Over the past three years, I have had to deal with the heartbreak of watching the Denver Broncos get eliminated from the playoffs late in the season. So, when the playoffs roll around minus the Broncos, I usually look for three things, good games, good stories, and the demise of teams I dislike such as the Steelers, the Patriots, and, most importantly, the San Diego Chargers. Sunday afternoon, after three really lopsided NFL playoff games, I was treated to a wonderful experience, watching the Chargers' egotistical balloon of arrogance and self-confidence burst as they lost to a team who finished 9-7. I do not bring up the record to disrespect the New York Jets; they are on a roll and looked like the better team. However, San Diego was 13-3 , had won 11 straight, and probably should have won that game. We can get into why the Chargers lost in the comments section if you want, but I am not really interested in that. I am more interested in celebrating the fact that they lost. They flat out deserved it. Three Chargers players fill me with so much disgust week in and week out that I am happy to see them get humbled. First, Shaun Phillips is a dirty, foul-mouthed instigator. Granted, there are probably dozens of players like him. We do not get to hear all that gets said, but we can see the body language. What I constantly see is Shaun Phillips jacking his jaws at opponents after every single play. What I see is Shaun Phillips getting unneccesary roughness calls in crucial playoff games. He is about as classless as they come out on the field. The whole controversy with Josh McDaniels saying that "we own you" before the game in Denver is most likely Phillips's fault. Think about it. Everyone likes to hate on McDaniels because he is young, confident, and expressive. Because of that hatred, a lot of people just automatically believed Phillips's story when he said that Josh McDaniels instigated the whole thing. However, McDaniels claimed that Phillips first said to him, "I'll kick your [effin' a@#] too!" McDaniels just responded to that. If you watch Phillips closely, is it hard to question whether or not McDaniels is telling the truth? Next, Philip Rivers continues to get on my nerves. I think he is way too mouthy for a quarterback. In my opinion, quarterbacks need to be above the trash-talking and cocky swagger so prominent in every other NFL positions, but Rivers exudes it to the hilt. I also get really annoyed with Rivers's constant borderline intentional grounding throws to avoid sacks. Heck, maybe he is being resourceful and avoiding sacks, but most of those throws don't have a reasonable chance of being caught. In my opinion, that is not skill; it is relying on a loophole to basically get away with intentional grounding. Also, I got really irritated at Rivers's response when Darrelle Revis had the acrobatic pick of one of his throws on Sunday. It was clearly an interception from my angle, but, boy, did you see how unjust Philip Rivers thought the call was? He ran up to the referee screaming bloody murder. How dare they rule that an interception. He doesn't throw interceptions. He just throws at the back of elligible receivers' feet. Vincent Jackson takes the cake with his stupid antics at the end of the game when he kicked Rex Ryan's challenge flag immediately after he threw it. Seriously, why does anyone believe any of these Chargers players when they accuse coaches and other players of instigating stuff with them? What would drive Jackson to do something so stupid if he thought he really made the catch? Did he think the game was over and they didn't have a chance anymore because that was clearly not the case. Jackson should not only have been penalized for kicking the challenge flag, but he should have been ejected. Before you Chargers fans get all uptight about this, understand that I would support any player on the Denver Broncos being ejected if he pulled something like that. However, the smile on Rex Ryan's face as he picked the challenge flag back up was priceless. I could go on and on about how classless the San Diego Chargers are. Typically, a post of this fashion makes a lot of people angry and leads to vicious responses. I mean nothing personal against Charger fans. Fan behavior and mentality and that of the players are not one in the same. I am not denying any of the arguments you would throw back in my face in retaliation: "Well, the Broncos have choked the past two seasons." "The Chargers beat the Broncos in Denver by a score of 32-3." "At least the Chargers made it to the playoffs." Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get it. My point is that the San Diego Chargers have a few real punks on their team. They do not have the poise, the leadership, or the class to stop the playoff meltdowns that occur promising season after promising season. Go ahead and make all of the excuses for why the Jets won the game, but the actions of Phillips and Jackson are totally inexcusable.>

I could rip the Broncos and Josh McDaniels after yesterday's nightmare loss, but what would be the point? It really wouldn't have mattered if Denver had beaten Kansas City yesterday with the way the Jets played against the Bengals. IT IS WHAT IT IS. 32-32 for the past four seasons. It is not necessarily bad, and it is not anything good. It is just mediocre: IT IS WHAT IT IS!

