Think of all those trees squandered on NFL preseason magazines. There were stacks of sports pages, libraries of videotapes, enough radio talk to fill a hot-air balloon festival — all devoted to how the 2008 season was going to play out.
Then the NFL plays one week, Tom Brady goes down for the season, and all that’s crystal clear is nobody knows Derrick Dockery (Buffalo Bills guard) about anything.
“Injuries affect this game so much. You never know what can happen,” said Broncos receiver Brandon Stokley.
The greatest seismic shift from mighty to meek, weak to strong, occurred in the AFC. The powerful New England Patriots lost the great Brady to a season-ending knee injury. After the Patriots, the AFC’s next three contenders, as printed in those suddenly obsolete preseason issues, were the San Diego Chargers, Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars.
All lost their openers. All are dealing with significant injuries to key players.
When the Chargers and Broncos meet today at Invesco Field, it will not be two-time defending AFC West champion San Diego that has a chance to take a two-game division lead two weeks into the season, but Denver, which is coming off a two-year absence from the playoffs.
Anyone’s game now
Everything fans have read, seen or heard about the 2008 season appears to be a wasted exercise.
“This summer, I was telling everybody, my family members, that this is going to be a year of a team that nobody is expecting to win to go out there and do well,” said Broncos cornerback Dre Bly. “And all the teams that everybody was expecting to do well? I just didn’t think they were going to dominate this year. I thought it was going to be well-rounded, a well-matched year.”
During those hot evenings around the grill, Bly might have been more Norman Vincent Peale than Nostradamus. He had reason to convince himself the AFC would turn upside down this year because the Broncos were largely projected to have another mediocre, nonplayoff season.
ESPN’s training camp power rankings had the Broncos at No. 22. The Broncos opened the season by destroying the Oakland Raiders 41-14. The Buffalo Bills are on their fourth head coach since 2000. Their combined eight-year record in this decade: 53-75. In contrast was the Bills’ opening opponent, the Seattle Seahawks. They had won four consecutive NFC West titles and made the playoffs five consecutive seasons, averaging better than 10 victories a year.
The Bills crushed the Seahawks 34-10.
The New York Jets were 4-12 last year. They have Brett Favre this year and a seemingly realistic possibility of overtaking the 16-0 Patriots for the AFC East title.
“I remember when I was with the Bucs,” said Broncos running back Michael Pittman, who is in his 11th season. “One year we won the Super Bowl (in 2002), the next year we didn’t even make the playoffs. We were projected to win the NFC South again that year. In the NFL, every year is different. One team that does not make the playoffs one year can be in contention to win a Super Bowl the next year.”
It’s true. Parity has existed in the NFL pretty much since coach Jimmy Johnson could no longer stand working for Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones in the mid-1990s. Of the eight teams that played in the conference championship games from 2005-06, five didn’t make the playoffs the next year.
But rarely, if ever, have so many projected contenders toppled at the start.
“That’s a really bad way to predict how the rest of the season is going to play out,” said Broncos tight end Nate Jackson. “I mean, the Chargers started off 1-3 last year. We can’t really worry about all those other teams, whether they’re predicted to be good and ended up not being or whatever. We just need to worry about going out there and putting up a performance we can proud of.”
One step of season’s journey
Before Broncos fans start thinking about early February travel plans to Tampa, Fla., there could be a reasoned explanation for the Week 1 developments in the AFC.
“I’m stealing the phrase John Lynch coined, but is a belief of mind: ‘The preseason doesn’t count, but it does matter,’ ” said Mark Schlereth, the former Super Bowl-winning guard for the Broncos who is now an ESPN analyst. “When you sit players during the preseason, or your players don’t play with intensity during the preseason, you can’t flip a switch.”
Colts quarterback Peyton Manning didn’t play in the preseason because of a knee injury and appeared confused in the opener against the Chicago Bears. Brady didn’t play in the preseason. Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson hasn’t played in the preseason for years. Not so coincidentally, the Chargers often start slowly.
Meanwhile, the Broncos’ season- opening performance was simply an extension of the preseason. The Jay Cutler-led offense has been clicking since the second drive of its preseason opener at Houston.
Just because Broncos coach Mike Shanahan had his team ready in August doesn’t mean the AFC’s projected elite won’t catch up by October — or that the Chargers won’t draw even today.
“We’ve got to just worry about the Broncos and not worry about all that other stuff,” said Broncos defensive end Elvis Dumervil. “It was a good first week. We played a good game. Good win. But we’ve got a long way to go.”
Mike Klis: 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com
Gaining ground
Broncos.
QB Jay Cutler already had Brandon Marshall and TE Tony Scheffler. Now, he adds Eddie Royal? Defense might not be great, but it won’t have to be with this offense.
Jets.
Added not only Brett Favre, but Alan Faneca, Kris Jenkins and Calvin Pace. With Favre in and Brady out, Jets have AFC East’s best QB since Vinny Testaverde circa 2000.
Bills.
Defense is no fluke. Had the most impressive AFC win in Week 1. Bills got two touchdowns from special teams in a 34-10 rout of NFC West favorite Seattle.
Losing momentum
Patriots.
Even before losing Tom Brady, Pats were getting old. Went winless in preseason, needed a first-and-goal stop to defeat horrific Chiefs, and their new quarterback didn’t even start in college.
Colts.
The biggest problem isn’t QB Peyton Manning looking mortal after missing the preseason to recover from knee surgery. The problem is three new starters in the interior offensive line and a defense that again can’t stop the run.
Chargers.
Again, all focus is on season-ending knee injury to star Shawne Merriman.
