What we are conditioned to say... (Forgetting the truth)

by Love Hope Hero on Sep 21, 2009 2:36 AM MDT

As fans we all hope for the best and brace for the worst. We fear change, we love our team, we crave stability, heroes. As people we hear the "experts" who we might discredit aloud but who we allow to sway our opinions. Our opinions are swayed very easily when change comes in like a storm and we are desperately trying to understand. We say that we need to be realistic, we allow ourselves to doubt, to see the "flaws" that it seems everyone else sees...

I for one can tell you the truth, I have loved our defense every damn year. Mobley, Wilson and Gold. Deltha O'Neal, what was that tall guys name? He played CB at some point? You get the idea. I thought, the talent was great. I loved the talent last year, except at safety. Oh yeah, Lenny Walls... okay maybe not Lenny Walls.

The thing about it all is, people talk so much about how good this guy is or that guy. Remember how the Chargers played before they drafted Rivers and Brees decided to trade his soul for talent? I swear that defense was nothing special and suddenly I start hearing they have the most talented roster especially on defense? It wasn't that different of a team but the media was falling over themselves with complements. They did get to be pretty good, never good enough but good.

The opposite has now happened in Denver, we changed, we play fantastic but no one seems to want to say it. This defense has given up 13 points. 3 of those points are because of a ST failure and 7 are because of an offensive failure (If we had that field goal it would have been a 9 point game which the defense could have continued to play aggressive with.) That leaves 3 points, 1.5 a game. As it stands 6.5 yard a game, 6 quarters shut down, no passing tds allowed, this is the best defense in the nfl statistically (at least.) On top of that our team has a scoring ratio of 3-1 (39F-13A), no other team has even a 2-1 ratio.

It's sure to get tougher but are we a wreck? No. Can we start to raise expectations? Hell yeah! We have to stop buying into the crap, we can be a playoff team, we can win the Super Bowl. We can do it all, we can win, now. The real kool-aid is the media garbage that says we can't. 13-3 is more realistic than that.

This is a Fan-Created Comment on MileHighReport.com. The opinion here is not necessarily shared by the editorial staff of MHR

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Comments

I see where you're coming from

but the smart move is to continue to lay low and watch this thing grow.

I think this team is showing a togetherness that’s quite similar to the last relatively under-talented team that mowed folks down in 2005.

Not a ton of superstar talents, a lot fo second chance guys sprinkled everywhere.

I think this team has a lot of that make-up.

by rururuland784 on Sep 21, 2009 3:20 AM MDT reply actions

The other caution is

We’ve started out like gangbusters on defense before and then suffered a total collapse. Let’s see how the season unfolds. It’s way too early, IMO, to form judgments on either side of the ball, but the play of the defense has been very encouraging so far.

by hawkarooski on Sep 21, 2009 5:01 AM MDT reply actions

Ground game

With our running game starting to get going, hopefully we’ll be able to keep the D fresh down the stretch (unlike in 06 where the Ding Dong combo simply didn’t move the sticks with any consistency). We need to hope that Moreno and Bucky stay healthy (although we had about a decade’s worth of IRed running backs last season)…our OL did a decent job against a large front 7 and I hope that success continues. Keep the D fresh, keep the D aggressive.

by Muse_Cubed on Sep 21, 2009 5:15 AM MDT up reply actions

Good article Hero...

I watched the Cincy / Green Bay game and was totally impressed with Cincy’s offense. Makes you wonder if they just had an off-day against us or our defense is a lot better than we dreamed it to be.

Guardian of the Gate to La La Land!
Gonsoulin, Taylor, Little, Wright, Gradishar, Atwater, Davis, and Sharpe...
Why are they not in the Hall...I just don't understand.

by Mike Clark on Sep 21, 2009 6:16 AM MDT reply actions

I agree that there are gounds for cautious optimism.

But don’t forget, the NFL is first and foremost about adjustments. Given time, the OCs will respond to our hybrid 5-2 scheme. I’m not sure yet if there is an answer for our triple tight end set, but if there is, the DCs will find it. We’ve also not suffered any serious injuries yet. Let’s see how they perform against better quality competition.

by db8632 on Sep 21, 2009 6:18 AM MDT reply actions

You know what is good news?

Denver is currently second in opponents third down percentage (28%). Seattle sits at 26%. That is a refreshing change from last year. I hope it continues.

This is our team, let's have fun with it! - dmitchell624
Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

by solace on Sep 21, 2009 9:32 AM MDT reply actions

My overall thought...

is that we should really rethink how we evaluate our own team. I mean sure the line isn’t full of star players but Fields certainly isn’t a new name to me, Vonnie Holiday? He may be a blast from the past but he’s memorable for a reason. More than all that sometimes guy just gel together and this line has done that. Our linebackers are a real strong point, people that don’t follow Denver overlook them, (example: Larsen and Woodyard are given a 40-60 overall in Madden this year, a terrible over sight) I don’t know about you but seeing Larsen and Woodyard as depth makes me think the guys on the field have to be that much better. Haggan and Davis aren’t new names to me either. The DBs may be a bit old but they are more than capable and form one of the best groups in the league. I’m not saying we can’t lose but be aware of this defense, think about what happens on the field and how it happens, like I said 10 of those 13 points aren’t there if the Offense and Special Teams don’t make mistakes. Yeah we’ll see stronger competition, yeah we’ll let some points get by but we have a special group here, you can tell by the way they talk about it, you can sense the attitude Mike Nolan has brought in here and I’m excited to see it all play out. Tell the media that we lost a player, we built a team.

P|L|H

by Love Hope Hero on Sep 21, 2009 10:20 AM MDT reply actions