i tried lurking for as long as i can but i eventually couldnt resist..
i think NE fans have every right to feel confident but some are going above and beyond to try and convince themselves Denver isn't a good team... easiest path to the #1 seed ever... wow talk about sour grapes... put the haterade down, lol... its not a good look...
as far as the schedule... at the start of the season the schedule was considered the 2nd toughest in the nfl, now its a cupcake...
Denver played 5 playoff teams and numerous bubble playoff teams... they lost to the Texans,Falcons and Pats early on and beat the Bengals and Ravens... the 3 losses have been debated to death on here... Denver's defense shut down the Saints offense, and beat teams that at the time were very much in playoff contention such as TB, SD, and Pit... the Broncos are winning and win convincingly... beating every team by a TD or more... that doesnt happen often in this league... at the end of the day, trying to discredit a team's wins wreaks of desperation... it just isnt a good look...
when NE lost to the cards i didnt blink, i knew the Pats were still a top team... its not easy to win against nfl calibur teams week to week... an 11 game win streak says something about a team whether you want to admit it or not...
teams arent usually arent the same all season long... a lot happens in 4 months... at midseason, the Bears and Texans each looked like the best teams in football while NE and Den were 4-3... and look now...
as a broncos fan, i am concerned about the Pats becasue theyre a good team... they have a dangerous offense to go along with an improving defense... how a Pats fan can say they arent at all concerned about a team that went 13-3, that has a top 5 off, top 5 defense and top pass rush in football and top 3 run defense... and reason being because they beat them 3 months ago by 10 at home is a bit delusional in my humble opinion...
as stated earlier, i am sure the Pats arent the same as when Denver played them last, and i'm sure you can give numerous reasons why... let me touch on how Denver is different...
first off, its a waste to mention the Pats dominance of Denver's d last year... Denver has 8 different on defense from last year... almost complete turnover and also a different defensive coordinator...
however even from when DenNE played this year it is vastly different... not just chemistry wise, but personnel wise... Denver's biggest problem was its coverage LBs against NE... the short passing game crushed them... Joe Mays was the starting mlb and the #1 problem... he couldnt cover and he struggled against the run... he's been since long benched... woodyard and DJ Williams have been our coverage LBs now and have both been much better... also, porter was a starting corner at the time and omar bolden was the 3rd corner... both have been demoted and chris harris has been moved up and tony carter... carter-harris-champ enjoyed a terrific reg season in coverage... if you face Denver this time Brady will be facing a different secondary and LB crew... DJ williams was suspended at the time, he's back and our corners have been terrific... personnell wise the defense is much different and add the chemistry built since, Denver is a different defense now...
none of this means that Denver wins if they play, it just means that putting so much stock into the last game played as the reason for victory is poor logic... both Den and NE are different now...
also, Denver's special teams has improved since... Holiday is a dangerous return man that wasnt on the roster when Den last played NE...
as of now Denver passes the ball at a high level, runs the ball effectively, stops the run as good as any team, and rushes the passer as good as any team... why anyone would be excited about facing that is beyond me...
personally, i am very concerend about NE... they are a great team...