How about them Broncos...........

[SamuraiCO]

Only thing that matters is the win at the end of the day. Good, bad, ugly. In Denver we have been spoiled from past preformances of the two superbowl teams. This team has that potential and has put themselves in the best position possible. Now they just need to play.

[wctriumph]

I was at the Monday night game last week and that 4th quarter missed field goal was a shocker, absolutely unbelievable that he flubbed that one. Yesterday's game was another comedy of poor playing and occasional brilliance. The defense really needs to get better at tackling the ball holder. And the receivers need to go back to learning some basics like, keep their eyes on the ball until it is in their hands.

Anyway, in the playoffs again, Go Broncos!

[Jer]

I was at the Monday night game last week and that 4th quarter missed field goal was a shocker, absolutely unbelievable that he flubbed that one. Yesterday's game was another comedy of poor playing and occasional brilliance. The defense really needs to get better at tackling the ball holder. And the receivers need to go back to learning some basics like, keep their eyes on the ball until it is in their hands.

Anyway, in the playoffs again, Go Broncos!

I have zero beef w/the defense because they're the reason you can play QB musical chairs with a retiree that's 65% and a nearly rookie who can't read a defense and audible to the right play and still win the AFC outright. Sure they have areas they can improve in but you don't finish #1 in the NFL without doing a lot of things right. Brock got the blame for the first half of yesterday's game but the truth of the matter is that I can say that none of those interceptions were on him. He actually played very well and I'm not 100% sure I agree with the benching of him in the 2nd half. The Peyton thing is a mystery to most but if he's closer to 100% than 50% health-wise then I approve of him leading them through the playoffs & this was the best possible time to put him in. Establish him as the starter again going into the two weeks off for everyone to get their minds right and to get him the proper reps leading up to the first home playoff game in two weeks. I'm worried though. If he's closer to 50% than 100% he will look awful behind that line against the defensive fronts he will see in the playoffs. Will we see the Peyton from after the bye week this year or the Peyton from the other 18 games he played going back into the regular season last season? I would absolutely love a John Elway-esque story of riding off into the sunset for Peyton (maybe an even better ending when you consider all factors) but I'm a bit worried about the offense we will be left with if he's the old Peyton which I believe he is... old. Noodle arm, happy feet & a defense with 8 in the box because they don't have to respect the deep ball or the pass at all for that matter. Remember? That's what Denver was before Brock. Denver fans have a short memory span sometimes and I think this is one of those instances. If Peyton comes out flat again (likely) the Steelers then we'll quickly remember and Denver will be laughed off the field in the playoffs... again. This will either be one of the greatest ends to a great QB career or the worst. There really is no middle ground on this one.

[Graves]

Yeah, regardless of the mistakes, I'd say their D is squaredTF away.

After yesterday's turn of events, I really disagree with "This will either be one of the greatest ends to a great QB career or the worst. There really is no middle ground on this one". The worst end would to be riding it out to seed 6 and done from the bench. That moment when the house shook as he took the field was pretty special imo, not to mention the 80 yard drive to for the TD that ensued...yeah it was against a busted Sandy, but it wasn't a 3 & out.

[Honey Badger282.8]

I was at the Monday night game last week and that 4th quarter missed field goal was a shocker, absolutely unbelievable that he flubbed that one. Yesterday's game was another comedy of poor playing and occasional brilliance. The defense really needs to get better at tackling the ball holder. And the receivers need to go back to learning some basics like, keep their eyes on the ball until it is in their hands.

Anyway, in the playoffs again, Go Broncos!

I was at that game as well, in the South Stands, still have the cold to prove it. McManus was kicking into the SS for the win, that shank was so bad that I thought it was hit at the line. That game had a lot of WTF moments.

I have zero beef w/the defense because they're the reason you can play QB musical chairs with a retiree that's 65% and a nearly rookie who can't read a defense and audible to the right play and still win the AFC outright. Sure they have areas they can improve in but you don't finish #1 in the NFL without doing a lot of things right. Brock got the blame for the first half of yesterday's game but the truth of the matter is that I can say that none of those interceptions were on him. He actually played very well and I'm not 100% sure I agree with the benching of him in the 2nd half. The Peyton thing is a mystery to most but if he's closer to 100% than 50% health-wise then I approve of him leading them through the playoffs & this was the best possible time to put him in. Establish him as the starter again going into the two weeks off for everyone to get their minds right and to get him the proper reps leading up to the first home playoff game in two weeks. I'm worried though. If he's closer to 50% than 100% he will look awful behind that line against the defensive fronts he will see in the playoffs. Will we see the Peyton from after the bye week this year or the Peyton from the other 18 games he played going back into the regular season last season? I would absolutely love a John Elway-esque story of riding off into the sunset for Peyton (maybe an even better ending when you consider all factors) but I'm a bit worried about the offense we will be left with if he's the old Peyton which I believe he is... old. Noodle arm, happy feet & a defense with 8 in the box because they don't have to respect the deep ball or the pass at all for that matter. Remember? That's what Denver was before Brock. Denver fans have a short memory span sometimes and I think this is one of those instances. If Peyton comes out flat again (likely) the Steelers then we'll quickly remember and Denver will be laughed off the field in the playoffs... again. This will either be one of the greatest ends to a great QB career or the worst. There really is no middle ground on this one.

I've been saying this all season, a healthy Peyton is a much better option than a healthy Brock. That's not a dig at Brock either. If you ignore the SD game the only thing that improved on offense with Brock was fewer INT's but they struggled to move the ball efficiently. And with as many people lamenting Manning for being immobile he was sacked far less than Osweiler was this season, that reflects on his quicker reads and throws. Plus, while Brock has a better arm he is still missing on the deep balls as much a Manning is/was.