As a Denver Broncos fan, I would never claim to be any better than any other Broncos fan--or any other NFL fan for that matter. We have a tendency to question the fortitude of certain fans' support. Don't get me wrong; I am not a fan of the fickle-minded fan who starts to talk about burning his jerseys or getting rid of his season tickets when things don't go well. Those people are not fans. A fan, to me, is someone who loves his team, cheers for them no matter what, and wants the absolute best for his team.

Here are some reasons why I feel like I love the Denver Broncos:

• I eat up any kind of information on the Denver Broncos. I love denverbroncos.com, MHR, bleacherreport.com, and any other kind of media related to the Denver Broncos.
• I have devoted myself to writing a blog about them. I will continue to update this blog at least two times a week regardless of the depressing outcome of the season.
• I have paid hundreds of dollars just to sit in the nosebleeds at Invesco Field after an 18-hour drive to Denver, and, let me tell you all, it was one of the best trips of my life.
• When my wife and I started dating, we were both hardcore Broncos fans. Eight-and-a-half years later, our two oldest kids (4 and 2 1/2) get excited when they see the Broncos emblem because they know that they are mommy and daddy's team. It is a huge part, though not one of life or death, of our family.
• Since, I live out of the market, I mute the Seahawks games on the TV and tune in to KOA online to listen the Broncos games when they aren't televised here.

Those are a few of the ways that I feel I show that I love the Broncos. I also will cheer for them no matter what:

• The past four seasons have been very hard for me. The Broncos seem to get my hopes up every year in the early parts of the season only to lose it at the end. I will still follow them and support them.
• Often times, my evening mood on Sundays or Mondays is heavily influenced by the way the Broncos perform. I will never yell at my wife or kids because of it, but it definitely affects me whether it be positively or negatively.
• I get sick of the MSM's endless campaign to make the world doubt the Broncos. I am more of a believer in taking things a week at a time rather than jumping the gun on assumptions and predictions. My team doesn't have to get all of the love the the Patriots, Steelers, Giants, and Chargers get from the media for me to love them and believe in them.

I may have negative things to say about the way they are peforming, but that is my passion getting the better of me. I want the Denver Broncos to win. Period:

• I do not know more than the coaches or players. I promise you that I would lead an NFL team into the grave if I was a head coach, coordinator, owner, or GM, but does that keep me from being opinionated? Absolutely not!
• Fans are a huge part of professional sports. The money and the time we invest to support our favorite teams and players certainly do not entitle us to run the show, but we see what is going on and, therefore, have thoughts and reflections on how things are going.
• I appreciate the job Mike Shanahan did winning two Super Bowls for the Broncos, but I was ready for him to go after last season. Many people accused me of hating my team for wishing for such a thing. I am sure a bunch of those same people will say, "Be careful what you wish for. McDaniels didn't do any better." Well, I have certainly made negative comments about Josh McDaniels as of late, but McDaniels hasn't been with the Broncos for over a decade like Shanahan had been. McDaniels deserves a few years of patience to get things figured out.
• The reason I was negative about Shanahan was that I felt like he cared more about what was best for Shanahan, not what was best for his team. Some might say the same thing about Josh McDaniels, but only time will tell. I want the coaches and the players who will help the Denver Broncos be the best team that they can be.
• The Broncos always show flashes of brilliance, in my humble opinion. They did it in Shanahan's last three years, and they did it this year. When that starts to fall apart like it has the past four seasons, I get frustrated. I will compare it to the teacher who gets upset with a student who is just flat out intelligent and capable of doing quality work, but for whatever reason, time and time again, that student underachieves and never does anything to realize her potential. That is what I see in the Denver Broncos. It is not them that I hate, it is a hatred for them not doing what they are capable of doing.

