Denver Broncos Continue To Impress

We admitted last week in our article “2009 NFL Surprise Teams: Broncos and Bengals” that we were wrong in our preseason expectation of the Broncos. As we said last week, we saw the disarray in the Broncos’ camp surrounding the Cutler fiasco and the Brandon Marshall suspension, and we thought the Broncos were a last place team waiting to happen.

We did a new chart last week in our article “NFL 2009 Win–Loss Records: A Look at the Schedule Excuse.” In this article, we looked at all of the teams with winning records who had faced competition also with winning records. The list last week consisted of three teams, and this week there are five.

One of the things that was true last week and is still true this week is that not a single one of the unbeaten teams has faced competition with a combined record over .500, while none of the winless teams have faced competition with a combined record under .500.

However, the Broncos and Saints are actually close. In fact, for both teams, if you drop the games their past opposition has played against them, then their competition’s combined records would be over .500. This is not true for the other two unbeaten teams: the Vikings and Colts.

Going forward, the Broncos’ competition does not appear to be that tough in that they have a combined win-loss percentage of just .491. We are not trying to argue that the Broncos do not have some tough teams in their future; they do.

They still have to face the Steelers (4-2), the Colts (5-0), the Giants (5-1), the Eagles (3-2), and the Ravens (3-3). Given the way the Broncos have played the first six games, we now have to believe that they can win at least two of those five tough games.

In our PossessionPoints.com preseason preview, we said it looked like the AFC West was the Chargers’ division to lose. As we have said, that was a poor assessment. We call ourselves a “data analysis” company, so we try to learn as much from our mistakes as from our successes. So, we went back over our preseason data, and we are going to blame some of our “surprise” on human error.

It turns out our Preseason “Relative Performance Measure (RPM)” data was pointing to good things for the Broncos relative to the Chargers in their division. If you go back to our article “2009 NFL Preseason Performance Rankings” you will see we said:

“So, are we concerned about the 1-2 Chargers who have a terrible -55 RPM? Yes, we are a little. To us, this might be a warning flag. We would rather see the Chargers’ RPM up there with the 0-3 Broncos.”

In the chart in that article, the Broncos were 10th with an RPM of positive 9.96. If you read through the comments in that article you will see that we took some heat from Chargers’ fans who just wanted to throw out the preseason. We mistakenly agreed that you probably should not read too much into preseason data.

However, our stat is scoring drive-based, and good numbers can be accumulated quickly even in preseason, so perhaps we undervalued the chart a little.

If we look back on that preseason chart we see the bottom five consisted of the Raiders (currently 2-4), Chargers (2-3), Rams (0-6), Titans (0-6), and Chiefs (0-6). The top five consisted of the Saints (5-0), Falcons (4-1), Steelers (4-2), Cardinals (3-2), and Jets (3-3). We’ll remember that next year when we look at preseason performance.

This week’s regular season RPM chart has the Broncos at seventh with an RPM of positive 39. This is a really nice performance, and while their future schedule has some teams with good RPMs, only two—the Steelers and Giants—are currently higher than the Broncos.

Our RPM chart this week is below:

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QBER/Week 6: J.C. Superstar Who? All Kyle Orton Does Is Win Games

(QBER is short for Quarterback Efficiency Rating, a more comprehensive, easily understood rating system that I devised to place the emphasis where it belongs—the ability of a quarterback to advance the ball, avoid negative plays, and score touchdowns in comparison to his peers. A rating of 100.0 is the league average.)

It was then Philadelphia Eagles head coach Buddy Ryan who once said of a wide receiver years ago, “Lemme tell you, all Cris Carter does is catch touchdown passes.” Much the same can be said of Kyle Orton, the Denver Broncos quarterback who doesn’t do much more than win football games.

That the Broncos are off to a 6-0  start rates as one of the surprises of the early season, but maybe it shouldn’t come as a complete and total shock. In three seasons with the Chicago Bears, Orton had a 21-12 record as a starter despite fairly average talent around him, further proof that the best QB isn’t necessarily the one that throws the tightest spirals but manages the best game.

Orton never had the full support of team management, however, which was stuck on Rex Grossman from the start. When the Broncos made Jay Cutler available last summer, Orton was kicked to the curb.

