Denver Broncos will still go 13-3.

2007 was a dark place for Denver. I hope that I never write about it again in this context, at this point it's been brought up again and again, fans now bat it around lacking the tact it deserves. The night after the Denver Broncos lost the opportunity to go to the playoffs against San Francisco, Darrent Williams was murdered, gangland style and died in Javon Walker's arms.

Barely a moment to recuperate from the fact that they wouldn't be making the playoffs and the 23-26 overtime loss to the San Francisco 49ers- and now this... A man amongst the 60 plus of them that had survived the OTA's, the month long hell-hole known as Training Camp; The five to six practices a week, a man who had rose above his age, above his perceived talent level and who had played so well as a rookie in Champ Bailey's shadow that Denver had almost made it to the Super Bowl- was gone. Forever.

Echoes of his smile, Texas accent and young raw talent were everywhere. The death of a friend is haunting enough, the death of a team mate, a fellow soldier is down right devastating- shaken to the core. Every single one of them reminded of their own mortality. Then, after not even a moment to catch their breath- Damien Nash, collapses during a basketball game. Two of their sixty, gone.

How must Denver go on? A month from the time they must reconvene and face the questions when they yet to even come to grips to find the answers. Jay Cutler, who will start, who almost got them to the playoffs- a rookie by any standards, untested and unproven. The new Defensive Coordinator, the new system, the new back with a history of trouble making...

Finally July, training camp, then they all started dropping like flies, no Rod Smith, no Ebenezer Ekuban, no Ben Hamilton, Al Wilson's gone and DJ Williams is going to play middle and we've got Dre Bly, but even the best corner in the league can't fill the gap that the loss of Williams left.

More season, more injuries, seriously how the hell were they supposed to do well? Walker's gone, Travis Henry's not clean, we've got Cutler running for his life and now Tom Nalen's gone... Oh and Bailey, our corner's leading the team in tackles...

Really? 2007??? Really? That's how you want to judge us? That's what you want to give Mike Shanahan credit for? So called experts would like to point out that we can't stop the run, nor the pass rush, guess we can't take Brett Favre into overtime or knock Minnesota out of the playoffs, beat Pittsburgh and Jay Cutler can't go head to head with Vince Young and show him who deserved to stay in Tennessee. Let Philip Rivers talk, because seriously, look at his numbers, compared to the second year Cutler, that's all he is good at, talking. The San Diego Chargers may very well be favorites to go to the Super Bowl this season, but that's never stopped Denver from knocking them on their ass...

13-3 folks, follow me.