Getting Off the Denver Broncos’ Bandwagon, but Doing It Slowly

It’s the halfway mark of the NFL season. That means that the playoff picture is becoming slightly clearer…”slightly” being the key word here.

You see, many fans (myself included) spent the first half of the season jumping on and off various bandwagons. Rapid judgments rarely held true throughout the first half, with many teams and their fans riding an emotional rollercoaster of ups and downs.

The 49ers and Jets had fans flocking to their bandwagons after the first several weeks. Now you have to look long and hard to find anybody who is confident in either team’s chances at making the postseason.

Meanwhile, when the Steelers and Patriots struggled briefly in the first few games it was the end of either team’s chances. Five- and three-game winning streaks, respectively, and all is right with the powerhouses of the last decade.

So clearly, I should know better than to put too much stock into a couple of games. Yet, here I am, climbing off the Denver Broncos bandwagon.

Why?

Well, for one reason their story is eerily familiar.

This year, Denver got off to a rapid start. Meanwhile, San Diego struggled early, putting the Broncos in firm control of the AFC West. However, the same storyline unfolded last year, when Denver pulled one of the bigger choke jobs in football to end up missing the playoffs.

The Broncos also played poorly down the home stretch in 2007, ruining their already slim chances of earning a wildcard berth. In 2006, Denver got off to a scorching 7-2 start… and proceeded to miss the playoffs.

Notice a trend here?

The Broncos are to football what the Mets are to baseball: great starters, terrible finishers. And unfortunately for Denver, San Diego is their polar opposite.

The Chargers always face plenty of doubters after slow starts, but somehow seemingly manage to catch fire and win the AFC West.

This year seems to be unfolding according to typical form. On October 19, it seemed impossible that Denver would not win the West. They were 6-0, coming off of a huge victory over the Chargers in San Diego. The loss left the Chargers at 2-3.

Since then, the Broncos have not won a game and the Bolts have not lost one. That leaves San Diego just one game behind Denver in the standings.

Now, I don’t think that Denver is a bad team. They are actually a very good one. They have a solid offensive line and a promising young running back in Knowshon Moreno.

As far as the receiving corps goes, Brandon Marshall is one of the best in the game and he has a solid group of players behind him. The defense has either played above their heads, or discovered their true potential. Only time will tell.

Which brings me to the quarterback. I know that this is a touchy subject and I don’t want to get into a debate about who did or said what in the Jay Cutler-Josh McDaniels showdown.

I don’t know if the Broncos did the right thing in trading Cutler and nobody else does, either. History will be the only accurate judge of that situation.

What I do know is that from a pure talent-wise standpoint, Kyle Orton is the weak link on this football team. The offense has struggled to find any explosiveness with Orton at the helm.

He did play well through the first six games, but let’s face facts. The Denver defense deserves most of the credit for the six wins.

So I struggle to see this team winning out in the AFC West. They have a history of coughing up leads in the standings with poor play late in the year.

With the most important position being manned by a marginally talented player, why should we expect that to change?

And with the Chargers finding their form at the same time that Denver appears to be losing theirs, I am most definitely getting off of the Bronco bandwagon.

However, I’m not jumping off, but rather climbing down slowly, trying to keep one foot on, as it were.

Something tells me that despite recent history, these Broncos might be different. To say that the offseason was tumultuous in Denver would be the understatement of the year. It seemed to be disastrous.

Yet the team not only survived all of the negative attention and inner turmoil, it started off the season by ripping off six consecutive wins. Something has to be said for a team that handles a situation that well.

Then there is the schedule. While the Broncos will have to play the Colts and Eagles on the road, they also get Oakland, Washington, and Kansas City (twice).

That’s four games that common sense says are gimmes for Denver. They also face the Giants who are rapidly falling apart. Still, New York has the talent to be a playoff team.

The pivotal game comes in two weeks at Mile High Stadium when the Chargers come into town. If Denver takes care of business against Washington and then manages to beat San Diego, I will be scrambling to find my place on the Bronco bandwagon once again.

But for the moment, I really don’t know what to expect out of Denver in the second half, like so many other teams. And isn’t that part of what makes the NFL great? You can’t guess the ending. You have to watch all the way through to the conclusion.

No longer on Denver’s bandwagon, I will watch the next few games while running alongside of it, ready to jump back on at a moment’s notice.

Read more Denver Broncos news on BleacherReport.com

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