Matt Legault
Why I like Denver:
What is there not to like about a guy who broke the single season TD record and single season yardage record this year and is widely accepted as a top 5 QB in NFL history? Let’s also keep in mind that he will be going up against a defense that lost Vince Wilfork, Tommy Kelly, Jerod Mayo and recently benched Brandon Spikes. I know Bill Belichick is a master game planner but Aquib Talib can’t cover everyone and without Mayo, Wilfork or Spikes, the Pats lack a true leader on the field to make the audible calls and try to counter-act what Peyton is doing to them… Gimme the Broncos.
What is there not to like about a guy who broke the single season TD record and single season yardage record this year and is widely accepted as a top 5 QB in NFL history? Let’s also keep in mind that he will be going up against a defense that lost Vince Wilfork, Tommy Kelly, Jerod Mayo and recently benched Brandon Spikes. I know Bill Belichick is a master game planner but Aquib Talib can’t cover everyone and without Mayo, Wilfork or Spikes, the Pats lack a true leader on the field to make the audible calls and try to counter-act what Peyton is doing to them… Gimme the Broncos.
Why I like New England:
How can you not like Tom Brady in a cold weather playoff game that’s not being played against Bernard “Pats Faced Killa” Pollard. Just look at Brady’s postseason record (18-7) vs. Mannings (10-11) or Brady’s continued “hold my dick” like success against Manning head to head (10-4). But this game might not be about how good Tom Brady is and more about how bad Denver’s defense might look come Sunday afternoon. The Broncos have lost Von Miller, Champ Bailey is a shell of his former self and probably their best player in the secondary, Ihenacho, got hurt last week and if he plays will be at far less than 100%. Tom Brady is a master at doing more with less at the skill positions so if we get a consistent dose of Danny Amendola in the slot against Champ Bailey, I like that match up… Gimme the Patriots.
How can you not like Tom Brady in a cold weather playoff game that’s not being played against Bernard “Pats Faced Killa” Pollard. Just look at Brady’s postseason record (18-7) vs. Mannings (10-11) or Brady’s continued “hold my dick” like success against Manning head to head (10-4). But this game might not be about how good Tom Brady is and more about how bad Denver’s defense might look come Sunday afternoon. The Broncos have lost Von Miller, Champ Bailey is a shell of his former self and probably their best player in the secondary, Ihenacho, got hurt last week and if he plays will be at far less than 100%. Tom Brady is a master at doing more with less at the skill positions so if we get a consistent dose of Danny Amendola in the slot against Champ Bailey, I like that match up… Gimme the Patriots.
Most overrated storyline for the talking heads to fill airtime:
The lack of talent at the skill positions for Tom Brady and his offense. I understand that Julian Edleman, Danny Amendola and Michael Hoomanawanui (thank you google) aren’t Demarius Thomas, Eric Decker and Julius Thomas but I also understand that those three Denver players would be relatively wasted playing for the Patriots. Bill Belichick has vendetta against quality receivers and downfield passing. Why would I want to watch Thomas and Decker running shallow crosses and arrow routes all game? Don’t get me wrong, I have great respect for Wes Welker and the 100 shallow crosses he caught every year with Tom Brady, but let’s not kid ourselves, they were still just shallow crosses that pretty much any above average athlete could have run. Belichick hates top-end receivers so much that he had maybe the greatest downfield threat in the history of the game, Randy Moss, set all sorts of records with him and then cast him off shortly thereafter because of “locker room problems”. Rob Gronkowski and Aaron “shotgun” Hernandez were fun pieces how created matchup problems for defenses but neither one were dynamic downfield threats. If Roger Goodell and Bob Kraft got together and decided after a couple glasses of scotch and alternating hand jobs that the Pats should be awarded Megatron and Andre Johnson just cause (don’t laugh I could see this happening, right down to the hand jobs), Bill would still have them running shallow crosses and bubble screens cause that’s what Bill does and he doesn’t change.
The pick:
Denver 27 New England 23
Submitted by Matt Legault
The lack of talent at the skill positions for Tom Brady and his offense. I understand that Julian Edleman, Danny Amendola and Michael Hoomanawanui (thank you google) aren’t Demarius Thomas, Eric Decker and Julius Thomas but I also understand that those three Denver players would be relatively wasted playing for the Patriots. Bill Belichick has vendetta against quality receivers and downfield passing. Why would I want to watch Thomas and Decker running shallow crosses and arrow routes all game? Don’t get me wrong, I have great respect for Wes Welker and the 100 shallow crosses he caught every year with Tom Brady, but let’s not kid ourselves, they were still just shallow crosses that pretty much any above average athlete could have run. Belichick hates top-end receivers so much that he had maybe the greatest downfield threat in the history of the game, Randy Moss, set all sorts of records with him and then cast him off shortly thereafter because of “locker room problems”. Rob Gronkowski and Aaron “shotgun” Hernandez were fun pieces how created matchup problems for defenses but neither one were dynamic downfield threats. If Roger Goodell and Bob Kraft got together and decided after a couple glasses of scotch and alternating hand jobs that the Pats should be awarded Megatron and Andre Johnson just cause (don’t laugh I could see this happening, right down to the hand jobs), Bill would still have them running shallow crosses and bubble screens cause that’s what Bill does and he doesn’t change.
The pick:
Denver 27 New England 23
Submitted by Matt Legault