Collapse is Complete for Broncos in '08

The Broncos 2008 season ended in dissapointing fashion on Sunday Night. The Broncos got whipped by the San Diego Chargers 52-21 and finished 8-8 and out of the playoffs. Denver led the AFC West the whole season, only to see San Diego come back from a 4-8 record and win the division. It was the biggest collapse in Denver history, and in the annals of the NFL. The Broncos were 8-5 and SD was 5-8. All Denver needed was 1 win or 1 Charger loss and they would have clinched the West-it didn't happen and the Broncos will have a long offseason to think about it. My thoughts are wide ranging and obviously I am dissapointed but let take on some issues. First, as far as the game with SD goes, you could see this coming and it was no surprise that SD buried Denver. The defense couldn't stop the Charger offense and the game was never in doubt. The Chargers are better then the Broncos and Denver's defense cannot matchup with San Diego's offense-simple as that. Second, Mike Shanahan should not be let go as Head Coach. Who would replace him? You're not gonna get Bill Cowher. You don't want Holmgren or Mariucci. Why take a chance with the hot assistant (Spagnuolo, Jason Garrett, Josh McDaniels)? The hot assistant who has no HC experience has not worked out lately(Crennel, Mangini etc..). The bottom line is Shanny is a good coach (not Great anymore and certainly not the Mastermind) and if he has talent he can win. He needs help in the personnel department, and I'm not counting "Yes" men like the Goodmans and Brian Xanders. He needs a real personnel guy-Michael Lombardi or Bill Polian types come to mind. Shanny needs help in this area big time. Third, Bob Slowik must go. When you give up over 450 points and the worst total since 1963, you don't deserve to be the Defensive Coordinator. Denver blew a chance to bring in a big time DC last year and they are paying for it. Fuck it, bring back Greg Robinson. Next, we need to draft a defensive player with our first three picks. We need a legit MLB, a Safety, and a defensive tackle who can stuff the run. We need to get better fundamentally on defense, and we need to get personnel that flys to the ball and can create some turnovers. The bottom line is that our players on defense flat out stink (Excluding Champ Bailey). We need better personnel. The Broncos have to get better on defense and the only place to go from here is up. If they improve a little bit in 2 areas-Takeaways and 3rd downs- then their defense will improve in '09. Next, Prater must go. He is awful, and we need a new, reliable kicker. Finally, this season was disappointing and ended terribly. It is the first season that Denver literally drove me to drink every Sunday. It will be hard to get over this year, but there is some hope. We a good young QB, talented Wideouts, a very good O-Line ,and some options at RB. 2009 will be a huge year for the Denver organization. The preparation for 2009 starts today. It is always the darkest before the dawn.