Does anyone else think this feels like the '06 Niners game? - The Orange Mane

Kaylore · 12-19-2008, 07:09 AM

The 7-9 Niners were coming into Invesco. Broncos were favored by a touchdown, I think. Then everything went wrong and by losing the game pushed the Chiefs into the playoffs.

Here we are in '08 and the 6-8 Bills are coming to Denver. I was listening to the Bronco players interviews and they all are pretty confident talking like they got this one easy. Buffalo gave the Jets a run for their money and when they've been able to execute are a dangerous team. Lynch is the real deal at running back. Now Clady and Kuper, our two most consistent linemen, are injured. Everything's setting up for San Diego. I just have a bad feeling that Tampa is going to fold in the final seconds against the Boltz and we'll let this one get away because we're acting all cocky and this is the kind of game we lose.

Thoughts?

DomCasual · 12-19-2008, 07:11 AM

Yeah, I've been thinking about that all week.

bronco militia · 12-19-2008, 07:12 AM

BlaK-Argentina · 12-19-2008, 07:15 AM

I really don't have the energy to be thinking about all this. Being a Broncos fan this past few years has been emotionally tiring. I'm trying not to think about this until sunday... if Tampa beats SD all this is moot... but if SD wins, I'll be a nervous wreck during our game. More than usual. I just hope we take care of business.

Merlin · 12-19-2008, 07:17 AM

Hubris has brought about their downfall before, but I had hoped they had outgrown it. You would have thought KC and Raiders would have taught them about any given Sunday.

Hotrod · 12-19-2008, 07:18 AM

I was at that game and it was cold as **** just like this Sunday is going to be. I dont think this game will turn out the same at all. My gut feeling is we roll the Jills early and they pack it in. The 9er game it felt like the whole crowd knew it was coming before it happened.

This team is going to come out swinging for the fences to lock up some time off next week.

rugbythug · 12-19-2008, 07:24 AM

Wil Jay get KO'd in this one too?

Smiling Assassin27 · 12-19-2008, 07:27 AM

No more excuses. Time for Jay to step through the door into 'winners-ville'. He's always had the excuse that he never got to play in a big game at Vandy. Well, in the immortal words of Yoda:

Do or do not; there is no try.

Let's hope he grabs this opportunity and carves up some Buffalo meat on Sunday.

Irish Stout · 12-19-2008, 07:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dortoh

I was at that game and it was cold as **** just like this Sunday is going to be. I dont think this game will turn out the same at all. My gut feeling is we roll the Jills early and they pack it in. The 9er game it felt like the whole crowd knew it was coming before it happened.

This team is going to come out swinging for the fences to lock up some time off next week.

I was at that game and I am going to this game and it was as cold as it could possibly be! My feeling then as my feeling is now, the football gods will let what is supposed to happen happen. If we lose today and SD wins, then we were not meant to go to the playoffs. We can then all let out a sigh of relief knowing we don't have to watch Peyton Manning decimate our secondary in another early playoff game. On the other hand, if we win, then we need our team to show up in full force with an actual decent game plan to even begin dreaming of moving ahead in the playoffs.

Dagmar · 12-19-2008, 07:42 AM

montrose · 12-19-2008, 07:45 AM

Some of the players actually addressed this in a DP article:

http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_11257940

Repeat of 2006 not in Broncos' realm of reality
By Mike Klis
The Denver Post

Champ Bailey could not remember returning an interception for a touchdown.

Not at first he couldn't.

"Did I?" he said, before pausing to think. "I guess I did, didn't I? All I remember is we lost."

When the game is big — and they don't get much bigger than when a victory guarantees the playoffs while a defeat means potentially missing the postseason — nothing about the process matters. Not even a pick-six. It's all about the outcome.

The Broncos' game Sunday against Buffalo could be their most significant since the final game of the 2006 season, when a stunning overtime loss to the then 6-9 San Francisco 49ers caused Denver to miss the playoffs for the first time in four years.

"I just hope our attitude is different," Bailey said. "We got beat by a team that wasn't as good as we were, but they outplayed us that day. They came to play. They didn't play like a team that had nothing to gain from winning."

There is also a chance the game against the Buffalo Bills could become their most meaningless contest since the final game of 2005, when they had the AFC West clinched but whipped the Chargers anyway. Broncos coach Mike Shanahan doesn't want his players to know the outcome of the Tampa Bay-San Diego game. Should the Buccaneers, three-point favorites, beat the Chargers, Denver would have the AFC West title and no worse than a No. 4 playoff seed clinched before kickoff against the Bills.

