OT:Barnwell on Denver and Carolina going in opposite directions

[PatriotsPimp136]

When are people going to realize Denver has an Elite Elite D, far better than ours and the best in the league. I hate Denver, but I gotta give credit where it's due. They have solid coaching, good enough QB play, fantastic WRs with a diverse skill set. elway spent a lot of money on D stars and to be honest they all worked out. He got what he paid for.

Pisses me off to this day Denver stole manny sanders from us and outbid us on Talib. Revis was a better one year rental but Talib has proven himself the far better long term option. Talib plays like a shutdown top 5 CB in the NFL. BB should have locked him up in 2013.

I still think we're better than Denver, but it's close.

Have to prove it on the field this year. They have a young quarterback but that defense's still lights out.

 

[PatriotsPimp136]

When are people going to realize Denver has an Elite Elite D, far better than ours and the best in the league. I hate Denver, but I gotta give credit where it's due. They have solid coaching, good enough QB play, fantastic WRs with a diverse skill set. elway spent a lot of money on D stars and to be honest they all worked out. He got what he paid for.

Pisses me off to this day Denver stole manny sanders from us and outbid us on Talib. Revis was a better one year rental but Talib has proven himself the far better long term option. Talib plays like a shutdown top 5 CB in the NFL. BB should have locked him up in 2013.

I still think we're better than Denver, but it's close.

Funny thing about talib. He was injury prone here and in denver he can stay on the field.

 

[PF_SU]

Revis was a better one year rental but Talib has proven himself the far better long term option. Talib plays like a shutdown top 5 CB in the NFL. BB should have locked him up in 2013.

We won Super Bowl XLIX with Revis. I have no regrets regarding that one. The one lasting memory I have of Talib in a Patriots uniform is him leaving early in two consecutive AFCCG after which his assignment started picking up the yardage. Denver bet on Talib's health, and they won that bet (and still, they thought about trading him this offseason, so he is not indisputable), good for them. Doesn't change the opinion I had in 2014 about the rightness of the decision to let Talib go and sign Revis. Revis in 2014 was better than Talib.

Yes and they have eliminated us in 2 of the past 3 years in afc championship games. That is a big deal. We need to prove we can beat them in the playoffs.

The key is simple: Don't play at Mile High come January. The home field advantage there is big with the thin air and the noise. If last season's AFCCG had been played at Foxborough we win it. And 2013, seriously, that team was too banged up to really pull anything out of it. Receiving corps was Edelman and uh... who again? We played without Gronk, without Amendola, without Wilfork, without Kelly and halfway through the first half without Talib.

 

[varjao]

Carolina will have to deal with another problem that is Cam Newton taking too many head shots, he's got concussed against the Broncos and Falcons and as far as I know he took some nasty beating against the Vikings defense as well. His body must be in a week 13 stage right now and is only week 4.

 

[TBR]

Denver hasn't faced anyone that's good yet, so their early season success means nothing. They didn't face a single top contender last year that wasn't decimated by injury (postseason included.) All it will take to expose them is health.

They have an easy schedule. They get to play the NFC South and AFC South.

 

[Patstopia]

The only thing that gets decided in the first four weeks is that its been a month. We've seen teams go 4-0 and end up barely squeaking into the playoffs.

 

[Haterproof]

They probably won't. I don't believe Atlanta is for real yet, and SD usually plays the Broncos better in Denver than they do at home.

It still doesn't change my perspective on the matter. All it will take for us to beat Denver (regardless of where the game is played) is health.

Atlanta's offense is definitely for real! I can't wait to see how they match up vs Denver's defense!

 

[FourierSeries]

Yes and they have eliminated us in 2 of the past 3 years in afc championship games. That is a big deal. We need to prove we can beat them in the playoffs.

Of course they eliminated us twice. We were playing with our practice squad in each of those games. They put up only 26 points on us in the 2013 AFCCG with their all time best offense, and only beat us by 2 points, due to a missed XP, last season. If the situations were reversed, and we were healthy and playing at home, we would have blown them out with ease, just like we've done every year since 2011 when healthy. Hell, even if we were healthy on the road, we still win those games comfortably.

