2015 NFL Season

[Drew]

Super Bowl 50 will be a SEC quarterback match-up.

Without the Broncos defense being so good, I can't see how Peyton would make another Super Bowl. What has always plagued Peyton is his inability to run out the clock at the end of the game. Look how horrible the Broncos offense looked on their final drive trying to finish off the Patriots. All they needed was one or two first downs but they couldn't even get a yard, if I remember correctly, from that drive. Peyton can think his lucky stars that the defense is so good. Win or lose, I think it's time for Peyton to retire and turn the reigns over to Brock Osweiler so the Broncos can see if he can rise to the top.

Should be a good Super Bowl. I really thought it would be a New England/Carolina match-up but I think Denver vs. Carolina will be a good game too.

[LongGoneDay]

Tough loss, but not entirely unexpected.
Pats simply haven?t had much success in Denver.
Almost another epic comeback, but fell a play short.

I?d like to see Peyton go out with a ring, but it looks like Denver is heading towards a buzzsaw.
Denver?s defense is championship caliber, but their offense isn't. Peyton would have to play the game of his life.
I guess stranger things have happened, but I think yesterdays performance is about as good as you can really ask from him at this stage of his career, and I just don?t see that being enough.

[tim_m]

Carolina is like the speeding train that the Seahawks were a few years back. I just don't see the Broncos beating them.

[Malcolm]

Not a huge football fan but I want to see Manning win this

[faldor]

Brady getting annihilated all day long was almost worth my Steelers losing to the Broncos

You know...he looked REALLY deflated in his post game presser.

The Broncos really knocked the air out of him, over and over, all day long.

I thought Brady looked down the entire game. Very UnBradylike. He just looked like he lacked confidence in the game plan and was searching for answers. Every time the cameras panned to him on the sidelines he had his head down.

The game obviously didn't go down how I hoped or thought it would. I honestly didn't think it'd be all that close. I thought the Patriots had enough on offense to overcome that good Broncos D. Only problem was, the Broncos D was GREAT on Sunday, not just good. They followed the blueprint to beat the Pats to a tee. Great game plan by them. Unfortunately the Patriots offense was just too one dimensional. The Broncos didn't even have to think about their non existent running game. Just rush four on basically every play and drop everyone else into coverage. If the Pats had any semblance of a running game to loosen up the D, it would've been beneficial.

Patriots D played great, so it's even more of a shame the offense let them down. That pick Brady threw to Von Miller on their own 10 was the real killer. Basically handed them 7 points there. Aside from the first drive of the game the Broncos really struggled to move the ball. But their defense was outstanding and Peyton made enough throws and more importantly avoided the big mistakes that Brady couldn't. To be fair, the Patriots first TD came off that backwards pass from Manning, so I guess that kind of negates the Brady pick, but to me that one seemed much worse.

I can't really see Denver giving Carolina much of a game in the Super Bowl. But then again, I didn't give them much of a chance against the Pats either. The Panthers offense is a lot more diverse though. You have to respect the run and the pass and Cam looks like a man on a mission. Not to mention their defense is outstanding. Denver should have a lot of trouble moving the ball and scoring points. They'll need their defense to play at an extremely high level once again for them to have a chance. But I don't see it.

[Sober_times]

Tough loss, but can't win when multiple times there is a 3 man rush and 5 guys can't block 3 guys. That happened a few times. In addition to getting consistent pressure with the front 4 as well. Just a pathetic performance by the o-line. Brady didn't have a great day either but damn that oline was pure shit, Brady got hit more times than any quarterback this season. Give credit to Denver's defense. As for Peyton he had 2 good throws to Daniels. Multiple footballs hit patriot defenders hands and couldn't make the play. Manning was serviceable but nothing special. He just isn't the same player physically and you can tell.

As for the Superbowl I got the Panthers. I think Denver's D will have to play really well for them to have a chance. Its certainly possible. Panthers have the top scoring offense and if they can put up 28 points I think that's a win because I don't see Bronco offense putting up more than 20.

