Well I thought that my post earlier this afternoon would be a nice finish to a thread I thought had gone on too long already. Clearly I was mistaken.
So about 8 pages later, I decided if you can't beat them, join them.
Here is my contribution to the statistical barrage.
I know Denver fans are putting a great deal of hope of an eventual victory over the Pats on more than Peyton Manning. And why not? According to NFL.com, the Broncos were ranked #2 in total defense, and with the Pats ranking #25 against Denver's 4th ranked offense, who wouldn't be confident.
But I want to offer these facts. The Pats have played d games against 5 teams who rank in the top 10 in total defense. (Texans, Broncos, Niners, Seahawks, and Jets ) In those games against the top defenses in the league the Pats scored, (in order of appearance) 31, 23, 29, 49, 42, and 34.
The point is that the Pats have done VERY well (especially in the second half of the season) against some of the BEST defenses in the league. I don't doubt the quality of Denver defense,.....Neither did I doubt the quality of the Niner, Texan, and Jets defenses.
The other point concerns the Denver home field advantage. There is no doubt that its a very difficult place to come in and win. However that advantage could very quickly be mitigated by a bad weather day. Tom Brady is arguably the best bad weather QB in the history of game. Peyton Manning has played most of his games in a dome, and has had some very bad experiences in bad weather. Thus far this season (IIRC) Manning hasn't had to play in bad weather.
If the 2 teams play, it will be on January 21st. Denver fans can tell us what the weather is likely to be mid winter in Denver.
We both know it's at best 50-50 that it will be a nice day. And if it isn't that home field advantage will quickly become a home field DIS-advantage. Think about it.