New England at Denver AFCCG pre game thread.

DMac is a character. And Ebner looks like a Rolling Stone photographer!



Denver here we come!

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phil112 said:

It's simple. Patriots play solid mistake-free football, they win. It doesn't matter how well Denver plays, if the Pats don't make mistakes, they win.
If Manning is more motivated than he has ever been in his life, which very well may be, it doesn't change the fact that physically he is not that good now. If he plays his very best all that happens is the game gets more interesting.
But, on the other hand, if Brady is more motivated than he has ever been in his life, and after what goodell tried to do to him I'm betting he is, then HE has the physique to make the difference if the Broncos come to play.
Pats are healthy, and if they don't get hurt sunday they win by 13. At least.

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I love the confidence, but the Pats beat 1 team with a winning record on the road by more than 13 points and that was Houston. They beat Indy by 7 points when the team was healthy. I have a hard time seeing them beating the Broncos by 13 points in a place they normally struggle. The Broncos were also missing key starters last game like Ware and Ward got hurt. Is Collins even playing? If so, how limited will he be because of injury and the same goes for Hightower and Jones. I'm not worried about Manning. I'm worried about denver's defense and if we can stop the run. Cannon and the rookie offensive lineman will have a tough time in a hostile environment. Going to be a battle Sunday and I hope the pats come out with the W

robertweathers said:

Yep. In the last 20 CCGs road team is 6-14.

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Belichick/Brady teams are 2-2 in that situation.

shmessy said:

Belichick/Brady teams are 2-2 in that situation.

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Look.....I'm just sharing with you what I know, OK? I'm not the Mona Lisa Vito of sports facts...Alright? We aren't polishing fine china here..

robertweathers said:

Look.....I'm just sharing with you what I know, OK? I'm not the Mona Lisa Vito of sports facts...Alright? We aren't polishing fine china here..

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You're drinking warm Gatorade and getting trashcans stolen?

Rob0729 said:

So Blandino argues that Manning didn't give himself up because there was no defender coming after Manning. Other than the defender who almost sacked him?!?

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What a crock. Is there any doubt in anyone's mind that if Peyton got blasted when he got back up that it would at least have been a personal foul if not an outright ejection? And the fumble that almost certainly would have occurred would have been nullified.

IllegalContact said:

i think they're both gonna make plays because the broncs are going to be busy chasing everyone else around

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I hope you are right. Sadly, I've lost all my optimism with Lafell. I want to be wrong.

i live in enemy territory (near denver). and i feel very uneasy about this game. Everybody here thinks denver will lose! must be over 50 broncos die hard fans i've encountered because i play hoop at local rec.

They hate pats with passion, but all the people i've talked to are very calm about the game because they think they will lose. this wasn't the case in the past. they trash talked all day, made fun of brady's Ugg, and etc. but this time around they think brady will kill the broncos and peyton will just suck.

and this makes me feel uneasy.

wolverinejoe80 said:

i live in enemy territory (near denver). and i feel very uneasy about this game. Everybody here thinks denver will lose! must be over 50 broncos die hard fans i've encountered because i play hoop at local rec.

They hate pats with passion, but all the people i've talked to are very calm about the game because they think they will lose. this wasn't the case in the past. they trash talked all day, made fun of brady's Ugg, and etc. but this time around they think brady will kill the broncos and peyton will just suck.

and this makes me feel uneasy.

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I think the reason a lot of Pats fans feel good about a win Sunday is the simple answer of: they're just the better team.

If we go back and look at the last four AFC Championship games the Pats participated in, you can see that the best team won every time.

2011: Pats/Ravens - You can debate that it was a bit of a toss up. Pats had a weak defense but their offense was insane. The gap closed significantly once Pollard took out Gronk. The Pats were the better team, not by a large margin, but they were.

2012: Pats/Ravens - Baltimore was clearly the better team here. No Gronk, and once Talib went down, there was no one stopping their recievers. We had to watch in horror as Marquice Cole tried to "cover" Boldin. There wasn't any referee controversy, the Ravens were just better. I highly doubt the Pats would've beat San Fran either, had they advanced.

2013: Pats/Broncos: There's really no debate to be had, the Broncos were better than NE. Again no Gronk, and again Talib pulls a hammy early and there's no one to stop Thomas. Brady had no time to throw and no one to throw to. When Austin Collie and Matthew Mulligan are getting reps in an AFCCG, it spells trouble.

2014: Pats/Colts: Come on, this was like Varsity versus the Freshman team. Indy didn't stand a chance and everyone knew it.