But if Tampa Bay loses, the pressure will intensify on the Broncos.

"It's exciting, but you stay loose and relaxed and just go out there and play," said Broncos safety Marlon McCree, who played in a playoff-or-die game in 2005 while with Carolina. "There's no need to get uptight."

A Chargers victory Sunday would give them a 7-8 record. The Broncos would fall to 8-7 if they lose to Buffalo. This scenario would force a winner-take-all season finale between the Chargers, who would have the tiebreaker based on a better record within the AFC
(Click image to enlarge)
West, and the Broncos on Dec. 28 in San Diego.

"And Buffalo knows that, too," Broncos defensive lineman Ebenezer Ekuban said. "Of course they'll want to play spoiler. It happened two years ago when San Francisco came in. They knew it. It doesn't get any better than this, man. This is what you want."

The Broncos are going about their weekly preparations assuming San Diego will beat Tampa Bay. Such an assumption makes this the biggest game since the 49ers game in 2006. A win would have put the Broncos in the playoffs. Instead, they lost and sent Kansas City to the playoffs.

"I fumbled that game," Broncos running back Tatum Bell said. "And then I got traded."

OK, so not all details in the process of a big game are forgotten. Bell's fumble is disputed to this day by Shanahan.

"A fumble that we had there that shouldn't have been a fumble," Shanahan said Wednesday. "It was a mistake by the officials. Yeah, I remember that quite well."

Bailey's interception return late in the first half had given the Broncos a 13-0 lead. The problem was the lead wasn't 21-0. The Broncos had first-and-goal at the 1 and first-and-goal at the 3 in the first half. They also had first-and-goal at the 3 in the second half. The result from those goal-to-go possessions? Field goal, field goal, field goal.

"Got to put them away," Bell said. "There are no easy wins. You can't let anybody hang around."

In the second half, Broncos' rookie quarterback Jay Cutler, who had been knocked woozy with a concussion in the first half, threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown. From then on, it was the Broncos who played catch-up. In overtime, the Broncos couldn't move the ball on two possessions before a field goal by Joe Nedney ended their season.

"It's a totally different feel for me, and I think it's a totally different feel for everyone in the locker room," Cutler said. "We know we have a totally different team, for that matter. I have a lot more experience. I think the guys have more confidence than we did in ourselves."

Kaylore · 12-19-2008, 07:49 AM

Well I'm glad the press reminded them of it. This will be a real test. Can we get up for a big, must-win game? This is our playoffs. They need to go hard and go hard the whole game.

Rohirrim · 12-19-2008, 07:51 AM

At the beginning of the season I said 8 and 8. I don't see any reason to change that.

theAPAOps5 · 12-19-2008, 07:56 AM

Yeah I have that feeling too. But the injuries are what concern me more especially the O-Line. No running back and now 2 stalwarts on the line dinged up. This is becoming a perfect storm.

oubronco · 12-19-2008, 07:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rugbythug

Wil Jay get KO'd in this one too?

I really hope you knocked on wood for this

Hotrod · 12-19-2008, 07:57 AM

I still remember the feeling as word spread thru the crowd that because of our loss the cheeps had backed in to the playoffs. It sucked ass

Orange_Beard · 12-19-2008, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dortoh

I was at that game and it was cold as **** just like this Sunday is going to be. I dont think this game will turn out the same at all. My gut feeling is we roll the Jills early and they pack it in. The 9er game it felt like the whole crowd knew it was coming before it happened.

This team is going to come out swinging for the fences to lock up some time off next week.

I was there to and had the same feeling.

I am nervous about this game. But it is more of an excited nervous.
I can taste the title.

epicSocialism4tw · 12-19-2008, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smiling Assassin27

No more excuses. Time for Jay to step through the door into 'winners-ville'. He's always had the excuse that he never got to play in a big game at Vandy. Well, in the immortal words of Yoda:

Do or do not; there is no try.

Let's hope he grabs this opportunity and carves up some Buffalo meat on Sunday.

I agree.

This is Jay's third season.

It's time to show some leadership and maturity.

Play2win · 12-19-2008, 08:13 AM

I think its completely different.

