Denver the better team??

[Joker]

I disagree...I think we deserved to win and I think they put up enough offense and defense to do it....I do know that those two fumbles were AWFUL, both timing wise and technique wise...I didn't see any special effore y the Broncos on thoses plays.That was lack of concentration, just like Brown's muff.

The call on the 1 was ridiculous...that ball comes out to the 20...the ref NEVER said a damn thing other than "the play stands"...yeah, right...no way was that cracker Triplett gonna make an overturn in tHAT venue.He's a hack official and so is that crew.Zero holding calls on the Broncos all night?? Did you WATCH the game? They could have flagged the Bronco line 20 times for BLATANT holds and we STILL clamped down on their running game.

No, we lost...we gave them to many easy opportunities...we must get this game to OUR field..and THEN we'll see what Jake the Fake and the Rat have, without their own comfort zone

 

[gobroncos]

I disagree...I think we deserved to win

No, we lost...we gave them to many easy opportunities...we must get this game to OUR field..and THEN we'll see what Jake the Fake and the Rat have, without their own comfort zone

With all-due respect, and I'm not here to cause trouble in any way...I find those statements to be contradictory. To me, it's not possible to give the opposing squad "too many opportunities" in their house and yet "still [deserve] to win." I would classify that as inexcusable, especially for Champions.

This game very well could have gone the other way if played in NE, but we'll never know. That's what you play the other 16 games for. Unfortunately, you guys lost key players that put you behind, something you ultimately didn't overcome.

I understand your anguish, following so much success over a four year period with a big loss. A healthy Pats squad will be dangerous next year, and for the first time, at least in my opinion, you guys will enter a season with a chip on your shoulder. Scary.

 

[mgteich]

Yes, the best team won.

How many times have we told this to fans of other teams when it was our team that won, and their temas that made the mistakes, some forced and some not.

I seem to recall a Raider game, a SB with the rams and many more. We tried so hard to make everyone understand. There is no question is my mid that yesterday (and on the day of the first game) that Denver was the best team.

I'm probably the only one here, but I think the better team won.

The Patriots did not play like champions and did not deserve to win, no matter how bad the calls by the refs were, we've had that before and have always overcome such adversity.

We played without key players on offense and defense nearly all season, and again last night.

Any other team would use that as an excuse, but we never have - we've always overcome such adversity before and won.

We did not win last night. We did not deserve to win. We did not play like champions.

Only by admitting this will we be able to start the process of winning the SB next year.

The Broncos were the better team last night and they won.

 

[CheerforTom]

With all-due respect, and I'm not here to cause trouble in any way...I find those statements to be contradictory. To me, it's not possible to give the opposing squad "too many opportunities" in their house and yet "still [deserve] to win." I would classify that as inexcusable, especially for Champions.

This game very well could have gone the other way if played in NE, but we'll never know. That's what you play the other 16 games for. Unfortunately, you guys lost key players that put you behind, something you ultimately didn't overcome.

I understand your anguish, following so much success over a four year period with a big loss. A healthy Pats squad will be dangerous next year, and for the first time, at least in my opinion, you guys will enter a season with a chip on your shoulder. Scary.

You're very good. Easily the only Bronco fan that's quite welcome around here, as far as I'm concerned

 

[RayClay]

you know, i was reading some post saying 'Denver was the better team tonight', and they outplayed us....

really? I don't think that they were the better team at all, actually...I think the better team lost....does that make sense? I actually believe New England is a better team than Denver. Take away those turnovers and Denver loses.

If I were Denver I would be worried after last night, they are not a Superbowl winning team. And with Pitt coming to town, and with the way they play on the road...

I would be very worried, and IMO, if the same team shows up next week, Pitt will dominate...

They scored more points.

That's why you keep score, to decide who is better that day.

 

[gobroncos]

You're very good. Easily the only Bronco fan that's quite welcome around here, as far as I'm concerned

Thanks man.

PatsWin2002 comes and talks it up over at the Orangemane, which I would consider my stomping grounds, and speaks pretty highly of this place. I always love good football talk, no matter the team...so it's good to know I'm welcome.

 

[PressCoverage]

Hey nitwits, please explain to me how your so-called "better team" went 1-4 vs the AFC West this year.

The Broncos went 5-1 vs the AFC West.

Goodbye! Losers.

