I was listening to espn radio and the media

[azbroncfan]

is all over the pats nuts. Everyone is saying looking ahead 2 weeks an predictiong indy and ne in championship game. I'm sick of this story, the only media guy that gave DEN any props to my surprise was Brian Cox, he told one caller Its not a given that NE gets through DEN, and he had to remind everyone that DEN handed NE their ass the first time this year and the score was closer than the game. I'm glad DEN is being overlooked vs hyped up.

[Rock Chalk]

Well if everyone is going to make a thread liek this, its gonna be a long and monotonous week.

The media will show little to no love for the Broncos this weekend because the markt would rather see a NE @ Indy AFC CHampionship game. This has the most appeal to TV, and the NFL in general.

No one believes in Denver and no one believes Denver will make a good game out of the AFC Championship with Indy (assuming they do in fact, beat Pittsburgh. They still have to play ya know).

So, everyone just commit that to memory. Understand it. Accept it.

And quit making threads about it everytime you hear the Broncos get dissed.

[azbroncfan]

And quit making threads about it everytime you hear the Broncos get dissed.
Alright Daddy, you are the one who replied, I could care less if Denver gets dissed, just stating what I heard. Of course just looking at the cities Denver vs Boston who is the media going to want to win, Alec you are the one with his panties in a bunch.

[Borks147]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs05/columns/story?columnist=clayton_john&id=2285190

New England Patriots at Denver Broncos (Saturday, Jan. 14, 8 p.m. ET)

1. Would you believe the NFL's best run defense in the second half of the season was the Patriots? It's true and that defense will get a great test against the Broncos. The Patriots gave up only 68.6 yards a game rushing in the second half of the season. In the first eight games, the Patriots were gashed for 128.8 yards a game. During that time, they were without defensive end Richard Seymour -- a disruptive force along the line -- for four games because of a knee injury. It also helped getting Tedy Bruschi back although he missed Saturday's playoff game against the Jaguars with a calf injury. Probably just as significant was that nose tackle Vince Wilfork improved in the second half of the season. Earlier in the year, Wilfork was being pushed back with one blocker in a lot of instances. Of course, a lot of the Patriots' second-half success stopping the run came at the expense of their weaker AFC East rivals. The Jets and Bills couldn't do anything against the Patriots in the four games in the second half. The Patriots come into the game with a lot of confidence, but they still have some fundamental problems.

Inside Patriots-Broncos
• X-factor: The Patriots. Are they back to being a Super Bowl-caliber team or did the schedule just make them a playoff team that could be eliminated in this round? They have improved in defending the run. They have one of the most dangerous passing games in football. Tom Brady continues to work his magic through the air. But how good are they?

• X-and-O factor: Jake Plummer seems to have overcome his problems against 3-4 defenses, but Bill Belichick will look through all the tape to see if he can keep Plummer in the pocket. In the past, Plummer had horrible days against 3-4 schemes that restricted him to being just a pocket passer. In the pocket, Plummer was a 50-percent passer in past years. Now, he's better, but Belichick will see what schemes might cause him problems. That's what he does the best.

• Rx factor (health): The Broncos are healthy coming off the bye. They will have Darrent Williams back at cornerback. He's been fighting a high ankle sprain. The Patriots didn't play Tedy Bruschi against Jacksonville but he should be available next weekend. Naturally, Belichick will keep everyone guessing about Bruschi's status all week.

• Numbers cruncher: Patriots cornerback Asante Samuel had a tough season for the Patriots. According to Stats Inc, Samuel has been beaten for 49 completions for 830 yards, the sixth-highest yardage total in the league this year.

• The Patriots will win if: They keep Plummer in the pocket and minimize the impact of the Broncos' consistent running game. Belichick's strength is taking away one part of a team's offense. In the last meeting, he couldn't stop any aspect of the Broncos game and fell behind 28-3. The Patriots were at their worst when they met in October. This has to be a different game.

• The Broncos will win if: They copy the formula that beat the Patriots earlier this year. They need to break long runs and throw some long passes to Ashley Lelie and Rod Smith. The key is jumping out to a big lead and forcing Tom Brady to throw the ball all day.
-- John Clayton
2. The Broncos matchup is a bad one for the Patriots, who lost in Denver 28-20 on Oct. 16. It's a bad matchup for two reasons. First, the Broncos running game will be hard for the Patriots to stop. The Broncos gained 178 yards on the Patriots on 34 carries, and they gashed the Patriots for long runs. Center Tom Nalen will be a tough challenge for Wilfork. Plus, Tatum Bell has the speed and power to burn them again. In many ways, Bell is the most dangerous runner for the Patriots to stop. As long as he doesn't dance at the line of scrimmage, he can hit the holes with speed and power. This is why the Patriots will need Bruschi's experience at inside linebacker. The combo of Mike Vrabel and Monty Beisel will have a hard time preventing Bell from ripping big runs through the middle of the defense. Mike Shanahan will start Mike Anderson but Bell will see a lot of action.

The other reason the Broncos are a tough matchup is that they can get the ball deep. Ashley Lelie is a deep threat and he's big. Rod Smith got deep on the Patriots, and before long, the Broncos led in the first game, 28-3. That game was never in question. With six New England defensive backs out for the season, the secondary is vulnerable to teams with the ability to get the ball deep. Jake Plummer will scramble to buy time for those long attempts.

