Denver did not beat the Cowboys, the Cowboys beat themselves

Let's just start by saying that if Dallas possessed a capable kicker the Broncos would be 8-3 right now. Cundiff missed a chip shot, and if he hadn't Ron Dayne wouldn't have gotten his opportunity.

The offense played very poorly. In regulation they were only able to amass 243 yards of total offense. The Broncos were only able to rush for 89 yards over four quarters, Plummer was able to pass for only 155 yards as well.

I also enjoyed Shanahan and Kubiak deciding to abandon the run with a lead in the second quarter, just having Jake go out there and play gunslinger on his way to throwing an interception.

But probably the best decision Shanahan made was when he decided to challenge the spot of the ball on a meaningless first down by Marion Barber. Even if Shanahan had won the challenge Dallas would be facing a fourth and about the length of a football. Maybe if they hadn't already used a challenge you can accept that, but when the potential gain is that negligible and the risk is not having a challenge for more than two quarters you cannot make that decision. (I really don't care if there wasn't a play that needed to be challenged for the rest of the game. Shanahan does not possess a crystal ball that told him that. We call the fact that Shanahan didn't get called out on his stupid decision "luck".)

So, without Champ Bailey's amazing play and without Billy Cundiff not being able to live up to his job description Denver would have lost.

Mike Shanahan is supposedly an offensive "mastermind". He sure as hell didn't look like it out there.

I'm sure the comments will be full of "DUDE WE WON, SHUT UP!" and other incredibly articulate points.

The point is that if the Broncos play that way against Indianapolis, Cincinnati, or Pittsburgh they will get stomped on. The regular season is only half the battle.

You have got to be kidding me

I get mail from time to time from you guys. Most of the messages I get that argue against me, while being completely wrong and illogical, are mostly civil.

But Joel Braun dh3069@gmail.com decided to go for the gold in both the "making stupid arguments" and "crossing the line" departments.

Joel ended one of his messages to me with the following:

Anytime you want to find out who I am, give me a call. 303-382-**** Hell, I'll meet you outside of Invesco so Mike Shanahan can see someone on his side give a beating like the Broncos on the Raiders.

Oh, he also compared me to Hitler in that one. I'm not sure if that's really his number or not, so I'm going to star out the last four digits just in case.

CLICK HERE to read the exchange that sparked this ridiculousness. In it, Joel struggles to formulate a coherent thought and I embarass him in the exchange. It is quite entertaining.

A few points

1) The team is 8-2. I'm glad we are, but the regular season is truly only half of the campaign. 1997 was the most clear indicator of this. 2003 and 2004 were the most recent though not as severe.

2) This team is really no different than the 2004 team. In fact, the 2004 team had a better back lining up for them in Reuben Droughns and a defense that gave up less yards per game. So how was it that that team nosedived halfway through the season and this one hasn't?

3) This team still has to prove that it can beat good teams on the road.