This is something I had wanted to do every week this season, but I have too much time constraints.  However, with a baby on the way, work, school, ect - and this weeks' victory over the Chargers was too huge and too important for me not to find the time to write.  I've been wanting to do this all year and finally I was able to steal, sneak, find, and create the time I needed to write today.  Besides, MHR is all about opinions and fact sharing with a little homerism sprinkled in for those who enjoy it...and boy do I enjoy it.  Let's get it on baby!

So, I keep hearing about this "brutal schedule" the Denver Broncos have, but riddle me this punDIT, who is the schedule brutal for - the Broncos or their opponents?

Being Wrong Never Felt So Good

It has never felt so good to be so wrong.  I am referring to my preseason prediction of a 2-7 start and a 7-9 finish for the 2009 season.  Apparently, I bought into the negativity subconsciously that blinded me from really seeing the potential of this football team.

I never claim to right, but I am usually the first to admit when I am wrong and I was dead wrong.  I couldn't be happier about that!

Clearing Of My Conscience

After watching the Sunday Night football game and then last night's game, I need to issue a heart-felt apology to the Main Stream Media (MSM) for getting so worked up and angry over all the so-called hatemongering promulgated towards my favorite football team.

Instead, I'd like to thank you, MSM, for hyping Jay Cutler up all offseason.  So much so, that a team like the Chicago Bears would pony up two firsts, a third, and Kyle Orton for him.  Without that hype, front offices around the league might have had to actually review tape and evaluate Cutler's true potential as a, quote, "Franchise QB".

The Bears are 3-2 and getting the same results out of Cutler that they had gotten from Orton, while my team, the Denver Broncos, are 6-0 and getting more from Orton than they ever got from Cutler.  So thank you again MSM, for making our rebuilding effort that much quicker!  Oh and for those of you, ah, experts that still believe it was a mistake to trade Cutler, I have one thing to say to you - Six and Oh.

I'd also like to thank you for disrespecting this team all throughout, for now they play with a chip on their shoulder and they play with a wild abandon that has silenced all of the critics.  The chip won't likely dissipate as now the team has the quality of character and determination to succeed.  It is obvious that the core talent was always there, only misused by the previous regime.

The Aftermath

First, I'd like to address a (im)potent quotable by Shawne Merriman,

That was direspectful(referring to the pregame confrontations), but we'll get to see them again.  They didn't have a cakewalk here...we'll get to see them again.

Really Shawne?  How was your cakewalk, buddy?  In your house no less, with everything on the line for you and your teammates.  23 points was your best and you are welcome for that.   So you want to see the Broncos again?  I look forward to it.

Already, I am hearing about, "If it weren't for those returns - it would have been a totally different ball game".  Yeah, we would have won by four instead of eleven, since we'd have to take Sproles little return there out of the equation.   Oh yeah, and if Prater hadn't missed that field goal too, we'd won by seven.  In any case, the NFL doesn't do "what-ifs", we deal in reality - which was 34-23.  Period.  I really hate should, coulda, woulda's...reminds me too much of the Jay Cutler era.

The Broncos defense is sick.  They seem to transform themselves at halftime into some version of superhuman heros or something.  I've never see such second half dominance.  Especially against guys like Tom Brady, Tony Romo, Phillip Rivers, and Carson Palmer.  These are all-pro's and to allow just 10 points in the second half through six full games against players like the ones I named is just incredible.  I absolutely love it!

The D is also giving up just 9.8 points per game and 10.6 as a team overall.  Those are championship numbers that cannot be denied by anyone.  Especially after nearly half a season.  We need to seriously think about naming this defense something...a name that is fitting to the players and the team.  Orange Crush has been used and it would be wrong to call it anything close to that.  We should protect our history, but it is now time to write a new history.

Wild Horses

I wonder how much time was wasted by the Chargers players and coaches last week on defending against the "Wild Horses" formation.  Josh McDaniels is a master at planning and scheming.  I doubt any team we face will know exactly what to expect from us at any given time.  That's the kind of competitive edge that separates good teams from great teams in a league dedicated to parity.

I love the formation, but really, its a gimmick used mainly to throw the opposition off balance.  I think it would be great if used at the right moments, and so far McDaniels knows this.  One thing I'd love to see, is to have Orton go in motion like he is going to go back under center and then have Knowshon Moreno snap the ball while the defense is resetting their play call.  It's just another wrinkle I hope to see later this season.

The Future

I heard on the Scott van Pelt show today about how he had been expecting the Broncos to trip up, so everyone would be able to say, "Ah ha! I knew they weren't for real."  I am paraphrasing here, but that was the jist of what he was hammering at.  He went on to assert that we, meaning the media, are beyond that now.  There is no more doubt about the quality of the Denver Broncos football team.  That a loss now, doesn't really mean anything in the grand scheme of things as the Broncos would still be a good, playoff caliber, team. 

I brought this up because I had the same concern that eventually we'd be exposed.  I even voiced those concerns in an email to the other staff writer's here.  It wasn't because I wanted the Broncos to fail, rather it was the last three seasons of failure that ingrained upon me a scotoma that has left me cringing in the second half of each of the last three games. 

The fourth quarter performance last night has obliterated that scotoma; now I expect the defense to prevail on every possession.  I fully expect the Broncos to win every game now.  I know it won't likely happen, but there isn't a game left on the schedule our team shouldn't win. 

My Power Rankings

The last thing I'd like to bring up was my power rankings.  I got hammered for dropping the Falcons down to the 20's, which I knew was wrong, but I had nothing in my formula to account for that.  Obviously, I had them ranked higher because the very next week I picked them to beat the 49ers who I had ranked very high.  I have since corrected the problem, so hopefully my next quarterly rankings will be more in line to my own opinion on the teams. 

The formula I used worked really well and the only teams that didn't line up right with my reasoned opinion were the four teams that had a Bye week.  Otherwise, you all have to wait until Week 8 for that, but for now I will tell you that the Denver Broncos have leaped to #2 on my list by virtue of quality opponents and a 6-0 record. 

Go Broncos!