Quote:
Originally Posted by fy10fyr
San Diego I'll give you, but the Patriots? Really?
Tom Brady is right up there with Peyton and others in the GOAT conversation, but, to call the Patriots offense "potent" is a Stretch. They are very good, but they were by no means potent in the AFC CG.
Gronk missed half the season, and still finished #3 in receiving yards, less than 100 yds behind #2. Once Denver botttled up Blount it was over.
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Yes, the Patriots have (had) a potent offense. They were the second highest scoring team in the AFC, I believe tied for third in the league. Brady had over 4300 passing yards, and Blount was riding a 3 game streak in which he had gained 430 or so yards on the ground. He got 6 in the contest with the Broncos. The Patriots may not have had the explosive offense they had last season or the year before, but it was still pretty darn good. Better than the Seahawks offense.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rush99
shutdown???? Chargers scored 17 and the Pats 16, I hardly call that shutouts.
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Words mean things, skippy.
Shut down in sports generally refers to being able to control the game in a decisive manner. Shutout is to hold an opponent scoreless. Go back and see if you can figure out which on I used and then you'll know why you just made yourself look silly.
For what it's worth, the Chargers were riding a 5 game wave averaging 28.8 PPG and were held scoreless (that would be shutout) until the Broncos lost Chris Harris, who had locked K. Allen out of the game. Rivers was able to exploit Harris' replacement. This is not just my opinion: it has been well documented by numerous sports analysts and even Rivers himself acknowledged the Broncos losing Harris opened up some opportunities. To hold the Chargers to 17 was pretty impressive.
The Patriots were riding a 5 game wave averaging 33 PPG. The Broncos held them to 3 points before going into a prevent. The majority of the Patriots yards gained and 13 of the points they scored came with the Broncos in the prevent. I think most people who watched that game and have a shred of football IQ would say the Broncos defense shut down the Patriots offense. Holding that offense to 16 would have been a solid accomplishment even if they hadn't scored the majority of their points against a prevent.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rush99
Broncos max score was 26 points.
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Right. But we're talking about defense, so...what's your point?
But I'll indulge you because I think you probably just looked at the scores and didn't actually watch the games. Look at the box scores at TOP in both the Broncos playoff games. It's at 35+ minutes per game. The Broncos played ball control offense, which results in fewer opportunities to score. This is basic football knowledge, not rocket science. The Broncos had two scoring drives against the Patriots that both took over 7 minutes. One of them went 95 or so yards. So you can't just look at the point totals and assume it tells the whole story.
[quote=Rush99;33108023]
are the Broncos defense in the same league as the 49ers?.........[/QUOTE/
Yes. It's called the National Football League.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rush99
if Seattle scored 23 points on the 49ers, what makes you think they can't score 23 or more on the Broncos defense?....especially with Percy Harvin playing in the S.B.
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I have never once claimed the Seahawks couldn't score 23 on the Broncos. I said it is reasonable to believe the Broncos can control that Seahawks offense after seeing the way they have put the lid on their past four opponents, including the Chargers and Patriots, both better offenses than the Broncos.
It's funny how you'll ask me this, but you won't ask yourself if the 49ers can score 17 on the Seahawks defense with the Seahawks playing at home, what evidence do you have to suggest the Broncos, a FAR better offense than the 49ers, can't score more than 17 on a neutral field?
(FWIW: This line of questioning is inherently flawed. Every game takes on its own dynamic. You can't just look at two team's performances against other opponents and based on comparisons to those opponents draw conclusions about a head to head matchup. The league doesn't work that way. I ask you this question because this simplistic level of football analysis seems to be where you are stuck, and I am taking your points at face value and asking if you've considered the other side to your own argument.)