This was written Thursday night, but a busy schedule kept me from typing it up and doing the requisite editing.

The Broncos look good. They’ve sorted their problems at wide receiver, the offensive line is will be making big holes for whichever running back ends up in the starting slot of Mike Shanahan’s Great Running Back Machine, and the starting defense has played reasonably well. It all should add up to the Broncos competing for the division championship again. Truly, the Broncos have one of the most consistently good teams in the league, with a few dips into honest-to-God greatness, since Shanahan took the coaching position over a decade ago; there is little reason to imagine that the fans will have to struggle with a sub-par team this year.

But that isn’t to say that the Broncos will be up there with the elite this year. They will be competitive, they will probably make the playoffs, but this is still a team trying to pull together loose ends. They have a series of running backs, none of whom looks to be a future Hall of Fame player, but one of which will rush for over 1,000 yards this season. They have a good starting defense, but I question their depth when the almost-inevitable injuries strike at some point this season. They have a quarterback who had a brilliant season capped off by a really tough day in a disappointing loss in the playoffs.

Are they better than their mediocre pre-season might indicate?

I don’t think so. I think they are one of the better teams in the league and that they will leave fans frustrated through a tough season--never dropping out of contention, but never managing to put much distance between themselves and the mass of teams in the middle. That isn’t bad, it’s just hardly the thing of legends.

Now, for some thoughts about the players. (Remember, written Thursday--so some of this might fall into the “Duh” category.)

Goodbye to Bradlee Van Pelt and Ron Dayne. BVP has a slender chance to stick with the team, but given Dayne’s near-complete shut out in the preseason it would be shocking if he made it to the final roster. I like both players, I’ll miss both players, and I hope they find homes on other teams.

David Kirkus, though, is here to stay. Good moves, good hands, great work ethic--I don’t think anyone will ever mistake him for Rod Smith, but these are the characteristics that Shanahan likes in his wide receivers.

And, no surprise to anyone after watching these early games, Jay Cutler looks like a special player. He’s poised, makes smart decisions, shows a strong arm, and does a good job shrugging off his mistakes (which, for athletes, is an important skill). It’s impossible to tell what a rookie’s career is going to look like, but Cutler has talent and it will be fun to watch him grow into the position.