Official Broncos @ Pats POST-game thread

[DaBruinz]

Pass the ball. A lot!

We have one RB guaranteed to be on the roster next year in Vereen (and he struggled today too).

Vereen struggled because of the soft cast he's still wearing.

 

[SVN]

hate to quote felger but this is nevertheless funny

Felger & Mazz: Belichick ?Rope-A-Doped? Peyton Manning « CBS Boston

 

[DaBruinz]

Better for the Pats' chances of getting the #1 seed, if anybody cares about that. Would need Chiefs to win next week and Broncos to lose one other, plus the Pats winning out.

If the Broncos lose to the Chiefs, then the Broncos would be 9-3. The Pats winning next week would make them 9-3. The Pats would be the #1 seed by virtue of having beat the Broncos unless I've missed a tie breaker.

 

[DaBruinz]

Does anyone know why Sopoaga got so few snaps? The Broncos were running the ball down our throat and it wasn't like Jones and Vellano we're doing much when they were passing.

My guess is that the Game Plan was to force the Broncos to beat the Pats with the Running Game and not with Manning throwing the ball. The Pats played their Nickel package most of the night..

 

[RYObroncosfan]

Well, one day later and this one stings just as badly. Won't get too down on the game though, because I've been spoiled with a bunch of regular season wins the past couple seasons, and know all too well that as long as you get to the playoffs, what happened in the regular season becomes meaningless.

Some final thoughts on the game:

--Brady may not "look" as good as a QB as he has in years past, but I'm pretty sure every team would kill to have him as their starter. Whenever he makes a bad play the rest of the season or screws something up that's clearly on him...remember how lucky you are to have him as your QB. As long as he's healthy, the Pats are always a SB threat

--I'm not quite sure I get the whole "PM can't win the big game/cold game" argument as a death blow to Denver's SB chances. Yes, statistically he's been bad in cold weather games. Yes, they lost the playoff game last year and last night when it was cold. No, I don't put either of those losses on PM, and they are both games the Broncos easily could've won if not for freak breaks at the end of the games. That's not to say the Pats didn't deserve the victory last night at all, they thoroughly outplayed Denver in the second half and were victims of unlucky fumbles and bounces in the first half. But if that punt doesn't get botched, the Patriots have no timeouts and Denver has the ball with 3 minutes left. They had been playing well and moving the ball well in OT, just not well enough to score. At worst, it looked like Denver might tie the game if not win it outright. I don't think it's fair to blame Peyton for that, and I don't think it means Denver can't win games like that going forward. There's no debate that his performance as a QB is significantly worse in these situations, and that Brady's W-L record head to head speaks for itself, but I do think you're fooling yourself if you'd prefer to play PM and the Broncos in the playoffs as opposed to any other team.

--I don't think the conditions get any worse than they were last night. I already said before the game, if the conditions are bad, effect the play, and Denver loses--it's not an excuse, it means Denver didn't deserve to win the football game as it's an outdoor game. But if we can come within 3 points on the road in brutal conditions against the Patriots in November, at the very least, I feel comfortable that this team can win in January. I know, I know, he hasn't performed in the playoffs and we LOST...but I still think we have a team capable of winning the big games.

--Losing to the Patriots sucks, and we're making a habit out of it. I don't like it, but you clearly have our # right now. I had no issues with the refs, I didn't think Brady should've been called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty like some have said (that would have been stupid), and I don't think a team that blows a 24-0 lead deserves to win. We should know, we did that to the Chargers last year. A tie would have been funny and I would've been OK with it after blowing the lead.

--Hopefully, there's no mediocre team who catches fire and gets lucky at the right time, and we meet in the AFCG this year. That will be fun. And hopefully be in Denver still.

Good luck the rest of the season, stay healthy.

 

[DaBruinz]

That awkward moment when....

WR: Dobson
WR: Thompkins
slot WR: Edelman

gives you your best WR trio on the field. So, that guy being paid 6 million a year....

Except that Amendola isn't being paid 6 Million a year. That's the "AVERAGE". Only $10 million of the contract is guaranteed ($6mil signing bonus 2Mill salary this year and 2 mill next year).