3. Corey Dillon's injuries have made the Patriots' rushing attack inconsistent all season. Dillon missed a decent amount of the Jaguars game and the running offense was bailed out by Kevin Faulk, who is effective as a runner and a pass catcher. The Patriots averaged only 94.5 rushing yards a game and a mere 3.4 yards a carry. The Patriots had only five regular season games in which they had more than 100 rushing yards as a team. In many ways, the Patriots' offense is closer to the first two Super Bowl teams than last year's. Dillon could be counted on getting 100 yards individually in 2004. It's become a Tom Brady offense with limited support from the running game. Few defenses have frustrated Brady this season, but for this game, the Patriots need Dillon. Broncos defensive coordinator Larry Coyer does a nice job designing zone blitz schemes but sometimes relies on them too much. The best way to beat a zone-blitzing team is to run, which his why the Patriots need much, much more from Dillon or Faulk.

4. The Broncos move to acquire four former members of the Cleveland Browns' defensive line improved the depth and the defensive fortunes of the Broncos, but it didn't do much for the pass rush. The Broncos had only 28 sacks as a team, including only 10 sacks by Cleveland castoffs Ebenezer Ekuban, Courtney Brown, Michael Myers and Gerard Warren. Last year, the Broncos had 38 sacks, including 10½ by departed defensive end Reggie Hayward. The most dangerous player on the line is defensive end Trevor Pryce, who surprisingly had only four sacks. Pryce should be able to dominate Patriots left tackle Nick Kaczur, a rookie. Pryce is physical and quick. He can beat a blocker with power or speed. Well rested because of the bye week, Pryce could be extra dangerous. The Patriots will probably have to put a tight end on Kaczur's side to help block Pryce. If not, Brady could be forced into making some quick throws and potentially some mistakes. Watch for Pryce to be a big factor in the game.

5. With the extra week to prepare, it will be interesting to see what new things Mike Shanahan comes up with to try against the Patriots' defense. It wouldn't be surprising if he uses his tight ends -- Jeb Putzier and Stephen Alexander -- to test the coverage ability of the Patriots' safeties. The Patriots' defense hasn't been the same without Rodney Harrison, who was one of the main leaders of the defense. Eugene Wilson does a good job in coverage, and he is physical. Because of the injuries, the Patriots have been converting other cornerbacks into safeties. They've done that with Artrell Hawkins. While Hawkins is known for his coverage, Shanahan could try to test his ability to make tackles down field against Putzier and Alexander. The Patriots are one of the few teams in the NFL that has gone "four corners." Because of their injuries, they've had no choice. That may help in some coverage matchups but it hurts in tackling. If running plays get into the secondary, they could result in longer runs. If the corners-turned safeties don't matchup against the tight ends, that's a problem. We'll see if Shanahan will try to test that.

at least Clayton likes us.....

[Rulon Velvet Jones]

That AWESOME run defense went up against such greats as:

Curtis Martin
Cedric Houston
Carnell Williams (with Baby Simms at QB)
The Bills backfield (Losman led the day with 7 yards)

LJ put up 119 on 31 carries. Pothead put up 108.

It's a skewed stat in this case.

[Jetmeck]

That AWESOME run defense went up against such greats as:

Curtis Martin
Cedric Houston
Carnell Williams (with Baby Simms at QB)
The Bills backfield (Losman led the day with 7 yards)

LJ put up 119 on 31 carries. Pothead put up 108.

It's a skewed stat in this case.

Yep, but the media doesn't let a little thing like facts distract them from their BRADY bunch sack party !

[fontaine]

It's an ok write up at best.

I mean how many of us didn't know Plummer is playing better, Brady is great in big games, the Pats secondary is banged up and Seymour is a terror?

He hardly talked about all important individual matchups, and the ones he did he got wrong.

[RocBronc]

I'm actually glad we're getting no love in the media... The only thing that worried me about getting a week off is us getting over confident. This "disrespect" will be a great motivational tool for our guys, IMO.

[Old Dude]

...
The media will show little to no love for the Broncos this weekend because the markt would rather see a NE @ Indy AFC CHampionship game. This has the most appeal to TV, and the NFL in general.

No one believes in Denver and no one believes Denver will make a good game out of the AFC Championship with Indy (assuming they do in fact, beat Pittsburgh. They still have to play ya know).

So, everyone just commit that to memory. Understand it. Accept it.
...


We could just make this part a sticky.

:olddude:

[Rock Chalk]

Alright Daddy, you are the one who replied, I could care less if Denver gets dissed, just stating what I heard. Of course just looking at the cities Denver vs Boston who is the media going to want to win, Alec you are the one with his panties in a bunch.
My panties are not in a bunch.

But this is day 1. By end of week there will be sixty threads about how Denver gets no respect.

Gotta nip this **** in the bud.

[Billy Clyde Puckett]

• Rx factor (health): The Broncos are healthy coming off the bye. They will have Darrent Williams back at cornerback. He's been fighting a high ankle sprain. The Patriots didn't play Tedy Bruschi against Jacksonville but he should be available next weekend. Naturally, Belichick will keep everyone guessing about Bruschi's status all week.

From what we have been told, it is a very high ankle sprain ;D

[bronco militia]

• Rx factor (health): The Broncos are healthy coming off the bye. They will have Darrent Williams back at cornerback. He's been fighting a high ankle sprain. The Patriots didn't play Tedy Bruschi against Jacksonville but he should be available next weekend. Naturally, Belichick will keep everyone guessing about Bruschi's status all week.

From what we have been told, it is a very high ankle sprain ;D

lol..yeah, he sprained his "3rd leg"

[OrangeShadow]

given their(the pats) recent history i cant fully blame the media for hopin on

:bandwagon

[Hercules Rockefeller]

The Bills backfield (Losman led the day with 7 yards)


and McGahee played about a quarter before he left with an injury

[55CrushEm]

and McGahee played about a quarter before he left with an injury

Yeah, and the Bucs were down 21 or 28 to ZIP......guess what? YOU DON'T RUN THE BALL WHEN YOU'RE DOWN BY 3 SCORES IN THE 4TH QUARTER !!!

So that also skewed the Pats "awesome" run-D statistics.