Brady/Manning XVII
- Thread starter RedOctober3829
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Anyone who thought Peyton looked good today is on some serious smelling salts.
It's probably even worse on the all-22.
It's probably even worse on the all-22.
Well, it blows that the game is in Denver, but the Pats were a shell of themselves by the fourth quarter last time and Denver needed Tomlin to coach like Tomlin to win today.
As for how shitty Manning looked, I have to say that I myself thought he looked awful but I was hoping he would be worse. His receivers did drop plenty of balls, but for the love of god, Pittsburgh's secondary seemed to let him off the hook.
As for how shitty Manning looked, I have to say that I myself thought he looked awful but I was hoping he would be worse. His receivers did drop plenty of balls, but for the love of god, Pittsburgh's secondary seemed to let him off the hook.
Yea Mannings receivers dropped balls but some of that has to be on manning because he was serving up wobbly ducks. Now an NFL receiver should be able to catch a football that isn't spiraling and all that. But some of those drops are on Manning. Hey there was one dropped ball that was so bad that Phil and Nantz thought it must have been tipped.
Pitt secondary is buttersoft. Pats would have destroyed that unit while rushing <5 times before garbage time.
If you think about some of the games that Denver won this year (especially that first KC game) and that NE lost, it's amazing that Denver is hosting the Pats in the AFCCG. It really must be one of the luckiest breaks in sports history.
Anyone watch Ware today? He had a sack/FR and a pressure, but I didn't notice him too much. He's been battling an injured back, and may not be at peak performance.
Manning has thrown one TD in Denver this year. Amazing.
Manning has thrown one TD in Denver this year. Amazing.
All things being equal with health, if the Pats O-line can give Brady sufficient time, this game should not be close.
The best course of action is to re-watch last year's game to see what they'll do to attack the Denver defense. It's essentially the same skill personnel.
Listened to the game on the radio while driving...what did Tomlin do? God I hate Tomlin....so please dish.
It seems fitting that Peyton's last game will be against TB with TB pulling away. There was nothing in today's game that made me believe Denver will prevail. That said, bad calls by the stripes or a fluke turnover could turn the tide..but I look forward to TB and Peyton meeting mid field after the game and Peyton wishing Tom good luck in the SB.
That was Simms' signature Baghdad Bob moment of the day.
Simms was so bad that a producer intervened late in the game with a prompt to Nantz to ask Simms to assess how Peyton performed. So that Simms could back off with a mere "ok".
The reality of that game is this. If we had vintage Peyton, the Steelers would have been destroyed. And if Ben had been close to healthy, the Broncos would have been destroyed. Yet Simms told us they looked splendid in practice. I think he is concussed.
I hope I'm wrong but I think Denver wins this game 27-24. I think having home field and the officials will be the edge the Broncos need. Offensive like line isn't that great but it should be improved from the last meeting. I would have loved Pittsburgh. Damnit
How many of you that are scared or apprehensive about going to Denver were saying a month ago that all it matters is that the Pats are healthy and they can beat anyone?
I don't think its Simms being stupid, it is him and CBS totally being in the bag for Manning. Manning could have thrown 5 picks today and Simms would have still praised him. And they'd continue to never give a second to the HGH story.
I am not worried. I think the Pats will roll.
If Harris is actually hurt then Edelman will kill them. Harris is great in the slot and Talib and Roby are better outside.
If Harris is actually hurt then Edelman will kill them. Harris is great in the slot and Talib and Roby are better outside.
I have a very hard time seeing Denver get to 27 points. Their 23 points today required multiple dropped interceptions, a perfect 5/5 day from the kicker, a horrific day from the Pittsburgh punter and their only offensive TD on a short field. The NE defense and especially special teams are much better than what the Steelers brought to Denver.
The recipe for a Denver win is their defense harassing the shit out of Brady and scoring on a turnover, which they are better at than anyone in the league, their offense scoring 10-13 points and the special teams game being neutral. That would lead to them winning something like 20-17 or 17-14. If New England scores 20+ points, I just can't see Manning keeping up without surrendering devastating interceptions or sacks.
What surprised me about Manning today as not the should have been interceptions and missed open receivers, it was the seeming degradation of his pocket awareness.
We must have something to worry about, even, "reportedly", an Amendola suspension.
Is it easier for the officials to bend the Pats over a sawhorse in Denver than in NE? Undoubtedly. Would I prefer a home game? Of course.
But unless Peyton played possum the whole game, he is done. The wind was not that strong, the Steelers defense that good.
On the other hand, I have no clue what another week would have done for Ben's health, or Brown's. From an improvement standpoint over one week, I think the Steelers' ceiling would have been higher than Denver's. I'll take my chances.
Not worried. Cautiously optimistic. Praying Denver sticks to the Peyton starting plan. Our secondary is worlds better than Pitt's and our run D should be better than last time with Collins and 4 quarters of Hightower. It took a perfect storm of injuries and bullshit for us to lose that last game in Denver. I welcome the chance to exorcise the Mile High demons and send Peyton to retirement.
Bill is going to be itching to win the toss and defer. D up early to quiet the crowd a bit, then let Brady go to work and finish the job.
