“It’s been a long time…shouldn’t have left you without a dope beat to step to.”

Blog, oh blog where have you been? I have heard the cries of the people, been convicted by my lack of participation recently and so here I am … back to write another post.

For those of who recognized the song that i quoted in the title of this post…you are my true friends.

For my first post back in well over a month I thought I would fill the white space with something very near and dear to my heart. Broncos Football!

Yesterday was maybe the perfect day in Denver. The skies were relatively clear, the sun was out and the temperature hovered around 65 degrees all day. Fall is in the air and that of course means that football season has arrived. As a family attended our first high school football game of the season and what a glorious event it was.

Unlike people who had the privilege of attending a large state university that had a football team, John Brown University did not field a football team so I do not have any deep ties to any college football teams. My football allegiance lies with the Broncos. Let me be clear: I am a big fan of the broncos. I grew up going to training camp, collecting autographs, watching games on tv with my dad, throwing the classic Bronco brick at the tv whenever the Broncos stunk, which during my youth was quite often. The multiple trips to the Super Bowl, only to get wiped off the field did not change my affinity, it only strengthened my resolve to be a fan through thick and thin. One of my first gift memories, actually was a ceramic lamp that my grandma made me that was painted to resemble the great Broncos linebacker Randy Gradishar.

In honor of the start to the Broncos season, here is my prediction for how the season will play out, game by game. Get ready for Monday night at the Raiders!

week 1 – @ Oakland Raiders – Win. Are you kidding me? Who won’t be the Raiders this year?! Yes I know that they have McFadden and he will be great. But they have no one else on offense this year. Playing the Raiders twice each year amounts to 2 guaranteed wins.

week 2 – San Diego – Loss. San Diego is the class of the division. Even at home, the Broncos defense is so far from being the Orange Crush that the chargers offense will roll all over them.

week 3 – New Orleans – Loss. The Saints will rebound from a strange year last year and be the dynamic offense that marched through the playoffs 2 years ago. Again, without a pass rush the Broncos don’t stand a chance, even if Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall are the real deal.

week 4 – @ Kansas City – Win. The Chiefs are sorry. They are rebuilding and still a few years away from contending.

week 5 – Tampa Bay – Loss. Their defense is consistently strong and it will stop the Broncos offense more than the Denver D will stop their offense. It will be close, but the Bucs win this one.

week 6 – Jacksonville – Win. Denver won’t lose 2 in a row at home, although they will give up a bunch of yards to the Jaguars offense.

week 7 – @ New England – Loss. It’s the Patriots need I say more?

week 8 – bye. This is much needed as the Broncos will need to recover from the butt-kicking that the Patriots inflicted the week before.

week 9 – Miami – Win. It’s the Dolphins, they are even more sorry than the Raiders.

week 10 – @ Cleveland – Loss. While the Broncos have historically had the Browns number (remember The Drive?) Cleveland is too talented offensively and they will get the win at home.

week 11 – @ Atlanta – Win. Another cupcake on the schedule. Denver historically doesn’t play real well in dome stadiums, but the Falcons are a long way from being competitive so the Broncos are a safe pick in this game.

week 12 – Oakland – Win. A repeat of the week 1 game, this time in Denver. Like I said before, playing the Raiders over the past couple of years is a guaranteed win.

week 13 – @ NY Jets – Win. Even with Brett Favre I like Denver in this one.

week 14 – Kansas City – Win. See my comments above in week 4.

week 15 – @ Carolina – Loss. Carolina will be playing for their playoff lives and they are historically strong in the running game. Denver’s front 7 won’t be able to hang especially on the road.

week 16 – Buffalo – Win. Buffalo is decent but Denver will pull off the win at home.

week 17 – @ San Diego – Loss. Denver will close out the 2008-9 campaign with a loss at the Chargers, even if Chargers rest their starters for the majority of the game in preparation for the playoffs.

Total: 9 wins 7 losses. Without 10 wins in the very competitive AFC the Broncos will miss the playoffs once again.

There you have it, my predictions for the Broncos this season. Bring on Monday night football!

What is your prediction for the Broncos?