The Lost Bronco: Week 1

This time last year, I was a die-hard, lifelong Broncos fan celebrating a 41-14 win over the hated Oakland Raiders (Cutler: 16-24 passes for 299 yards and two touchdowns).

This was the time of year when for 16 of 17 weeks, and hopefully a couple more, I faithfully devoted myself to the orange and blue, no matter what.

Last year was fun. We all remember the end, when to secure a playoff berth with three weeks to go, the Broncos needed one win. They didn’t get it; three chances, zero wins, no playoffs.

That was disappointing, but what’s happened since has been devastating.

Last season under head coach Mike Shanahan, the Broncos had one of the most explosive and electrifying offenses in the NFL. The defense, not so much. It ended in disappointment, but at least it was exciting along the way, and very fun to watch.

Shanahan had assembled the pieces for what I still faithfully believe would have become the best offense ever assembled.

He had his franchise quarterback in the 25-year-old arm of Jay Cutler, who threw for 4,526 yards, 25 touchdowns and 18 interceptions in his second full season (ages and stats will be taken from the 2008 season. And yes, I still believe that Jay is an elite franchise quarterback despite his performance Sunday night against the Packers).

He had one of the most productive receiving cores in the NFL with receivers Brandon Marshall (24; 104 catches, 1,265 yards, 6 touchdowns) and rookie Eddie Royal (22; 91 catches, 980 yards, five touchdowns), as well as receiving tight end Tony Scheffler (25; 40 catches, 645 yards and 3 touchdowns in 13 games). Not to mention one of the best slot receivers in the NFL in Brandon Stokely (49 catches, 528 yards and three touchdowns).

He had rookie Peyton Hillis (22), who before getting injured, showed the potential to become one of the most dynamic and efficient versatility full back/tight ends since the Colts’ Dallas Clark.

He had tackle Ryan Clady (22), who had one of the best rookie seasons ever for an offensive linemen (16 games started, 1/2 sack allowed), and tackle Ryan Harris (23), whose sophomore season was nearly as impressive as Clady’s (16 games started, 2 1/2 sacks allowed).

He had an offense that ranked third in the NFL in total yardage and I had a team, an exciting team to watch, a young team to love and grow with, and a proud football tradition to uphold.

It was a young offense, an offense that struggled to score at times and made costly turnovers. Ultimately, it was an average team that didn’t make the playoffs, undone by its pathetic defense and inconsistent offense. But man was it fun to watch, and lets fantasize about what it could have become with a revamped defense and few years for the offense to age together.

To be blunt, that offense was built around Jay Cutler, as we witnessed in Cincinnati last Sunday and have dreaded for some time now. Every other player I listed above is currently on the Broncos active roster. We went from being an elite AFC offense a win away from the playoffs, to a bottom-of-the-barrel soap opera overwhelmingly predicted to win less than six games.

Three days after losing what many had correctly prophesied as a franchise-determining game at the end of last season, Mike Shanahan, who had led our Broncos for 13 years and to the only two Super Bowl victories in franchise history, was fired.

Initially, I understood the decision. I was behind the decision to hire Patriots’ quarterbacks coach (and effective offensive coordinator) Josh McDaniels. McDaniels runs a spread offense that gives its quarterback multiple options with good slot-type receivers (Royal and Stokley). Imagine that, with Cutler and his once-in-a-generation arm, and Marshall “The Yards After Catch (YAC)” Beast.

I don’t want to get into the he-said, he-said blame game because far too much has been said about it, and frankly, it depresses me.

All I’ll say is this. Josh, you are a new, 33-year-old head coach. Here are two rules that should go without saying: 1) Do not start your time by alienating your franchise, pro-bowl quarterback leading to a trade; and 2) if you mess up Rule 1, trade him for ANYbody but Kyle Orton. I don’t care how much Cutler whines or what kind of team-first message you’re trying to instill; do not let those things happen and make it work.

I’ve started this NFL season without an NFL team. I haven’t turned my back on the Broncos; they’ve turned theirs on me. McDaniels traded away more than a franchise player, he has shredded the identity of a proud franchise, and imposed his Patriots doctrine. He robbed me of my team and the future we could’ve had together.

He traded the Broncos for the McPatriots.

I should be celebrating an 87-yard game-winning touchdown deflection in the last 15 seconds against the Bengals. I almost wish the Broncos had lost; these aren’t my McPatriots, plus it was a boring game that they didn’t deserve to win. Take out that one fluke play and you’ve got 215 yards of total offense and two field goals against the Cincinnati Bengals’ defense (Orton: 16-27 passes for 156 yards and no touchdowns).

At the end of the day, I was loyal to an organization, not a jersey. Well the jerseys have stayed the same, as have most of the players, but the McPatriots just aren’t my team, and they’re really just not that good.