Friends,

I, as many of you, came into this 2009 season, after the tumult of a brutal offseason, with guarded optimism and a simple hope that the team would just be competitive every Sunday and lay the building blocks towards rectifying a busted franchise.  To say starting 6-0 heading into the bye week was a surprise would be the understatement of all understatements.  Through the first 37.5% of the 2009 season, this team has played for each other like I have never seen in my 32 years of rooting for the Broncos.

For whatever reason, last night I thought back to that eloquently written letter from Pat Bowlen to the Broncos fans following the aftermath of the Jay Cutler (this is the only time I will mention his name in this post) trade.  Every single word written in that letter has resonated through the team's play.  The culture which Bowlen demanded from his organization in the letter is clearly being represented from the walls and practice facility of Dove Valley to the playing field on Sundays.  I recommend that you re-visit the letter below and put this team right up next to it.  You'll see Mr. Bowlen's vision being put into action.

Have a read and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about.

Issued April 4, 2009:

Dear Broncos Fan,

I am writing this letter today because I feel compelled to give our community and our fans an explanation regarding the Jay Cutler situation.

One of my directives to Josh McDaniels upon his hiring was that he consider everything possible to return the Broncos to the level which you and I both expect, and this certainly includes making a fair evaluation of every opportunity presented to us which might improve the team. He and General Manager Brian Xanders have had my complete support throughout, and they have it now. It is important that you know that at all times we represented ourselves to Jay with honesty and integrity.

I assure you both Josh and I made repeated attempts to reach out to Jay, and I can not speak for him as to why he chose to limit his response. Ultimately, given his unwillingness to speak with either of us directly in the last 12 days- at the same time his agent clearly stating to us Jay's intentions- it became very apparent to me personally that he no longer wanted to play for the Denver Broncos. As such, we elected to trade him.

Understand this: it remains about team. Our franchise has gone to the Super Bowl six times, with three different coaches and with many different players. It has never been about one player, and it never will be. Coach McDaniels shares this vision, and everyone in the organization—players, coaches and staff—must understand and accept this unconditionally. If anyone does not, that person will not be a part of this franchise.

I am extremely proud of our franchise, its accomplishments, and the region and fans that we represent. We have an illustrious history, one which we are all anxious to add to, and if someone does not wish to be with us as we head in this direction, then we will move on, and move forward.

Over 96% of our season ticket holders have chosen to renew their tickets for the 2009 season. This is once again a compelling statement of support and trust by the greatest fans in the NFL, and I assure you my only goal is and always will be to compete at the highest championship level.

The Denver Broncos will move forward in 2009 as one team, united with the most loyal and passionate fan base in football, towards the only goal we will ever pursue.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for your understanding and continued support.

Sincerely,

Pat Bowlen

Wonder how those 4% who didn't renew their season tickets are feeling right now...

Go Broncos....

Orton came on the Dan Patrick Show this morning.  Link here.  Kyle pretty much stays the course by taking the company stance by not getting too high over our current record.  I thought it was pretty funny how Patrick tries to goad Orton into showing a little enthusiasm about the early success, including...ugh....making the cover of this week's Sports Illustrated....but he sticks to his guns and says all the right things.  

Orton speaks like he plays.  Nothing flashy...just says what needs to be said and carries on.  

Actually kinda reminds me of this scene in Bull Durham.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeVca9MwDX8

Adam Schefter gave a complimentary response to the Broncos 3-0 start in his evil 4-letter mailbag column this morning:

Everyone expects Denver to drop off the map, but then, everyone thought Denver would be terrible this season, and I don't see it that way at all. Football is about confidence and momentum, and Denver has a healthy dose of both right now. If the Broncos went 7-6 in their final 13, they'd finish with 10 wins -- and be in.

Why nobody else in the same building can apply a similar objective opinion as above is beyond me. 

Josh McDaniels was on the Myers and Hartman Show this afternoon and had some really good things to say.  He had some quality responses regarding Brandon Marshall, how this is not a rebuilding year, and how he's handled all the criticism from the tumultuous offseason.  He especially handled a pretty good question regarding his offensive philosophy adjustments coming in with Jay Cutler as his QB and then having to dramatically switch to a different skill-setted Kyle Orton.  May have clued in on why Cutler could possibly have been put off by McDaniels's concept of identifying the defense and staying away from their strengths.  He also shared how he and Belichick have stayed in touch this season to share fashion tips.

I walked away from 7 minute interview further convinced that we may have something REALLY special in McDaniels.  Hope you all feel the same way.

You can enjoy the interview here.

Go Broncos....

Totally forgot to post this fantastic interview with Kyle Orton on The Dan Patrick Show from Tuesday.  Needless to say, I'm REALLY glad that he's on our side.  Just continues to say all the right things not just in a "from the script" manner but from a really genuine place.  He also has some funny comments about the Bears game and the botched punt.

Anyway, even though the interview's 2 days old, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Kyle Orton Interview

Go Broncos!

I didn't get a chance to participate in the live game threads yesterday but for fun I thought I'd revisit the thread during The Play.  Man...there is just some gold in here!  You can see the thread after the jump, starting with Eddie's poor decision to bring the ball out on the preceding kick-off.

Continue reading this post »

I know Rod Smith has done what he can to get through that size 9 head of Brandon Marshall but if Marshall has any sense at all, he'd take heed into what the greatest receiver of all-time thinks about his antics.  I doubt he will but nevertheless....

"When I came in the league it was about earning your money, justifying your job," said Rice. "I always believed once you sign a contract, you're obligated to it. Or you work it out in-house."

Brandon Marshall, he figures, wouldn't have dared to drop balls under Bill Walsh.

There'd be no suspension, said Rice. "He'd have been on the first Greyhound home."

Brandon Marshall is dead to me. 

I mean really, who can possibly look themselves in the mirror and call themselves a Broncos fan and continue to support Marshall after watching the embarrassment of his antics on Wednesday.  And then to see him run straight to the evil 4-letter and explain his actions rather than going to the people he should have gone to first....teammates, coaching staff, ownership, and the ball boys!  I can't in my right mind excuse him for his multitude transgressions no matter how well he performs, if he ever finds the miracle that will let him back on the field.

What I really want to know is what happened to THIS guy?  The guy who supposedly was making amends by helping children at an after-school program to shed the negative image portrayed by the media?  Even the NY Times felt it was worthy enough of notice by publishing an article on it.

What happened to the guy who said after the Cutler trade that he was "gonna take the lead of the guy who has the rings"?

Makes me really sad for him.  He just has absolutely no clue how to deal.

With less than 3 weeks left until Cincinnati, I'm not going to waste any more time following it.  We're going to be just fine.

Go Broncos....

.....back-peddle any harder and you're liable to run into the goal post behind you.

My level of disrespect for the guy continues to spiral downward after reading this.  I really want to continue to wish him well in his new dwellings but he makes it almost impossible everytime he opens his mouth.  He continues to demonstrate his inability to stand by his words.  He either goes completely dark without letting anyone know his stance....including his owner, or he's playing damage control over words he said on the radio.  Not like he can say he was misquoted in an article.  I wish Jay would just shut his mouth and focus on playing for his new city.  Enough already!