I'm Calling It Now....DEN/SEA II

[OldschoolFreak]

Superbowl 49 will be a rematch.

I know this never happens and history says the Broncos will be lucky to even make the playoffs next year. I also acknowledge that this offseason will be a big minefield that will have to be expertly navigated to avoid mass attrition and talent loss.

But I think we do navigate the postseason with some success, hopefully don't get bit quite as hard by the injury bug next year, and make it back.

I admit I have no idea if (and perhaps even less faith that) that Fox can come up with a better gameplan/tougher team/more prepared mentality but I think at least he'll have a shot.

[B-Large]

oh God, too soon. I can't even comprehend sitting down to watch a repeat yet. The stench from Sunday is still strong in my nose. Stinks real bad.

[PaintballCLE]

well we do play them in seattle this year during the regular season....

[bronco militia]

Originally Posted by PaintballCLE

well we do play them in seattle this year during the regular season....

and we will probably play them again in the pre-season.

[Agamemnon]

I don't think I could bring myself to watch that. I have zero trust in this team and coaching staff.

[Broncos dude]

I hope your right , but I just don't see it happening

[OldschoolFreak]

Yeah, it seems scary after what just happened. But really, I think this was as much of an avalanche game as I've ever seen. It started early and just rolled Seattle's way. Yes, they had a lot to do with it BUT, we allowed the game to be played their way.

But I really believe it could have been just as lopsided the other way. Just imagine if a jittery Holiday takes a smart touchback instead of hastily returning it to the 15, instead of a bad snap, an overly aggressive D is offsides on the first play giving Manning a free play that goes for 80. A quick three and out and 4 plays into the next drive after our offense does it's thing and converts a few first downs and now Seattle (rather than Denver) is pressing early resulting in a jacked up Earl Thomas concussing Richard Sherman while trying to help tackle DT. Sherman out for the game, quick TD to DT and you get the picture...No deer in the headlights, we stay calm and play our brand of football and it's 43-8 Denver.

My point is, yes there are steps that need to be taken to toughen and better prepare this team but I don't see any reason to believe Seattle isn't beatable.

[DeusExManning]

As a Lakers fan this feels like when the Lakers got beat by the Celtics, they were humiliated. It changed the Lakers they came back strong the next year and really committed to being physical and they won the next year.

[SoCalBronco]

Well...the Bills and Cowboys played 2 years in a row.

I'd expect this to go the same way too unless there is some sort of mass upgrade somewhere.

[2KBack]

At this point, that's the match-up I would want the most. I hope the team would feel the same.

[Rohirrim]

The odds are against it. Teams have to be really lucky just to miss the injury bug. Imagine if the Seahawks next year faced the same level of injuries on D that we had this year? That puts the Niners or Panthers in the game. Or the Cardinals.

[El Minion]

One of the keys to SEA winning was that they had depth and close to nil injuries. Plus they had Percy Harvin play in his first and only full game of the year on Sunday. DEN had four key starters missing Ryan Clady, Von Miller, Chris Harris, Derek Wolfe. This alone would alter the game, maybe not the outcome, but definitely not the debacle that was SB XLVIII. SEA had one of the worst protection and most allowed sacked O-line, DEN didn't even get close enough to lay curse word on Wilson

[maven]

Well, if we are picking SB's today I'd go with SF versus NE.

[Agamemnon]

Originally Posted by Rohirrim

The odds are against it. Teams have to be really lucky just to miss the injury bug. Imagine if the Seahawks next year faced the same level of injuries on D that we had this year? That puts the Niners or Panthers in the game. Or the Cardinals.

I'm also not convinced we can get homefield advantage yet again or that Manning will wait until the Super Bowl to pull his playoff choke job, but whatever.

[Punisher]

Broncos need to have a nasty defense to get back this year, everybody will be better Colts, Pats, Chargers. K.C and even the Bengals will all have better teams.

[OldschoolFreak]

Originally Posted by Punisher

Broncos need to have a nasty defense to get back this year, everybody will be better Colts, Pats, Chargers. K.C and even the Bengals will all have better teams.

Yes, but if the offseason is well managed, so will the Broncos. One thing we haven't had in years is immediate high level contribution from the draft. I'm counting on us getting:

-1) a quality starter or two in the draft

-2) healing (some injuries always occur but not like this--we were missing 1/3 (7/22 starters) of our frigging team!)

