Bad Starts & Rebounds From '05 and '06

[Bronco Billy]

Did a little research - being a bye week. Listed below are teams the were 2-3 or worst last year that turned their season around to finish at / above .500. Also listed teams that looked playoff bound early, but fell off to mediocre seasons. This is roughly 25% of the NFL last year.

Kansas City
Started 2-3. Got their asses kicked by Pittsburgh in Week 5, 45 - 7 (Sound familiar?) Then won 3 in a row (against two playoff teams and St. Louis.) Finished the season 9-7 to make playoffs.

New York Jets
Also started 2-3. They got their asses kicked in Week 5 by Jax 41-0, then won 3 of next 4 including @ NE. Tapered off to 5-5, then won 5 of last 6 to finish 10-6 to make the playoffs.

Pittsburg was 2-6 before finishing 8-8.
Tennessee started 0-5 before finishing 8-8.
Green Bay was 1-4 before finishing 8-8.

Coversely,

The Giants were 6-2 before falling to 8-8.
We were 7-2, before finishing 9-7.
St. Louis was 4-1 before finishing 8-8.
Atlanta was 5-2, before falling to 7-9.


Also, figured to throw in 2005.

Chicago started 1-3 to finish 11-5 and make the playoffs with a bye.
San Diego started 2-3 to finish 9-7.
Miami started 2-4 to finish 9-7.
Minnesota started 1-4 to finish 9-7.

Coversely,

Atlanta started 6-2, to finish 8-8.
Philadelphia started 4-2. to finish 6-10.

We still got a chance!

[TheChamp24]

The Jets were a pretty bad team though last year that got extremely lucky along the way. They only had 1 win against a winning team, and a lot of wins against opponents who were 8-8 or worse. Battle with the Chiefs for the worst playoff team last year.
And you can number crunch and look at history, but the fact is, this team is playing like shiit. NOTHING has been working well. The past 3 games I can't say a thing that gives me hope for the rest of the season.
Sure, we got a chance, but they need to drastically improve their play for me to change my opinion of an 8-8 team at best.

[c_lazy_r]

It seems like the Broncos have started very strong in recent years only to finish slowly.

Maybe Mike really is a genius and he's throwing away the first part of the season hoping to reverse the trend. ;)

[defenseman]

Did a little research - being a bye week. Listed below are teams the were 2-3 or worst last year that turned their season around to finish at / above .500. Also listed teams that looked playoff bound early, but fell off to mediocre seasons. This is roughly 25% of the NFL last year.



We still got a chance!

There's always a chance as long as you are attempting to "compete" and not licking postage stamps to endorse "mailing it in" halfway through the game. But, you gotta want to compete, I'm not so sure this team has that quality presently..dman

[Sir_Robin]

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[Beej]

Good stuff, BB! I have a feeling we'll be able to turn this ship. A win on Sunday, even an ugly one, could do just that.

[broncosteven]

Quick Take: Steelers (4-1) at Broncos (2-3)

NFL.com



Last meeting
Javon Walker scored three touchdowns, including a 72-yard score on a reverse, as the Broncos prevailed 31-20 last November. The Broncos forced six turnovers and registered four sacks to overcome Ben Roethlisberger's 433 passing yards.

Streaks
The Broncos have won four of the last five and now lead the all-time series 12-6-1.

[azbroncfan]

How come no mention of Denver's 6-2 start and stumble down the stretch?

[Swedish Extrovert]

So... this means the best we can hope for is 10-6?

[defenseman]

So... this means the best we can hope for is 10-6?

Where you been?..dman

[KCStud]

This is a viable thread except the fact that Denver almost always sucks down the stretch. Denver can start, but not finish right most of the time...

[BroncoFiend]

Is it any comfort that our three losses came to teams all ranked in the top 6 in current poswer rankings? I'm not sure it is...but it's something.

Of course our next two opponets are ranked 3 and 9, so we will certainly have to step up to win either one of them.

[Cito Pelon]

. . . . . . . .. We still got a chance!

That's an interesting look at what can happen from first month to last month. We just have to wait and see how it plays out. Sure the team still has a chance at the playoffs, but these next two games are a big deal to win. And even after two wins the next two weeks the team still will need to go 6-3 to have a realistic shot at a playoff berth.

