Bronco Thoughts

So if you're a regular follower of my blog (and I'm not sure that there is anyone meeting that description), you might remember a couple of posts I made before the season outlining the best and worst case scenarios for the 2009 Denver Broncos. I had them pegged to finish somewhere between 4-12 and 9-7, and my gut feeling was that they would probably end up 8-8 like last season.

So they rushed out to a 6-0 start, and I thought that I had way underestimated them. And then they lost four straight and I realized that no, I hadn't. And so after today's last-second loss in Philadelphia, they are 8-7, lining up pretty much perfectly with where I thought they would be.

After they started 3-0, I did a post which maintained that all they needed to do over the difficult ten-game stretch in the middle of the season was go 5-5. With an 8-5 record, with home games to come against Oakland and Kansas City, they would be virtually assured of 10 wins, which would probably be enough for a playoff spot.

And they did exactly what I said they needed to do - they went 5-5. Of course, last week they blew the other part of the plan, by losing at home to Oakland.

And by also losing today, the Broncos no longer control their own destiny. Even if they win next week against the Chiefs, they will need other teams to lose in some combination in order to get a spot in the playoffs.

No matter what ends up happening, the real heart warming story has been Jay Cutler's horrible season in Chicago. He has a real chance to get to 30 interceptions this year! And the Bears have been bad enough that the Broncos (who picked up the Bears' 1st round pick next year in the trade) will probably have a top-10 draft choice next year! Some people say that it's not good to cheer for Jay Cutler to fail. And I agree. But it sure does make me glad when I read that he had another terrible game.

Peyday

A year ago, when the Broncos were in the midst of losing something like seven running backs to season-ending injury, Bronco Fan fell in love with a young man named Peyton Hillis. The rookie from Arkansas was picked in the 7th round of the 2008 draft. He found his way into the starting lineup due to all the injuries and compiled 343 yards rushing on 68 carries in six starts, which was good enough to lead the team last year. Eventually, Hillis suffered his own season-ending injury.

Bronco Fan called into the local radio station repeatedly, insisting the reason the Broncos finished the season poorly was the fact that Hillis was sidelined, and therefore not able to carry the Broncos to victory. Bronco Fan seemed to think that Hillis was the second coming of Terrell Davis, and was surely hoping that Pat Bowlen would waive the requirement that a player actually be retired before joining the team's Ring of Fame.

I thought with the new season and the fact that the Broncos added Correll Buckhalter in free agency and Knowshon Moreno in the first round of the 2009 draft would put an end to the idea that Peyton Hillis was the key cog to the Broncos' future.

Hillis hasn't played much on offense this year: merely 12 carries for 54 yards. But whenever the Broncos struggle, you start hearing Bronco Fan bringing up his name in the newspapers and on the radio. Why isn't he playing? Surely Hillis will succeed where Buckhalter and Moreno fail. Josh McDaniels must hate him.

And who knows? Bronco fan might be right. But considering that Moreno and Buckhalter have combined for over 1,400 yards rushing this year, it's hard to imagine Hillis making that big of a difference.

The real reason Bronco Fan loves Hillis? I believe it is because he is the successor to John Lynch (and before him, Ed McCaffrey), as Denver's Favorite White Bronco.

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