The reality of the situation is that in a league filled with the have's and the have nots, we painfully fall into the latter column. We are a team filled with decent players but lack any real playmakers aside from PS2 and Simmons, nobody on our Front 7 on defense is scaring offenses as far as being a game wrecker or a real difference maker. While many are going to argue that trading for Wilson will go down as Paton's biggest mistake, I would argue it was signing Randy Gregory and expecting he could be a feared pass rusher. Much like his days in Minnesota, this roster is looking like a bunch of guys who are decent players, but no one fears or game plans for. Our WRs are vastly overhyped with a bunch of guys who have "incredible" potential yet get injured or fail to live up to expectations. Our RBs are decent, but again, nobody is worried about Williams breaking off an 80 yard run for a TD. Our offensive line is again, OK, but not spectacular, with obvious pass protection problems again on the right side. When it mattered most, the line did not win the game. This team will have to hope that they can out coach opposing teams, but in this league, with the amount of film study and preparation, that is a hard task to do week in and week out.

But underlying it all is this team lacks any real identity. What are we known for, having a top flight secondary? Well Mathis didn't scream elite CB yesterday. Tough defense, maybe, except this defense had no sacks and let the Raiders drive when they needed to and when they did end up stopping them, they would commit a penalty just to make sure the drive could keep going. Dominating run game, well, had some nice runs, but I would say that was not dominating in any stretch of the imagination. High efficiency offense, maybe, except they did virtually nothing in the 2nd half. Gun slinger QB, nope, explosive offense, nope, again, what is the identity other than average players and average football team with low levels of explosive plays.

I may sound bitter and maybe it's just being disappointed for so long and not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, but I cry, give me something other than this, give me a bunch of young players that have potential for growth, give me a team that maybe is not as talented but plays their butts off and overachieves, give me a team that plays with swagger and abandon, just give me something other than what I am seeing now. Most of all, I want the Broncos to be relevant. I hope that this is just week one hiccup and this team can turn into something more than what I saw yesterday, but right now, this is starting to feel like so many other lost seasons.