 

[NG Pats Fan]

Of course they eliminated us twice. We were playing with our practice squad in each of those games. They put up only 26 points on us in the 2013 AFCCG with their all time best offense, and only beat us by 2 points, due to a missed XP, last season. If the situations were reversed, and we were healthy and playing at home, we would have blown them out with ease, just like we've done every year since 2011 when healthy. Hell, even if we were healthy on the road, we still win those games comfortably.

We still have to win homefield avdantage. 3 of the past 4 years Denver earned homefield advantage over New England. Currently they are 4-0 this season.

Practice squad last year? Which of our stars was missing from the afc championship?

 

[aluminum seats]

Funny thing about talib. He was injury prone here and in denver he can stay on the field.

Yeah, he's a freakin' ironman all the sudden in denver.

Pats need to sign Welker to a one day contract so he can do his patented hip check on Talib.

 

[Efstratios]

Practice squad last year? Which of our stars was missing from the afc championship?

Solder and Lewis were the two biggest names missing, but people here might also point to the fact that JE and DA were both playing through some fairly major pains as evidence that New England wasn't playing close to full strength that game. And though it's foolish to detract from the fact that Denver's D was simply really really good and peaked at the right time, it's not crazy to assume that the Pats' O would have had a better showing if it were a bit healthier.

We still had way less of an excuse losing that game than we had losing the 2013 AFFCG, in my opinion.

 

[SilverSeven]

I know he's been a game manager so far (albeit, an elite game manager) but I still think there will be an important game, whether it be the regular season or post-season where the game finds Trevor Siemian and he looks every bit the rookie that he is. Happened even to Big Ben at home in 2004-05 and it can happen to him.
The question is if Denver's D is so good that even a flop of a performance by their QB would make the difference in that game anyways...

 

[Deus Irae]

Which of our stars was missing from the afc championship?

Kidding, right?

 

[Flash]

Of course they eliminated us twice. We were playing with our practice squad in each of those games. They put up only 26 points on us in the 2013 AFCCG with their all time best offense, and only beat us by 2 points, due to a missed XP, last season. If the situations were reversed, and we were healthy and playing at home, we would have blown them out with ease, just like we've done every year since 2011 when healthy. Hell, even if we were healthy on the road, we still win those games comfortably.

At the same time, because of Denver's easy schedule, it's possible that they will win homefield advantage again. I have full confidence with this team if we were playing in Foxborough, but playing at Mile High will be a real challenge for the team. Not to mention that while Denver is a good team, they are just about the luckiest team in the NFL with just about everything. If it comes down to who's more healthy at January, I wouldn't bet on us haha.

 

[zydecochris]

We still have to win homefield avdantage. 3 of the past 4 years Denver earned homefield advantage over New England. Currently they are 4-0 this season.

Practice squad last year? Which of our stars was missing from the afc championship?

Well, there is a guy that must be pretty highly valued by the Patriots because he has the highest average salary on the team. Think the game might have gone differently with Nate Solder playing?

 

[PatriotsPimp136]

At the same time, because of Denver's easy schedule, it's possible that they will win homefield advantage again. I have full confidence with this team if we were playing in Foxborough, but playing at Mile High will be a real challenge for the team. Not to mention that while Denver is a good team, they are just about the luckiest team in the NFL with just about everything. If it comes down to who's more healthy at January, I wouldn't bet on us haha.

I don't trust anyone in their division and that includes the oakland raiders.

 

[FourierSeries]

We still have to win homefield avdantage. 3 of the past 4 years Denver earned homefield advantage over New England. Currently they are 4-0 this season.

Practice squad last year? Which of our stars was missing from the afc championship?

Blount, Lewis, Develin, Solder. Edelman and Amendola were useless because they shouldn't have been playing with the injuries they had. They had to miss most of training camp due to those injuries.

Despite all of that, the game was still decided by only 2 points due to a missed XP.

Not only are we likely to have all of the aforementioned players available (hopefully) but we've got Bennett, who we didn't have last year. The guy has been a monster. Our OL and run game have been substantially better so far as well.