Months later, the trade appears to be a steal— for the Broncos, not the Bears. Orton may have a low glitz factor, but his QBER ranks No. 5 overall, three places higher than his NFL passer rating.

What separates Orton from the pack is his remarkable consistency, as his rating has never been lower than 132.0 in any week. And while Cutler continues to be a turnover machine— among qualifiers, only Kerry Collins, Jake Delhomme, and Mark Sanchez give up the ball at a higher rate— the man he replaced has been guilty of only one such mistake in 208 pass plays.

So lemme tell you, unlike a certain wide receiver, don’t expect Orton to be released any time soon.

The QBER leaders after Week Six of the regular season:

A few observations:

• A large part of the QBER system is tied to the ability to avoid negative plays, one of the most overlooked factors in performance at the position. David Garrard has lost a league-worst 230 yards in sacks, fumbles, and interceptions. On the flip side are JaMarcus Russell and Drew Brees, who have lost two and three yards, respectively.
• At 165.2, Brews has the highest QBER since the first week of the season, when his 209.2 mark was off the charts.
• If may be time for the Carolina Panthers to pull the plug on Jake Delhomme, whose QBER ranks last for the sixth consecutive week. In 148 pass plays, Delhomme committed no fewer than a dozen turnovers (10 interceptions, two fumbles), by far the worst rate in the league.
• Is there a QBER jinx? One week after Matt Hasselbeck took over the top spot, he inexplicably had a 74-yard, two-turnover, no-touchdown performance. He tumbled to No. 12 as a result.
• Tom Brady cracked the top 10 for the first time this season, as QBER doesn’t take into account the kind of passive resistance that the Tennessee Titans‘ defense displayed last weekend.

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Kyle Orton: The Consummate Winner

In the NFL‘s world of today, the quarterback is basically the President of the United States. Everyone knows him, no one knows the people around him, and they blame him no matter whose fault it really was.

What’s interesting about that is that Kyle Orton is a starting quarterback that no one talks about. Some people would rather have Vince Young on their fantasy team than Kyle Orton, even though he is a starting quarterback in the NFL.

Kyle Orton does not have a bazooka for an arm, he was a fourth-round draft choice out of Purdue, he was benched the entire 2006 season in favor of Rex Grossman, and the Bears went to the Super Bowl without him.

Orton has never reached 3,000 yards passing in a season, his rookie year was spent handing off the ball to very able running backs, and his career individual stats are unimpressive, so he is not what one would want if they needed to get a starting quarterback in the NFL.

There is just one little thing wrong with that though. He wins.

This guy is 27-12 as a starter in the National Football League. He has never had as losing season as a quarterback.

• 2005: 10-5
• 2007: 2-1
• 2008: 9-6
• 2009: 6-0 so far.

How is this possible? How is it that this guy, who is not nearly as athletically gifted as Jay Cutler, Drew Brees, or Philip Rivers, has a better win percentage than all of them?

It is amazing to see his critics talk about how he’s not effective enough or how the odds against him are daunting, but he shuts them up every time.

Yeah, he’s had a chunk of help. The Bears were a very good running team in 2005 with the number one defense, but he still was a rookie, with Muhsin Muhammad as a No. 1 wide receiver, and Justin Gage as the second guy.

No offense, but the words “double coverage” doesn’t apply to those two guys. They have never applied to those two guys.

He never really had a chance to play with Bernard Berrian, who is now in Minnesota, where Brett Favre loves his tremendous speed.

What is a rookie going to do without any big threats at wide receiver? Peyton Manning had Marvin Harrison, Troy Aikman had Michael Irvin, Matt Stafford has Calvin Johnson.

Despite all the negatives, he was the quarterback under center for a winning team. He didn’t screw it up. He kept the season going as an unselfish player.

Again, he was benched by the Bears for the 2006 season, and in the 2007 season, when the Bears had no chance to make playoffs and both Rex Grossman and Brian Griese were sidelined with injuries; Kyle Orton makes his start.

This is where I come in. I was watching the Packers play the Bears for the second time that season. The Bears had beaten the Packers in the final seconds before, and the Packers were 12-2 at the time.

I’m watching Orton and I’m just amazed at how much of an improvement he is. I’m watching his footwork, his sense of the defense, his throws, and especially his decisions.