Hey, admins... Not trying to tell you how to run your site, but I'm surprised you allow this kind of antagonization in the main forum... Personal attacks get a warning, then time off, then a ban on most team sites...

There's a seperate forum for the "ridalin crowd" on finheaven... We call it "depths of the sea".... ... Not for the faint of heart, either...

 

[CheerforTom]

Hey, admins... Not trying to tell you how to run your site, but I'm surprised you allow this kind of antagonization in the main forum... Personal attacks get a warning, then time off, then a ban on most team sites...

There's a seperate forum for the "ridalin crowd" on finheaven... We call it "depths of the sea".... ... Not for the faint of heart, either...

I'm not gonna lie to you, that would be very nice.

On the other hand, who would I argue with if everyone agrees that the Broncos didn't play great??

 

[Joker]

There's no such thing as "trolls!!!", no such thing as "my board!!!" or any of this other crybaby crap,,,this is the world wide web and belongs to everyone


I could care less what some clown from Denver wants to post...if I'm interested I'll read it...if not...that's what the scroll bar is for

grow some thicker skin....as a Patriot fan it should already be plenty thick anyway

 

[CheerforTom]

as a Patriot fan it should already be plenty thick anyway

You DO have a point there.

 

[bombquixote]

I disagree...I think we deserved to win and I think they put up enough offense and defense to do it....I do know that those two fumbles were AWFUL, both timing wise and technique wise...I didn't see any special effore y the Broncos on thoses plays.That was lack of concentration, just like Brown's muff.

The call on the 1 was ridiculous...that ball comes out to the 20...the ref NEVER said a damn thing other than "the play stands"...yeah, right...no way was that cracker Triplett gonna make an overturn in tHAT venue.He's a hack official and so is that crew.Zero holding calls on the Broncos all night?? Did you WATCH the game? They could have flagged the Bronco line 20 times for BLATANT holds and we STILL clamped down on their running game.

No, we lost...we gave them to many easy opportunities...we must get this game to OUR field..and THEN we'll see what Jake the Fake and the Rat have, without their own comfort zone

Enough offense and defense to win the game. Not enough points, though, apparently.

Look, a good team (which the Pats are) does not commit five turnovers (be they fumbles or interceptions) unless the opposing team is applying serious pressure--disrupting the qb's timing, consistently hitting hard, etc.

It was a tough game. Your D rocked last night; our O couldn't get **** going. Still, the Broncs won not because NE made mistakes, but because the Denver D rocked, too. They made the key plays at the key moments, even if they gave up yards. Say what you will, but turnovers are rarely blind luck.

 

[bombquixote]

"Zero holding calls on the Broncos all night?? Did you WATCH the game? They could have flagged the Bronco line 20 times for BLATANT holds...."

Maybe, but I was thinking the same thing about the Pats all through that game--like, was that pass protection or juijitsu?

 

[PatsFan24]

i think you can say denver was the better team. they had a better record in a better divison and beat us twice.

 

[InBillITrust]

Actually, I agree with the original poster. The Pats were the better team. It's unfortunate they didn't win. The big worry for the Pats coming into this game was the defense, and the defense did a great job for the most part. The only nitpick I have with the defense is that they didn't get much pressure on Plummer. Saying that, they totally stopped Denver's running game, and Denver only scored 3 points that was not off a turnover. Denver had super short fields all of the other teams, and you can't expect that much from the defense in those situations. The Pats did have a critical 4th down stop early in the game that prevented a TD.

The turning point in the game was Faulk's fumble right before halftime. Frankly, Denver did outplay the Pats for the first half. They were moving the ball much better and winning the field position game. Yet, the Pats were doing like they always doing, and just grinding and keeping the game close. Finally, the Pats got the ball back and were driving. It looked like the offense had finally figured out Denver's defense and made the adjustments to their blitzes. I was thinking at this point, the Pats always close well ending halves, and it looked like they were going for another score here. So it'd be either 6-0 or 10-0. Instead it was 7-3. There was huge shock value in Hobbs fumble, but it was only 10-3, and still a one score differential. Now, the Pats had to play catchup all night long again. Frankly, the Faulk fumble wasn't totally unexpected. I don't know what to say about the guy, but he's a ticking time bomb. We've all known that he's had fumble problems his entire career, but we've always hoped that the other things that he brought to the game would offset that.

