Optimism Of a Bronco Fan

This is my first article and will likely be bad. That having been said ...

There are several reasons why it is great to be a Denver fan this year, and lots of reason for optimism for the playoffs and beyond.

Reasons why it has been great so far:

1.  Serving up crow - just about everyone predicted 3-4 wins max for the broncos and that the chargers would easily steamroll uncontested  to the afc west crown. Yet here we are at 8-4 with what seems like an almost certain chance to get to at least 10 wins and a playoff berth. And while the chargers are in the lead at the moment, it certainly hasn't been a cake walk as the Chargers are only one game ahead. The Chargers have a tougher road to close the regular season than the Broncos do; don't be surprised if it comes down to tie breakers like it did last year.

2.  Watching Doom's true breakout season - Dumervil had already shown himself to be a relatively capable pass rusher out of the DE position before the season began. But now, having been moved to the olb position, he is leading the league in sacks and,  if no one else has noticed, is doing very well in some other olb duties such as rush defense and some pass coverage. A real candidate for defensive player of the year in my opinion.

3. The Cutler fiasco - much of the hoopla about what was supposed to be a terrible season for us centered around the "loss" of Cutler. In the interest of honesty, I was worried to see him go, and I will admit that he is very gifted in raw physical talent. Yet, as I see the way the season has turned out, I now think that Orton is really the better QB due to some various intangibles. So, as a fan, I get the joy of seeing the QB trade work out in our favor just as far as a straight up trade. Forget the draftes we got for this year, and the first round pick we have of Chicago's next year, which looks to be a fairly high pick. McD looks like a genius on this one from where I'm sitting.

4. Watching our retooled defense - Dawkins, Hill, Peterson, Fields, Haggan, Law, McBean, and Goodman are just what Bailey, Williams, and Dumervil deserved. Great aquisitions, every single one of them.

Reasons for Optimism

1. Our defense and running offense are doing great, and our pass offense is generally enough to keep defenses honest.

2. We lost four in a row, but let's look at those losses.

A.  Ravens and Steelers: hardly push over teams. Both have seriously under-achieved at 6-6. Part of that record is due to the Bengals (who we beat in a crazy game) sweeping them both. A large part of the Steelers troubles is Polamalu's injury. It should be noted that when we lost to the steelers Polamalu was Playing. Also note that these two teams also beat the chargers.

B. Chargers: we split the series with the chargers, and also handed the chargers their worst of only three losses this season. There is a strong possibility we will play the chargers again in the playoffs. Should be a hell of a game.

C. The Redskins: along with the Titans, probably the most underachieving team. They boast one of the top defenses in the league, and they almost handed NO their first loss for the season. The Chargers face this team in the season finale and it is by no means a gimme. This game is one of reasons I say the chargers have a tougher route to close the regular season than the broncos do.

3. Playoffs baby - At 8-4 we are in the first wildcard spot with a real chance to take 3 of our final four and maybe even take over the top spot in the afc west. Two of the teams we are likely to play in the playoffs (Chargers and Colts) we will have already played in the regular season and will have a good chance to formulate winning game plans for those games.

4. As it works out, among teams that currently have a strong chance for playoffs, we have one of the most potent running attacks. Combined with a potent defense, all Denver fans can dream of SB runs, and those dreams will be more than mere pipe dreams.