How much do you wanna bet Tom Brady is a tad bit annoyed over this so-called "match up" between him and Tebow this Sunday? After everything Brady has done in the league, to even be in the same conversation as Tebow right now must grate on his nerves. As if Tebow could hold Brady's jock.
I have a feeling Brady and Belichick are set to go OFF today and show Tebow what being a real QB in the NFL is all about.
Let's take a look at some numbers (numbers are fun!)... The overall record of the teams the Broncos have beat during this 7-1 stretch is 39-52 (.428).
Of the teams with a winning record (there are four of them), the Bears are currently 7-6, but were without Cutler when they played the Broncos (they've gone 0-3 without Cutler, by the way). The Raiders are 7-6, but were playing their first game with Carson Palmer at QB that week. The Jets are 8-5, but the Broncos defense held them to 13 points that week (again, the Bronco's defense being the real story here).
The other team they played with a winning record, the Lions (8-5), stomped them 45-10.
The other four teams (Dolphins, Chiefs, Chargers and Vikings) are a combined 17-35 (.326). The Broncos' average margin of victory over these four bottom dwellers? A whopping 3.25 points. Impressive!
Don't expect any miracles this week. A real team, with a real NFL QB, is coming to Mile High. No hate, just the facts.
Patriots 27 Broncos 13
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011
It's (Still) The Defense, Not Tebow
Here's an excerpt from an article I read today...
My problem with that is this: "...the Denver Broncos and Tebow were wretched for more than 55 minutes..."
No, Tebow was wretched for more than 55 minutes. The Denver Broncos' defense and special teams were outstanding. Just as they've been throughout this 6 game winning streak. If not for the defense, yet again, coming up big and holding the other team to so few points, and the special teams hitting on long field goals, Tebow wouldn't even have the opportunity to throw a couple of nice series together and "lead" the Broncos to yet another win.
Enough of this notion that the team sucks for most the game and then somehow turns it around in the final minutes. That's just not true. The team is playing great. Tebow, on the other hand, is sucking up the joint for most the game before finally pulling his head out of his ass and playing respectfully well at the end.
He won't have that luxury vs the Patriots next week.
There is no other plausible way to make sense of these games and the amazing, miraculous way with which they win week after week. Not the victory at Miami or the last-second beating of the New York Jets and certainly not Sunday afternoon when the Denver Broncos and Tebow were wretched for more than 55 minutes and somehow won a game that can’t rationally be analyzed.
My problem with that is this: "...the Denver Broncos and Tebow were wretched for more than 55 minutes..."
No, Tebow was wretched for more than 55 minutes. The Denver Broncos' defense and special teams were outstanding. Just as they've been throughout this 6 game winning streak. If not for the defense, yet again, coming up big and holding the other team to so few points, and the special teams hitting on long field goals, Tebow wouldn't even have the opportunity to throw a couple of nice series together and "lead" the Broncos to yet another win.
Enough of this notion that the team sucks for most the game and then somehow turns it around in the final minutes. That's just not true. The team is playing great. Tebow, on the other hand, is sucking up the joint for most the game before finally pulling his head out of his ass and playing respectfully well at the end.
He won't have that luxury vs the Patriots next week.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Tebow Is Not Leading The Broncos
All this talk about Tebow “leading” the Broncos to a 5-1 record since taking over as the starter got me to thinking about another QB who “led” a team to a Super Bowl win, yet was never perceived as the reason behind their wins.
Trent Dilfer.
Dilfer was the Ravens’ QB in 2000 when they won the Super Bowl. But, the focus (and reason for their wins) was placed squarely on the defense. And rightfully so in many respects. They had a great defense that year. At one point during the season, the offense went five games without scoring a TD, yet they survived that drought and made the playoffs.
Dilfer was largely perceived as a “manager” of the game. He didn’t play spectacularly, he limited his turnovers and mistakes and did enough to win. But, did anyone ever say he LED them to their wins that year? No. As a matter of fact, the Ravens let him go after that season in hopes of upgrading the QB position (they brought in Elvis Grbac, which turned out to be a failure of an acquisition).
Dilfer’s numbers that year were as follows:
59.3% completions
6.6 avg yards per pass
76.6 rating
Tebow’s numbers this year:
45.5% completions
6.0 avg yards per pass
80.5 rating
Along with that, look at what the Denver defense has done over the past six games (points allowed in bold):
Dolphins W 18-15
Lions L 10-45
Raiders W 38-24
Chiefs W 17-10
Jets W 17-13
Chargers W 16-13
They allowed an average of 12.75 points in 4 of those 6 games. To say the defense has been on a roll would be an understatement. The Broncos are only averaging 19 points a game during this stretch (15.6 if you remove the 38 point outburst vs the Raiders).
