The Home Stretch

[MileHigh64]

This is it, Broncos fans. The final quarter of the regular season and the precursor to the NFL playoffs. It's been an incredible season for our team so far, but we all know that the Broncos performance in the playoffs is what we've been looking forward to since the loss to Baltimore last year in Denver. I believe that this is a team of destiny this year and the moon and the stars are coming together at the right time.

We should be getting Julius Thomas, DRC, and Wolfe back in the lineup soon. Champ will continue to come along and hopefully, Von Miller is getting back to form. It's great to have Coach Fox back in the building and the news that JDR is not going to USC comes at a good time.

The superstitious side of me wants to avoid the number one seed like the plague. Number one seed and/or 13-3 seem to be bad places to land anymore. However, the logical side of me is sure hoping for the number one seed. I want to see our playoff opponents come into Mile High this year and I think our team will be ready!

I don't see the Broncos losing again in the regular season. We should be able to handle Tennessee and San Diego at home and Houston/Oakland on the road seem pretty reasonable after our last four game stretch. I think the Texans defense could give us some troubles, but we'll pull out the win. With the Patriots hot on our heels, I don't think we'll be resting any starters in these games unless they are injured. We must finish ahead of New England in the standings. I want Tom Brady in DENVER!!!

Biggest priority in these coming games is to get healthy, stay healthy and stay sharp. We may see a gimpy player or two sit out a game, but again I think we need to go roaring into the playoffs.

Cold weather game here in Denver on Sunday. Should be a good test for the team. This season has provided more adversity for the Broncos and that should play in our favor. The bottom line for me is that I still see the Broncos making it to the Superbowl this year. If I had to predict an opponent, I would be leaning toward Seattle. An old AFC West match up would be fun!

Looking forward to some Broncos football in December and beyond. Go Broncos!!

MH64

 

[iknowftbll]

Here's the remaining slate:

Titans: 5-7

Chargers: 5-7

Texans: 2-10

Raiders: 4-8

The Titans will come in on the brink of playoff elimination. While their offense is not explosive, they do have some dangerous players. Chris Johnson is always a threat to have a breakout game, and Ryan Fitzpatrick is a better QB than he gets credit for. The Titans have a puncher's chance if the Broncos come into this game thinking the worst is behind them. An emotional letdown like that I believe is unlikely. There is a level of professionalism in this Broncos team that has not been present in recent Broncos teams. If the Broncos fail to take seriously a team fighting for it's playoff life, they're going to get beat. I think they'll be ready though.

The Chargers are also on the brink of elimination, but they will be either 6-7 and still fighting or 5-8 with nothing to lose but draft position. Either way they would love to spoil the Broncos late season run and hand the Broncos a lose to close out their home slate. Any team led by Phil Rivers is never out of a game. Rivers is having a pretty solid season, and while the offense as a whole has not been consistent, they are dangerous if you sleep on them. There are a few reasons why I feel the Broncos will not sleep on the Chargers. First, they are a divisional rival. You never sleep on a divisional rival. Secondly, this game is the last home game of the season until the playoffs begin. The Broncos are going to finish their home slate on a high note. Also, this game is a Thursday Night game. The short week screws both teams, but the fact that it's a road game screws the Chargers a little more.

The Texans were considered a Super Bowl contender. Now they're 2-10. It just goes to show you how unpredictable this league is. But it's a bad idea to sleep on this team. They gave the Patriots a workout. My biggest concern in this game is the Texans pass rush, namely their players taking cheap shots on Manning. It's not so much that I consider the Texans a cheap team. It's more that they are a frustrated team. Protecting your QB in a game like this and getting out healthy is huge.

Finally, the Raiders are in year 2 of a rebuild. They are probably better than they were last year, but at this point it is hard to tell. This team has been a bit of a roller coaster this season. Wrapping up the season against them in Oakland is intriguing. Let's say the Broncos go in at 13-2 and the Raiders 6-9. (Really the Raiders' hypothetical record is irrelevant.) Let's further say the Patriots win their game and finish 13-3. The Broncos are going to need a win and the Raiders would love to spoil the Broncos chances of getting that #1 seed. I can see them pulling out all the stops and doing everything it takes to make the Broncos route to the Super Bowl a little tougher. That's what rivals are for, after all.

So there it is. Four winnable games, but by no means are there any gimmes. Each of those teams will have a real reason to load up and want to beat the Broncos. But if the Broncos bring their A game to each of those games, they win each of them by a combined 80 points or more. They are that good.

With that said, I maintain this team's fatal flaw is their offense is turnover prone. That is the single most important thing to correct in these last four games and through the playoffs. If they stop giving the ball away they are nearly unbeatable.

Go Broncos!

 

[cdumler7]

One thing that I loved about our game against the Chiefs is our offense for the most part looked like it got back to that aggressive style that we saw for the first set of games in the season. The OL looks like it is finally gelling with all the new pieces. The run game has finally found some footing with a great 1-2 punch in Moreno and Ball. Decker has finally showed up in the picture and hopefully both Thomas' are getting healthy. This offense barring a major injury set back is coming on together at the right time. Yes the turnovers are the Achilles heal of this entire team but I don't know many teams that can have 4 turnovers in a game and still score over 30 points.


Defensively to me it is a matter of just finally getting healthy. Smith looked good in this last game against our secondary but there again Champ only played for maybe half the game so that left us with Harris, Webster, and Jammer at the corner spots. Webster and Jammer have done well for us this season but they are no DRC and Champ. Wolfe was definitely missed on the DL as we had one of our worst games against the run without him and Big Vick in the middle. So again I think our defense comes down to health. We have the players to be a good defense we just need them actually on the field to show that.

 

[WalkerBoh]

I'm good with 14-2. I liked the results last time we were 14-2 and had the #1 seed

 

[CrashDavisSports]

I expect the Broncos to finish the season 14-2 with the #1 seed.

I just want them to stay healthy. No more damn injuries. I hope the Patriots can lose another game, the Bengals win out, and with the Bengals having the tiebreaker over NE, they would get the #2 seed, and NE would have to play a wildcard game.

In an extra game, more injuries can occur, and once you arrive in the playoffs, anything can happen. So it would be nice to see NE get beat in the wildcard round so we don't have to deal with those punks again. The Brady vs. Manning game always sparks interest for me, but I just want a cake walk this year, at least until the AFCC game. I will be torn there, but probably rooting for my Bengals. But, if they lose to the Broncos, I am okay with that, I still have a rooting interest in the SB.