The Bears’ defense and special teams dominated, yes, but they had the will to keep going because Orton never gave the game away. Orton even put Green Bay in the hot seat with his sole touchdown pass to Desmond Clark.

He had a line of 9/15 for 104 yards and a touchdown, but Orton was not intercepted or sacked. He threw the ball away instead of risking it. He handed off and he just led by example.

The Bears destroyed the Packers 35-7 and I said, “That’s going to be the Bears new starting quarterback.”

He goes 9-6 with a defense that slumped to 16th overall and no receivers except Devin Hester, who dropped a lot of balls.

The guy may have looked like a product of a team, but as he matured, he became more of a focal point for that team. There were games that you could say he was the X-factor.

However, he never had a real chance to show even more improvement because due to horrific miscommunications by Jay Cutler and new head coach Josh McDaniels, he was traded to the Denver Broncos with first round picks from 2009 and 2010, and a third pick in 2009 for Jay Cutler, who was a franchise quarterback for the Denver Broncos.

Everyone, including me, thought that Denver was sunk for the 2009 season. It wasn’t because Kyle Orton wasn’t a good player, but Denver’s defense was something that you would see in college games, not the NFL.

Now, Kyle Orton is in the right system, has a great attitude, has good receivers in Eddie Royal, Brandon Marshall, Brandon Stokley and Tony Scheffler with an excellent defense.

Look at his statistics now, 1465 yards passing, nine touchdowns, one interception (off of a hail mary at the end of a first half, so it is not like he intentionally threw it and screwed up), a 100.1 quarterback rating, and a 63.9 completion percentage (5.4 percent higher than last year).

And this is in only six games.

Kyle Orton, say what you want about him, but he wins and he wins often. He may be lucky, he may just have good chemistry with his team (you play harder for your friends), but he wins on a regular basis, and that’s all that matters when it comes to the season.

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The Denver Broncos at the Bye Week: How We Got to 6-0

Although a bye week after six games is not ideal, the Denver Broncos are sitting pretty at 6-0, and 3.5 games ahead of San Diego in the AFC West.

The Broncos have been quite a surprise story to many this year, and as fans head into two weeks with no Denver Bronco football, here is a recap of the incredible ride the first six games have been.

Week One–@ Cincinnati  12-7 W

What many expected to be an offensive struggle turned out to be a defensive battle between the Broncos and Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium to kick off the season.

Denver led 6-0 most of the game, and they had a really good chance to put the game on ice late in the fourth quarter with a Matt Prater field goal, but Kyle Orton took a sack, foolishly, putting the Broncos out of field goal range.

The sack cost the Broncos in a big way, as the Bengals drove down the field with their two minute offense, and took a 7-6 lead with 38 second remaining.

Then the magic happened.

After Orton missed wide receiver Brandon Marshall on a first down pass, he threw to him again on second down and Cincinnati cornerback Leon Hall leaped in the air to swat the ball away—or so he thought.

Hall’s tipped pass was caught by Brandon Stokley who sprinted to the end zone on a play that has been dubbed “The Immaculate Deflection” to win the game for the Broncos.

The win against the Bengals is the most questioned for the Broncos, but Denver didn’t cheat or win in an unfair way, they just won.  Plain and simple, even if it was ugly.

1-0

Week Two–vs. Cleveland  W  27-6

This game was really over before it started.  Denver’s defense was led by a ferocious pass rush, one that saw outside linebacker Elvis Dumervil record four sacks on quarterback Brady Quinn.

Correll Buckhalter, Peyton Hillis, and Tony Scheffler each had a touchdown in Denver’s dominant effort, and the Broncos completed the two game sweep of the state of Ohio.

2-0

Week Three–@ Oakland  W  23-3

At this point, people still thought the Broncos were just a beneficiary of poor competition, and the smack talk was in full form for the first Raider week of the season.

Correll Buckhalter, Knowshon Moreno, and the Broncos’ running game absolutely thrashed the Raiders, running for a combined 198 yards.  Denver controlled the line of scrimmage all game long, and the Broncos’ defense held Oakland to only nine first downs.

The Bronco defense was starting to show its true dominant form, and wide receiver Brandon Marshall caught his first touchdown pass of the season.

Still, the haters were in full form, and the win was not so much credited to the Broncos as it was to the deficiencies of the Oakland Raiders, who did not really stand a chance in this game.

