After watching the game on Sunday I came away somewhat excited by what I had seen. I know there are many out there who will disagree, but I for one really do not care what anybody has to say. The Almighty gave me a brain to think, eyes to see and a tad bit of common sense to hopefully correlate the information into something be it good or bad.

There were things in Sunday's game that gave me encouragement as there were things that made me think more work must be done before Thursday.

Two things that made me curse the name of Mike Shanahan:

Where oh where are the high draft picks of 2007? I can not recall even hearing the names of Jarvis Moss or Tim Crowder. The fans deride Josh McDaniels for trading next years No. 1 Draft Pick for Alphonso Smith, yet Shanahan traded to move up and take Jarvis Moss and also traded picks to get the 4th round pick that became Marcus Thomas all during the 2007 draft. At least Alphonso is on the field learning and contributing.

Things I like:

The defense as a whole. The first string looks pretty solid. Elvis has grown into a very good rushing LB, Fields is pretty solid and Kenny Petersen looks to have remade his career at DE. Last season, with the 4 man rush I was screaming at the television for somebody to PLEASE get past the blockers and do anything. Last night I was giddish with excitement watching Elvis, Kenny and even Ryan McBean getting past the Chicago blockers. I was screaming "get him" when Cutler was almost sacked in the End Zone. Something I have not screamed since the 2005 season.

The second team defense is still a work in progress. Baker looks good, gets good penetration and also gets cut by OLinemen which is something he will see a lot this year until he learns all the nuances of NT play in the NFL. LeKevin Smith also is very active and Wesley Woodyard will be very good because he also is active all along the line. Yes, Wesley missed one that the announcers pointed out, but he'll be starting soon.

The Offense looks like they are getting the idea. Orton looked tight at first, but before the cut took him out he looked good out there. The OLine looked good except for the penalties, but that will be worked out this week. Weigmann had a problem with the interior of the Chicago defense, but who would not? Olsen filled in good for Kuper, and when Hochstein gets his Mile High Legs under him the OLine will be quite deep.

The running game looked solid, and when Moreno gets back will be downright deadly. Hillis and Spencer together is a power game wet dream. Royal will be a real stud and McKinley will only get better while Stokley is Stokley. The TE's are getting to be more and more of a threat, Quinn included. His catch from Brandstater was great. I just wished he could have broken that tackle.

Speaking of Brandstater, I was really impressed with his play. I see why McDaniels was impressed enough to draft him. He has an arm and even decent pocket presence for a rookie. I agree with many that he could use more weight and strength, but I believe he will make his presence felt before the end of the season.

Special Teams excited me for the first time in quite a while. Prater looks strong and the Punters were awesome. Both Kern and Colquitt did a very good job of pinning the Bears back in their end of the field. Hester's return was the only bad thing I saw by Special Teams, but remembering what he did to Denver a couple of years ago, well, what can you say. Hester is a great return man, but I still am unimpressed by Hester the receiver.

Overall, from the empty cupboard McDaniels inherited on Defense I am very impressed by what I am seeing. On Offense, with all the turmoil caused by the Diva's Cutler and Marshall I am also impressed by what I see. The Special Teams will actually give us Bronco fans something to cheer about this year.

Lastly, a word about the Bears. I was not impressed by them, sorry GeoMetro, but they just did not impress me very much. Yes, they won the game, but tell me truthfully;

Except for Desmond Clark (ex-Bronco), Olsen and Forte what do you have for steady, consistent weapons? If Olsen or Forte go down your season may well be over. Adrian Petersen is a decent fill in at RB, but he whiffs a lot of blocks where Forte actually hits people on blitz pick up.

Orlando Pace looked old on a lot of plays trying to stop Elvis and the D Line of the Bears, if Harris gets hurt again (and he was limping a lot) will not be very good.

Trust me GM, The Packers have already broken down the film, as have the Vikings. Your team had better find a good, steady WR fast and get some DB's who can cover. Also, that huge hole that appears behind the LB's had better get closed fast. Hester's returns will not save your team every game and Cutler will lose his patience and begin his crap with your team soon. Look again at the first part of the game before Hester's return to see what I mean. He had that look on his face and you do not want to see that very often. A frustrated Cutler means that the ball will be forced into coverage and he will start running plays his way. Then he will seclude himself away from the other Offensive players. No good comes from that.

I see both teams being 8-8 or 9-7. In the AFC West that could mean a possible first place. In the NFC North that could mean third place.  Either way you look at it, 8-8 is a victory for Denver since the MSM thinks Denver will be 3-13 or 4-12. In Chicago 8-8 or 9-7 will be a big disappointment since the MSM has them as a possible Super Bowl team.