New England at Denver AFCCG pre game thread.

robertweathers said:

Pats finished 6th in drop %.....Stinkos finished 13th.

Team Dropped Passes: 2015 NFL Season

#protectpeyton

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Well, that site has been known to be inaccurate. I believe they only credited LaFell with like 3 after the Jets game.

PFF had them ranked 1st alongside the Raiders, in terms of amount dropped:

Percentage is probably a better indication but I'm not subscribed to PFF to check

The Brandon Five said:

I am still amazed that Dontari Poe wound up with zero tackles.

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It helps that we almost never ran.

TBR said:

Well, that site has been known to be inaccurate. I believe they only credited LaFell with like 3 after the Jets game.

PFF had them ranked 1st alongside the Raiders, in terms of amount dropped:

Percentage is probably a better indication but I'm not subscribed to PFF to check

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PFF is also known to be inaccurate. But we all know the media is just making excuses and pushing a narrative.

TBR said:

Well, that site has been known to be inaccurate. I believe they only credited LaFell with like 3 after the Jets game.

PFF had them ranked 1st alongside the Raiders, in terms of amount dropped:

Percentage is probably a better indication but I'm not subscribed to PFF to check

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OK good info. I go by what I Google.

Sincerely,

Ben Volin.

A Defiant Goose said:

Can somebody talk me down a little and give me a few reasons why I shouldn't be so confident about NE winning Sunday? I really have never felt better about this team in the AFCCG before, again aside from last year. It makes me uncomfortable feeling so confident

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Here are a few:

1). Denver is almost perfectly healthy while the Patriots listed 20 on today's injury report, 15 of them limited participation.

2). The Patriots are playing a championship game in front of a hostile crowd, at altitude, vs. the league's No. 1 defense and a HOF quarterback with all weapons at his disposal.

3). The Broncos have a running attack to help compensate for any of Forehead Omaha's alleged shortcomings, the Patriots have none.

4). The Pats' offense depends almost entirely on four players: Brady throwing to Gronk, Edelman and Amendola. If anything happens to any of those players, scoring will be difficult.

I'm no doomsayer, don't get me wrong. But this game will be a very hard fight to win. I am hopeful of the Patriots' chances but far from comfortable about it.

Deus Irae said:

OT, but something that struck me:

We need some Patriots emoticons. Those of you who's geek runs in that direction may consider yourself challenged.

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I think Pats nation should get trending on social media that Denver has a bounty out on Gronk. Love to see how Denver handles the backlash. It would get in there heads too about going low.

glm said:

Statistics don't lie and that is why Denver wins this game, sorry NE

My brain has an owie

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What is that guy talking about? Von Miller was on the team in 2013.

Broncos are terrible. Patriots going to slaughter them.

37-50 350 yards and 4 touchdown passes.

Peyton will crumble trying to keep up.

Broncos will be getting called for personal fouls before the end of the game as they get frustrated, which just tacks on more points for the Pats.

The Brandon Five said:

What is that guy talking about? Von Miller was on the team in 2013.

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For real. Plus he references the 2013 game as the reason why they'll win and just casually brushes aside the fact that we didn't have Gronk.

Hell he could've at least referenced the 2014 game.

I think Von Miller was put on IR some time in 2013.

VectorPrime said:

I think Von Miller was put on IR some time in 2013.

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Just looked it up and that's correct. They put him on IR then signed Brandon Marshall.

Although it's funny, he was playing in 2014 and the Pats still hung 43 on them.

It’s hard to argue Manning is the best quarterback of all-time when the discussion currently leans toward ranking him No. 2 in his own generation.

