Foresight throught Hindsight through Foresight: Did we predict the Broncos playoff loss

Back in December, when everything seemed to be wonderful here in BroncoLand, I wrote an article that nit picked the Broncos. I said that they played down to their opponent’s level, didn’t have a killer instinct, and missed too many field goals.

My article was generally panned because again, the Broncos were flying high! The general perception was that we didn’t play down to our opponents, that Matt Prater would be fine, and that having a killer instinct didn’t matter as long as we kept racking up the W’s. At the time I wrote that, it was foresight. I foresaw trouble brewing. I warned about possible playoff turmoil because of it. Then the playoffs happened, and although I was too depressed to mention it, all I could think about was “I saw this coming!”

Hindsight showed that my foresight was dead on. In the Raven’s playoff game, we certainly played down to our opponent’s level. Yes, I know that they won the Super Bowl so it’s hard to play “down” to the level of the world champ, but lets all be honest here, we were the best team in the NFL and when the Ravens hoisted up that Lombardi Trophy, all any of us could think of was “THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN US!!!”

So my foresight said we’d be playing down to our opponent’s (Ravens) level…. Check
I also stated that Matt Prater needed to screw his head on straight because he missed far too many “easy” field goals. Well, Matt Prater was 0/1 on his FG attempts (he made all 5 PATs). So ……. Check

Finally, killer instinct! This is where I got the most push back. I was accused of being a Patriots lover for heaven’s sake! All I was saying is that we lacked a killer instinct. I said that we didn’t put fear into anybody. I said that we let teams hang on and believe they had a shot. I said that we needed to beat teams down and not let up. Fear did not exist in our stadium. Hope always remained with the Ravens, and what happened?…. I won’t rehash that because the loss is still too painful. But that hope that they had a shot was why they were able to take the game into overtime…. Wait, that isn’t entirely true …. Our LACK OF A KILLER INSTINCT is the reason why they took the game into overtime. We had so little killer instinct that John Fox said we were too “stunned” to take the field! Too stunned?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Are you F’ing kidding me? It is that sort of mentality that got us beat. We had ZERO killer instinct the entire season and especially in the playoffs. I said it would get us beat, and it did. So …….. CHECK

Ok, so simple math says that I went 3/3 in my prognostication. So what does this have to do with the future? Here is some more foresight: The Broncos will have a killer instinct in 2013. Peyton Manning and Adam Gase have a great relationship, and Gase is now his Offensive Coordinator. Gase has stated that we will be faster and more aggressive this coming season. John Elway is loading us up for bear, and realizes that the debacle that happened last year is not acceptable. Elway himself wouldn’t have ever allowed Dan Reeves to pull that kneel down BS, so you can bet your mortgage that he pulled John Fox into his office and said something to the effect of “I’ll have your back publicly, but if you ever pull that crap again, you won’t be here for another game!” Elway didn’t put up with that spineless crap as a player, so he certainly won’t put up with it as the man in charge of the franchise!

My foresight shows greener grass ahead, and no, I’m not talking about Amendment 64. I think the Broncos will score more points this year, have a larger margin of victory, and make it to the Super Bowl. We signed Wes Welker to upgrade the slot position (sorry Stoke, you’ll always be my boy though), shored up our Offensive Line, and aren’t being intimidated by Doom’s garbage. The Broncos are showing the spine and intestinal fortitude during this offseason that leads me to believe that we’ll be mentally stronger next year. If my predictions are even half as accurate as my aforementioned predictions, then the 2013 season will be a Super season indeed.

Lets hear it Bronco fans. It’s time to take a break from the Dumervil Saga and talk about optimism moving forward. Sound off in the comments below.