Denver is not the team i worry about the most in the AFC

[BobDigital]

I know this is not a huge leap at this point but still you have the argument "if not them who?". Well right now I am more worried about the Steelers. Denver is #3... maybe lower,

Manning is just getting worse and worse. The main thing to be afraid of is the bye week will allow him to heal up but at his age and the way he looks I don't think it will be near enough (assuming they even get it).

Denver has a pretty good D but it is built to be a front running D. The offense just can't do that as much anymore and it is allowing the D to get exposed. Manning looks scared to throw deep and he is right to be. It will only get harder for him too as it gets colder. I saw him hand off several times last game on what to me were clear passing downs.

This is not to say Manning can not hit the occasional deep ball cause he did get a good one to Sanders (about 25) and one to DT (about 40) that got called back. However those passes now are just as likely to be ducks as on target. This team is built to beat a team like Denver and Denver is clearly weaker than last year right now.

The Steelers on the other hand have a QB that can run which means BB will barely attempt to pass rush him. That is the type of QB that can give this D problems. Brown is just as good as any weapon on Denver and he is not their only option. On D they are not so good but seeing their D vs Denver's is it much worse?

Now that Denver's D can't benefit from a front running O they look average.

Denver's PPG D is ranked 18th (22.7) Pitt's is ranked 19th (23.4). I think the difference is not much at this point and the Steeler's O currently appears more deadly to me at least matchup wise vs the Pats.

I would rather play Denver than Pitt in the AFCCG.

 

[Ring 6]

Denver is the biggest challenger, and here is why.
Yes, Manning's arm is pretty much shot. Yes, the OL is pretty bad.
Yes I'm not a big fan of their D.
BUT, what we are talking about is which team has the best chance. I don't think that if they played it 100 times there is a team that could come here on January 25th and win more than 10 of 100.
The Broncos have a few things that could tip that. Their offense has a habit of getting WRs wide open. Manning will find them, even if he lollipops the throw. While we have handled their defense pretty well they do have pass rushers that are capable of having an insane game, and mounting a huge pass rush on a given day is one of the best ways for a team to upset a better opponent.

 

[Oswlek]

The Steelers have gone so far under the radar that they are now the most overrated team in the playoff field.

 

[Ring 6]

The Steelers have gone so far under the radar that they are now the most overrated team in the playoff field.

Never understood the whole 'under the radar' thing.
Like NFL teams are going to ignore them and not gameplan because they don't believe they are there.

 

[obgod3]

I still think Denver is the most dangerous, they have a great WR corps and great QB, you wont see a lot of games out of Manning like last night, maybe not again. I think Denver's Defensive line is one of the better ones, they had a tough night last night but have been pretty solid all year.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I would rather play Denver than Pitt in the AFCCG.

Pitt's defense is awful. Brady & Co will hang 40 on that team.

Pitts O is good. Revis will shut down Brown.

TEs still hurt the Pats and Miller is a good one. They'll need to figure that one out.

42-20 Pats.

DEN's D is still good. I'd rather face a good O with a bad D than a bad O and a good D.

 

[Gronkandez]

The Steelers lost to the Jets, Bucs, Saints, and Browns (almost twice!) CMON MAN!
Polamolu is their Safety and LeBeau is their DC.
Virtually every team in the AFC has looked bad the past few weeks but let's not lose our focus here.

If the Ravens get in, they will have a juiced up Haloti Ngata wreaking havoc on the interior OLine (have we read this script before)? They've beat us twice in the playoffs in Gillette. I can see Steve Smith scoring the winning TD as followed by him talking trash to the whole Pats team. Flacco can magically hit the long bombs in the playoffs after stinking it up all year. He is like the AFC version of Eli Manning from a few years ago before poor Eli fell off the face of the Earth.

As for Denver, Julius Thomas and Manning are hurt. They may be a lot healthier in a month.

You need to have a good 3rd WR to expose the Pats CB depth. Who is Pitts 3rd WR, Lance Moore?

 

[Ivan]

I like the Patriots chances against any team but they all still pose problems and can best them if they are off that day. Bottom line for me is that now is the time for them n to play their best football and win the tournament!

 

[Sicilian]

I've seen enough playoff games now to consider every team a potential threat (with the exception of the Tebow Broncos a few years ago... I lost no sleep over that one). I wanted to play the Ravens in 2012 over the Broncos and ate it. I wanted to play the Jets SO bad in 2010, and ate it. I consider every team a dangerous one until I'm shown otherwise.

 

[shmessy]

I know this is not a huge leap at this point but still you have the argument "if not them who?". Well right now I am more worried about the Steelers. Denver is #3... maybe lower,

Manning is just getting worse and worse. The main thing to be afraid of is the bye week will allow him to heal up but at his age and the way he looks I don't think it will be near enough (assuming they even get it).

Denver has a pretty good D but it is built to be a front running D. The offense just can't do that as much anymore and it is allowing the D to get exposed. Manning looks scared to throw deep and he is right to be. It will only get harder for him too as it gets colder. I saw him hand off several times last game on what to me were clear passing downs.

