New England at Denver AFCCG pre game thread.

[manxman2601]

 

[libra957]

Championship games are notorious for teams to be sloppy on offense. Brady himself has AFC championship games with multiple interceptions. Turnover will be huge.

 

[YOUGOTMOSSED]

Denver has no business being in the AFCCG.

If Mike Tomlin were even a marginally competent coach, Steelers would have won that game in Denver.

It's beyond me why they played zone against Manning and surrendered the short passes when he clearly can't accurately throw the long ball anymore. I'd call it coaching malpractice.

 

[Deus Irae]

Denver has no business being in the AFCCG.

If Mike Tomlin were even a marginally competent coach, Steelers would have won that game in Denver.

It's beyond me why they played zone against Manning and surrendered the short passes when he clearly can't accurately throw the long ball anymore. I'd call it coaching malpractice.

Pittsburgh was playing without its RB1/RB2/WR1 and others, yet would have won had his RB3 not fumbled when the team was already in field goal range late in the game. Calling that coaching malpractice is ridiculous.

 

[Ken Canin]

Pittsburgh was playing without its RB1/RB2/WR1 and others, yet would have won had his RB3 not fumbled when the team was already in field goal range late in the game. Calling that coaching malpractice is ridiculous.

Why wasn't Petersen running with two hands on the ball in that play? Shouldn't he have been coached to do so?

 

[supafly]

Why wasn't Petersen running with two hands on the ball in that play? Shouldn't he have been coached to do so?

You're thinking of Touissant, and while coaches aren't totally off the hook by any means when a player screws up, I'd find it a bit difficult to blame Tomlin for that specific play.

I believe the poster was referring to his dislike of coverage schemes, and claiming that Tomlin should've played man coverage and made Manning beat him with deeper throws. I also disagree with the notion that PIT would've definitely won the game had Touissant held onto the ball. They may have kicked a FG to go up 16-12, but there was still about 8-9 minutes to play yet.

 

[supafly]

Butler needs to do a better job at limiting Sanders, as another 113 yard game isn't going to cut it. Brian Howell/Herald notes that Sanders definitely won his matchup over Butler in November, and it would be hard to disagree. I don't think that's necessarily indicative of Butler coming out on the wrong end of a rematch, but it's certainly worth noting.

With Thomas having 115+ yds in 2/3 recent games against NE, Logan Ryan will once again, have his hands full as well. He fared well last time through extensive film study, although one may think there's reason to believe that Ryan will have a hard time containing him to only 36 yards for the second time in a row.

 

[Nunchucks]

Patriots either win by 7 or lose by less than 3

 

[breakin]

I honestly dont see this game being close. I think alot of people nationally have let the Pats team for the final 6 games cloud their judgement. Prior to the Broncos game every sunday NFL show were having weekly segments about the Pats going 16-0 and how the offense was better and harder to stop than the 07 offense,

Then the game vs the Broncos the pats were depleted, they got no bounces ( 3 total fumbles in the game and all 3 recovered by Denver), they got absolutely jobbed by the refs, lost hightower mid-game ( Denvers ypc went from 2.9 to 8.8) and still the game went to OT.

Sure Denver are getting a couple guys back but with our guys back will Ware really make much of a difference? Brady should be getting rid of the ball before Ware is out of his stance. Harris being banged up looms large as he is the guy that matches up best with Edelman.

Everyone will hold their breath everytime Gronk makes a catch because this is team that routinely goes for the knees on everyone and they laugh about it but Gronk has absolutely shredded Denver everytime hes played them.

For Denver to win they need a perfect game and still hope that Pats make mistakes. Pats can have a subpar game and still win. Once the Pats get a 2 score lead this game is over. Its gonna force Manning to chuck it and honestly i wouldnt be suprised to see Manning get benched.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Butler needs to do a better job at limiting Sanders, as another 113 yard game isn't going to cut it. Brian Howell/Herald notes that Sanders definitely won his matchup over Butler in November, and it would be hard to disagree. I don't think that's necessarily indicative of Butler coming out on the wrong end of a rematch, but it's certainly worth noting.

With Thomas having 115+ yds in 2/3 recent games against NE, Logan Ryan will once again, have his hands full as well. He fared well last time through extensive film study, although one may think there's reason to believe that Ryan will have a hard time containing him to only 36 yards for the second time in a row.

Sanders has torched us and is the biggest problem for us in Denver's offense. He is essentially their Edelman, and expecting Butler to contain him is asking a lot. Playing any corner without much help on Sanders is probably going to end badly for the Patriots, and I wonder if they'll change their strategy; one thing that might help is the Broncos really don't do a lot of damage at the tight end position this season, which could allow the safeties to help more with both star receivers.