I really hope its not another Denver/Seattle superbowl, but I have a feeling it could be.

[tim_m]

A few other things really cost the Pats too. That missed PAT. You make that and that touchdown ties it and sends it to OT. Also the questionable call by Bill to go for it on 4th and goal. You kick the FG there and then that touchdown at the end of the game wins you the game.

[faldor]

A few other things really cost the Pats too. That missed PAT. You make that and that touchdown ties it and sends it to OT. Also the questionable call by Bill to go for it on 4th and goal. You kick the FG there and then that touchdown at the end of the game wins you the game.

I questioned going for it on 4th and 1 with 6 minutes left right away. With the way their defense was playing, you had a good chance at getting the ball back so why not cut the lead to 5? They ended up getting the ball back two more times. Possibly could've kicked 2 additional FG's to take the lead. At the very least, a TD would've put them ahead instead of having to go for 2.

The missed PAT obviously hurt looking at the final score, but that happened so early on in the game. They had plenty of time and opportunities to overcome that. They just couldn't get it done. There's a lot of blame to be passed around, but I don't think it falls on Gostkowski.

[JAEBALL]

Denver absolutely earned this ...

Epic performance by Miller...he is going to sign a huge deal.

Peyton played a "smart" game. He made some throws when the Pats challenged him early... and then he didn't force anything in the second half.

 

[Sober_times]

A few other things really cost the Pats too. That missed PAT. You make that and that touchdown ties it and sends it to OT. Also the questionable call by Bill to go for it on 4th and goal. You kick the FG there and then that touchdown at the end of the game wins you the game.

There's no way to know if the game will play out the same way. The Patriots were struggling offensively all day so I think they have to treat that situation as if each redzone possession could be their last with the way Denver was playing defense. If they kick a field goal and don't score the td most are saying they should have gone for it. The question becomes what was the best decision at the time. In my mind, it was going for it because of how well Denver's defense had played and how much the Patriots offensive line struggled.

[tim_m]

A few other things really cost the Pats too. That missed PAT. You make that and that touchdown ties it and sends it to OT. Also the questionable call by Bill to go for it on 4th and goal. You kick the FG there and then that touchdown at the end of the game wins you the game.

I questioned going for it on 4th and 1 with 6 minutes left right away. With the way their defense was playing, you had a good chance at getting the ball back so why not cut the lead to 5? They ended up getting the ball back two more times. Possibly could've kicked 2 additional FG's to take the lead. At the very least, a TD would've put them ahead instead of having to go for 2.

The missed PAT obviously hurt looking at the final score, but that happened so early on in the game. They had plenty of time and opportunities to overcome that. They just couldn't get it done. There's a lot of blame to be passed around, but I don't think it falls on Gostkowski.

I agree, that missed PAT did hurt but i think Bill going for it on 4th and 1 with 6 minutes to go gets the most of the blame.

[tim_m]

A few other things really cost the Pats too. That missed PAT. You make that and that touchdown ties it and sends it to OT. Also the questionable call by Bill to go for it on 4th and goal. You kick the FG there and then that touchdown at the end of the game wins you the game.

There's no way to know if the game will play out the same way. The Patriots were struggling offensively all day so I think they have to treat that situation as if each redzone possession could be their last with the way Denver was playing defense. If they kick a field goal and don't score the td most are saying they should have gone for it. The question becomes what was the best decision at the time. In my mind, it was going for it because of how well Denver's defense had played and how much the Patriots offensive line struggled.

I'll have to disagree, you have a chance to get points you take it.

[Sober_times]

A few other things really cost the Pats too. That missed PAT. You make that and that touchdown ties it and sends it to OT. Also the questionable call by Bill to go for it on 4th and goal. You kick the FG there and then that touchdown at the end of the game wins you the game.

