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From reading a lot of players quotes and reports from practice, this bye week is exactly what this team needed.
They went 12-4 against a schedule that has me wondering who at the league's schedule writing office the Broncos pissed off! They had an early bye week, played a SNF and TNF game on the same week, played three consecutive road games, followed immediately by back to back games where their opponent was coming of a Thursday game (which translates to two consecutive opponents who had extra time to prepare for them). Combine that with the quality of their opponents, with the Broncos drawing their two biggest opponents on the road (Seahawks and Patriots) as well as facing a stretch toward the end of the season with 5 straight opponents each vying for a playoff spot (weeks 12-16) and going 4-1 in that stretch. Not to mention catching teams like the 49ers before the bottom fell out for them, and the Cardinals before the injury bug fully sunk its teeth into them and obliterating both of those teams.
Between the format of this schedule and the pure happenstance of how good the teams on the slate were, this 12-4 record for the Broncos has got to be one of the more impressive finishes for an NFL team in recent memory. But I believe it took its toll, too. The Broncos did seem to be a team in need of some respite by the time the season ended, 47-14 pasting of the Raiders notwithstanding. This is a team I believe has displayed a lot of moxie and mental toughness.
They are going to need it. The Colts are a relentless team, and won't stop coming at the Broncos until the clock reads 0:00. Should the Broncos beat the Colts, it'll be one of the Patriots or Ravens up next. If the Broncos are going to get to the Super Bowl again, they are going to definitely have to earn it. There are no easy outs the rest of the way.
That's fine. The Broncos haven't had an easy out all season. Why should the playoffs be any different?
From reading a lot of players quotes and reports from practice, this bye week is exactly what this team needed.
They went 12-4 against a schedule that has me wondering who at the league's schedule writing office the Broncos pissed off! They had an early bye week, played a SNF and TNF game on the same week, played three consecutive road games, followed immediately by back to back games where their opponent was coming of a Thursday game (which translates to two consecutive opponents who had extra time to prepare for them). Combine that with the quality of their opponents, with the Broncos drawing their two biggest opponents on the road (Seahawks and Patriots) as well as facing a stretch toward the end of the season with 5 straight opponents each vying for a playoff spot (weeks 12-16) and going 4-1 in that stretch. Not to mention catching teams like the 49ers before the bottom fell out for them, and the Cardinals before the injury bug fully sunk its teeth into them and obliterating both of those teams.
Between the format of this schedule and the pure happenstance of how good the teams on the slate were, this 12-4 record for the Broncos has got to be one of the more impressive finishes for an NFL team in recent memory. But I believe it took its toll, too. The Broncos did seem to be a team in need of some respite by the time the season ended, 47-14 pasting of the Raiders notwithstanding. This is a team I believe has displayed a lot of moxie and mental toughness.
They are going to need it. The Colts are a relentless team, and won't stop coming at the Broncos until the clock reads 0:00. Should the Broncos beat the Colts, it'll be one of the Patriots or Ravens up next. If the Broncos are going to get to the Super Bowl again, they are going to definitely have to earn it. There are no easy outs the rest of the way.
That's fine. The Broncos haven't had an easy out all season. Why should the playoffs be any different?
Not trying to jinx the Broncos, but I'm going to go out on a limb here and predict they will have the largest margin of victory of the 4 games.
People have been writing off Denver particularly because the offense has been dreadful (in Peyton terms) since the Rams game IMO.
I have a feeling w/the week off, they are going to blow out the Colts, and I don't think its Luck's time...yet. If the Broncos were playing the Ravens, I would have a different opinion, but think this is the right opponent for Denver...
I didn't feel that way 2 years ago when the Broncos were playing the Ravens and were a big favorite also. Too many people are either ignoring them or giving the Lombardi trophy to the Pats....
Not trying to jinx the Broncos, but I'm going to go out on a limb here and predict they will have the largest margin of victory of the 4 games.
I hope you're right, my friend. We do have 4 good games lined up this weekend and as I've said repeatedly, no outcome will come as a surprise to me. I picked a score of 28-20 for the Broncos win over the Colts. I'd much prefer a two-score win, but a win by one point is worth as much as a win by 40, so ultimately I just want to win.
One of the reasons I don't think the Broncos blow out the Colts is JDR and his propensity to turn to the prevent, often while there is an obscene amount of time left in a game. If you go through the box scores and look at the scoring plays and combine that with film from the games, you'd be able to tally up over 70 points the Broncos surrendered in prevent defenses during garbage time. The defense is pretty stout in many statistics, but points against is one where the stats are actually very deceptive. They allowed a total of 354 points, for 22.1 ppg. That's decent in today's NFL, I suppose. I can't help but feel they under performed, though. If you filter out the garbage time points scored, or even just 2/3 of them, you've got a defense allowing closer to 19 ppg. Now you can filter them out because the defense had basically checked out of the game by then, but you can't filter them out because they actually happened.
In past years this hasn't bothered me when used once in a while. It seemed it was every game this year, and sometimes allowed teams to come to within 1 score of the Broncos. The Colts, the Chiefs, the Bills, and the Dolphins all come to mind. The Bills game is the one that really made me snap because the Broncos left no question in that game. The final score of 24-17 may look somewhat close, but it was not a close game: the Broncos controlled it from the onset. But JDR went prevent late and allowed a game the Broncos controlled all the way through to come down to an onside kick attempt. After seeing how many scores the Broncos allowed throughout the season in prevents/garbage time, I reached a point where I couldn't take it any more and am ready to see JDR move on.
With all of this in mind, it wouldn't surprise me to see the Broncos leading 28-13 with over 10 minutes in the game and go into a prevent defense. I will be screaming at my television set if that happens, but it won't surprise me at all if it happens.
Broncos will JUST pass the Colts. Pats will annihilate the Broncos (sadly). Seattle will edge out the Pats and Peyton will play one more year and hang it up no matter what happens.
Broncos will JUST pass the Colts. Pats will annihilate the Broncos (sadly). Seattle will edge out the Pats and Peyton will play one more year and hang it up no matter what happens.
From the looks of the game so far at half time today, If Peyton doesn't come out and hit a home run, he needs to hang up the cleats after this game and not embarrass himself further.. I believe his time has passed... It was great while it lasted...
On that 3rd and 5 Peyton had about a mile open in front of him and he goes downfield anyway. As i'm typing this Indy just scored. If DEN loses Elway and Peyton need to sit down and have a serious talk. His arm looks shot. Every deep pass flutters like a butterfly.
Wow, what an uninspired performance. JDR needs to go. I hope his lackluster game on defense didn't coach him out of a job offer in Oakland. I hope whoever we bring in to replace him believes in aggressive defense. They looked downright soft in this playoff game. No excuses: They were healthy and rested. There weren't any controversial calls, in a playoffs where complaining about the refs seems the fashionable thing to do.
It wouldn't surprise me even if Fox is on the hot seat after this game. Horrible game. This team wasn't ready to play and it showed against a more motivated opponent who actually appeared interested in playing a game of football.
Good luck to the surviving teams the rest of the way. And regardless of how disappointing this team is right now, it's my team. Go Broncos!
This team's a train wreck right now. D-line is getting stomped by an offense without a running game. Manning has looked like garbage all day. Offensive game planning has been just that - offensive. Honestly as a Bronco fan I can't go through another year of Manning. He's the biggest tease in NFL history. I sincerely hope he hangs it up because it's not gonna be any better next year.
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