Given all that, it’s hard to say Tebow is “leading” the Broncos to anything. If anything, they’re winning in SPITE of him. Or, at best, he’s not losing games.
Time, and opposing defenses, will eventually catch up with the Broncos (and given their offensive production, I'd argue they already have). This winning streak will not continue. But, even if it does go on a little longer, it won’t be because of Tebow “leading” them. It will be because of the Broncos’ defense.
Just like the Ravens’ defense led them.
Trent Dilfer.
Dilfer was the Ravens’ QB in 2000 when they won the Super Bowl. But, the focus (and reason for their wins) was placed squarely on the defense. And rightfully so in many respects. They had a great defense that year. At one point during the season, the offense went five games without scoring a TD, yet they survived that drought and made the playoffs.
Dilfer was largely perceived as a “manager” of the game. He didn’t play spectacularly, he limited his turnovers and mistakes and did enough to win. But, did anyone ever say he LED them to their wins that year? No. As a matter of fact, the Ravens let him go after that season in hopes of upgrading the QB position (they brought in Elvis Grbac, which turned out to be a failure of an acquisition).
Dilfer’s numbers that year were as follows:
59.3% completions
6.6 avg yards per pass
76.6 rating
Tebow’s numbers this year:
45.5% completions
6.0 avg yards per pass
80.5 rating
Along with that, look at what the Denver defense has done over the past six games (points allowed in bold):
Dolphins W 18-15
Lions L 10-45
Raiders W 38-24
Chiefs W 17-10
Jets W 17-13
Chargers W 16-13
They allowed an average of 12.75 points in 4 of those 6 games. To say the defense has been on a roll would be an understatement. The Broncos are only averaging 19 points a game during this stretch (15.6 if you remove the 38 point outburst vs the Raiders).
Given all that, it’s hard to say Tebow is “leading” the Broncos to anything. If anything, they’re winning in SPITE of him. Or, at best, he’s not losing games.
Time, and opposing defenses, will eventually catch up with the Broncos (and given their offensive production, I'd argue they already have). This winning streak will not continue. But, even if it does go on a little longer, it won’t be because of Tebow “leading” them. It will be because of the Broncos’ defense.
Just like the Ravens’ defense led them.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Painter makes his debut, Colts fall to 0-4
After watching yet another tight game lost by the Colts' inability to stop the other team's offense late in the game, I have to say I'm not feeling horrible about the prospect of finishing the year with Painter as the QB. Is he going to win many games for us? Probably not. Is there a chance he'll be the eventual heir to Peyton's throne? Not a chance. But, given his relative inexperience, I thought he did an okay job last night. He didn't make the glaring mistake (although Tampa helped by dropping a couple of sure INT's) and seemed to audible pretty well at the line. That was encouraging.
The injuries to the offensive line will prove to be the bigger detriment to the remainder of the season, not Painter. If they don't get healthy across the front line, it's not going to matter who is playing QB, it's going to be ugly (uglier).
The defense, late game falters notwithstanding, has played pretty well, considering the fact that they're missing their starting ILB (Angerer is a beast, though) and starting safety. Eric Foster's gruesome ankle injury and injuries to defensive linemen Fili Moala and Drake Nevis only mean a further softening of the middle of the defense. This defense would be much better if Peyton was scoring points and putting pressure on the other team's offense to score. But, he's not.
So, we're left with Painter grinding out games and hoping the defense can help him hang around long enough to finally pull off a win. Perhaps next week's game at home against the lowly Chiefs will be their first win of the season.
Another close loss, though, will only keep them on track to have the #1 pick next year and the chance to get the REAL heir to Peyton's throne through the draft. I'm okay with that.
The injuries to the offensive line will prove to be the bigger detriment to the remainder of the season, not Painter. If they don't get healthy across the front line, it's not going to matter who is playing QB, it's going to be ugly (uglier).
The defense, late game falters notwithstanding, has played pretty well, considering the fact that they're missing their starting ILB (Angerer is a beast, though) and starting safety. Eric Foster's gruesome ankle injury and injuries to defensive linemen Fili Moala and Drake Nevis only mean a further softening of the middle of the defense. This defense would be much better if Peyton was scoring points and putting pressure on the other team's offense to score. But, he's not.
So, we're left with Painter grinding out games and hoping the defense can help him hang around long enough to finally pull off a win. Perhaps next week's game at home against the lowly Chiefs will be their first win of the season.
Another close loss, though, will only keep them on track to have the #1 pick next year and the chance to get the REAL heir to Peyton's throne through the draft. I'm okay with that.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
