3 Things - that make me think positively

This time of any sports season is great.  Everyone is equal.  No one has hit anyone, no one has got injured and if you're lucky enough to support a team in the first part of the alphabet your team sits atop the division.  I'm normally a positive chap and I like to think the best of things - you may say I wear orange tinted glasses, I've drunk the Kool Aid and I'm on board the bus. So I thought I'd start what I hope to be the first of a new series called "3 Things" with three things that are making me think positively about the Broncos 09 season.  There are more than three things but keeping it to three means I cut out the waffle.

1.  Better secondary can make everyone look good.

I know its always said that its the defensive line that makes a team better but why can't a better secondary make a team look good?  All non-Champ starting positions have been upgraded significantly including the Nickel Corner.  Would you rather have Bly, McCree, Manuel and Paymah or Goodman, Dawkins, Hill and Smith?

Coach McDaniels has spoken on a couple of occasions about improving turn overs and making sure the secondary keeps plays in front of them and doesn't let anything past them.  There were too many times in 08 where long runs and long passes got through the Broncos.  Would Larry Johnson have twice run over Brian Dawkins the same way he ran over Marlon McCree?  This secondary is such an improvement over the 08 team that improved play here will make sure that the rest of the defense looks better - even if they're not much above NFL average.

A better secondary and a slight dip in form last year means more QBs will throw at Champ Bailey.  He won't be walking around with a target on his back like DeAngelo Hall or Karl Paymah but he will see some more throws his way, and more throws his way means more interceptions.  Last season teams knew they didn't have to take a chance with Champ because they could yards pretty much anywhere else on the field.  The New England game was a prime example until Champ left the game him and Randy Moss may as well have pulled up deckchairs and done crosswords but once Champ was out, Moss started to get yards.  A better secondary forces teams to take Champ on, which can only be good for the Broncos and make the whole team look good.

2.  New Coach Bounce.

Atlanta, Miami and Baltimore.  Terrible in 07 and play off teams in 08.  They all won 11 games in 08.  They only won 10 games between them in 07.  They all had new coaches in 08.  They also all had new QBs.

I don't claim to be clever enough to analyse the different approaches, skills and abilities of Coaches McDaniels and Nolan but all I can say is that last year these three teams got new coaches and had some pretty significant changes to their playing staff went from being teams that looked below average on paper to playoff teams.

Of course the Broncos are in a division with the Chiefs and Raiders who both appointed new coaches and the Browns and Jets will also be hoping to get the same bounce.  But having looked at the off season activity from the other four teams, none of them have made as many significant appointments - both playing and coaching - as the Broncos.

3.  The Broncos don't have to be better than the Steelers to get to the playoffs.

The AFC West was the worst division in football in 08.  The Broncos are playing 4 games during this season against teams that are ranked below them on the last power rankings chart I saw.  And the Broncos weren't even rated that high.  If you think that the Broncos are in a poor state at the moment., then you must take heart from the fact that the Raiders and the Chiefs are in a worse state.  So using this logic that's 4 wins - Sure Arrowhead and the Coliseum aren't great places to travel to but if you're going to the playoffs you have to win there.  And the two opening games come against Cleveland and Cincinnati which are ranked just as low as the Broncos.  So if the Broncos are going to be as good as I hope they are, that should amount to 6 wins.

The other AFC divisions are much more competitive than the AFC West.  The AFC South is likely to be a 3 team shoot-out with all 3 teams taking games off each other keeping their wins low.  Although I can see the Pats strolling through their division, I can also make a case for Miami winning a few early on in the season and the Jets will benefit form the new QB and Coach combo, don't be surprised if both teams split their series with each other along with the Pats.  The North should be a Pittsburgh's to lose and the Ravens may continue to improve but still lacking in offensive play-makers and aren't going to be as much of a stand out team as last year and are more likely to be dragged back into the fight for a wild card.  With other divisions being more competitive, there's a chance the wild card mark could be at about 9 wins rather than the 11 and 12 last year.

But more importantly.  The Broncos only have to be better than the Chargers over 16 games.  When you compare what the Chargers have done to get better to what the Broncos have done then there's no comparison.  The Chargers played a dangerous game of resting on their laurels during the offseason.  They are returning all but two starters - one on offense and one on defense.  They finished with the same record as the Broncos.  The Chargers management seem to believe that they'll be better this season simply "because".  Can you imagine the Broncos returning 10 starters on both sides of the ball?  The Chargers have gone from 14 wins to 11 wins to 8 wins and haven't made any drastic changes.  The Broncos could be looking at needing only 9 wins to clinch the division or to get into the playoffs.

And then, well, any given sunday.....