SF had the more physical team. I was worried about that game. SF was not a very good team, but they had a tough runner and a physical team. I thought our team wasn't physical, nor was it that tough. We had good talent at certain positions, but we could get out muscled by less talented teams like SF.

Now, we are a lot more physical. The OLine, by itself, makes sure of that. We would be a lot more physical with Hillis, but as it is, we are still a good physical team. Offensively...

Defensively, we have issues...

BUT, we also, when Jay Cutler is on, an explosive offense. We can rack up the points pretty quick is we are working on all cylinders.

Does our team have flaws? You betcha! Some pretty big ones too... But, we also have MAJOR strengths... If we can take FULL advantage of our strengths, and minimize our weaknesses(flaws), I still feel we can beat ANYBODY in the NFL...

Taco John · 12-19-2008, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smiling Assassin27

No more excuses.

Other than having no defense and no running game in the thick of NFL football in December - rrrrright. No excuses....

Reality check people: we have no reason to win either of the next two games. Fans should be expecting to lose both of them, and delighted if we win them. Obviously we want to win them. But we shouldn't be setting our expectations on it and crucifying our best player(s) if it doesn't happen.

Meck77 · 12-19-2008, 08:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dortoh

I still remember the feeling as word spread thru the crowd that because of our loss the cheeps had backed in to the playoffs. It sucked ass

Yeah that game sucked. Even worse was waking up hearing that we lost Dwill.

As far as expectations for this game I look at it this way. We're two average teams battling it out on the field and anything can happen.

If Jay/the team turns the ball over I expect a loss. It's not that complicated really.

SoDak Bronco · 12-19-2008, 08:19 AM

Big Game no doubt. I think Denver needs to come out and just beat these guys by like 30 points and get some good mojo going into the final week. We can then rest some guys next week. But I def. have some nerves about this game. I remember that game was just awful, and then the next morning we wake up and Dwill is dead. Man that was like the cherry on top of the cake. Except it kinda made you feel bad about being pissed about the game.

epicSocialism4tw · 12-19-2008, 08:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taco John

Other than having no defense and no running game in the thick of NFL football in December - rrrrright. No excuses....

Reality check people: we have no reason to win either of the next two games. Fans should be expecting to lose both of them, and delighted if we win them. Obviously we want to win them. But we shouldn't be setting our expectations on it and cricifying our best player(s) if it doesn't happen.

Sorry Taco, but this sounds funny coming from you!

bronco militia · 12-19-2008, 08:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taco John

Other than having no defense and no running game in the thick of NFL football in December - rrrrright. No excuses....

Reality check people: we have no reason to win either of the next two games. Fans should be expecting to lose both of them, and delighted if we win them. Obviously we want to win them. But we shouldn't be setting our expectations on it and cricifying our best player(s) if it doesn't happen.

word

Rock Chalk · 12-19-2008, 08:22 AM

No, this doesnt feel like the Niners game.

Im worried about this game. I wasnt worried about the Niners game.

12-19-2008, 07:09 AM	#1
Kaylore 6-37, Raider fans. Yummy birds and snow! Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Ceti Alpha V Posts: 41,074 Adopt-a-Bronco: Wesley Duke	Does anyone else think this feels like the '06 Niners game? The 7-9 Niners were coming into Invesco. Broncos were favored by a touchdown, I think. Then everything went wrong and by losing the game pushed the Chiefs into the playoffs. Here we are in '08 and the 6-8 Bills are coming to Denver. I was listening to the Bronco players interviews and they all are pretty confident talking like they got this one easy. Buffalo gave the Jets a run for their money and when they've been able to execute are a dangerous team. Lynch is the real deal at running back. Now Clady and Kuper, our two most consistent linemen, are injured. Everything's setting up for San Diego. I just have a bad feeling that Tampa is going to fold in the final seconds against the Boltz and we'll let this one get away because we're acting all cocky and this is the kind of game we lose. Thoughts?

