One year almost to the day and for some reason I feel like nothing has changed.

Well, lots has changed in my life, but the Broncos and Broncos fans alike are stairing at dCB)jCB vu.

Fans that live and die for football can hardly stomach such results?

The Broncos spent much of the off-season rebuilding a defense that was in much need of stopping the pass.

But according to Mike Shannahan, you can’t stop a guy like Peyton Manning or the Indianapolis Colts offense, you can only slow it down.

However, I don’t consider 360 yards of passing in the first half slowing a team down.

One year and numerous changes to the Broncos defense and the team finds itself in the exact same position; a first-round loss in the playoffs.

The thing with the playoffs is that there is no thinking about next week’s game plan, the season is over.

The only thing to do after a playoff loss is go home and think about how to change a team next season.

Last year we saw the departure of running back Clinton Portis and the acquisition of corner back Champ Bailey and safety John Lynch.

All decisions to improve a lacking defense.

The Broncos have traditionally had great success at the running back position and probably thought that would continue.

They couldn’t have sent Portis on his way because he only managed to run about 1,500 yards during the season, right?

Lynch and Bailey both did what they could to help the team, but apparenlty it wasn’t enough to stop Manning, who is not only having a career year, but breaking many of Dan Marino’s passing records in the process.

Because the Broncos didn’t have to worry about facing the Pittsburgh Steelers last weekend, they will probably spend the next few weeks and months thinking about their next big move.

Who is it going to be next?

Jake Plummer just signed a contract extension, so changing quarterbacks isn’t really an option.

Plus I don’t think Manning is on the open market.

The Broncos continue to have luck with their running game and special teams hasn’t given them too many problems.

Will they look to once again further improve the defense or is it finally time to look at the men making the play calls?

Online polls asking which area the Broncos need to improve upon are showing that pass rush is coming in as the number one change while coaching is not far behind.

Do we really think Plummer will throw better if he has more time?

He’s one of the best quarterbacks I’ve seen throw on the run and make plays out of nothing and out of the pocket.

What seems apparent is that next year the Broncos will have to stop offenses from passing 360 yards in a half against their defense and keep offenses from scoring 49 points in a playoff game.

While we may argue over the best way to improve a team that can’t seem to get out of the first round of the playoffs, the one thing that is obvious is that no Bronco player or fan wants to wake up one year from now feeling like it is Groundhog Day all over again.