Broncos week is here

[Rob0729]

I have seen that. But as of late the pats have struggled big time come playoffs. And this year all of their losses are on the road. They aren't a very good road team right now. I would MUCH rather them play 2 games then 3. With the last 1 being on the road most likely. AFC is bad this year.


Having Dennard and Talib out next week would be a huge blow that i don't think they can overcome. Thomas, Decker and possibly welker without our top 2 corners screams 30+ for Denver. Hopefully 1 can play

The pats O can score on the Denver D no question. But getting in a shootout?

First, the Pats went to the Super Bowl two seasons ago and blew out the Texans last year in the playoffs. I don't know where you get that they have struggled big time as of late in the playoffs. That was true three years ago after back to back one and dones, but I don't think you can say that anymore. They are 3-2 in the playoffs with on Conference Championship over the last two years.

Second, who said Dennard or Talib will be out on Sunday?

Third, I think the Pats can get into shootout with the Broncos right now. Their offense is not the same offense that it was about five weeks ago. Their offense is slowing down while the Pats' offense is speeding up. Manning is hurt and the Broncos haven't scored more than 28 points in the last two games. Their offense did score 38 points against Washington and in that game, the Broncos has two scoring drives of 25 yards or less due to an implosion of RGIII and the Redskins' offense. The Broncos' offense is nothing like the unstoppable juggernaut that it was to start the season. Is it still a very good offense? Yes. Is it an unstoppable juggernaut? Hardly.

 

[FrodoBagginz]

Yes they do. With these injuries you would rather have them play 3 games then 2 to get to the SB?

If we are still decimated with injuries then I agree that we need the bye. But...6 games left to play and 6 weeks to get healthy. If we can get healthy before the playoffs, we won't need the bye. I still would like the bye though no matter what.

 

[dannydyn]

If we are still decimated with injuries then I agree that we need the bye. But...6 games left to play and 6 weeks to get healthy. If we can get healthy before the playoffs, we won't need the bye. I still would like the bye though no matter what.

Won't happen.... this year we are cursed. For every player that heals and comes back, we lose 2. One step forward, 2 steps back.

 

[Kdo5]

Won't happen.... this year we are cursed. For every player that heals and comes back, we lose 2. One step forward, 2 steps back.

It's a terrible feeling because at full strength or mostly full strength this team has a ton of potential...and heart.

 

[TonyTucker]

Thanks to the refs in the Jets/Panthers games they can forget the 1 seed. But they need the 2 if they have any hope of reaching the SB.

 

[PP2]

Thanks to the refs in the Jets/Panthers games they can forget the 1 seed. But they need the 2 if they have any hope of reaching the SB.

If we win this coming Sunday, I don't quite think the 1 seed is out of reach just yet, as Denver has to play at Kansas City next. I am not sure Kansas City will finish out the season without one or two more losses.

 

[patsinthesnow]

Adam Schefter ‏@AdamSchefter 8m
Broncos are signing former Raiders and Ravens S Michael Huff, per @Jeff_Legwold.

Hopefully he plays every snap.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

No dennard sunday. That means Talib almost has to go

God these injuries...

 

[cmc0605]

Hi all, Broncos fan here:

I think this will be a good matchup. Both teams are in similar boats this week...good records, fighting for playoff seeding, great QBs, lots of injuries.

The Broncos have a better team this year, something which hasn't been true for most of the Brady-Belichick era. Even with the injuries, we're still stacked with talent and well-rounded. The defense is much better than people think, especially over the last several weeks since Von has returned. But I'm not entirely sure the talent matchups will be very relevant. This is one game where "this WR, that CB, that LB, etc" discussions probably won't mean much. Brady and Manning will both have good games. Both teams move fast and both can execute an 80 yard drive in two minutes out of nowhere even if the defense played great for five drives in a row. Will be good.

 

[VJCPatriot]

I know it seems like we see multiple 'the sky is falling' threads every time the Pats lose and sometimes even when they win. But the fact is they are still 7-3 with 6 games to go on the schedule. This upcoming game vs Denver is crucial. Both Denver and KC are now 9-1.