3-0

Week Four–vs. Dallas  W  17-10

Many figured that Dallas was Denver’s first real test of the season and that the Broncos would be overmatched against a big, athletic Cowboys front line.

After one quarter of play, they appeared to be right.

Dallas led 10-0, and the Broncos were back on their heels as Tony Romo and the Cowboys had the ball back once again and were looking to increase their lead to 17.

On two plays, safety Renaldo Hill sacked and forced a fumble of Romo which was recovered by Denver, and Knowshon Moreno caught one of the more improbable touchdown passes you will see to put the Broncos back in the game with a score of 10-7.

Denver tied the game later on at 10 points apiece, but the drama was not even getting started.

After the two-minute warning, Kyle Orton threw a deep ball to Brandon Marshall who simply went over Terrance Newman to catch the ball, and the whirling dervish himself dashed to the end zone 51 yards to put the Broncos ahead by a touchdown.

On the ensuing Dallas drive, Tony Romo escaped pressure and dumped a pass to Sam Hurd, who took the ball deep into Denver territory.

The Cowboys ended up getting the ball on the Denver two yard line, and Tony Romo tried throwing the ball into one-on-one coverage between Hurd and Denver cornerback Champ Bailey.  Needless to say, the Cowboys’ attempts at the end zone failed, and Denver won a nail-biter at home.

4-0

Week Five–vs. New England  W  20-17 (OT)

Ah, the battle of the “hoodies.”

Josh McDaniels and the Broncos played host to his mentor and friend Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots in Denver’s first throwback game of the season.

For the second consecutive week, the Broncos found themselves in a 10-0 rut, and at halftime, the Patriots appeared to be in control with a 17-7 lead.

Brandon Marshall and the Broncos’ defense would not be denied, however, and Denver stormed back to tie the game at 17-all behind a pair of Marshall touchdown catches and a Matt Prater field goal.

The Patriots had the ball with just over two minutes left, and it appeared as though Tom Brady would orchestrate one of his ever so famous fourth quarter comeback drives to win the game, and the Patriots actually made it to about midfield before Brady was sacked for the first time that game by Vonnie Holliday who forced a fumble—which Denver recovered.

The game ended up in overtime, and Kyle Orton did what everyone figured Brady would do, and drove the Broncos down the field on a drive that resulted in a game-winning field goal by Matt Prater.

5-0

Week Six–@ San Diego  W  34-23

Even though they were 5-0, the Broncos were still not getting much respect from the big boys in the media, so they still had a lot to prove against the Chargers who were absolutely desperate for a victory.

Eddie Royal lit up Qualcomm Stadium with two first-half return touchdowns, one on a kickoff and one on a punt which paced a high-scoring first half of football, which saw the Chargers lead 20-17 going into the break.

Denver’s defense continued its second half dominance, allowing San Diego’s potent offense only three points.

As for the Broncos’ offense, they were led by the arm of Kyle Orton who threw two touchdown passes, one to tight end Tony Scheffler and one to wide receiver Brandon Stokley.

The Denver defense was absolutely suffocating for Philip Rivers, and Elvis Dumervil once again paved the way for a Broncos pass rush that ranks first in the NFL with 21 sacks on the season.

6-0

The first six games of the Broncos’ season have been absolutely magical, and this Denver team is the best fans have had since the John Elway days. 

Fans are brimming with confidence and players are picking up all kinds of accolades and achievements, and this team is finally getting the respect it deserves after an offseason when so many gave up hope.

Read more Denver Broncos news on BleacherReport.com

The Ledger: NFL Week Six Picks Review

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Things and Stuff: One Bronco Fans Random Babbles

Please stop!

So I’m going through my ritual of scouring the web for any post game Denver Broncos news I can find.

As a Bronco fan trapped in the prison state of Arizona, getting choice news can be something of a pain, so, like a chocolate junky in search of a snickers bar I spend hours looking for even the most obscure Broncos references. 

It’s true that technology has made this a simpler task in recent years. Even games that are not televised here can be located online via live video or, in a pinch, audio streams if you’re clever. The streams are not always the best, but since I refuse to buy into the overly expensive package at that dish place I learned to live with it.

Anyway, I am going through sites when I noticed a trend that disturbs me.

The national media has started to show respect for the Denver Broncos.

