Yeah, but that's not going to happen. It's been the same way ever since he's been in the league. Some teams are just able to play him well enough that he isn't able to adjust out of it. Those tend to be very good teams. We just got beat by a really good one last night that outplayed us in all 3 phases. We're probably never gonna get a pissed off Peyton that goes full tilt and just unleashes on any defense. It's the trade off we get for a QB that mostly plays pretty mistake free and can score a good amount of points on a consistent basis. I don't think we'll ever get the Elway moment with Peyton.
Despite some of the analysis about being top 10 DVOA I really felt this was game was gonna be tough. Was hoping I was wrong and we would be dominant but that just wasn't the case. The Patriots really had a great offensive plan against the defense of the Broncos. They basically became the Patriots of old, doing curl routes or crossing routes against physical secondaries to get separation. And boy did their oline hold up against the Denver pass rush. I can only recount a couple of times we were able to get any real pressure on Brady, and he would usually need to step up a little bit in order to get enough time to find a receiver that managed to get open (can't count how many 3rd or 4th down completions were done this way). Congrats to the Pats for finding out a solid game plan against the way we play. In the AFC championship game we were able to get a lot of pressure up the middle, but I think there was only 1 or 2 times in this game where I saw that happen. It's kinda crazy how quickly that Pats oline has been able to adjust after a horrid start for the season to one that I think is playing pretty incredible right now.
I hope the Broncos offense can make better adjustments in the future to make it easier on themselves. Maybe have Julius do some different patterns to get separation from Browner. Maybe not have Hillman try to block blitzing linebackers, cause he was horribly overmatched last night. Maybe have Peyton actually complete some more 3rd downs, I dunno I'm just talking crazy at this point. Whatever we do, no more Talib on Edelman or LaFell. I think he's too big too adjust to their shiftiness. I'd rather have Harris and Roby/Webster/Carter doing that with Talib/Ward shadowing Gronk.
And for the love of God clean up special teams.
Why don't we get the Peyton of that Chargers game comeback? Ever? We get it in spurts when we are down, but it's rare. I'd be fine with mistakes, as long as we are straight up trying to destroy other teams. We're not though. Our team identity is some weird mix of Fox/Manning/Del Rio. It's conservative, scared, and incompetent at times. It's always been the question with this team, will they sack up and realize that they have the Tebow given ability to be tough and compete with any team in the league? Or will they continue to be front runners and wilt when they play a bad game? I thought we had it partially figured out after the Seahawks game, but I think I thought wrong.
It's always easy to criticize after a bad loss, but this has been weighing on me for awhile. I think Peyton is a wonderful QB, and this is a good team, but they are missing a component like a Ray Lewis or a Mike Shanahan. Someone that would travel to hell for an away game, and punch his own mom in face just for a chance to win. As of right now, the closest we have to that is John Elway and he can't lead the team. Maybe they will wake up at some point and get a killer instinct. That's what separated the 97/98 Broncos from the rest. They would kick your teeth in, run down your throat, and dance on your corpse. This team as it stands right now has none of that, and I'm not sure if they ever get it.
I'm not saying the sky is falling, but goddamn what I wouldn't give for Peyton to just say fuck it and show some emotion for once. Not to mention Fox never using cruise control again. Just push the throttle all the way down and not look back.
Might be too much to ask.
Either way fuck the Pats.