-3) some growth/improvement from some of the young core (Ball/Sly/Nasty Nate/Franklin/Duke?/Trev/Quant/Mccray/Rahim--lots of good upside there)

-4) a couple smart FA acquisitions of tough players that substantially improve the team (like Knighton, DRC, Phillips this last year)

-5) and some improvement in coaching/scheme to make the team tougher and more balanced.

Yes, we lose Deck/Knomo/etc. but the scenario above is totally doable (except maybe the last one; with Fox/JDR, that might be wishful thinking). And if we do that we improve.

[maven]

Originally Posted by Punisher

Broncos need to have a nasty defense to get back this year, everybody will be better Colts, Pats, Chargers. K.C and even the Bengals will all have better teams.

How about a running game that's nasty? Makes you wonder if Lacey would have been the better back instead of Ball.

[Meck77]

Originally Posted by OldschoolFreak

Superbowl 49 will be a rematch.

I know this never happens and history says the Broncos will be lucky to even make the playoffs next year. I also acknowledge that this offseason will be a big minefield that will have to be expertly navigated to avoid mass attrition and talent loss.

But I think we do navigate the postseason with some success, hopefully don't get bit quite as hard by the injury bug next year, and make it back.

I admit I have no idea if (and perhaps even less faith that) that Fox can come up with a better gameplan/tougher team/more prepared mentality but I think at least he'll have a shot.

You aren't this jackass are you? This fool got a Broncos Championship Tatoo 14 hours before the game and blasted it on the internet.

http://azstarnet.com/news/local/this...a4bcf887a.html

[OldschoolFreak]

Originally Posted by Meck77

You aren't this jackass are you? This fool got a Broncos Championship Tatoo 14 hours before the game and blasted it on the internet.

http://azstarnet.com/news/local/this...a4bcf887a.html

Too bad 48 and 49 look so different in roman numerals!

[Agamemnon]

Originally Posted by maven

How about a running game that's nasty? Makes you wonder if Lacey would have been the better back instead of Ball.

are we now trying to put this game on the rookie running back that barely even played and when he did got a tough first down after being hit behind the line of scrimmage? How about we carry a quality fullback on our roster if we want a real running game?

[maven]

Originally Posted by Agamemnon

are we now trying to put this game on the rookie running back that barely even played and when he did got a tough first down after being hit behind the line of scrimmage? How about we carry a quality fullback on our roster if we want a real running game?

Do you have a jump to conclusions map in your house?

I think it would be beneficial if this team gets more physical running the ball and running the ball consistently. And I do wonder if Eddie Lacy would have been the better selection over Ball for this SB run.

[bpc]

Originally Posted by maven

Well, if we are picking SB's today I'd go with SF versus NE.

What does NE have that's better than us after how we plowed them? The only thing that might work in their favor is home field advantage.

[Kid A]

Originally Posted by DeusExManning

As a Lakers fan this feels like when the Lakers got beat by the Celtics, they were humiliated. It changed the Lakers they came back strong the next year and really committed to being physical and they won the next year.

And a more immediate example is...the San Francisco 49ers. Granted, they came up 1 play short in the NFC title game, but the previous two times they played at Seattle (the Russell Wilson era) they got pasted 42-13 and 29-3.

Neither road loss was quite as ugly or inexcusable as the performance Denver had Sunday, but it shows that even the toughest competition Seattle has right now has had a very up and down time against them. When they play well it's a close win or loss. Screw up even a few plays...Seattle has a way of blowing the game wide open.

Denver plays the entire 2013 AFC playoff field next year (including a likely even more improved KC and SD twice) and the entire NFC West (including a road trip to Seattle). I don't think the superstitious folks on this board need to worry about 13-3 happening again. But they also don't have to worry about the team going into the playoffs soft. If Denver can somehow fight their way back to the SB, they certainly won't have the excuse of not knowing what to expect.

[Armchair Bronco]

Both Denver and Seattle will make the playoffs next year. Denver, even with a below-average defense, has enough horsepower w/ Manning to go deep.

The road will be hard for Seattle because, net-net, the NFC is an order of magnitude more competitive than the AFC. As most commentators have figured out by now, the AFC is "soft" compared to the NFC.

I predict that whatever team makes it out of the NFC next year will take down the AFC representative in SB 49, whether that's Denver or New England. Defense wins championships, and the best defenses are in the NFC, in particular in the NFC West.

[Vegas_Bronco]

If it were not for manning we wouldn't have been in SB48 and that needs to change this year. I don't want another season where we are dependent upon him to 'PULL US THROUGH'...we've gotten too spoiled relying on one guy who has a horrible record of 'closing the deal'.