12-19-2008, 07:12 AM	#3
bronco militia Ring of Famer THE GREATEST Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: colorado springs, co Posts: 22,591	yep

12-19-2008, 08:13 AM	#19
Play2win Ring of Famer Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 9,610 Adopt-a-Bronco: The Duke	I think its completely different. SF had the more physical team. I was worried about that game. SF was not a very good team, but they had a tough runner and a physical team. I thought our team wasn't physical, nor was it that tough. We had good talent at certain positions, but we could get out muscled by less talented teams like SF. Now, we are a lot more physical. The OLine, by itself, makes sure of that. We would be a lot more physical with Hillis, but as it is, we are still a good physical team. Offensively... Defensively, we have issues... BUT, we also, when Jay Cutler is on, an explosive offense. We can rack up the points pretty quick is we are working on all cylinders. Does our team have flaws? You betcha! Some pretty big ones too... But, we also have MAJOR strengths... If we can take FULL advantage of our strengths, and minimize our weaknesses(flaws), I still feel we can beat ANYBODY in the NFL... Last edited by Play2win; 12-19-2008 at 08:15 AM..

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

12-19-2008, 07:11 AM	#2
DomCasual The Dude abides. Shameless Homer Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Cocytus Posts: 13,173 Adopt-a-Bronco: Gus Frerotte	Yeah, I've been thinking about that all week.

12-19-2008, 07:15 AM	#4
BlaK-Argentina Pampita says... ... support your team! Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Mar del Plata, Argentina. Posts: 5,174 Adopt-a-Bronco: Eddie Royal	I really don't have the energy to be thinking about all this. Being a Broncos fan this past few years has been emotionally tiring. I'm trying not to think about this until sunday... if Tampa beats SD all this is moot... but if SD wins, I'll be a nervous wreck during our game. More than usual. I just hope we take care of business.

12-19-2008, 07:17 AM	#5
Merlin Ring of Famer Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 2,798	Hubris has brought about their downfall before, but I had hoped they had outgrown it. You would have thought KC and Raiders would have taught them about any given Sunday.

12-19-2008, 07:18 AM	#6
Hotrod Self Appointed Expert aka Dortoh Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 25,136 Adopt-a-Bronco: Miss I	I was at that game and it was cold as **** just like this Sunday is going to be. I dont think this game will turn out the same at all. My gut feeling is we roll the Jills early and they pack it in. The 9er game it felt like the whole crowd knew it was coming before it happened. This team is going to come out swinging for the fences to lock up some time off next week.

12-19-2008, 07:24 AM	#7
rugbythug Church Eyes. Salty Dog Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 3,788 Adopt-a-Bronco: Mr. Miller	Wil Jay get KO'd in this one too?

12-19-2008, 07:27 AM	#8
Smiling Assassin27 STOP! KIPER TIME! Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: In a van down by the river Posts: 10,983 Adopt-a-Bronco: Von Miller	No more excuses. Time for Jay to step through the door into 'winners-ville'. He's always had the excuse that he never got to play in a big game at Vandy. Well, in the immortal words of Yoda: Do or do not; there is no try. Let's hope he grabs this opportunity and carves up some Buffalo meat on Sunday.

12-19-2008, 07:42 AM	#10
Dagmar ...there ain't no devil ..there's just God when he's drunk. Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Morrison Posts: 17,132 Adopt-a-Bronco: Tim Tebow