ZOUNDS!

I know I have whined about the lack of love being shown the Broncos. I have been frustrated at the bias the word monkeys have shown. But now that even Pete Pricso is on the bandwagon I must admit that I enjoyed watching them squirm each time the Broncos won.

Well, at least I have Jamie Dukes and Tom Waddle. They can always be counted on to roll their eyes when the Broncos are mentioned.

On the other hand!

Each week we are treated to a new “reason” the Broncos will fail. Going into the Dallas game we were told that it was the beginning of a stretch of games that would prove or expose us.  We won that game and suddenly Dallas was not really all that good, so proof would have to wait.

Next, we were told that New England was simply on another level, and there was no way that Harry McHooder could beat Billdemort. We won, and suddenly everyone was questioning whether Tom Brady was okay. Denver, they said, was for real but the worst undefeated team in the league, and until we faced a team that had it together we were still a maybe.

Enter San Diego.

The consensus reason we were supposed to lose that game was a stretch. The Broncos expended too much energy against the Cowboys and too much emotion against the Patriots. The Broncos were primed for a San Diego ambush.

Ooopsie.

You can rest assured that a week from tomorrow, when the hype for week eight games begins, the common opinion will be that Denver will get beat in Baltimore because the Ravens are coming off a bye and will be angry. With two weeks to prepare the Ravens will be dangerous.

Never mind that we will be coming off of a bye as well. Unlike the Ravens our bye will not be one of preparation, but one that kills the moment our undefeated start created.

Write it down.

Orange Matrix

“I know you’re out there. I can feel you now..I know that you’re afraid..You’re afraid of us, you’re afraid of change. I don’t know the future. I didn’t come here to tell you how this is going to end. I came here to tell you how it’s going to begin…”

And it begins at 6-0.

As you go through the bye week, waiting for the next chapter of this story to begin, you may find yourself staring at your computer screen looking for hidden messages or gawking at the bare shoulders of plastic Goth girls, looking for the one with the white rabbit tattoo on her shoulder. If so, do not be alarmed.  

The time has come for you to swallow the orange pill.

After the Shanahan program was deleted for outliving its purpose, and the renegade glamour boy sub-routine was banished to the Windy city Recycle bin, I was uncertain as to our future. Logic dictated that our schedule, personnel, new Coaching staff, new system and new QB amounted to a frustrating transition season.  

All of us, even the most ardent and kool-aid drunken Denver Broncos fans have surprised that we are undefeated going into the bye.

If you are not, I commend you for your impressive, and possibly dangerous, myopia.

I myself, while always approaching it with the idea that I would reserve judgment on McDaniels until his system proved itself either way, did not expect more than seven wins. I am also guilty of stating that Orton was not the long term answer. I even called him a hack. More than once.

I’m overjoyed that we are undefeated and looking stronger than any Broncos team since the Super bowl years. But if anyone would have told me that we would get to this point with Kyle “Neo” Orton under center I would have attempted to slap them out of their insanity.

And thats from someone who was HAPPY to see Glamor boy traded.

Shows what I know.

Impressive?

Maybe it’s just me, but if you look at the offensive stats from last night they do not really stand out as spectacular.

Orton was 20/29 for 249 yards and 2 TD’s. We had 101 yards rushing, 19 first downs and a time of possession right around 30.5. Not bad, not spectacular.

That is until you take into account the fact that the Broncos barely touched the ball in the first 25 minutes thanks to Eddie Royals returns.

Changes the perspective a bit, does it not?

AFC West Stuff

It was good to see the Raidettes and Cheips get wins on Sunday. I do not think they will mean much in the long run as both teams are too far gone. But I have to admit that I am getting annoyed at the weakness of this Division. I would like to see them both put it together and start playing better.

While watching our foes suffer can be fun, I think that the AFC west title means much more when the division is running at full strength.

There is no division in this league that has the same kind of fan base the AFC West can boast when things are going well. And no better rivalries in the NFL. I find it less than satisfying that even a trip to Narrowhead does not frighten me.

Bring on the bye week!

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As We Head To the Bye Week, Some Thoughts On the Broncos Off the Field

The Denver Broncos and their fans have little to complain about heading into their bye week.

Rookie head coach Josh McDaniels has helped lead this team to its first 6-0 start since the glory days of Broncos past, and Denver has opened up a 3.5 game lead over San Diego in the AFC West.