If you believe that KC got exposed, and will continue to falter down the stretch, beating Denver is critical to moving up into position to earn the #2 seed and that first round playoff bye.

Let's have a brief rundown of the numbers:

Denver Offense
Total YPG 455.5 1st
Pass YPG 350.4 1st
Rush YPG 105.1 20th

Pats Offense
Total YPG 364.0 11th
Pass YPG 237.1 16th
Rush YPG 126.9 9th

Denver Defense
Total YPG 371.8 23rd
Pass YPG 279.1 28th
Rush YPG 92.7 4th

Pats Defense
Total YPG 354.9 20th
Pass YPG 229.2 12th
Rush YPG 125.7 27th

So do we stand a chance? Oddly enough we do. Especially if we can get Talib and Dennard back and relatively healthy in time for the Denver game. We all know that Denver is an offensive juggernaut but their running game is surprisingly below average.

This means it is going to be harder for them to attack our defense's main weakness - stopping the running game. When healthy our pass defense is top 12 in the league. And could give us a fighting chance if our pass rush can get any pressure on Manning. I know, a big IF.

Now if you check out Denver's defensive side of the football you will see that they are VERY stingy against the run but below average to awful against the pass. It is possible that we will see a shootout develop between Peyton Manning and Tom Brady next Sunday.

This is probably bad because Manning has more weapons - Thomas, Thomas, Decker, and Welker. But then again his OL has been gimpy so maybe we can force him into a few bad throws. If the Pats can either A) win the turnover battle or B) win time of possession battle to keep Manning on the bench, we actually have a legit shot of winning.

If it turns into a shootout, I expect the last team with the ball and 2 minutes to go will win. Either way, this will be a real test of New England's mettle. If they pull out a win against Denver, you'd have to consider them one of the elite teams in the NFL.

 

[Brady6]

I think the #1 reason we should feel good about our chances against Denver is that the biggest take away from last night is that Brady since the start of the 3rd quarter vs. Miami is playing at a Tom Brady like level again. That is what matters most.


Game CMP% YDS TD INT Rating

18-Nov 72.5 296 1 1 91.3
@
Panthers

3-Nov 69.7 432 4 0 151.8
vs
Steelers

27-Oct 59.1 116 1 1 69.5
vs
Dolphins

20-Oct 47.8 228 0 1 53.5
@
Jets

13-Oct 58.1 269 1 1 74.7
vs
Saints

6-Oct 47.4 197 0 1 52.2
@
Bengals

29-Sep 64.5 316 2 0 119.8
@
Falcons

22-Sep 69.4 225 2 1 92.9
vs
Buccaneers

12-Sep 48.7 185 1 0 71
vs
Jets

8-Sep 55.8 288 2 1 76.4
@
Bills

 

[cmc0605]

I know it seems like we see multiple 'the sky is falling' threads every time the Pats lose and sometimes even when they win. But the fact is they are still 7-3 with 6 games to go on the schedule. This upcoming game vs Denver is crucial. Both Denver and KC are now 9-1.

If you believe that KC got exposed, and will continue to falter down the stretch, beating Denver is critical to moving up into position to earn the #2 seed and that first round playoff bye.

Let's have a brief rundown of the numbers:

Denver Offense
Total YPG 455.5 1st
Pass YPG 350.4 1st
Rush YPG 105.1 20th

Pats Offense
Total YPG 364.0 11th
Pass YPG 237.1 16th
Rush YPG 126.9 9th

Denver Defense
Total YPG 371.8 23rd
Pass YPG 279.1 28th
Rush YPG 92.7 4th

Pats Defense
Total YPG 354.9 20th
Pass YPG 229.2 12th
Rush YPG 125.7 27th

So do we stand a chance? Oddly enough we do. Especially if we can get Talib and Dennard back and relatively healthy in time for the Denver game. We all know that Denver is an offensive juggernaut but their running game is surprisingly below average.

This means it is going to be harder for them to attack our defense's main weakness - stopping the running game. When healthy our pass defense is top 12 in the league. And could give us a fighting chance if our pass rush can get any pressure on Manning. I know, a big IF.