Now that I have explained the last two ways that I am a fan, I want to talk about the fine line between supporting one's team rain or shine and wanting the best for your team. Many fans seem to blur this line. I am not trying to personally attack anyone, but I find a lot of Denver Broncos fans are intolerant of people who have anything critical to say about the Broncos. If you criticize the coach, you hate the team and are a pompous, arrogant fool who probably lives in your mother's basement and is unemployed. Maybe that person just wants to see his team do what it is capable of doing.

I think we all have a right to an opinion. So, I want to offer my sincere respect to those who love Josh McDaniels and would never venture to say anything negative about him. I don't question the strength of your passion for the Denver Broncos because we reflect on things a little differently. In fact, I don't know most of you personally, so I feel like it would show immense weakness of character for me to turn something like some banter about football into a personal attack.

Too many people don't think before they type. I want to make sure that I show respect to people as human beings when I type things on this blog unless I am talking about Jay Cutler, the Oakland Raiders, or the San Diego Chargers. We are all human beings, but not all can be considered human beings.

I am, as always, very proud to be a Denver Broncos fan. I am happy to have the opportunity to write and interact with passionate fans like myself, and I wish all my fellow Broncos fans a happy 2010 and offseason. Please check in with the blog as often as you would like. I will be around.

I recently wrote an article suggesting that even though the Raiders still are known to upset the Broncos, the rivalry has lost some of its luster. I have taken a lot of flack from Raiders fans and my fellow Broncos fans alike. Click here to read some of the comments from Raiders and Broncos fans alike. While I personally try to stay away from making any personal attacks on people when I leave comments, I am more than willing to go to battle with any of the delusional, obnoxiously arrogant fools who call themselves Raiders fans. They are not even devoted to their team, they are devoted to a stupid mystique that is really a joke. They won some Super Bowls back in the day. Whoopdee doo! They are scary because they wear black, gang up on opposing fans, and are even willing to shank you. Wow, congratulations! Here is the fact. Regardless of what you did to us the last season, Oakland (and I did acknowledge that the Broncos should never take you lightly), your 4-9 record shows that you suck. Your quarterback situation shows that you suck. Your owner's ridiculous management of the team shows that you suck. Your inability to accept a Bronco fan's appreciation of our history and our rivalry shows that you suck.

This blog is syndicated with bleacherreport.com. I don't really get a lot of readers, and that is fine. It's a work in progress. I post my thoughts here, at MHR, and Bleacher Report. For whatever reason, Bleacher report automatically posted the previous article in the Oakland Raiders section. Boy, were they upset about it. How dare a Broncos fan talk down to them!

I have seen the light now. There is no other way to talk about the Raiders than condescendingly or hatefully. Their fan base is puffed up for no reason. They would like to accuse us of that, and I am sure there are some loud-mouths among us. Every team has obnoxious fans though, but no one compares to Raider Nation.

Yosemite Sam, a member of MHR, beautifully said, "I hate the raiders and especially their fans because I live in raiderland and I have to deal with them every day. That’s my starting point when I meet a raiderfan, and it is up to them to change my mind. Some have. Most haven’t."

I think I was trying to say that there are some decent Raiders fans out there, but I am starting to doubt that there are many. From now on, Yosemite Sam, I am embracing your logic. It is up to them to prove to me that they don't deserve to be despised. My first impression now will be that the Raider fans are a bunch of arrogant, classless, inhumane scumbags with a sadistic fascination with drunken mob violence and destruction which normal football fans despise.

I love my Broncos, but I am not delusional. The 2006-2008 seasons were horrendous, in my opinion. The middle of this season was a disaster too. Still, we have had a better record than the Raiders for the past few years. That is a fact. The Raiders haven't won more than five games in a season since 2002.

I hope we start stomping the Raiders like we are capable of doing every time. Josh McDaniels is not going to let the Broncos continue to take lesser opponents like the Raiders and Chiefs (44 to 13 in Kansas City) lightly; that was a Mike Shanahan thing (speaking of Shanahan, he sure had the Raiders number for a while).