This is not to say Manning can not hit the occasional deep ball cause he did get a good one to Sanders (about 25) and one to DT (about 40) that got called back. However those passes now are just as likely to be ducks as on target. This team is built to beat a team like Denver and Denver is clearly weaker than last year right now.

The Steelers on the other hand have a QB that can run which means BB will barely attempt to pass rush him. That is the type of QB that can give this D problems. Brown is just as good as any weapon on Denver and he is not their only option. On D they are not so good but seeing their D vs Denver's is it much worse?

Now that Denver's D can't benefit from a front running O they look average.

Denver's PPG D is ranked 18th (22.7) Pitt's is ranked 19th (23.4). I think the difference is not much at this point and the Steeler's O currently appears more deadly to me at least matchup wise vs the Pats.

I would rather play Denver than Pitt in the AFCCG.

Feh, Pittsburgh.

They played the NFC South and the AFC South this year.

That is one VERY WEAK strength of schedule, right there folks.

 

[Ivan]

I still think Denver is the most dangerous, they have a great WR corps and great QB, you wont see a lot of games out of Manning like last night, maybe not again. I think Denver's Defensive line is one of the better ones, they had a tough night last night but have been pretty solid all year.

I agree Denver is still the most dangerous but the questions about Manning's arm are real and serious. He still has pinpoint accuracy when he's on but if you take away the offensive production of their outside WRs and force him to throw over the middle he is going to throw picks. I swear there are junior high QBs who have stronger arms than Manning does and it may well be that it has actually gone dead on him, in which case they are screwed and he will actually be looking at retirement. It is going to be really interesting to watch this play out.

 

[tasmlab]

Feh, Pittsburgh.

They played the NFC South and the AFC South this year.

That is one VERY WEAK strength of schedule, right there folks.

I presume that's why everybody in the AFC North did pretty well this season.

 

[Oswlek]

Feh, Pittsburgh.

They played the NFC South and the AFC South this year.

That is one VERY WEAK strength of schedule, right there folks.

Yeah, I was going to say that any discussion of points allowed/scored has to be normalized against who they actually faced.

Frankly, there isn't a team in the AFC than can hang with NE as long as the Patriots play a B+ game. Every scenario for them losing before the SB has to be prefaced with "assuming the OL completely craps the bed" or "if they can't get any pressure and they get a bunch of penalties" which are pretty much losing recipes against even terrible teams.

I'd be far more interested in a discussion around which teams have matchups that can give the Patriots trouble even if NE plays well. Am I wrong? Is there one in the AFC?

 

[letekro]

Broncos are the most dangerous team. Getting J Thomas and Trevathan healthy could make a big difference for them. Still, Pats should be heavy favorites until the SB.

 

[RecoveringCowboy]

Well right now I am more worried about the Steelers. .

They are consistently inconsistent.

But when the Steelers are hot they have the potential to be like the 2007 Giants.

Lets hope I'm parnoid.

Or the Steelers get cold in the playoffs.

 

[obgod3]

I agree Denver is still the most dangerous but the questions about Manning's arm are real and serious. He still has pinpoint accuracy when he's on but if you take away the offensive production of their outside WRs and force him to throw over the middle he is going to throw picks. I swear there are junior high QBs who have stronger arms than Manning does and it may well be that it has actually gone dead on him, in which case they are screwed and he will actually be looking at retirement. It is going to be really interesting to watch this play out.

I kind of agree and last night he definitely had some issues but then again he had some really great throws down the field, a couple that should have been caught and a couple that did. Im not sure what to think about that. Now the one thing Cincy did was make him throw to the sidelines, I think thats a problem for Manning these days, but in the middle of the field he is still pretty good. I just dont know what the deal is because he will still throw a coupe really nice long ones and make it look good. Now I agree he doesn't have the arm strength to throw without stepping into it, but I think the same of TB.

 

[mayoclinic]

I presume that's why everybody in the AFC North did pretty well this season.

Steelers 6-2 against those 2 divisions (losses to Tampa Bay and New Orleans)
Ravens 6-2 (losses to Indy and Houston)
Bengals 6-1-1 (loss to Indy, tie with Carolina)
Browns 4-4 (losses to Indy, Carolina, Jacksonville and Houston)

Cumulative 22-9-1

 

[Rob0729]

No one in the AFC really scares me. There are teams that could come in here and win, but none of them really have a great shot.

Denver cannot get into a shootout and the Pats can shut down their running game and force Manning to throw.

Pittsburgh is still the same team that never matches up well against the Pats. Yes they are better than they have been the last few years, but even when they are at their best they do not match up with the Pats.

Indy is too soft.

I don't see San Diego traveling across country twice and winning.

People are touting Baltimore, but they are not a good team.

 

[Oswlek]

Broncos are the most dangerous team. Getting J Thomas and Trevathan healthy could make a big difference for them. Still, Pats should be heavy favorites until the SB.

Trevathan is on IR and Julius doesn't look like a few weeks is going to make that much of a difference. He can barely move laterally at this point.

 

[deters]

I'm not worried about any team because if the Patriots play their best football, i don't think there is a team in the NFL that can beat them. I'm more concerned about how we play than who.