12-19-2008, 07:45 AM	#11
montrose Ring of Famer Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 6,095 Adopt-a-Bronco: VP John Elway	Some of the players actually addressed this in a DP article: http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_11257940 Repeat of 2006 not in Broncos' realm of reality By Mike Klis The Denver Post Champ Bailey could not remember returning an interception for a touchdown. Not at first he couldn't. "Did I?" he said, before pausing to think. "I guess I did, didn't I? All I remember is we lost." When the game is big — and they don't get much bigger than when a victory guarantees the playoffs while a defeat means potentially missing the postseason — nothing about the process matters. Not even a pick-six. It's all about the outcome. The Broncos' game Sunday against Buffalo could be their most significant since the final game of the 2006 season, when a stunning overtime loss to the then 6-9 San Francisco 49ers caused Denver to miss the playoffs for the first time in four years. "I just hope our attitude is different," Bailey said. "We got beat by a team that wasn't as good as we were, but they outplayed us that day. They came to play. They didn't play like a team that had nothing to gain from winning." There is also a chance the game against the Buffalo Bills could become their most meaningless contest since the final game of 2005, when they had the AFC West clinched but whipped the Chargers anyway. Broncos coach Mike Shanahan doesn't want his players to know the outcome of the Tampa Bay-San Diego game. Should the Buccaneers, three-point favorites, beat the Chargers, Denver would have the AFC West title and no worse than a No. 4 playoff seed clinched before kickoff against the Bills. But if Tampa Bay loses, the pressure will intensify on the Broncos. "It's exciting, but you stay loose and relaxed and just go out there and play," said Broncos safety Marlon McCree, who played in a playoff-or-die game in 2005 while with Carolina. "There's no need to get uptight." A Chargers victory Sunday would give them a 7-8 record. The Broncos would fall to 8-7 if they lose to Buffalo. This scenario would force a winner-take-all season finale between the Chargers, who would have the tiebreaker based on a better record within the AFC (Click image to enlarge) West, and the Broncos on Dec. 28 in San Diego. "And Buffalo knows that, too," Broncos defensive lineman Ebenezer Ekuban said. "Of course they'll want to play spoiler. It happened two years ago when San Francisco came in. They knew it. It doesn't get any better than this, man. This is what you want." The Broncos are going about their weekly preparations assuming San Diego will beat Tampa Bay. Such an assumption makes this the biggest game since the 49ers game in 2006. A win would have put the Broncos in the playoffs. Instead, they lost and sent Kansas City to the playoffs. "I fumbled that game," Broncos running back Tatum Bell said. "And then I got traded." OK, so not all details in the process of a big game are forgotten. Bell's fumble is disputed to this day by Shanahan. "A fumble that we had there that shouldn't have been a fumble," Shanahan said Wednesday. "It was a mistake by the officials. Yeah, I remember that quite well." Bailey's interception return late in the first half had given the Broncos a 13-0 lead. The problem was the lead wasn't 21-0. The Broncos had first-and-goal at the 1 and first-and-goal at the 3 in the first half. They also had first-and-goal at the 3 in the second half. The result from those goal-to-go possessions? Field goal, field goal, field goal. "Got to put them away," Bell said. "There are no easy wins. You can't let anybody hang around." In the second half, Broncos' rookie quarterback Jay Cutler, who had been knocked woozy with a concussion in the first half, threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown. From then on, it was the Broncos who played catch-up. In overtime, the Broncos couldn't move the ball on two possessions before a field goal by Joe Nedney ended their season. "It's a totally different feel for me, and I think it's a totally different feel for everyone in the locker room," Cutler said. "We know we have a totally different team, for that matter. I have a lot more experience. I think the guys have more confidence than we did in ourselves."

12-19-2008, 07:49 AM	#12
Kaylore 6-37, Raider fans. Yummy birds and snow! Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Ceti Alpha V Posts: 41,074 Adopt-a-Bronco: Wesley Duke	Well I'm glad the press reminded them of it. This will be a real test. Can we get up for a big, must-win game? This is our playoffs. They need to go hard and go hard the whole game.

12-19-2008, 07:51 AM	#13
Rohirrim Partisan Human Cannonball Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Twixt Hell & Highwater Posts: 48,854	At the beginning of the season I said 8 and 8. I don't see any reason to change that.

12-19-2008, 07:56 AM	#14
theAPAOps5 A new beginning! Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Denver Posts: 26,058 Adopt-a-Bronco: Watermock - RIP	Yeah I have that feeling too. But the injuries are what concern me more especially the O-Line. No running back and now 2 stalwarts on the line dinged up. This is becoming a perfect storm.

12-19-2008, 07:57 AM	#16
Hotrod Self Appointed Expert aka Dortoh Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 25,136 Adopt-a-Bronco: Miss I	I still remember the feeling as word spread thru the crowd that because of our loss the cheeps had backed in to the playoffs. It sucked ass

12-19-2008, 08:19 AM	#22
SoDak Bronco Lace em' up and lets go!! Von Miller aka QB Killa Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: South Dakota Posts: 4,133 Adopt-a-Bronco: Robert Ayers	Big Game no doubt. I think Denver needs to come out and just beat these guys by like 30 points and get some good mojo going into the final week. We can then rest some guys next week. But I def. have some nerves about this game. I remember that game was just awful, and then the next morning we wake up and Dwill is dead. Man that was like the cherry on top of the cake. Except it kinda made you feel bad about being pissed about the game.

12-19-2008, 08:22 AM	#25
Rock Chalk Cheeky Bastards Laus Deo Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: The Backside of the Internet Posts: 29,940 Adopt-a-Bronco: Chris Harris	No, this doesnt feel like the Niners game. Im worried about this game. I wasnt worried about the Niners game.