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Belichick, Brady are villains in Peyton Manning story

There are 4 things that worry me about this game in ascending order of concern.
4. The pats come out too amped up and play sloppy, missed tackles stupid turnovers, going for the big play instead of taking the 4-6 yard chunk plays that should be there all day. They need to weather the storm at first and realize it's gonna be a 4 quarter 60 min heavy weight battle. It will not be won or lost in the first quarter. I want to see long drives that make the weakness of the Denver d run, the LB's while servicable are not able to cover edlemen amendola gronk and white. Someone will get open on them. Be patient and play patriot football.
3. Denver is a ***** of a place to play. That altitude will kill you if you are not ready for it and if the home crowd is into it they can rock the joint. Have to save something for the 4th quarter when teams have gotten gassed and let Denver back into games they should have lost.
2. Scumbags like tj "hit man" ward going low and taking out one of the 4 aforementioned players. This is a dirty team that likes to play "physical" and "intimidate" receivers. I could see a lot of late hits and it getting chippy especially if the pats are up.
1. The NFL story line. My biggest concern by far more then the other 3 combined. Herr Goddell would do ANYTHING not to give Brady another trophy. Manning going out on top like the bus? Ratings galore and a chance for the media's golden boy to ascend to his rightful place. I fully expect the refs to be biased as %#!$ and will be beyond BS if drives are extended or taken away by one sided ticky tack horse **** calls. That first Denver game was an abomination of reffing and I think it was a trial run to see how the PR would fend if they need to do it again in the AFCCG. The pats can NOT let the refs determine the outcome and leave no doubt who the better team is.

I really hope Gronk protects himself and Brady puts him in a situation where he can. They are going to be diving at his knees all game long

My concern is this. The Chiefs win was not as decisive as it appeared most of the game. There were numerous chances where the Pats avoided a turnover basically through luck. The Broncos defense is better than the Chiefs defense, and the venue is far more unpleasant to play in than Foxboro. I think these might combine to allow the Broncos to force at least two or three turnovers on the Patriots (unless they just go for a running game and don't score anything). I could then see a low scoring game where the Broncos win due to their great field position from turnovers and their better running game, so I could see a score like 17-7 Broncos.

Tunescribe said:

Here are a few:

1). Denver is almost perfectly healthy while the Patriots listed 20 on today's injury report, 15 of them limited participation.

2). The Patriots are playing a championship game in front of a hostile crowd, at altitude, vs. the league's No. 1 defense and a HOF quarterback with all weapons at his disposal.

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I agree with your analysis except that it's a bit misleading to call Manning "HOF" and to emphasize the injury report without noting that Manning, whether or not he is injured, is essentially playing as if he is.

What's frustrating about this game is that it should have been in Foxboro, when I give the Patriots the edge.

Ken Canin said:

My concern is this. The Chiefs win was not as decisive as it appeared most of the game. There were numerous chances where the Pats avoided a turnover basically through luck. The Broncos defense is better than the Chiefs defense, and the venue is far more unpleasant to play in than Foxboro. I think these might combine to allow the Broncos to force at least two or three turnovers on the Patriots (unless they just go for a running game and don't score anything). I could then see a low scoring game where the Broncos win due to their great field position from turnovers and their better running game, so I could see a score like 17-7 Broncos.

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I was at the game. I think you are being melodramatic. Numerous chances? You are using the ball that went through that DB's hands that Edelman caught and calling THAT several.At what point in that game were the Patriots in danger of LOSING the game?I can't seem to remember. To soothe your nerves I give YOU the score of the Chiefs/ Broncos game IN Denver this season on 11/15

Kansas CityChiefs
4-5, 2-3 Away
29
Final
1 2 3 4 T
KC 10 9 3 7 29
DEN 0 0 0 13 13
13
DenverBroncos

aluminum seats said:

I almost wonder if Sanders isn't the guy to double...he seems to bring it more in big games.

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Definitely worth consideration, but Thomas is the guy who's notched 115+ yard games vs. us in 2/3 recent matchups. He's also the WR who was targeted 177 times this season...

I think you can limit the Broncos quite a bit if you are able to stop the run and prevent Thomas from making big plays. Hopefully, our secondary is ready for this one b/c we'll need everyone to have a good showing. Obviously, Butler/Ryan/Coleman are going to be extremely important, but so are McCourty/Chung/Harmon as well.