This year the Pats are clearly the superior team and most fans feel good that it will transfer to the field on Sunday. But hey, any any given Sunday, you never know....

titletownpats said:

I love the confidence, but the Pats beat 1 team with a winning record on the road by more than 13 points and that was Houston. They beat Indy by 7 points when the team was healthy. I have a hard time seeing them beating the Broncos by 13 points in a place they normally struggle. The Broncos were also missing key starters last game like Ware and Ward got hurt. Is Collins even playing? If so, how limited will he be because of injury and the same goes for Hightower and Jones. I'm not worried about Manning. I'm worried about denver's defense and if we can stop the run. Cannon and the rookie offensive lineman will have a tough time in a hostile environment. Going to be a battle Sunday and I hope the pats come out with the W

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While I will agree with your numbers, obviously my posit is more hunch/emotion based. If Brady can get a couple of quick scores I think the Patriots get fired up. Remember how the Broncos got fired up with the fumble recovery against the Steelers last week? Brady fires up his boys when he does it too. And the Patriots offense is much more fearsome than Denver. I know it's been a while, but remember how fired up Gronk gets? Remember the last superbowl? Pats scored 28 against a pretty darn salty Seattle defense didn't they? And that wasn't a home game, altho admittedly less noisy than a true road game. The Patriots were fired up when the season started and they are almost that healthy again. They can do it, and they have never had more incentive than to do it sunday.
And yeah, I'm kind of hoping, but it isn't stupid hope like the donkey fans thinking Manning's gonna out score the Pats in a shooting match, or even rout New England, as some of them think.
My hope has some foundation to it.

Give the number and degree of injuries, it is amazing that the Pats are favored to win the the AFCCG on the road.

I haven't seen this here yet, and I must admit I'm a bit surprised not to have.
I'm going to tell you folks the one thing it takes for the Pats to win, and then Ima gonna dare someone to disagree.

JUST DO YOUR JOB, BABY!

“I don’t hate em,” said safety T.J. Ward. “I dislike em. Hate is a strong word.”
Too much hate in the world and nice to see a big man recognize it. My esteem for T.J. Ward went up a couple of notches with that statement.
Broncos' distaste for Pats hasn't hampered preparations

I like the Tanguay sees it!
Pats to send Peyton into retirement with a butt-whipping

titletownpats said:

I love the confidence, but the Pats beat 1 team with a winning record on the road by more than 13 points and that was Houston. They beat Indy by 7 points when the team was healthy. I have a hard time seeing them beating the Broncos by 13 points in a place they normally struggle. The Broncos were also missing key starters last game like Ware and Ward got hurt. Is Collins even playing? If so, how limited will he be because of injury and the same goes for Hightower and Jones. I'm not worried about Manning. I'm worried about denver's defense and if we can stop the run. Cannon and the rookie offensive lineman will have a tough time in a hostile environment. Going to be a battle Sunday and I hope the pats come out with the W

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For players that are not out for the year, the pats were missing more important players last time and were a Chris Harper fumble away from beating the Broncos at home.

Todd Bradley said:

I think the reason a lot of Pats fans feel good about a win Sunday is the simple answer of: they're just the better team.

If we go back and look at the last four AFC Championship games the Pats participated in, you can see that the best team won every time.

2011: Pats/Ravens - You can debate that it was a bit of a toss up. Pats had a weak defense but their offense was insane. The gap closed significantly once Pollard took out Gronk. The Pats were the better team, not by a large margin, but they were.

2012: Pats/Ravens - Baltimore was clearly the better team here. No Gronk, and once Talib went down, there was no one stopping their recievers. We had to watch in horror as Marquice Cole tried to "cover" Boldin. There wasn't any referee controversy, the Ravens were just better. I highly doubt the Pats would've beat San Fran either, had they advanced.

2013: Pats/Broncos: There's really no debate to be had, the Broncos were better than NE. Again no Gronk, and again Talib pulls a hammy early and there's no one to stop Thomas. Brady had no time to throw and no one to throw to. When Austin Collie and Matthew Mulligan are getting reps in an AFCCG, it spells trouble.

2014: Pats/Colts: Come on, this was like Varsity versus the Freshman team. Indy didn't stand a chance and everyone knew it.

This year the Pats are clearly the superior team and most fans feel good that it will transfer to the field on Sunday. But hey, any any given Sunday, you never know....

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yeah, we are clearly better, but we are still at their home in mile high altitude. strange things did happen there. and can peyton turn back the clock and play the best game of the season? i know odds of that happening is slim, but maybe it can happen. or maybe peyton sucks so bad in the 1st half, so he gets pulled and then osweiller throws long bombs after long bombs and fans go crazy? now that's another not likely scenario, but man strange things happen in here.

titletownpats said:

I love the confidence, but the Pats beat 1 team with a winning record on the road by more than 13 points and that was Houston. They beat Indy by 7 points when the team was healthy. I have a hard time seeing them beating the Broncos by 13 points in a place they normally struggle. The Broncos were also missing key starters last game like Ware and Ward got hurt. Is Collins even playing? If so, how limited will he be because of injury and the same goes for Hightower and Jones. I'm not worried about Manning. I'm worried about denver's defense and if we can stop the run. Cannon and the rookie offensive lineman will have a tough time in a hostile environment. Going to be a battle Sunday and I hope the pats come out with the W

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Homers be homing.

ESPN's Danny Kanell: Broncos Should Send Tom Brady Message, Hit Him Late

Former back-up quarterback Danny Kanell thinks the Broncos should hit Brady after the whistle and take the 15 yard penalty to "send a message".

Defense still wins championships. Our defense has to come up huge on sunday. They allowed 179 yards rushing in that november matchup. Can't have that . I worry about logan ryan. He has been awful. I wonder how much nickel they will play