I'm worried for all the reasons stated, mainly the Patriots track record in Denver and the expected horrific officiating. As much grief as everyone here wants to give Peyton, he was very good today at checking in and out of runs and gets by mostly on experience and smarts, but I have seen enough him to last a lifetime.
Let's all not forget that one of the losses in Denver was the AFCCG from a few years ago when the Pats were so thin on offense that they had Slater lined up at WR on some plays. Still, they kept that close and were in until the end.
I'm terrified. Not of the Broncos offense, but of the zebras. I'm terrified that we're going to see six or seven phantom calls against the Patriots, and six or seven uncalled penalties against the Broncos. I'm afraid Gronk will have two OPIs for briefly touching someone. I'm afraid that we'll see a bunch of uncalled DPI in the end zone for the Broncos.
The NFL doesn't want Brady to be in the Super Bowl. They don't want the Patriots to win. They hate this team. Fuck the NFL.
The NFL doesn't want Brady to be in the Super Bowl. They don't want the Patriots to win. They hate this team. Fuck the NFL.
It was 23-3 with 12 minutes to go and the Pats were never within single digits on the scoreboard in the entire 2nd Half. That was not a close game.
Track record does stink and I've acknowledged that. But, those prior games mean nothing. Even the game last month means nothing due to drastic change of personnel on both sides. If they lose, it won't be because the game is in Denver. It will have meant that the Patriots made big mistakes. This Denver offense, while set up differently, have similar firepower to KC's in that they aren't set up to score many points. Heck, even Peyton himself said as much in today's post game.
A huge part of this game is red zone efficiency. If patriots can score 7's, Denver is hard pressed to keep up.
The only pauses I have is Collins back and chandlers knee. Give me a positive updates there and I'm ready to roll thinking the pats win by 2-3 scores. I'd be concerned about missing two playmakers and the extra bodies to keep guys fresh.
Also I'm not so math doing genius guy or anything but I'm confident that the odds of Manning going two straight playoffs games without tossing an INT are 0%
Also I'm not so math doing genius guy or anything but I'm confident that the odds of Manning going two straight playoffs games without tossing an INT are 0%
OK, fine, but that really wasn't my point. They were terribly thin on offense and had no chance in that game going in.
The best part is going to be hearing Nantz and Simms describe every one of those egregious DPI/OPI penalties against the Pats as "Great calls!". I can already feel the urge to murder rising...
I think the ref knew he effed that play up after the fact, but there was nothing that he could do.
Officiating these playoffs has been solid, I'm not really concerned we will be getting a repeat performance from earlier this year, and I don't think that would be enough for Denver anyway. With a healthy offense, the Patriots match up extremely well with Denver.
C'mon now, without Manning's excellent run checking how could the Broncos RBs possibly hope to run for 3.5 ypc like they did today?
I doubt it; if he knew it, he could simply rule that Manning gave himself up and the play was over. Nothing prevented him saying that was how he interpreted the play initially.
Why bother then? I share the concern at some level, but if the fix is in to this extent, why torture yourself by watching and rooting?
I will not be within 500 yards of the game thread next week.
As we're accustomed to, this game is going to be on Brady and the offense. We hardly ran with Blount last time we played and now that he's gone, I don't see us giving more than 8-10 carries to Jackson. White may get a few if we work the uptempo game, which will be harder to do given the altitude.
Based on the current forecast, looks like weather won't be an issue, which is fine by me since I'd rather the offense have the best throwing conditions possible. Now would be the perfect time for LaFell to get his head out of his ass. Gronk and Edelman will be the focus so I think this game gets won or lost based on our ability to get productivity out of the LaFell/Martin/Amendola group. They're certainly capable of it.
On defense, I think we'll be in trouble if Collins/Jones aren't in decent shape for next week. Manning had all day to throw today and will be looking for the short stuff. I'd like to bring the pressure early to see what he's capable of. At the end of the day, there will be plays to be made. William Gay today dropped an INT that could have changed the game. I figure that Malcolm will be on Sanders and Ryan/McCourty will handle Demaryius. It will be a big matchup for Butler because if he can bottle up Sanders, I don't see how Denver moves the ball enough to win unless they win TO battle.
On special teams, I don't ask for much. Just don't fuck up. I don't need any "plus" plays but we can't afford any short fields for Manning.
Based on the current forecast, looks like weather won't be an issue, which is fine by me since I'd rather the offense have the best throwing conditions possible. Now would be the perfect time for LaFell to get his head out of his ass. Gronk and Edelman will be the focus so I think this game gets won or lost based on our ability to get productivity out of the LaFell/Martin/Amendola group. They're certainly capable of it.
On defense, I think we'll be in trouble if Collins/Jones aren't in decent shape for next week. Manning had all day to throw today and will be looking for the short stuff. I'd like to bring the pressure early to see what he's capable of. At the end of the day, there will be plays to be made. William Gay today dropped an INT that could have changed the game. I figure that Malcolm will be on Sanders and Ryan/McCourty will handle Demaryius. It will be a big matchup for Butler because if he can bottle up Sanders, I don't see how Denver moves the ball enough to win unless they win TO battle.
On special teams, I don't ask for much. Just don't fuck up. I don't need any "plus" plays but we can't afford any short fields for Manning.
It was so egregious, though. I mean, he slid forward inches from a defender.