I am just back from spending the afternoon at blustery Mile High Stadium and while my body begins to warm up and return to normal, it is going to take awhile longer for my brain to fully comprehend what it just saw.
NOTE: Yes, I know it is now Invesco field, but as I am wearing a t-shirt that states ‘I Still Call it Mile High’….well, you know. Also, just for the record the t-shirt is now 2-0 for Bronco Sundays.
It is hard to describe what an amazing game we just witnessed (the Mrs, Turner and Shadow joined me). Not only did the Broncos finally end any talk of whether they are for real by beating what is widely perceived as the best team in the game (regardless of record), they did it in the most dramatic way possible: a late comeback followed by overtime.
I am still trying to thaw out the toes and compose my thoughts, so let’s dive right into the game:
- I am not sure if the TV cameras showed much Bill Belichick but he passed on the hoodie this week for an oversized Patriots parka and a stocking cap with a nice little pom-pom on it. What I learned is that a man with a pom-pom on his stocking cap cannot be intimidating, regardless of the number of Super Bowl rings he has.
- As another omen (and I am huge on omens) the Broncos had a little boy come out to grab the tee after each kick-off (a tradition they have had forever, that used to kill me when I went to games as a child). After one kick-off, the little boy wearing a throwback jersey that hung well below his knees, stopped at the tee and gave a Mile High Salute to those of us in the South Stands and those in the west stands. He wasn’t born when TD was doing the Mile High Salute, yet knew to do it. Maybe brighter days really are coming. The future of the Bronco faithful looks bright.
- For the second straight week, the Broncos fell behind early as their opponent marched right down the field and scored. And for the second straight week, the crowd was surprisingly loud upon Wes Welker’s touchdown. If the Cowboys are the Yankees of football (overpaid, overhyped and underachieving) then the Patriots are (fittingly) the Red Sox. At what point, do the Red Sox and Patriots bandwagons start conducting some sort of entry exam?
- Speaking of Welker, Turner blames me for his good day against the Broncos as I started him on my fantasy team. This ignores some harsh realities – 1 – I am probably the worst fantasy manager in the country, so starting him was almost certain to render him more worhtless than a Game #4 Red Sox/Angels game ticket and 2 – I really had few other options thanks to my drafting of busts and injured players. Plus Turner started Moss and his comments were about 94% based on jealousy.
- Despite the fast start the last two weeks by the opponent’s offense, you have to love that over the course of the game, the Broncos defense begins to dominate. That to me is a hallmark of good coaching. They may not be the most talented team (thus the other team marching down the field) but they make adjustments over the course of the game.
- By the way, while I still think Brady is one of the three best quarterbacks in the game, even his most blatant partisans must admit that 2 major mistakes by him were huge to this game. The first and most important was when his pass was short and hit the legs of a wide open Wes Welker early in the 4th quarter with the Patriots clinging to a seven point lead. A vintage on-target Brady throw and Welker walks right to the endzone and opens up a 14-point lead with 10 minutes to play. Trust me on this one, he was running right at me all by himself. Although, my vision did start to blur when the ball left Brady’s hand, so I could’ve been mistaken if Turner hadn’t confirmed it when I came back to.
- The other mistake was on the final Patriots possession, when he was sacked and fumbled on the Bronco 49-yard line with about 1:40 to play. You can say what you want, but Brady is not back completely from his injury – at least not mentally. He looks really tentative any time he feels any pressure.
- On the other side of the ball, I couldn’t feel better about the Broncos offense. For the first time all season, Eddie Royal was the player we saw in the preseason (and the one I drafted in fantasy) becoming an automatic 6-7 yard gain every time the ball is thrown his direction 0 which was 8-10 times this week rather than 1-2 times. On the other side of the field, Brandon Marshall, looks like the player he thinks he is. He is beginning to realize how truly dominant he can be when he wants to. And don’t worry Brandon. You will get paid what you are worth after this season. As Knowshon Moreno continues to mature and Buckhalter returns from his sprained ankle, we are looking at what could be a very efficient and powerful offense.
- I am not sure I am a huge fan of the Moreno directed Wildcat (Bucking Bronco?) offense the Broncos unveiled today but at least it gives the opponent something else to think about. Of course, if Knowshon could throw than it might actually be truly effective.
- All you Bears fans can think you got a great deal in Jay Cutler, but know this. With his Favre-esque tendencies to throw a ball where he shouldn’t at the worst possible time, he will lose you another (<cough>Green Bay<cough>) game this season. Orton is the perfect for the Broncos system – he doesn’t make mistakes (1 turnover all season on a hail mary before half today) and doesn’t try to do too much.
- As just another fan, I have no insider access, but it is pretty obvious that someone has changed this locker room completely. Whether it is Brian Dawkins, Kyle Orton or Josh McDaniels, someone has changed the culture behind that locker room door – these guys have confidence and are having fun. I think this team had more fun today than the last 3 years combined.
- No matter who revived a defeated team culture, you can’t say enough about Josh McDaniels. I have mocked all of those grey-haired writers who had slobbered at the knee of Shanahan for so many years that they couldn’t imagine that a young guy with a different way of doing things may be successful but not even me, Josh’s most ardent cheerleader, could expect this. I never would have imagined that McDaniels and Orton would do this well and more importantly win this many games.
The Broncos are now possibly the most improbable 5 and 0 in NFL history.
You know I like to end with a humorous comment or two but I just can’t because it is official now, no matter who you cheer for.
The Broncos are no joke.
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And to top it off, I got to see us all on Sportscenter. True, you would need some super CSI/CIA/NSA type zooming/rendering software to make our faces recognizable, but I don’t care. I will forever tell people that I was on Sportscenter.