Wednesday, Oct. 19, 1:31 p.m.I may be considered the ultimate skeptical fan that epitomizes the post-Elway era and draws the ire of Jake Plummer on a near weekly basis. With all apologies to sensitive members of Bronco Nation and our bearded bandit under center, the onus is on the fans to keep skepticism high and expectations low. Sunday, Oct. 23, 3:48 p.m.I called my buddy Barnes early in the third quarter to rehash the first half as we do on a weekly basis. Toward the end of the conversation, Barnes said, “Man, it would be sweet to be at least 6-2 going into the bye.” I replied, “It sure would, but let’s go ahead and wrap this game up first.” The scoreboard at the time supported our confidence. It read “Broncos 20, New York Giants 10.” Sunday, Oct. 23, 5:33 p.m.Barnes called at the conclusion of the game, immediately saying something to the effect of, “What the @#$! happened, man? That was pathetic.” “I don’t know,” I replied. “All I do know is that championship teams do not lose games like that.”The purpose of this narrative is not to endorse my own forecasting capabilities, nor is it to introduce myself as the modern day Nostradamas.If you seek further bold and daring predictions into the future to support your gambling habits, you’ll have to look elsewhere. Nonetheless, I would fail you as a journalist if I did not continue by summarizing the scope of the remainder of the first draft of this column. In short, it was headed down a path overwhelmed with cliche, where I would convince myself and the reader that this year’s 5-1 version of the Men of September/early October was different than past editions, rooted in a dynamic defense of playmakers not seen in this town since the Carter administration. In the end, I fell into the “this year is different” trap, the annual expectation that generally coincides in Bronco Nation with the start of flu season. Unlike the 2005 strand of the influenza virus, the vaccination for this year’s delusions of grandeur may be the strongest yet. On the heels of a triumphant victory over the defending Super Bowl champions, the Broncos succumbed to a major trap game at the hands of the underrated Giants, whose newly competent offense gave the Broncos fits for the last 10 minutes of Sunday’s game. As Barnes and I discussed on the phone, the Broncos’ meltdown Sunday was not the mark of a championship contender. Some other ailments that championship-caliber teams do not suffer from, in no particular order: Failing to gain first downs in two critical fourth quarter third down situations. Converting either almost surely would have eliminated any glimmer of hope in the Giants’ 13-point fourth quarter comeback. Attempting to convert said third downs by running passing plays to your running back that is lined up at flanker in an empty backfield formation. If the running back in question has one major flaw, it appears to be pass catching. His name will not be revealed, but it starts with a “B” and rhymes with the afterlife alternative to heaven. Allowing a second-year quarterback, in this case Eli Manning, to blossom into a late-game maestro before the collective eyes of your renowned defense. Despite his enormous upside, Manning had yet to establish himself as a transcendent late-game quarterback. After his masquerade as a Elway-Montana hybrid on Sunday, clearly that is no longer the case. He failed to emulate the emotion or resolve demonstrated by past champions in dire straights. I cannot recall a collapse of this magnitude for the 1998 Broncos or 2003 Patriots.Other than that, and hundreds of other reasons I could have generated given more space, Sunday was not a joyous day for all in Bronco Nation. Next Sunday will hopefully yield more joy in Denver, as the Broncos face off with the Philadelphia Eagles in what may be to the most pivotal Broncos game in seven years. After all, the ring associated with a 6-2 record at the season’s midpoint has far more joyous connotations than 5-3.