I hope that Al Davis continues to make a fool of himself and ruin the Raiders in so doing. I hope he continues to fire coaches so that no stability and continuity develops. I hope he uses his early first round pick on some quarterback, wide receiver, or kicker that none of us has really heard of. I hope that quality players like Jeff Garcia continue to request that they be traded out of Oakland because they can't see any hope playing there.

I hope that I can continue to laugh hysterically at the delusional antics of Raiders fans. I hope I can hear a bunch of them saying, "Your team hasn't won a Super Bowl" or "Your team hasn't won a playoff game in years" after they lose game after game. I hope I can keep a grin on my face when I read ridiculous comments like "You’ve lost 5 of your last 7 games… So where do you get off trying to talk down to us…." from a Raiders fan whose team has lost nine of its last thirteen.

Raiders fans, you will not hear the end of it after we stomp your ugly mugs on Sunday. Happy Holidays.

I talk a lot of trash and make a lot of jokes--bad ones at that--about the Oakland Raiders. While I do think that they have some scumbag fans, I would never claim that their fan base is any worse than that of a lot of other NFL teams'. Sure, the Black Hole probably deserves its reputation as a house of ill repute, but every stadium has its share of drunken lunatics with middle school maturity levels. "I am going to pick a fight with an opposing fan because all of my peers will think I am funny," says the foaming-at-the-mouth lunatic.

I will never like the Raiders. I think I have cheered for them twice in my life. However, I would like to see them return to competitiveness. Let's face it, the NFL is probably better when the Raiders are playing well. They are one of the elite teams when it comes to how much people love to hate them. The fans that love the Raiders are extremely passionate about their team, and those who hate them have an equal level of hostility toward the bad boys in black.

Continue reading this post »

The Denver Broncos have reached the halfway point of their 2009 season. There have been a lot of changes this season. Some of those changes have been a little discouraging, but, for the most part, Broncos fans have a lot to be excited about.

Some fans may be discouraged by the points the Broncos have allowed the past two games (58), but the scores are not completely indicative of a defensive failure. They have definitely let up at the end, but they have been keeping the offense in the game for a long time. The Broncos had a legitimate chance of beating the Steelers for three-and-a-half quarters. The Steelers really poured it on those last seven minutes.

I want to start by mentioning some positives about the Monday night game. Our defense continues to show that it has the ability to make big plays that can change the game. Elvis Dumervil added to his number of total sacks when he was assisted by Darrell Reid on a 1st quarter sack of Ben Roethlisberger. Andra Davis and DJ Williams also tag teamed Big Ben to the ground.

However, the biggest sack of the game came in the third quarter when Kenny Peterson sacked Roethlisberger, knocking the ball loose, and rookie Robert Ayers picked up the fumble and returned it for a touchdown. Usually, such big defensive plays have been huge momentum shifters for the Denver Broncos, but the Steelers came back on the next drive and scored in just four plays, going ahead for good 14-10. A few drives later, it looked like the Steelers were going to score again when Andre' Goodman picked off a Roethlisberger pass in the end zone, delaying the nailing in of the coffin.

Yes, the Broncos ended up losing by 18 points, but the defense showed me that they are still a strong unit with game-changing playmaking abilities. They continue to find ways to put pressure on the quarterback and take the ball away.

So, why the let downs the last two weeks? I am not one hundred percent sure, but I do have a theory on this. My first theory is that they have gone against two of the best offensive teams in the AFC and have been slightly outplayed. Still, they are making plays, especially in the Pittsburgh game. Also, in the thrilling wins against Dallas, New England, and San Diego, the Broncos' second half defense was as bendable as a cinder block, but they had help from the offense. Denver's offense has been nonexistent in the second half versus Baltimore and Pittsburgh.