The 3rd and 4th turnovers for the game clinched it for the Broncos. Obviously Tom tried to force the ball, and Champ had a clean pick. Again, I thought Watson made a fabulous play, and the ball went into the back of the end zone, but it wasn't to be. And then Troy's fumble. A lot of it's on Troy, but I also thought it was a coaching mistake. Why try for the blocked punt here? I don't remember the Pats blocking a punt all year. It's not something they're good at. Just get the ball and move on.

So the only "real" turnover that I can credit the Broncos for is Bailey's pick. (ok, and that 5th turnover when the Pats were done.) So, I think the final score should have been something like 16-10 Patriots winning. The other points Denver scored, the Patriots simply gave away. It wasn't Denver winning the game, but New England losing it. However, I and other Pats fans can do all of the woulda, coulda, shoulda until the end of time, and it wouldn't change a thing. And there are fans of other teams for other games that have a whole lot more angst that their teams should have and deserved to win a particular game than I do. The Pats already have 3 rings. What can I say, and how greedy can I get? (Well, now that Pittsburgh has won, that AFC championship game would've been in NE... $%@$%@$)

 

[shirtsleeve]

It took me a while to come to this point, but like I said last night on a thread that got promptly moved....

Hats off to Denver. They won the game. No, they didn't outplay us. No, the officials didn't call the game leagally (lets stop pretending here). But this time isn't the first time for that. Yes, we moved the ball and they didn't.

But they followed rule #1 in the great book of BB. They took care of the ball. 1 turnover. We had 5. That is why we could always overcome any biased officiating and close game. We never made mistakes and we never turned the ball over. How many false starts did we have? Stupid mistakes cost us the game.
Denver had precious few of them. They won because of it.

 

[aabtec]

you know, i was reading some post saying 'Denver was the better team tonight', and they outplayed us....

really? I don't think that they were the better team at all, actually...I think the better team lost....does that make sense? I actually believe New England is a better team than Denver. Take away those turnovers and Denver loses.

If I were Denver I would be worried after last night, they are not a Superbowl winning team. And with Pitt coming to town, and with the way they play on the road...

I would be very worried, and IMO, if the same team shows up next week, Pitt will dominate...

Can we please stop with the better team lost..crap..its sounds like an Indy or Pitt fan. The Broncos won. Thye forced mistakes and caused fumbles..the BETTER TEAM WON

 

[MDPATSFAN]

Yep...They were better because they took care of the ball...but the Pats still put 460 yards of offense on them despite losing three drives to turnovers. If Faulk,Hobbs and Brown take care of the ball it would have been ugly.

 

[mgteich]

I would be interested in what better measures there are within a season.

i think you can say denver was the better team. they had a better record in a better divison and beat us twice.

 

[Ring 6]

I guess it depends how you define better.
If you want aesthetic value of good plays, or statistics, or who was better on a certain percentage of plays, I dont think you define it right.

Better is the team that is better at doing the things that win football games.
The one that has a 96 yard turnaround on 1 play, or turns it over tiwce in 18 seconds, or fumbles a punt at a very key point of the game, seemed to be pretty awful at doing the things that win football games.

When you turn it over 5 times it doesnt really matter what you did on the plays that didnt result in turnovers, because it almost always will not be enough.

The greatness of the Pats, as I have said 10000 times, over the last 5 years is that they play better on the critical plays of a big game than the other team does.
They did not Sat Night, and therefore were not the better team.

By the way, you will find that is not a Patriot phenomena. Every champion plays better in the clutch. We were not champions this year, and part of being a champion is once the playoffs start you arent allowed any games where you dont play like a champ.

 

[lcsj]

Always an excuse

you know, i was reading some post saying 'Denver was the better team tonight', and they outplayed us....

really? I don't think that they were the better team at all, actually...I think the better team lost....does that make sense? I actually believe New England is a better team than Denver. Take away those turnovers and Denver loses.

If I were Denver I would be worried after last night, they are not a Superbowl winning team. And with Pitt coming to town, and with the way they play on the road...

I would be very worried, and IMO, if the same team shows up next week, Pitt will dominate...

First it was because you guys had to many injuries. Now it is because of the turnovers. Face it we are a better team. Your precious tom brady saw Lynch coming at him the whole game and got rattled. We capitalized and yu did not.