Osweiler and Thomas had some communication/ timing issues last game, and while Ryan played well, I agree, that is unlikely to repeat itself. It had just as much to do with Thomas having a really bad game.

People on this board think the Broncos offense will just run into the line three times and die...I think they are forgetting that Thomas and Sanders are a darn good receiving combo, and one that can do plenty of damage after the catch. I expect the Broncos offense to look better than advertised. Manning will certainly maximize the offense's chances as well as any QB in the league, failing body or not.

 

[sevengables_2207]

The biggest question mark with the Broncos passing game, and this is contingent on the Patriots doing the opposite in coverage to what the Steelers did, is if Manning can consistently hit enough downfield throws and/or accurately fit the short and intermediate throws into small windows against tight man coverage underneath.

 

[AGCSBill]

Denver's defense will have to deal with a full load of Patriots offensive weaponry it did not have to worry about in the first meeting this year. Jackson is a decent replacement for Blount, if the o-line can do some run blocking, and White has stepped up well for Lewis. Outside of that, Pats are in a much better position, personnel and health wise, going into Denver Sunday. Plus, Manning is not the Manning of old. I like them odds.

 

[ExpatPack]

The big difference in this game is the QB. That's why most everybody is picking the Patriots. Brady's playing MVP ball and has all his weapons, Manning looks washed up. It's that simple.

Denver's defense is awesome and will probably keep them in the game, but the Denver offense just doesn't have enough firepower. For the Broncos to win, either they have to shut down the Pats offense or Peyton Manning has to play a great, great game, or both.

Don't see it happening.

 

[gitgronked82]

What time will you guys start drinking Sunday....2 AM? 10 AM?

i don't know about you, but i don't want to be drunk for this game. too important to me, too much fun. i can get drunk whenever i want. i certainly don't want to be only half-understanding the game, not thinking clearly, and only remembering parts of it. don't waste this day for booze

 

[YOUGOTMOSSED]

Pittsburgh was playing without its RB1/RB2/WR1 and others, yet would have won had his RB3 not fumbled when the team was already in field goal range late in the game. Calling that coaching malpractice is ridiculous.

I submit that going with a zone defense conceding the only passes Manning can still make at this stage of his career is not a "reasonable exercise of sound judgment" and thus malpractice.

 

[ViperGTS]

Jason Cole is saying the betting line is bad for the Pats because the stupid people (not his exact words) are putting money on the Pats and the smart people are betting on the Broncos. The Broncos have a lot of metrics in their favor.

How is this possible?

 

[YOUGOTMOSSED]

Jason Cole is saying the betting line is bad for the Pats because the stupid people (not his exact words) are putting money on the Pats and the smart people are betting on the Broncos. The Broncos have a lot of metrics in their favor.

How is this possible?

As a rule of thumb, an underdog with a good defense playing at home is a great bet. A #1 seed in the playoffs as a home dog is unprecedented (as far as I know).

Conventional wisdom would dictate a big bet on the Donkeys.

 

[FourierSeries]

Butler needs to do a better job at limiting Sanders, as another 113 yard game isn't going to cut it. Brian Howell/Herald notes that Sanders definitely won his matchup over Butler in November, and it would be hard to disagree. I don't think that's necessarily indicative of Butler coming out on the wrong end of a rematch, but it's certainly worth noting.

With Thomas having 115+ yds in 2/3 recent games against NE, Logan Ryan will once again, have his hands full as well. He fared well last time through extensive film study, although one may think there's reason to believe that Ryan will have a hard time containing him to only 36 yards for the second time in a row.

Manning had 400+ yards in last year's game, most of them going to DT and Sanders. We won 43-21. I don't think you can necessarily say that allowing 100+ yards to Sanders won't cut it. It would be nice to shut everyone down, but I won't be concerned if Sanders gets another 100+, so long as we shut down their run game and contain DT.

 

[Deus Irae]

I submit that going with a zone defense conceding the only passes Manning can still make at this stage of his career is not a "reasonable exercise of sound judgment" and thus malpractice.

Pittsburgh doesn't have the CBs to cover the likes of Sanders. The defense they used allowed only 23 points in regulation, and it was only that many because the team's RB (offense, not defense) fumbled the damned ball and gave the Broncos momentum, and the ball in pretty good field position, rather than allowing the Pittsburgh offense to keep the ball and continue killing clock.

So, I submit that you're out of your mind.

 

[FourierSeries]

Jason Cole is saying the betting line is bad for the Pats because the stupid people (not his exact words) are putting money on the Pats and the smart people are betting on the Broncos. The Broncos have a lot of metrics in their favor.

How is this possible?

Same thing happened during last year's SB. I wouldn't worry about it.