Mixed in with our propensity for playing poorly against the chefs and raiders, we’re going to find out pretty quickly what the new regime is made of, and/or if anything changed apart from all the deckchairs.

4-1 at worst. You heard it here first.

I say we win our first three games, lose 6 in a row, beat the Chargers and Giants to make us 5-6. We lose to the Chiefs at Arrowhead and to the Colts and then win our last three.

In recent years, the Broncos have picked up the habit of losing to bad teams. I think McDaniels won’t let them let their guard down… At least I hope… 9-7 Crystal Light, baby!

which will include a surprise victory over New England. They lose the next three, at SD, at Baltimore, and home against Pitt. They demolish Washington, get their revenge against SD, and pull another surprise win out of the hat against the NY Giants. They whip KC, Indy, and complete the sweep against Oakland, lose at Philly, and rout KC at home.

They finish 11-5 to win the Division and have become so strong offensively and defensively, they may win the Super Bow . . .

ALL RIGHT!! WHO JUST WOKE ME UP??

Look, I really can’t poke enough holes in our team to go below 10-6. I also think I have a good feel for which teams are gonna fall back a bit next year. The first point I think that is important is that after the first 3x games, this team will never remember what last year or the off season was like (of course the MSM and fans will). If the players are as talented and the coaches are as tactically and strategically brilliant as we think, the confidence and aptitude of this team are gonna begin to boil over. Let me also say I love where the bye week comes.
Ok let me give analysis in batches:

Game 1-3: I love Denver to win all three of these, but really expect something to go wrong in one of the first two. McD is new and things are gonna go wrong (this is a good thing, we don’t really want perfection in the regular season), besides in my gut, I think it will be good for the MSM b/c they will just love to eviscerate McD and the Broncos. (another good thing b/c we want to stay under the radar). The real pile on will be how if Denver can’t win these games, then they have no chance in the next three.
Game 4-6: These are really the games where we see what we are made of. There will be a lot of emotions for these games. The MSM will be building these games up as the proof in the pudding for Denver. I think McD uses this attack energy to go at least 2-1. I think SD is a lock. SD Is a team I have falling way back or at least not improving from 8-8. Their coaching is just not up to par. Dallas and NE are gonna be big games. I think both of these teams will be ready to go. I like us to win both at home, really, but expect that one of these could get us. Finish at worst record of 4-2

Bye for 7: Now 4-2; love this b/c the MSM can still continue to downplay our result b/c of a weak early schedule and a lucky win over NE or Dal and maybe one good game over SD or something

Game 8-11: these four games include some teams I can’t completely figure out. Bal and Wash. I think we could lose one of these. I think Bal will really take a step back and Wash is gonna be erratic, but both will cause problems for us with good D. Pitt will be a really tough game and I expect a loss (I think LeBeau may have a good feel for McD). SD is another win. Their coaches can’t outgame McD and the talent is equal on the field. (6-4 record; again, the MSM can focus on this team is gonna fall apart and really aren’t that good….a storyline I think really benefits the team perspective)

Game 11-17: This is where the McD system and NE approach all come together. The great teams come out in the last couple weeks. The changes to schemes, the new coaching staff, leaders etc. have all come together for this. I expect Den to potentially run the table here. The big games being away at KC. I think this will be a tough one and I expect KC to potentially pull out a win against Den (I think Haley and their personnel are underrated). Phi will be the other really emotional game (with BDawk now a huge leader and integral part of the D) as Phi will be in the playoff mix, but may still need to get a win here in the tough NFC East. NYG and Indy are both teams taking big steps back. Look, NYG are an above average team w/o Plax and Spagnuolo. They lose a dimension of their offense that kept it above avg and their Def success (while loaded with talent) was all about Spag’s planning and game calling. They become avg on O and above avg on D. Indy was really falling off last year and managed to outlast teams and benefit from Manning taking everything on himself. I don’t think he can do all that again. There will also be a lot of issues with this D and the rest of the coaching staff. I also think Meeks really kept their D above avg. These are not the difficult games everyone is thinking. With the two losses at KC and Phi we are @ 10-6. I’m not sure how you can get lower than this if you believe in all the analysis we are doing.

I think that last KC game could be a huge game, considering we could have lost to Phily before it. This lines us up to have the whole season, while great, still not produce anything. When the season’s come down to one big game, this is where organization and leadership all come into play. Thats why all those teams came out of nowhere last year. Parity has changed the significant impact that attitude, environment, and leadership can play in a season. I’m counting on the McD organizational changes to show some fruit against Philly and KC in those games. When they do, watch out b/c you have a team that will have accomplished some amazing things during the season and still not be the favorite team in the AFC for the Super Bowl. That is just the position we want….no pressure and on an upswing, like NYG in 07.

I really think that we could end up waxing people though and dealing with tons of pressure. This is not what we want. This can change the MSM and the pressure from “you’re unproven and stop kidding yourself” to “hey, we were wrong, but they are gonna choke b/c McD isn’t gonna handle the pressure”. I don’t like the latter one. I think it can cause havoc on the nerves of coaches and the leaders (the new QB). I like the first situation and I think that leads to a potential Super Bowl. The second situation leads to a let down in the playoffs somewhere early.

But hey, we’ll see.

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/afcwest/0-3-2248/Report—Marshall-wants-a-pay-raise.html

CIN-W
CLE-W
OAK-W
DAL-W
NE-W (this could go either way)
SD-L (their Turf)
BAL-L (after Monday in 3 time zones away)
PIT-W
WAS-W
SD-W
NYG-L (just clling what I see)
KC- W
IND- L (Peyton still kicks our jock strap)
OAK-W
PHI- L (split here but i think the eagles are fighting more for it)
KC- W (might not be a game that matters though)

the schedule is brutal in May is kind of falling for the MSM crap. Nobody knows how the season is gonna play out. Who would have been scared of Miami before the season started last year or Atlanta. But both of those teams made the playoffs. I willnot fall into that trap of saying the schedule is so brutal and denver is gonna be 8-8 or worse. Hell Denver was 8-8 last year with a pretty easy schedule. Injuries are gonna play a big part in this upsoming season. I fell into the prediction thingy last year and wont do it this year. What I would to happen is Denver win 10-11 games and shut the wagon rider charger fan up. But a prediction in May is useless, until we all see how the players are playing together. There are around 40 new guys on this team. It is not out of the realm of possibility to think they may not gell together until midseason. I take you back to 1995. Shanny revamped the Broncos and they started out 2-3 and didnt gell until week 11 or 12 and finsihed 8-8. Its not this year that I am expecting huge things its 2010

will be fun, no matter what, even if the media overhypes it. But it’s hard not to be intrigued by the Jedi Master vs Disciple matchup. I look forward to it. Glad it’s at home.

The Broncos will win 6-7 games. The start and finish of the schedule is positive for the new regime. The question really is, how short of a shelf life will McDaniels have in Denver? I for one am looking for the KC Chiefs to sweep Denver this year. I am tired of going to games in Denver where you sqeak out a win!