7 Sun Oct.21 VS. PITTSBURGH INVESCO Field at Mile High 6:15 PM MDT NBC
8 Mon Oct.29 VS. GREEN BAY INVESCO Field at Mile High 6:30 PM MDT ESPN
9 Sun Nov. 4 at Detroit Ford Field 1:00 PM EST CBS
10 Sun Nov.11 at Kansas City Arrowhead Stadium 12:00 PM CST CBS
11 Mon Nov.19 VS. TENNESSEE INVESCO Field at Mile High 6:30 PM MST ESPN
12 Sun Nov.25 at Chicago Soldier Field 12:00 PM CST CBS
13 Sun Dec. 2 at Oakland McAfee Coliseum 1:05 PM PST CBS
14 Sun Dec. 9 VS. KANSAS CITY INVESCO Field at Mile High 2:15 PM MST CBS
15 Thu Dec.13 at Houston Reliant Stadium 7:15 PM CST NFL Network
16 Mon Dec.24 at San Diego Qualcomm Stadium 5:00 PM PST ESPN
17 Sun Dec.30 VS. MINNESOTA INVESCO Field at Mile High 2:15 PM MST FOX

It's possible.

[ROYC75]

That's at least 6 more losses, maybe 7 with the way Dungver has been playing.

[Dedhed]

how many of those poor starters were tied for the division lead?

[Rock Chalk]

I have no more optimism for this season.

Ill root and cheer but I fully expect 4-12 or 5-11 to be as good as we can hope for and it is entirely possible we dont win another game all year except of course, the Raiders. 3-13 is not out of the realm of possibility.

The bright side of that is we dont have to wait so long on draft day to see what reach/****up/bust we pick in the first round.

[Kaylore]

I think we'll be a better team at the end of the season then at the beginning. I've felt this way since camp, and I still believe as much. We have holes that experience isn't going to fill, though. However we can make progress and improve. If our offense ever gets things put together, I'm telling out all that we are going to kill people once we get up on them early.

[Bronco Billy]

how many of those poor starters were tied for the division lead?

Of the teams that made the playoffs:

Both the Chiefs and Jets were 2 games back in the division.
The '05 Bears were 1 game back in their division and 2 games back from a division leading team who would have received the bye at that point.

[BlaK-Argentina]

I think we'll be a better team at the end of the season then at the beginning. I've felt this way since camp, and I still believe as much. We have holes that experience isn't going to fill, though. However we can make progress and improve. If our offense ever gets things put together, I'm telling out all that we are going to kill people once we get up on them early.

Man, don't get my hopes up like that. :wiggle:

[maher_tyler]

I think we'll be a better team at the end of the season then at the beginning. I've felt this way since camp, and I still believe as much. We have holes that experience isn't going to fill, though. However we can make progress and improve. If our offense ever gets things put together, I'm telling out all that we are going to kill people once we get up on them early.

If we can turn the field goals into TD's and stop turning the ball over that'll help us getting up on teams early..it's become very familure that we drive down the field only to settle for 3 or turn the ball over.

[jbiel]

This season is far from over. We win the next 2 and we can turn things around. This week will be a tuff test, but for some reason GB doesnt worry me too much, at least they dont have a running game. For everyone who has given up on the playoffs, you don't really know much about football. Its damn early and plenty can happen before the season ends. (see the NYG and how far they've come after their 1st 2 games where everyone said their D was absolutely terrible) Have you looked at some of the other teams schedules? Balt has SD, Indy, and NE in 3 straight weeks. Jax schedule is brutal. Ten or us clearly have the easiest schedule.

This is of course if we start playing well. 9 wins might get us into the playoffs. Although the Jax loss could end up hurting us, there is still hope. If Tenn beats them again and we beat Tenn, and they end up with the same record, we'd be in.

[Dr.5280]

I don't want no stinking playoffs. I wan the whole enchilada. If I dont get that then I dont wanna to playoff.

[theAPAOps5]

I am sick of this reloading crap its clearly not working. I will welcome a bad year if it means loading up on some talent. But I also know how Denver drafts and think to myself, this will never end.

[Bronco Billy]

I don't want no stinking playoffs. I wan the whole enchilada. If I dont get that then I dont wanna to playoff.

Everyone wants the whole enchilada!!! But, if it is only the playoffs, it still takes 1-3 weeks off of the offseason.

Shore up the run D and convert long drives into TDs instead of TOs or FGs and we can make the playoffs - barring injuries. (Strong emphasis on shoring up the run D.)

If we get that accomplished, we still have a long way to go to beat the Pats or the Colts in their place. Luckily, it's only one game and not a series, so with a little luck we might be able to pull off a huge upset. But I'm getting way ahead of myself. Plus, we're already in trouble if we're relying on luck.