It’s one big mirage, the NFL preseason.
Or is it?
On one hand, you’ve got the Colts, who didn’t win a single game in the 2006 preseason. As I recall, it didn’t exactly crush their hopes and dreams.
Then you’ve got LaDainian Tomlinson, who hasn’t even played in the preseason, and Larry Johnson and Asante Samuel, who consider the preseason so important they just reported to their teams’ camps.
Makes you think the preseason is meaningless, doesn’t it?
The problem is, you can’t be sure. We don’t know if the Broncos’ issues in the preseason will go away once the real season starts, or if they’re an omen, an indication that this team is in trouble.
All we can be sure of is that the Broncos, with the season opener less than two weeks away, aren’t where they want to be. Case in point: Given the defense’s inability to get off the field – Denver has allowed 22 third-down conversions in 45 attempts – it’s difficult to envision the Broncos allowing 44 points in their first six games, as they did last season.
As Mike Shanahan said Saturday night, “We’ve got a lot of work to do. As you can see, we’re not there yet. But we’ll get there.”
We’ll see. All those other teams are trying to get better, too.
