Bronco's defense

[1960Pats]

Bronco's fans have been complaining about the Pats easy schedule. They don't want to hear it when I tell them that Andrew Luck is the #1 QB according to the preseason pundits and the the Bills and Jets have the #2 and #3 defenses in the league.... @NYG is and @DEN are much more tough then having NE, GB and CIN at home where the Broncos never lose. Even with crappy QB's they are a tough out. Bronco fan is loving their defense and believe that this edition will bring them a championship. They worry about the offense but won't admit that to a rival. I think more time will help the Broncos offense. Cold weather may not happen here in Denver this winter. It's going to be colder in NE and Cincy. Remember the playoff game in 2013? We wore shorts in January. This Broncos team will not be tested till GB comes to town. Apart from NE and CIN they might have the easiest schedule in the league.

I took the power rankings of three sites, combined them and came up with a strength of schedule ranking for each team, 1-32 with 1 being the toughest schedule in the NFL. These are the results for the undefeated teams;

Patriots -20
Atlanta - 21
GB - Tie 23
Cincy - 26
Broncs - 29
Carolina - 32

 

[Oswlek]

May I recommend cutting your losses and immediately ending any arguments, if not conversations in general, with this complete idiot?

Ha! You are right, it's more for me now because having such a clear memory of a play that may not have happened is hard to accept.

 

[moejr]

I can't add anything here but I got to ask you analysts one question. Can we beat Denver in Denver?

 

[Oswlek]

I can't add anything here but I got to ask you analysts one question. Can we beat Denver in Denver?

Yes.

 

[moejr]

I think Denver and Giants are our 2 toughest games left. Maybe the Jets also

 

[50-yard-line]

I can't add anything here but I got to ask you analysts one question. Can we beat Denver in Denver?

If Manning doesn't start playing a lot better, it will look like Dallas in Dallas...so, yes, the Pats can and should win that game.

 

[ViperGTS]

I don't get the posters saying Denver's defense isn't Seattle's! It's not but the Seahawks defense is nowhere near as dominant as they were last season! Did you guys see the Seattle vs Cincy game? They gave 17 unanswered points in the 4th quarter!

Seattle of 2 years ago. Read the OP first.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

After the Browns, they have the Packers. We'll get a good idea of what they're made of then.

I think the browns will be tough for them on the road. They are playing well right now. They lost 2 close games before winning this past weekend against baltimore. I think they will lose to GB.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

I think Denver and Giants are our 2 toughest games left. Maybe the Jets also

Agree completely. I think the giants will be our first tough test of the season. We don't have the secondary to cover beckham, randle, donnell and maybe cruz if he comes back.

 

[ViperGTS]

Agree completely. I think the giants will be our first tough test of the season. We don't have the secondary to cover beckham, randle, donnell and maybe cruz if he comes back.

Ummm have you seen who the Giants have played? And barely beaten? I wouldn't be too worried.

 

[Koma]

While on the topic of Denver....

Does anyone have a way to watch the Denver/KC game? Someone on another site was making the case that Manning's numbers look worse due to some dropped passes and other forms of bad luck. I responded that, if we are going to accept that, then we should include the fact that two of Manning's TD drives against KC had early dropped interceptions.

Long story short, he disagreed and even pointed out that the PBP of Denver's final drive doesn't include a pass breakup. Nonetheless, the I can still see the play in my head so clearly (an ugly duck along the left sideline that was too far inside and only the DB had a chance) that I'm reluctant to admit error.

If anyone has the ability to scan through Denver's final drive, or perhaps their last couple since I may be recalling the play correctly but I have the placement wrong, I'd really appreciate it.

Here's what I remember: There was a pass by Manning to a receiver near the sideline. The Chiefs cornerback broke up the pass, batting it in the air. Adbullah, the safety who had a pick 6 against Brady last year, had a shot at an INT, but bobbled it and dropped it.

I went through the game thread and it was referenced on this page. As near as I can tell, it was on the Broncos drive in the 4th quarter that started with 6:58 left in the game. The play by play just lists it as an incomplete pass to Demaryius Thomas with no mention of the pass break-up.

 

[moejr]

Ummm have you seen who the Giants have played? And barely beaten? I wouldn't be too worried.

I always worry about the Giants as they seem to be our kryptonite.

 

[FourierSeries]

I always worry about the Giants as they seem to be our kryptonite.

The 2007 and 2011 teams (both NE and NYG) were completely different. The match ups are in our favor now.

 

[VrabelJr]

Strength of Schedule is such a stupid statistic. Obviously the best teams always have the weakest perceived SOS, they are giving the teams they play losses.

 

[Gumby]

Strength of Schedule is such a stupid statistic. Obviously the best teams always have the weakest perceived SOS, they are giving the teams they play losses.

Well, it means something but it means a lot more when it has enough data points/after the season. With less than 6games played, agreed it is a bit skewed

 

[supafly]

I took the power rankings of three sites, combined them and came up with a strength of schedule ranking for each team, 1-32 with 1 being the toughest schedule in the NFL. These are the results for the undefeated teams;

Patriots -20
Atlanta - 21
GB - Tie 23
Cincy - 26
Broncs - 29
Carolina - 32

Interesting, considering that ATL only plays two more teams with winning records. I'd have to think that they were close to the bottom of the group, at least prior to seeing this.

All they really have is IND and CAR (x2).

No matter anyway, since they are no longer undefeated.

 

[nabwong]

No-one does. Only Gronk can cover Gronk.

Even Gronk's shadow can't keep up.

 

[supafly]

I wonder…. From a roster standpoint, that defense is largely unchanged from last year, yet looks completely different. You can say what you want about Wade Philips, but he managed to take an overpriced and underachieving unit, and turn them into the #1 overall ranked defense. These guys are flying all over the field, wrecking havoc and generating turnovers left and right. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the donkeys sitting at 0-5 if not for that defense.


Is it really all because of what one coach managed to do with them? I’m not even talking about schemes, formation, and overages. Just pure aggressiveness and speed these guys are all of a sudden playing like maniacs… The look like Seattle’s defense from 2 years ago.


Any thoughts?

While the addition of Philips has a lot to do with it, that secondary has been playing well for awhile now. As a matter of fact, CB Chris Harris has allowed a lower QB rating than Talib over the past 20 games, and according to NBC's statistics, has not allowed a TD thrown on him since 2013.

When you have the luxury of using your first round draft picks on backups/role players such as Roby and Ray, your defense was probably fairly stable to begin with.

The free agent additions of Ware and Ward also helped a lot, as they are both more acclimated to things after another year. Philips entered the scene with some halfway decent talent on that team.

 

[1960Pats]

Interesting, considering that ATL only plays two more teams with winning records. I'd have to think that they were close to the bottom of the group, at least prior to seeing this.

All they really have is IND and CAR (x2).

No matter anyway, since they are no longer undefeated.

I noticed that in the 3 power rankings that I used, there were some major differences in the ranking of some teams. That's why I used the average.
KC was ranked as low as 19th and as high as 28th
Minny 9 & 16
Tennessee 20 & 27
And there were quite a few others that were 5 spots different.

 

[supafly]

I noticed that in the 3 power rankings that I used, there were some major differences in the ranking of some teams. That's why I used the average.
KC was ranked as low as 19th and as high as 28th
Minny 9 & 16
Tennessee 20 & 27
And there were quite a few others that were 5 spots different.

Certainly makes sense, although you've got to wonder about anyone ranking MIN as the 9th best team at 2-2.