backfield at the RB position next year.

Defense

5. D-Line: We knew we needed help on D and that the front seven were a big question mark. That question mark remains. But everyone on the D-line is a year older and that is a good thing for us. We have Powell coming back next year and we have free agency and a draft ahead of us.

6. LB's: Where do I start? There is good and bad. Let's start with the unrealized potential. I was high on Niko. What a disappointment to me personally. Webster's style is not a good fit. Boss played well but went down early like predicted. DJ sat out because of injury. But here is what we know: WW is a player. He doesn't have a spot to play but he is a player. Larsen can play both ways. Do I think he is the most dominate MLB, no; I don't think any of us do. However, we love his sure tackling, hard hitting, and his tenacity to get to the ball. All in all... I think that we are set at weak side and both MLB and strong side upgrades maybe in order. However, Larson is the choice for backup at MLB let Niko and Webster walk. Boss is always a question mark because he can't stay healthy. But focusing on the positive here... we have DJ, WW, Larsen, and Jamie Win. I see lots of movement in the LB core during the next reloading season.

7. DB's: At CB, as I have said before I like Bly when used correctly. Champ is the Champ. We have had some pretty good "rookie" play at CB. What I don't like is our Safety situation. I don't like it at all. Many of our fellow MHR readers have said to fix the front seven before fixing safety. All I can really say about safety play is that I am positively looking at better safety play/support/scheme in the future as this topic is well hashed in other posts.

Special Teams:

8. Special Teams have been a lot more special this year. I see it as a huge improvement over last year. We have missed some "easy" field goals as of late and hopefully we are done with that. But all in all we have been much better.

The Draft:

9. Couldn't be happier. With the play and contribution of our Rookie class. May go down as one of the finest drafts in Bronco history.

Free Agency:

10. Hasn't be a strong point for the Broncos in a long time. But getting Wig from the Chiefs to back up Nails is a highlight. Boss got hurt to early. Niko who? D. Rob is soso. Safeties ... no. WR... Royal made all expendible. Our trade of Colbert for a draft pick (don't know the details) could be seen as a positive for FA.

Summary:

We are not done with this season and may prove to be a force during the playoffs. This is still to be determined. The purpose for this post was not to say the season is over or anything of that nature. If we win it all this year it will not be because we are the best team in the league. However, I won't complain if we pull it off. To prove my point, look at the Giants last year.

What I am saying is that we are a much better team with some outstanding rookie play and some aging of our core younger players. The purpose is to shed light on the healthy expectations we had at the beginning of the year and say we are almost there. We have had some great developmental things happen this year.

It has long been a belief of mine that the Broncos could win the Super Bowl any year we fielded a team. I still believe that. However, with the improvement and development we have seen this year my expectation for such will only increase in the coming years.

Let me know your thoughts …