Still, there are some things off the field that could be keeping the Broncos busy through the bye week, namely the potential re-signing of some big name 2010 free agents.

As of now, Denver’s free agent class of 2010 features the likes of Kyle Orton, Brandon Marshall, Tony Scheffler, Elvis Dumervil, Chris Kuper, Ben Hamilton, and Matt Prater. 

Ouch.

Fortunately for Denver, they have the firepower to make deals happen with all of these players as the NFL could experience its first un-capped year, but the question still remains as to whom the Broncos will decide is worthy of being retained.

As could be expected, each one of those players is having an outstanding season so far, and all are expected to receive big pay increases either now or after the season is finished.

The Broncos likely will retain most of those players, and I feel it is critical that they do.

Kyle Orton has proven to be a perfect fit for Josh McDaniels’ offensive system, and his emergence has not only saved the Broncos from having to select a quarterback in the first round of next year’s draft, but it has also vaulted the Broncos into the elite ranks of the NFL.

Elvis Dumervil has been the top pass rusher of the 2006 rookie class where a defensive end (Mario Williams, HOU) was selected first overall. This season, he has 10 sacks which leads the NFL, and he is on pace to break Michael Strahan’s single season record of 22.5 sacks. 

Dumervil has made a seamless transition to outside linebacker in the Broncos’ 3-4 defensive look, and he is a huge key to the Broncos’ continued success defensively.

Tony Scheffler has emerged in recent games as a favorite target of Orton in the passing game, and has been one of the top receiving threats at his position since he entered the league. He is a wide receiver in a tight end’s body, and he gives the Broncos another dimension offensively.

Chris Kuper and Ben Hamilton are two of the more underrated guards in football today.

Hamilton has been part of this organization since 2002, but his departure would be a lot less painful for the Broncos who drafted Iowa guard Seth Olsen in the fourth round in 2009. If Hamilton’s price is not right, the Broncos could let him walk.

Kuper has played at an elite level for two seasons now, and is quite possibly a Pro Bowl performer for the Broncos. He was the only player in the NFL last season to play every snap without allowing a sack at his position, and the Broncos need to find a way to keep him around.

And then there’s Brandon Marshall.

Marshall ranks third in the NFL over the past three seasons in receptions, and is playing some of the best football of his career in 2009. He is an imposing figure at 6’4″ 230 pounds, and has been the favorite target of quarterback Kyle Orton this season for good reason.

After Marshall’s performances against Dallas and New England this season, Broncos owner Pat Bowlen stated that Marshall would be in for a big pay raise in the near future. One can only assume that if this team continues to make Marshall happy by getting him the ball, he will don the Bronco blue for a long time to come.

The big question is, “Who will the Broncos franchise tag, if need be?”

I honestly do not have an answer for that. It would seem that right now, Kyle Orton would get slapped with the tag if the Broncos couldn’t come to terms with him, but that seems unlikely.

The most likely scenario is that either Brandon Marshall or Tony Scheffler get hit with the franchise tag, unless the team is willing to let Scheffler walk with nothing in return. 

The 2010 NFL Draft is very deep at the top end, and the Broncos are in good position to take advantage of it. The Bears, as it stands right now, would give the Broncos a top 20 pick. 

The Broncos saved money for their free agent class by trading away their own first-round pick in exchange for Alphonso Smith this past draft, and management is looking smarter by the day for making that move.

(Note: A Seahawks fan thanked me earlier in the preseason for Sam Bradford because he thought Denver would end up with the No. 1 pick. Lol.)

As it stands now, here is Denver’s slate of draft picks:

1.  Round One (from Chicago)

2.  Round Two

3.  Round Three

4.  Round Four

**  Denver traded its fifth round pick to New England for DL Le Kevin Smith and a seventh round pick.

**  Denver traded G Montrae Holland to Dallas for their 2010 fifth round pick

**  Denver traded fifth round pick (from Dallas) to Detroit for sixth round pick in 2009 (used to select QB Tom Brandstater)

5.  Round Six

6.  Round Seven

**  Denver traded seventh round pick (from New England) to New England for G Russ Hochstein

My guess is, Denver will try to trade down and acquire more picks if they are not blown away by the players available when they pick for 2010. It’s a very deep draft, and Denver should take advantage. 