 

[ausbacker]

If the Broncos lose to the Chiefs, then the Broncos would be 9-3. The Pats winning next week would make them 9-3. The Pats would be the #1 seed by virtue of having beat the Broncos unless I've missed a tie breaker.

The Chiefs will be 10-2 and the #1 seed if they beat the Broncos this week. The Patriots will need the Chiefs to lose a few more to capture pole position.

 

[Joker]

I was there the whole game, Ryo.....turnovers. Pats got one more than the Broncs.

 

[manxman2601]

Vereen struggled because of the soft cast he's still wearing.

According to Chris Collinsworth. That doesn't necessarily make it fact. But even if true, it doesn't mean he didn't have a bad game last night which is all that I said.

 

[DaBruinz]

I doubt solder is going to get a lot better. He's had issues bulking up for years....one offseason isn't going to change it. He is a smart guy too, so film study won't likely add to his footnall intelligence.

It will, however, allow him to see his mistake and work with Scarnecchia on how to correct it or beat it. Saying that a guy won't get better when he's still 25 is just silly..


Of course, I do find it amusing how very few are actually giving Von Miller any credit. The guy is only one of the best OLBs in the league. Yet, people are acting like Solder should be able to own him with one arm behind his back..

 

[PatsBoy12]

Where's the hyperbole? The guy is one of the best slot corners in the league, but has been ineffective on the outside over that same time span. I don't know the recent #s, but over the last few years his qb rating against inside vs outside was staggering. When Talib's injury forced him outside in the AFCCG last year, our season ended.

The health of our secondary - outside of the health of #13 & #87 - will be the biggest deciding factor in the fate of our SB chances.

I'm not razzing you or giving you a hard time or disagreeing with you. I would just like to know if you can quantify the statement "The guy is one of the best slot corners in the league." How are you measuring that? If memory serves me correctly, this is the first season in which the Patriots have tried him exclusively in the slot. What has he done to earn the title of one of the best in the league at the position? To whom will we be comparing him? What stats, if any, indicate his dominance at the position relative to other slot guys? I'm really asking these questions. Again, I'm not trying to be a smart @ss.

 

[RYObroncosfan]

It will, however, allow him to see his mistake and work with Scarnecchia on how to correct it or beat it. Saying that a guy won't get better when he's still 25 is just silly..


Of course, I do find it amusing how very few are actually giving Von Miller any credit. The guy is only one of the best OLBs in the league. Yet, people are acting like Solder should be able to own him with one arm behind his back..

Von had a great game. I don't think that's on Solder either, I think that's about him finally being in game shape after a few weeks to get back into it. One of the best defensive players in football is a tough match up for anyone.

I was there the whole game, Ryo.....turnovers. Pats got one more than the Broncs.

Broncos have certainly had their fair share this year, and Ridley has had his problems as well...just another element of the game, hard to win if you're turning the ball over!

 

[PatsBoy12]

According to Chris Collinsworth. That doesn't necessarily make it fact. But even if true, it doesn't mean he didn't have a bad game last night which is all that I said.

Respect, but even that's a false statement. Vereen did not have a bad game. In fact, he picked up many key first downs and bailed Brady out of a few would-be sacks and collapsing pockets. He also made a very difficult catch (toward the end of the game) to keep a drive going. I believe it was on the drive where the Pats eventually hit the FG to bring the score to 31-24. He had a few drops, yes. But by no stretch did he play a bad game. He was our most consistent RB with Bolden giving a good effort as well.

 

[DaBruinz]

so did anyone see if there was any post-game commentary by rodney "benedict arnold" harrison?

HUH? You mean the same Rodney Harrison that chose the Pats prior to the game?

I thought it was weird that both Harrison and Dungy chose the Pats before the game. Normally, Dungy choses Peyton.

 

[manxman2601]

Respect, but even that's a false statement. Vereen did not have a bad game. In fact, he picked up many key first downs and bailed Brady out of a few would-be sacks and collapsing pockets. He also made a very difficult catch (toward the end of the game) to keep a drive going. I believe it was on the drive where the Pats eventually hit the FG to bring the score to 31-24. He had a few drops, yes. But by no stretch did he play a bad game. He was our most consistent RB with Bolden giving a good effort as well.