Now if you check out Denver's defensive side of the football you will see that they are VERY stingy against the run but below average to awful against the pass. It is possible that we will see a shootout develop between Peyton Manning and Tom Brady next Sunday.

This is probably bad because Manning has more weapons - Thomas, Thomas, Decker, and Welker. But then again his OL has been gimpy so maybe we can force him into a few bad throws. If the Pats can either A) win the turnover battle or B) win time of possession battle to keep Manning on the bench, we actually have a legit shot of winning.

If it turns into a shootout, I expect the last team with the ball and 2 minutes to go will win. Either way, this will be a real test of New England's mettle. If they pull out a win against Denver, you'd have to consider them one of the elite teams in the NFL.

Stats are very misleading with Denver. They are much better against the pass over the last few weeks, especially with Von back, but with other tweeks, injury recoveries, etc. A lot of the stats earlier in the season also came in garbage time when Denver was up by 30. They had a very bad game against Dallas (when half the defensive starters were not playing by the games end) but other than that this is a pretty stingy defense. They do give up chunk yards once in a while, but they make a lot of plays and can get to the QB. Brady will find some success, especially with slants and seem patterns, and Gronk can get going, but don't take the "28th ranked pass defense" as anything meaningful.

Denver has also run the ball very well this year. Moreno has been huge, borderline pro bowl play, and Montee Ball is starting to come out. Just by design though, this offense is not going to put up a crazy run stat line when you average over half a season of games, but they can burn you any game (or any play) with the run. E.g., Manning will not hesitate to check to a run play on a 3rd and 5 if the defense is spread out in a dime

 

[supafly]

So do we stand a chance? Oddly enough we do. Especially if we can get Talib and Dennard back and relatively healthy in time for the Denver game.

There's goes that theory

Dennard is out for the DEN game, and possibly even longer.

Talib's status is unknown, but I'm not sure what difference it makes. Obviously he's not the same player that he was in the beginning of the season with his chronic injury.

Even Arrington has come and gone in the past 3 games, missing time in all of them. He is also dealing with a nagging injury.

I'd suggest moving McCourty to and from the CB/S position again in subs if we didn't have Ebner and Tavon Wilson behind him. There don't seem to be many good options here.

 

[Kontradiction]

This year is shades of 2005. Injuries are ridiculous. That said, I can't think of a win that would be more gratifying than beating Denver with this shell of a defense we're about to field Sunday night.

 

[MossWelkowski]

They have no shot... Talib is just.. Just heard Dennard is out again..

Bahahahaha

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Temps at game time will be in the low 30s or high 20s.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Did you watch the Ravens last year? They were decimated by injuries too. Playing Wild Card Weekend didn't hurt that team.

Fact of the matter is there are more Super Bowl winners who played Wild Card Weekend in the past decade than didn't.

Shhh...don't say that on is board. Didn't you know the bye week is the only chance the pats have at reaching the super bowl????

 

[Archeryaddict12]

I think that slap in the face loss last night might be the season changing motivation they need.

The offense no doubt is unstoppable, unless we stop ourselves. We moved at will last night. That #1 D couldn't hold our offense down. We should have had mid 30's in points at least. But I expect the offense won't be full speed just yet. They just need to sync up. Brady also looked as good as ever.

 

[MossWelkowski]

I think that slap in the face loss last night might be the season changing motivation they need.

The offense no doubt is unstoppable, unless we stop ourselves. We moved at will last night. That #1 D couldn't hold our offense down. We should have had mid 30's in points at least. But I expect the offense won't be full speed just yet. They just need to sync up. Brady also looked as good as ever.

They had 20 points? How should they have had in the mid 30s?? Haha

 

[PP2]

I'd suggest moving McCourty to and from the CB/S position again in subs if we didn't have Ebner and Tavon Wilson behind him. There don't seem to be many good options here.

No way. McCourty stays at safety, no matter what. The safety usually cleans up on CB errors and McCourty is best used in that regard.