I don't like the excuse that the defense is getting tired by being left out on the field for so long. These guys live to be out on the field. Denver's defense may be good enough to beat teams like Oakland, Cleveland, and Kansas City with minimal help from the offense, but teams like Baltimore and Pittsburgh are going to require a more balanced contribution. Nonetheless, the defensive unit deserves credit for keeping the Broncos in the last two games for as long as they did.

Here are some notable defensive stats at the midway point:

TEAM
Total YPG Allowed: 280.2 (3rd in NFL)
Points Allowed PG: 15.5 (3rd in NFL)
Rushing YPG Allowed: 97.0 (8th in NFL)
Passing YPG Allowed: 183.2 (7th in NFL)
Sacks: 26 (3rd in NFL)

Takeaways: 14
Interceptions: 7
Forced Fumbles: 11
Fumble Recoveries: 7

INDIVIDUAL
DJ Williams: 63 tackles (leads team); 2.5 sacks; 2 forced fumbles
Elvis Dumervil: 10.5 sacks (leads team); 27 tackles; 2 forced fumbles
Andre' Goodman: 2 interceptions (leads team); 1 sack
Champ Bailey: 45 tackles; 1 interception; 1 forced fumble
Darrell Reid: 3.5 sacks
Robert Ayers: 54-yard fumble recovery return for touchdown in week nine

The conclusion: The Broncos defense is hitting people in the mouth and not running a charity like last year. They are still a work in progress, but Josh McDaniels and Mike Nolan definitley have things going in the right direction in 2009.

Let's shut down the Redskins!

This is part two of an exclusive interview that Jay Cutler granted to broncosculture.com. If you would like to read part I of the interview, then click it.

Broncos Culture (BC): With all due respect, Mr. Cutler, don't you respect the record that Jake Plummer had as a starter with the Broncos? Don't you respect Kyle Orton's record as an NFL starter? Don't you have to be somewhat understanding that there would be interest in Matt Cassel, who went 10 and 5 as a starter last year? I mean, this might sound like a putdown, and I don't want to hurt your fragile sensibilities, but you were 17-20 as a starter with the Broncos and never made the playoffs.

Jay Cutler (JC): We all know how Matt Cassel is doing as a starting quarterback this season, and he didn't make the playoffs last year either.

BC: Okay, that's fair. Does it give you any satisfaction to see Matt Cassel struggling in Kansas City?

JC: It fills my heart with glee.

BC: Okay, you have only addressed one part of that last question. It was a complex, multi-faceted question, the kind they ask at Vanderbilt. How do--

JC: Yes, I am aware of the type of questions they ask at Vanderbilt. Only geniuses attend Vandy.

BC: So, you would call yourself a genius?

JC: I don't know if I would, but I think my skill set speaks for itself. I am sure the media would say that I am a genius. BC: Please tell me how you feel about your record as the Broncos starter compared to the records of Plummer and Orton.

JC: Look, I didn't lose those 20 games in Denver by myself. The defense never helped me. We lost like seven running backs in Denver last year. I still made the Pro Bowl.

BC: In all fairness, you still failed to help lead your team to victory in that three-game meltdown at the end of the season.

JC: Well, the Denver Broncos never believed in me. That was the real problem.

BC: The Denver Broncos never believed in you? Many people would say that they believed too much in you. Did you see how up in arms the Broncos fans were when you were traded? You forced them to do that. Josh McDaniels said that he wanted you as the quarterback. Why couldn't you accept that, put the difficulty behind you, and suit up for the team that stood behind you so much, even in the face of a losing record as a starting quarterback? Mike Shanahan possibly commited career suicide as Denver's head coach for reshaping the "franchise" around you.

JC: Mike Shanahan was right about me, but he is not a part of the Denver Broncos anymore. If the Denver Broncos really had believed in me, they would not have been willing to trade me. Pat Bowlen always saw me as expendable.

BC: Well, you are entitled to your opinion even though most rational people see things differently and see your departure as more of a temper tantrum. Back to Plummer and Orton. The media and a number of fans were never behind these guys, but they have done nothing but win wearing the blue and orange. They didn't make any excuses.