Fair enough. But there were some bad drops. I would say that "most consistent RB" is hardly a recommendation based upon yesterday's game

Edit: don't get me wrong, I like Vereen and would like to see him used more as a runner and if he gets more consistent with his catching (cast?) then he's a real asset for this offense.

 

[DaBruinz]

The Chiefs will be 10-2 and the #1 seed if they beat the Broncos this week. The Patriots will need the Chiefs to lose a few more to capture pole position.

Thanks for the Correction.. I thought the loss yesterday dropped them to 3 down..

 

[DaBruinz]

Like many, I was ticked at the Patriots going into the half. But I was also ticked at the NON-CALL on Ihenacho for the helmet to helmet hit on Blount. It was plain as day and should have been flagged with the new rules that were implemented this year (mostly because of James "Head-hunter" Harrison).

There's a good chance that Blount suffered a concussion last night and that is why he didn't return. I also don't remember seeing him on the sidelines after the hit, unlike Ridley, who made it a point to sit there the whole game.

Worried about Marcus Cannon's ankle injury. Hope it's minor and he'll make it back. We can't afford another hit to our O-line depth.

Was amazingly surprised to see Dennard playing last night, just two weeks post op. Hope that he didn't do any damage to the knee.

I noticed Spikes hobbling around. Hope that it's something minor. Despite being "slow" and usually coming off in passing situations, he's not been that bad when he's been out there in them.

We definitely missed Steve Gregory last night, though Harmon played a damn good game.

As others mentioned, there was a noticeable change in the defense once Fletcher got on the field. Fletcher was wearing the green dot, as he has in the past and it showed.

Not sure what is ailing Hightower, but the one thing I know he needs to work on is turning his head around in pass coverage. Twice this year, the ball has literally passed right by him to be caught by the person he's covering. Had he just turned around, he'd have had an easy interception in both cases. Both cases resulted in a TD. This is something that Peppers needs to work on with him going forward.

I was extremely curious as to Dobson being pulled early. Not sure if he got hurt or what. But Thompkins came in and looked was excellent.

Edelman. Can't say enough about the kid. Been a fan of his from day 1 and it hasn't changed. He made at least one Pats fan who claimed that "Edelman isn't a real NFL Receiver" eat crow. It would be a shame to lose him next year, but, I can understand if he goes somewhere else.

Ridley. *sigh* Not sure what to say about him. The fumbling clearly needs to stop. He was clearly upset with himself over the fumble. Ivan Fears was over talking to him immediately after the fumble and Ridley clearly knew he was done for the night. But he took his medicine like a man and stayed on the sidelines cheering the team on.

Jaime Collins and Logan Ryan. They get better play by play and game by game. Hoping they stay healthy and continue to progress.

Will Svitek: Came in for Cannon and did a good job. Didn't get beat, though he did get pushed back by Miller the couple times Miller was on that side.

I said it in another post and I'll say it again. It's great to see that FIRE back in Brady. He needs to be bringing that game after game. That's the sort of leadership this young team needs.

As for the jawing at the Ref that the Broncos fans are complaining about, it was legit. Both last week and this week. If you believe otherwise, then you don't understand the definition of Pass Interference and won't be included in the conversation going forward.

 

[ausbacker]

Thanks for the Correction.. I thought the loss yesterday dropped them to 3 down..

No problem my man. I've been enjoying your posts of late. :rocker:

 

[PatriotsInGA]

As for the jawing at the Ref that the Broncos fans are complaining about, it was legit. Both last week and this week. If you believe otherwise, then you don't understand the definition of Pass Interference and won't be included in the conversation going forward.

Also, Broncos fans seem to forget that Manning is a king whiner himself. Anytime a call doesn't go his way, the good ol' Southern boy comes out and screams at a ref :bricks:

 

[Va_Pats_Fan]

Now that mt heart has stopped palpitating...

I can enjoy this..

Big Play! - Week 12: Broncos vs Patriots - NFL RUSH

For a moment, I thought they f'd up, and was thinking oh man..BB is going to be peeved....