This article is not meant to divert attention away from the Broncos’ superb start to the 2009 season, just something the fans should be informed of for the future. The Broncos’ future looks very bright with this core of young players, and it is only going to get better.

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Still Not Sold On These Broncos

I usually follow a ‘Say it Out Loud’ policy before making big decisions in my life.  That same policy goes for the tendency to have a knee jerk reaction when the unexpected or hard to explain happens in sports. 

So before crowning the now 6-0 Broncos as an elite team on its way to a Super Bowl birth I’m going to ‘Say it out Loud’.  After beating the fastly eroding San Diego Chargers on the road, the Broncos are now an elite team. 

Yes, I realize that comes across as a bit sarcastic.  But if you were to examine the Broncos’ wins this season, how impressive have they been?  Think back to what was supposed to be the first test for the Broncos after a fluke touchdown catch by Brandon Stokely propelled them to an opening week win against the Bengals. 

Their first “real” challenge came in the form of the Dallas Cowboys, whose three wins this year came against teams with a combined record of 3-14.  Even as a die hard Dallas fan, I realize that the Cowboys with a regressing Tony Romo are a long way from being a real contender in the playoffs. 

The Broncos’ next real test came in the form of the New England Patriots.  I’m sure the New England faithful will declare Tom Brady as being fully recovered from his knee injury.  I’m sure they’re also certain that the Patriots are Super Bowl bound after crushing Tennessee in a 59-0 win on Sunday. 

But Super Bowl bound teams (or even playoff caliber ones) don’t struggle against a pathetic Buffalo Bills team that’s a 10-point underdog in the opening week at home.  The Patriots also have yet to find a consistent running game, and clearly have issues on their defense with the losses of Richard Seymour, Mike Vrabel, and Tedy Bruschi.

This doesn’t mean that Josh McDaniels doesn’t deserve a considerable amount of credit for transforming the culture of this team.  This team has gone from a pass-happy offense to one that utilizes the running game more.  And the seven new defensive starters have made the Broncos the best defense statistically in the league. 

No one saw this coming.  Not with the trading of franchise quarterback Jay Cutler for Kyle Orton, a guy who lost his starting job to Rex Grossman. 

The likelihood of the Broncos being successful at all this year seemed as probable as Brandon Marshall hugging McDaniels in a press conference after being suspended earlier in the year. 

But fences were mended, Kyle Orton is having a pro bowl caliber start, and here the Broncos sit at 6-0.

To ‘Say it Out Loud’ a first year head coach with Kyle Orton under center reaching the Super Bowl sounds crazy.  It seems even more ludicrous putting it in print.

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Dear Pat Bowlen: A Broncos Fan’s Apology

Dear Mr. Bowlen,

I have been a Broncos fan since the day I was born. Seriously, I think the nurse wrapped me in a John Elway jersey when I made my debut.

Because of this, I’ve seen a lot of ups-and-downs for the local football team. I’ve seen Super Bowls and I’ve seen 6-10 seasons. I’ve seen big wins and record-setting losses. I’ve cheered and I’ve cried.

And through it all, I’ve remained extremely supportive of you and your decisions. You always seemed like an NFL owner who really cared about your fans and made decisions they could be proud of. You were level-headed and thoughtful.

But this past off-season, I have to admit, I thought you had gone crazy.

After all, you fired a future hall-of-famer in head coach Mike Shanahan. The “mastermind” was the guy who won us our only two Super Bowls, the guy who made us competitive year-in and year-out. He was practically the mayor of Denver, for crying out loud.

Then you replaced him with this 32-year old kid from New England who reminded me of the captain of my high school chess team. Josh McDaniels had as much head coaching experience as Lindsay Lohan, and here you were giving him the reins to one of the league’s most prestigious franchises?

What were you thinking?

And if things weren’t questionable enough at that point, I watched as McDaniels blew up the organization top-to-bottom. Assistants gone, veterans axed, a new (and challenging) system installed.

Then came the moment all Broncos fans will never forget. Your new hire traded our star, up-and-coming, Pro Bowl quarterback Jay Cutler to the Chicago Bears ! For Kyle Orton!

Was this McDaniels kid young and stupid? Were you watching all of this unfold or were you taking a long nap? Had you lost a bet with Al Davis, allowing him to control personnel decisions for a year?