JC: Yes, they won games, but Plummer choked in the AFC Championship back in January of 2006. Plus, they can't throw the deep ball like I can. Chicks dig the deep ball.

BC: Do you have a girlfriend?

JC: I like Kelly Clarkson. Especially the song "Breakaway."

BC: Curious! Let me change the subject, and I really appreciate your humility in answering these tough questions. Five of your last six losses have come against teams who were either in the playoffs last year or have a winning record this year. In your last 12 losses as a starting NFL quarterback, you have failed to achieve a quarterback rating above 80, and you have thrown only 14 touchdowns compared to 25 interceptions. This leads many to question your ability to win big games against good teams, and the touchdown to interception ratio in the losses leads people to question your ability to be a productive leader of a team in important games. How do you respond to that?

JC: You must not have been paying attention in week 2 when I led the Bears to victory over the Steelers. Last I checked, they are the defending Super Bowl champions. Yeah, talk to me next week after Kyle Orton has a repeat of his performance in Baltimore against the Steel Curtain. I had a QB rating over 100, I threw two touchdowns, and I didn't throw an interception against the Steelers. Why don't you mention that game?

BC: I was not denying that such a game took place, Mr. Cutler. I was asking you about your ability to win such games consistently or at least to put up decent numbers in such games.

JC: Well, I have already said that I didn't lose those games by myself. Last year, the Broncos defense was awful and I didn't have a healthy backfield with which to work. I still threw for over 4,500 yards and made the Pro Bowl.

BC: Congratulations on that! However, what I am basically hearing you say throughout the whole course of this interview is that you think you are a "franchise" quarterback. Quarterbacks have the biggest load to carry for a team. They must show leadership, maturity, and responsibility at all times. You have a different idea of what a franchise quarterback is. You want the full, blind faith from your coach, GM, owner, and fans that you are a talented, responsible leader, but you want to blame shift when things fall apart. Do you pay attention to your numbers against playoff caliber teams? What about the San Diego game last year?

JC: I threw for 350 yards and four touchdown in that game. I threw the touchdown that brought us within one, and I completed the two-point conversion that won us the game. That was against the champions from the AFC West last year, and that was one of my proudest moments, next to getting the meida to drink my Cutler Kool Aid.

BC: I was referring to week 17, the game that really mattered. The one that you lost 52-21, not the week 2 win that was won, let's be honest, very controversially.

JC: Quarterbacks don't give up 52 points.

To Be Continued...

Recently, former Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler granted broncosculture.com an exclusive interview. Our high tech audio video recording equipment was malfunctioning that day, so all I can provide is the transcript of the interview.

So many Broncos fans responded to Cutler's departure with morbid comments such as: the Broncos are only going to win four games this year, McDaniels will be out after one season, and our offense is going to suck with Kyle Orton.

Since, people seemed to be so in love with Jay Cutler, I thought I owed it to the five fans who visit this page to get in touch with Cutler and interview him. Here is how it went:

Broncos Culture (BC): A lot has been said about what went down between you, Josh McDaniels, and the Denver Broncos organization this season. In your own words, what did go down?

Jay Cutler (JC): After a difficult end to the 2008 season which included the firing of my master and head coach, Josh McDaniels came in and wanted nothing to do with me. Not only did McDaniels not want anything to do with me, but Pat Bowlen didn't want anything to do with me. I know this for a fact because there was a rumor that Josh wanted to trade me for Matt Cassel straight up. At that point, I knew that there was no point in even listening to them. No explanation was needed. It was the biggest, most undeserved slight--next to the time that Philip Rivers taunted me in San Diego--I have ever endured. I was their franchise quarterback, and they wanted to trade me. When I saw that they didn't want to keep me anymore, I stopped answering their phone calls and refused to meet one on one with any of them. Instead, I demanded a trade. I ended up in Chicago. Denver ended up with Kyle Orton and two first round draft picks. It is Denver's loss.

BC:With all due respect, the Broncos are undefeated and the Bears are .500 right now. How was that Denver's loss?

