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Broncos Vs Patriots

January 14, 2012 by · Comments Off on Broncos Vs Patriots 

Broncos Vs Patriots, Divisional playoffs. Two words that mean a lot more than the average fan can even comprehend… Except for our viewers of course.

The Denver Broncos (9-8) head into Gillette Stadium to face the New England Patriots (13-3).

Thankfully for Tim Tebow and the Broncos, they survived the first round of the NFL playoffs against the Steelers.

Now, Tebow goes on to face the NFL equivalent to the Devil.

Of course we’re kidding. We don’t believe that Tebow is magic. We do believe that Bill Belichick has links to the devil, however.

Again, kidding.

Regardless, the Patriots and the Broncos facing off is kind of a big deal

Here are five things to watch out for in the Divisional Playoff featuring the Patriots and Broncos. The game can be seen on CBS at 8pm EST.

1. Can Tim Tebow throw for over 316 yards?

The short answer is no. The long answer is a bit more complicated.

In 2011, Tebow failed to throw for more than 236 yards in the air.

In the Wild Card Playoffs he went for 316 yards against “statisically” the best pass defense in the NFL.

What NFL and Pittsburgh Steelers fans failed to tell you is that their best secondary was led by players like Ike Taylor and William Gay.

Many were furious that Ike Taylor didn’t get a Pro-Bowl vote… I was personally happy that one of the most overrated cornerbacks in the NFL failed to receive the bid.

The fact is that based on the numbers, Tebow should throw for over 400 yards against the Patriots. The issue is that Tom Brady’s long drives will prevent him from even getting past 250.

2. Does the Patriots secondary stand a chance against Denver?

You may be asking yourself… “Can this terrible pass defense contain the Broncos?”

The answer, of course, is simple.

The Patriots pass defense is among the worst in the NFL. It’s so bad that the Cleveland Browns could probably throw for 300+ yards.

Ok… Perhaps that was a bit of a hyperbole.

Regardless, the Broncos offense can score, with Tebow having nearly 200+ yards of total offense and two touchdowns in their Week 15 match-up.

The Patriots secondary will likely struggle. But they will likely give up fewer big plays than Pittsburgh.

3. Will Tom Brady succumb to the pressure?

Is there truly an answer to that question? The answer is no.

But we’ll ask anyway.

Tom Brady was sacked 32 times in 2011. 10 of those 32 sacks came within the last three match-ups for Brady and the Patriots.

To make it worse, the sacks came against teams like Buffalo, Miami, and Denver, which are a few of the worst pass rushing teams in the NFL.

Denver has performed much better in terms of a pass rush in the second half of the season. If they can rattle Tom Brady, they may put themselves in a position to win.

4. Can Willis McGahee be a threat?

This is dependent on which McGahee comes to visit the Patriots. In Week 15, McGahee rushed for 70 yards on just seven carries.

Why he only had seven carries is beyond me, especially at 10 yards/carry.

Regardless, the Patriots rush defense is quite poor, and Willis could have a solid day if he can hold onto the football.

5. Will Josh McDaniels give the Patriots an advantage?

This issue has become quite large with many fans being upset that Josh McDaniels is coming back to help the Patriots offense in the playoffs.

McDaniels was in St. Louis as the offensive coordinator in 2011 after being fired from Denver after two poor seasons in 2009 and 2010.

The Patriots let McDaniels back with the team smack dab in the middle of the playoffs, and it has stirred quite the controversy.

Regardless, the Patriots already have an advantage offensively, and Josh McDaniels doesn’t have any extra information on the Broncos offense with the new coaching scheme courtesy of John Fox.

Tebow and the Broncos can win this football game. The problem is that they likely won’t with the way the New England offense can move the ball.

The Broncos will put up a fight much better than the one they put up in Week 15, however, and this game have a big time entertainment value.

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