I never really bought into blaming Manning and the shotgun for a lack of running game either. The o-line has seemed to improve in the run blocking department these past few weeks, couple that with a healthy resurgence of Anderson and everything comes together.

As to the defense, they really only had one bad game this year and that was against the Steelers. That was exacerbated by the fact that the Broncos offense couldn't stay on the field in the second half. They had 9 possessions in the second half: 5 w/o a first down (essentially all were 3-and-out as one drive got an extra play due to a penalty), 2 turnover on downs, and INT and one first down.

[Jer]

I've been saying this all season, a healthy Peyton is a much better option than a healthy Brock. That's not a dig at Brock either. If you ignore the SD game the only thing that improved on offense with Brock was fewer INT's but they struggled to move the ball efficiently. And with as many people lamenting Manning for being immobile he was sacked far less than Osweiler was this season, that reflects on his quicker reads and throws. Plus, while Brock has a better arm he is still missing on the deep balls as much a Manning is/was.

I never really bought into blaming Manning and the shotgun for a lack of running game either. The o-line has seemed to improve in the run blocking department these past few weeks, couple that with a healthy resurgence of Anderson and everything comes together.

As to the defense, they really only had one bad game this year and that was against the Steelers. That was exacerbated by the fact that the Broncos offense couldn't stay on the field in the second half. They had 9 possessions in the second half: 5 w/o a first down (essentially all were 3-and-out as one drive got an extra play due to a penalty), 2 turnover on downs, and INT and one first down.

Struggled to move the ball efficiently? Brock threw for over 200yds in the first quarter? How much more efficient do you want them to be? The picks were more on his teammates than Brock. He gets no help at times from his line and receiving crew and this is the same performance you will see from those guys regardless of who's under center... I mean in the backfield since Peyton is never under center and scraps 90% of the offensive system simply by being in there. Give good AFC teams a week to prep for an offense led by THIS Peyton Manning and it will be same old Peyton, different game. Brock is missing on the deep balls but it's reasonable misses. Peyton was missing in a manner that made it look like he was putting EVERYTHING he had on the ball because the accuracy was just gone. He was all over the place. At least most of Brock's misses deep are close showing an ability to actually control the deep pass but barely missing the mark. It's also funny that you say the O-line has improved the last few weeks but put none of that credit on Brock and the existence of the ability to actually scramble and reemergence of a run game which is also due in no-small-part to a credible pass game once again. If Peyton isn't far closer to 100% than he's shown Denver is doomed because an AFC playoff team with a week to prep for Peyton will game plan to load the box to combat the run game and pressure Peyton. Peyton won't be able to hit his intermediate passes and the long ball will not be a threat because he won't have time. People forget that it was over an entire season (going back to mid-season) of exactly that minus one or two games of good play. The debate is over the QB but the Broncos will go as their defense goes this year because it's all riding on them regardless of if it's Brock or Peyton. Even if Peyton is 100% he's aged considerably and it will be cold and shitty in Denver for the playoff games. He has historically done lousy in the post season and inclement weather and aging doesn't help those out.

It amazes me how short-term some Bronco fan's memory is at times.

[Graves]

As far as the sack situation goes...anybody else think it was coincidental that the Schofield situation was being brushed under the rug until Manning took the field? I find it hard to be as cynical as most of you self proclaimed fans are because of that whole "Any given Sunday" jargon. There's too much damn talent on that roster to count 'em out so I still have faith in them bastids!

[Jamnanc]

I'm excited, is manning what he was, no. Did the Broncos need to find a way to bench Brock, yes. Brock may be a great qb in the future, but manning has earned the right to finish strong and not have an embarrassing end to his career. I thought Brock may have to fake an injury in order to get manning on the field before the playoffs. If manning really sucks next game, he'll get injured and Brock can come in to finish the game. Cj Anderson has to be healthy, you can load the box on that guy and it doesn't matter. He is a very underrated back, if he can run strong, the Broncos may go to the big game.

[buffalobo]

I have zero beef w/the defense because they're the reason you can play QB musical chairs with a retiree that's 65% and a nearly rookie who can't read a defense and audible to the right play and still win the AFC outright. Sure they have areas they can improve in but you don't finish #1 in the NFL without doing a lot of things right. Brock got the blame for the first half of yesterday's game but the truth of the matter is that I can say that none of those interceptions were on him. He actually played very well and I'm not 100% sure I 4agree with the benching of him in the 2nd half. The Peyton thing is a mystery to most but if he's closer to 100% than 50% health-wise then I approve of him leading them through the playoffs & this was the best possible time to put him in. Establish him as the starter again going into the two weeks off for everyone to get their minds right and to get him the proper reps leading up to the first home playoff game in two weeks. I'm worried though. If he's closer to 50% than 100% he will look awful behind that line against the defensive fronts he will see in the playoffs. Will we see the Peyton from after the bye week this year or the Peyton from the other 18 games he played going back into the regular season last season? I would absolutely love a John Elway-esque story of riding off into the sunset for Peyton (maybe an even better ending when you consider all factors) but I'm a bit worried about the offense we will be left with if he's the old Peyton which I believe he is... old. Noodle arm, happy feet & a defense with 8 in the box because they don't have to respect the deep ball or the pass at all for that matter. Remember? That's what Denver was before Brock. Denver fans have a short memory span sometimes and I think this is one of those instances. If Peyton comes out flat again (likely) the Steelers then we'll quickly remember and Denver will be laughed off the field in the playoffs... again. This will either be one of the greatest ends to a great QB career or the worst. There really is no middle ground on this one.

Isn't the AFC winner/champion determined by AFC Championship game, to be played in 3 weeks?

[Madeinhb]