JC:Well, I have already mentioned this, but I was their franchise quarterback. It is a fact that NFL teams do not win Super Bowls without franchise quarterbacks. No offense to Kyle Orton, but he is not a franchise quarterback. Also, have you seen that guy's hair?

BC:Are you seriously making fun of someone's hair?

JC:Come on! You at least have to admit that the neckbeard thing is ridiculous. I can't even grow one of those.

BC:You keep mentioning the adjective "franchise" and placing it in front of quarterback. You claim to be a franchise quarterback. You have mentioned that franchise quarterbacks help teams win Super Bowls. Could you please elaborate on what else makes a franchise quarterback?

JC:All of the right tools. To be more specific, all of the tools that I have. I can throw the deep ball, I can scramble and am good on bootlegs, and the mainstream media adores me. Also, the team spends a high draft pick on a franchise quarterback because they believe the media hype about him, and they bench a winning quarterback in favor of the new and flashier "franchise" quarterback. Those are the key ingredients.

To Be Continued...

I was part of the minority that really wanted Mike Shanahan out as the head coach of the Denver Broncos. I have nothing personal against him, and I do hope that he gets another chance to coach or be a coordinator somewhere; I think he would make a fabulous offensive coordinator. There are a number of things that he did in the past three seasons that really bothered me. I am just curious what all of the readers and contributors at MHR think was the nail (or nails) in Mike Shanahan's proverbial coaching coffin. Was it the benching of Plummer in the middle of the 2006 season? Was it the departure of Gary Kubiak? Did Shanahan's ego get the best of him after he won two Super Bowls and three different running backs had 1,000-yard seasons in his system? Was it the imbalanced philosophy? Were all of his players truly happy to be playing for him? Did he have too much say over personnel matters? Or, was it something else?

I personally think it was an array of things that necessitated a change, the benching of Jake Plummer and the way he treated certain players being of most significance.

I would love to hear your thoughts because they are probably way more insightful than mine.

Denver Broncos stats

Broncos vs Ravens coverage

I am developing a new blog, and rather than copy and paste everything from my most recent post. I have provided the link to it. If you like analogies and pop culture allusions, especially one related to Rocky III, then give this a read. If you don't like those, but you love the Broncos and hate the Chargers, give it a glance. Here's to the Broncos shutting the Chargers up again on November 22nd.

http://broncosculture.com/2009/10/similarities-between-rocky-iii-and-broncoschargers-rivalry/

Doesn’t It Feel Good?

The Broncos have exceeded expectations in 2009. Every week, the media can’t really think of anything different to say other than “The Broncos are no fluke” or “The Broncos are for real.” They seem to realize that the Broncos are pretty good this year, but they can’t quite pinpoint why. It’s almost as if they really do think the Broncos are a fluke or that they will implode like last year. I think this is a good thing for a number of reasons.

First, underrated teams tend to play with a chip on their shoulders. They either feel like they need to prove that they deserve respect, or they feel like they need to better their game. The Broncos schedule is so set up that they really do have to prove themselves week after week. They seem to be responding to the challenge.

Second, the NFL needs stories like the 2009 Denver Broncos. The dull, simplistic media has a tendency to base all of their theories and predictions on the performance and results of last year. Denver was 4-1 last year, and San Diego was 2-4. We all know what happened. Instead of giving due responsibility to Jay Cutler and Mike Shanahan for last season’s collapse, many in the media acted like their departures would send the Broncos into a 4-12 tailspin at best. They were wrong! And the best they can come up with, week after week, is that the Broncos are no fluke. Well, yeah!

Denver’s wins look a little better each week. New England was huge. Even bigger was a convincing division win against their bitter rival. San Diego has talked a lot of trash about the Broncos the past few seasons. This year Denver is giving it back. They socked the Chargers in the mouth in that second half, leaving no doubt who the best team in the AFC West is this season. The media may think otherwise, but the numbers are consistent week after week.

The scary thing to all of those “tough” teams that the Broncos play is that the Broncos are committed to getting a little bit better each game.