I'm like everyone else, somewhat disappointed by the Broncos performance in Baltimore, but still very optimistic about how our season will play out.  Why is this?  Let's review for a moment.

    Prior to the season, many people were suggesting that the Broncos were in for a rough season at best.  With all the changes, many did not think we would fare well in 2009.  Predictions seemed to run from as few as two wins to as many as 9.  The majority of the predictions seemed to fall in the 7-9 to 9-7 range.

The above predictions were based on the following perception of our schedule:

1)Our first three games were seen as probable wins.  We had Cincinnati, Cleveland and Oakland.  All three are popularly viewed as lower tier teams in the league.  It was expected that we would win two, or more likely all three of those games.  Hence, after our first three games, we were projected to be 3-0.

2)Then we would enter that stretch of eight games that was labeled "brutal," "impossible," and/or "unwinnable," depending upon which writer you read.  We opened the stretch by facing Dallas, New England and San Diego.  All three were expected to be losses to play-off bound teams.  Then came tough games against Baltimore and Pittsburgh -- two more anticipated losses.  This would be followed by the Redskins, the Chargers for a second time and the Giants.  Now we all are expected to know that the NFC East is the toughest of the divisions, and we would have already lost to the Chargers, so rack up three more losses.  Thus we exit the brutal stretch at 3-8.

3)Our last five games would be against Kansas City (twice), Indianapolis, Oakland and Philadelphia.  It was projected that we would split with Kansas City, beat Oakland, and lose the other two games.  Thus we would end the year, according to some at 5-11.

Yet, this is not what has happened.  Let's look at what has transpired so far:

Games 1-3: We beat all three of our first opponents as expected.  Yet questions still remained.  We narrowly squeaked past Cincinnati before beating two teams who are seen as bottom-feeders in the NFL.

Games 4-7: We beat the first three opponents of the "impossible" schedule (Dallas, New England, and San Diego) before losing the Ravens.

Consider what we've accomplished so far:

1)We changed the coaching staff and about half the roster, including the starting quarterback.

2)We won our first six games, including three games against current division leaders (New England 5-2, Cincinnati 5-2, Dallas 5-2).

3)We were beaten by a Ravens team that had lost to three division leaders by a combined 11 points (New England 21-27, Cincinnati 14-17, Minnesota 31-33).

4)We have a defense that is ranked 2nd in the league in Points Allowed, 1st in Yards given up, and is tied for 5th in Give Away/Take Away Differential.

5)We have an often maligned quarterback who is on a pace to throw for around 3700 yards, 21 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.

6)We have coaches and players dedicated to learning from their mistakes and improving every week.

7)We have seen a new culture of team not only take root, but flourish at Dove Valley.

8)In the first half of the unwinnable stretch, we went 3-1.  There is no reason to believe that we will not see a similar success in the 2nd half of that "impossible" stretch.

Think about what the possibilities are for the remainder of the year:

1)Our schedule:
Pittsburgh
This game could go either way.  If we don't do a better job of actually tackling the quarterback when we reach him, the defense could be in for a long night.  I have a hard time believing that McDaniels will let that happen.  Pittsburgh has also been know for imploding in the 4th quarter on the road.  We win this one in a squeaker, 20-17 to go to 7-1

@Washington
This is an away game against a team that appears to be in total disarray.  The Redskins changed who was calling the plays which only served to demonstrate that their biggest problem has been execution.  We win this one handily: 28-10, upping our record to 8-1.

San Diego
This will be a hard fought game.  San Diego will come into Denver looking for payback, but they won't find it.  Dawkins will have the guys fired up to accomplish our first sweep of San Diego since 2005.  We win 35-21, improving to 9-1.

New York Giants
Another game that will be harder than it should be.  The Giants will be pressing, trying to secure a playoff spot, but they have proven themselves to be very vulnerable and Eli doesn't yet have his brother's magic touch.  We win a narrow one 17-14.  Our record now stands at 10-1.

@Kansas City
Kansas City has shown flashes of being a team that could play the spoiler, but I have to give the edge to McDaniels' insider knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of Matt Cassel; that, and a defense that's giving up 26 points a game.  We win this one 35-10, to move our record to 11-1.

@Indianapolis
This will be our second loss.  I think our team will be worn down a bit by the struggle of the previous games, and this could be one in which Peyton's ability to improvise at the line of scrimmage may prove to be the difference.  We drop it 17-14.  Our records slides a bit to 11-2

Oakland
We rebound from a touch loss to pummel the Raiders who are now playing for another high draft pick with which to select yet another receiver who can race down the field to run under the Hutt's inaccurate pass just so he can drop it.  Denver wins a laugher 42-7.  12-2 is our record at this point.

@Philadelphia
Philadelphia started the season wildly inconsistent, but has improved each week.  At this point they will be playing for a home game in the playoffs, and so they sneak one past us 24-21.  We drop to 12-3.

Kansas City
This game will be played for playoff seeding so we take no prisoners in the final game of the regular season.  We hammer the Chiefs the way we got hammered in game 16 of 2008, 45-12, and finish the regular season 13-3.

2)Other teams' Schedules  and the Post Season
a)Kansas City wins only 3 more games and drops out of the divisional race in Week 12.

b)Oakland goes 5-11, and also drops out in Week 12.

c)San Diego manages to rally a bit to end the season at 10-6, but don't lose the divisional race until Week 15 when they lose to Cincinnati.

d)New England has some tough games and will end the season 11-5.

e)Indianapolis is playing very well but has some potential ambush games, but will manage a 14-2 finish.

f)Cincinnati has a relatively easy schedule and should be able to eke out a 12-4 final record.

Thus we have a strong chance at not only winning our division but also winning a 1st round bye in the playoffs.  I could see us easily playing in the AFC Championship game, depending on the post season match ups.

Now, maybe, I'm just a kool-aid drinking la la lander who refuses to face reality.  

Yet, to steal an expression from Mike Clark, I have a "gut feeling" that we will finish the regular season strong, and make a good showing of ourselves in the post season.

Poll

How will we fare in our last 9 games?

0%

Tank totally, lose 8 of 9 to go 7-9

0 votes

0%

Pick up 2 to go 8-8

0 votes

1%

Squeeze out 3 and finish 9-7

1 votes

2%

Win almost half to go 10-6

2 votes

10%

Win over half to finish 11-5 with a Wild Card spot

7 votes

45%

Do better than hoped, end 12-4 and win the AFC West

32 votes

24%

Achieve our potential, go 13-3 and go deep in the playoffs

17 votes

4%

Think we're dreaming when we go 14-2 and compete in the AFC Championship

3 votes

2%

Stun the world by finishing 15-1 and going to the Super Bowl

2 votes

8%

Think we're watching a Hollywood feel-good story by winning the Super Bowl

6 votes

70 votes | Poll has closed