"What in the world have the Broncos done?" This is a thought that has gone through my head daily since December 30, 2008. This was the horrific date when this whole Broncos debacle began. The date when Mike Shanahan was fired and a date that has changed the lives of so many Broncos fans. Many Denver fans wanted this to happen all year long, but as we soon would learn, be careful what you wish for.
It's quite ironic that the firing date was one day before the new year because as we would soon find out, being a Bronco fan in 2008 was completely different than what we will experience in 2009. The next glorious move by Pat Bowlen was to hire a then 32 year old coach, who was from a supposed unstoppable Bellicheck line of coaches. Then Mr. Ego decided to try and trade for the "unbelievable" Matt Cassel(sarcasm). Now we most likely will lose Brandon Marshall and go on to a very difficult season. We all know the story and hate to relive it, but I never had a chance to give my two cents. Well, here goes....
I truly could not have dreamed a worse scenario. If you told me at the start of last season that we would lose our 2 time Super Bowl winning coach, our star quarterback and hire a 32 year old coach that looks like a younger version of Jon Favreau, I would have laughed at you. I could go on about this for pages, but it all comes down to one decision. Pat Bowlen firing Mike Shanahan. Sure we all thought Shanahan's time might be up, but why not have a good idea of who you are going to hire before you fire somebody. We looked at many coaches and settled with a 32 year old unproven coach. Josh McDaniels is an egotistical know it all that let his ego run Jay Cutler (and soon Brandon Marshall) out of town. I strongly dislike Josh McDaniels, but can't fault him for taking a great opportunity that only few 30 somethings have seen. I can however fault him for running Jay out of town and single-handedly destroying everything we have built as a franchise.
You may think Jay Cutler is a baby and a whiner, but all McDaniels had to do was pick up the phone and tell Jay that he was sorry for trying to trade for a highly overrated Matt Cassel. All he had to do was swallow his pride for one conversation and tell Jay he was our man. It all came down to this. But one piece of the story that we always forget is the fact that Pat Bowlen was the man who hired this young coach. I appreciate what Bowlen has done for Denver and the two Super Bowls he has won, but he made the worst decision of his career. So I hate to say it but the same man who built the Broncos and gave us John Elway has destroyed that same franchise. I'm strongly believe that more fingers should be pointed at our illustrious Broncos owner.
I'm trying to be positive about the Kyle Orton experiment, but it pained me to see Jay Cutler play against our team last night. Every Bronco fan that booed, booed because they were secretly hurting inside. We all may not admit it, but we all secretly or not secretly wish that the Vanderbilt man with so much talent was back in a Broncos uniform. I'm afraid that no matter how positive our outlook on this season is, we will be hurting as Bronco fans for a long time. Bowlen can try to make things right and admit his mistake but it will take time. I hope that I am completely wrong and will eat my words, but I'm afraid that my worst fears have became a reality and the Broncos are now "just another below average team." I guess there are always the Nuggets and Rockies to look to for hope.
It's quite ironic that the firing date was one day before the new year because as we would soon find out, being a Bronco fan in 2008 was completely different than what we will experience in 2009. The next glorious move by Pat Bowlen was to hire a then 32 year old coach, who was from a supposed unstoppable Bellicheck line of coaches. Then Mr. Ego decided to try and trade for the "unbelievable" Matt Cassel(sarcasm). Now we most likely will lose Brandon Marshall and go on to a very difficult season. We all know the story and hate to relive it, but I never had a chance to give my two cents. Well, here goes....
I truly could not have dreamed a worse scenario. If you told me at the start of last season that we would lose our 2 time Super Bowl winning coach, our star quarterback and hire a 32 year old coach that looks like a younger version of Jon Favreau, I would have laughed at you. I could go on about this for pages, but it all comes down to one decision. Pat Bowlen firing Mike Shanahan. Sure we all thought Shanahan's time might be up, but why not have a good idea of who you are going to hire before you fire somebody. We looked at many coaches and settled with a 32 year old unproven coach. Josh McDaniels is an egotistical know it all that let his ego run Jay Cutler (and soon Brandon Marshall) out of town. I strongly dislike Josh McDaniels, but can't fault him for taking a great opportunity that only few 30 somethings have seen. I can however fault him for running Jay out of town and single-handedly destroying everything we have built as a franchise.
You may think Jay Cutler is a baby and a whiner, but all McDaniels had to do was pick up the phone and tell Jay that he was sorry for trying to trade for a highly overrated Matt Cassel. All he had to do was swallow his pride for one conversation and tell Jay he was our man. It all came down to this. But one piece of the story that we always forget is the fact that Pat Bowlen was the man who hired this young coach. I appreciate what Bowlen has done for Denver and the two Super Bowls he has won, but he made the worst decision of his career. So I hate to say it but the same man who built the Broncos and gave us John Elway has destroyed that same franchise. I'm strongly believe that more fingers should be pointed at our illustrious Broncos owner.
I'm trying to be positive about the Kyle Orton experiment, but it pained me to see Jay Cutler play against our team last night. Every Bronco fan that booed, booed because they were secretly hurting inside. We all may not admit it, but we all secretly or not secretly wish that the Vanderbilt man with so much talent was back in a Broncos uniform. I'm afraid that no matter how positive our outlook on this season is, we will be hurting as Bronco fans for a long time. Bowlen can try to make things right and admit his mistake but it will take time. I hope that I am completely wrong and will eat my words, but I'm afraid that my worst fears have became a reality and the Broncos are now "just another below average team." I guess there are always the Nuggets and Rockies to look to for hope.
Agreed Casey. McDaniels even tried to look like his former boss with his beat up sweatshirt and cocky attitude. Go Rockies.
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