The tumultuous spring continued into late summer with the saga of an unhappy Brandon Marshall , an underwhelming preseason and questions about McDaniels’ ability to hold things together. Just about every NFL expert picked the Broncos to be among the NFL’s worst in 2009.

Me? I predicted my favorite team would win six games.

Well, they have won six games. Out of six. And it’s difficult to imagine them losing even half of their remaining ten.

This team is for real .

Six games in, the Broncos have outscored their opponents 133-66, including a mind-blowing 76-10 in the second half. A defense that was among the league’s worst the past few seasons is suddenly dominant under new coordinator Mike Nolan.

Oh, and that Kyle Orton fellow? He’s eighth in the NFL in passer rating (100.1) with nine touchdowns and just one interception. (Meanwhile, in Chicago, Cutler has 10 TD’s, 7 INT’s and a 3-2 record.)

It appears you were right, Mr. Bowlen. And I was very, very wrong.

At the risk of making a gross understatement, McDaniels has won me over. I’ve had waiters at Chili’s who looked (and probably were) older than him, but he’s proving to have football knowledge far beyond his years.

His coaching this year has been impressive. His play-calling has been (as rumored) extremely effective. And his off-season moves-as shocking as they were-almost universally seem to be working out.

Thus far, he’s a lock to win NFL coach of the year. And he would deserve it.

Since I’m a Broncos fan, I will still fear a possible letdown. Heck, we held a huge early-season lead on San Diego last year, only to watch it slip through our fingers down the stretch.  

But somehow, it seems different this time. It seems like we’ve got the right man in place to get the job done. It seems like the Broncos will be able to end a three-year playoff drought. It seems as if they may be far more than a one-and-done team when they get there.

It seems, Mr. Bowlen, that your most chaotic and criticized off-season may turn out to be your best.

I apologize. And I promise to keep my mouth shut for the remainder of the season.

Except to cheer on the orange and blue, of course.

Read more Denver Broncos news on BleacherReport.com

Come To Think of It: The Denver Broncos May Never Lose Again

Following their impressive 34-23 victory over the Chargers Monday night, the Denver Broncos are 6-0, on their way to a perfect season and a Super Bowl win over the Minnesota Vikings.

Yes, that’s a bit of hyperbole, but call me a believer.

As a Bears fan who has listened to too much crap from Denver fans about Jay Cutler since the trade, I’ve been dragged kicking and screaming into becoming a Bronco believer.

Not that I have anything against Kyle Orton, but it has been difficult for me to follow this team without being reminded about how Cutler can’t win, makes too many mistakes, and how a game manager like Orton has helped the Bronco defense transform itself into a force.

Look, Orton is playing well, give him credit. He had a passer rating of 143.3 in the second half.

And yes, he plays cautiously, limiting mistakes, while Jay Cutler throws with reckless abandon at times. Orton’s only interception this season came on a Hail Mary.

Still, it’s the defensive transformation that has me astounded.

After the Broncos brought in 33-year-old man-child Josh McDaniels to coach the team, Mike Nolan was hired to run the defense. But c’mon, a coach can’t make that much of a difference, can he?

Well, Nolan brought along a 3-4 scheme, and six new defensive starters (seven, if you include Ryan McBean, who spent last season on the practice squad), the biggest name of which was Brian Dawkins. 

Elvis Dumervil leads the NFL with 10 sacks. They had terrific pressure on Phillip Rivers all night. The Broncos sacked Rivers five times, three in the fourth quarter. They held San Diego to 104 yards of offense in the second half.

San Diego fumbled four times, though they only lost one. It’s been a defensive turnaround to behold.

Meanwhile, their special teams play was a difference maker as well. While they did give up a punt return for a touchdown by Darren Sproles, how about Eddie Royal? On his  two returns for TDs he was touched a total of one time.

That’s great running, but it’s also good blocking.

Super Bowl-bound Broncos? That has a ring to it. Think I’m crazy? The last time Denver went this long undefeated it was 1998. That year, Denver started 13-0 on their way to a Super Bowl XXXIII victory, their second consecutive SB behind John Elway. 

Maybe it’s not so crazy after all, come to think of it.  

Read more Denver Broncos news on BleacherReport.com

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