There's no way to know if the game will play out the same way. The Patriots were struggling offensively all day so I think they have to treat that situation as if each redzone possession could be their last with the way Denver was playing defense. If they kick a field goal and don't score the td most are saying they should have gone for it. The question becomes what was the best decision at the time. In my mind, it was going for it because of how well Denver's defense had played and how much the Patriots offensive line struggled.

I'll have to disagree, you have a chance to get points you take it.

And I disagree with the notion that you always take points there. If you attempt a field goal you are hoping many things to go your way; you are hoping the kicker makes it, you are hoping then your defense makes a stop without giving up to much time, that your offense that has struggled all day can suddenly mount a second drive to put up more points.

I look at it differently. Its 4th and 1, there are 6 minutes left, offense has struggled all day, a field goal does nothing but require them to score a touchdown on a different drive when they have struggled all day to have even one good drive. They can either be aggressive, get the fourth down and try to take the win(in this case get the tie*) or kick the field goal and hope for the best.

Its different philosophies though. There are plenty of current and former NFL coaches who take the points and hope for the best. I'm glad Belichick isn't one of them.

[faldor]

A few other things really cost the Pats too. That missed PAT. You make that and that touchdown ties it and sends it to OT. Also the questionable call by Bill to go for it on 4th and goal. You kick the FG there and then that touchdown at the end of the game wins you the game.

There's no way to know if the game will play out the same way. The Patriots were struggling offensively all day so I think they have to treat that situation as if each redzone possession could be their last with the way Denver was playing defense. If they kick a field goal and don't score the td most are saying they should have gone for it. The question becomes what was the best decision at the time. In my mind, it was going for it because of how well Denver's defense had played and how much the Patriots offensive line struggled.

I'll have to disagree, you have a chance to get points you take it.

And I disagree with the notion that you always take points there. If you attempt a field goal you are hoping many things to go your way; you are hoping the kicker makes it, you are hoping then your defense makes a stop without giving up to much time, that your offense that has struggled all day can suddenly mount a second drive to put up more points.

I look at it differently. Its 4th and 1, there are 6 minutes left, offense has struggled all day, a field goal does nothing but require them to score a touchdown on a different drive when they have struggled all day to have even one good drive. They can either be aggressive, get the fourth down and try to take the win(in this case get the tie*) or kick the field goal and hope for the best.

Its different philosophies though. There are plenty of current and former NFL coaches who take the points and hope for the best. I'm glad Belichick isn't one of them.

Yeah but on the flipside, the Pats D had held the Broncos in check the entire 2nd half. So you had to like their chances of getting the ball back again. It's a roll of the dice, sure. But it's not like Denver was moving the ball with ease and getting first downs with great regularity. The Pats D was pretty much responsible for 6 of the points they scored. They could've gotten them decent field position for one last shot. I'd say the chances of that were pretty good. I do like Belichick's aggressive nature and understand his thinking in the situation, but I didn't agree with it.

[C0ma]

It tough to say what Bill should have done on 4th and 1 in that case... hind sight being 20/20 we know that they got 3 possessions so technically if they just kicked 3 field goals they would have won by 1 point... at the same time if they got the TD with about 5 minutes left and even missed the 2 point conversion they still would probably get one more possession only needing a FG to win if they get a stop on defense, which was likely. Denver punted 9 times in the game and only gained 83 yards in the 4th quarter (with 30 of that coming on a single run). When Peyton could have put the game away with about 2:20 to go, he went 3 and out and only burned 11 seconds off of the clock before punting.

[faldor]

It tough to say what Bill should have done on 4th and 1 in that case... hind sight being 20/20 we know that they got 3 possessions so technically if they just kicked 3 field goals they would have won by 1 point... at the same time if they got the TD with about 5 minutes left and even missed the 2 point conversion they still would probably get one more possession only needing a FG to win if they get a stop on defense, which was likely. Denver punted 9 times in the game and only gained 83 yards in the 4th quarter (with 30 of that coming on a single run). When Peyton could have put the game away with about 2:20 to go, he went 3 and out and only burned 11 seconds off of the clock before punting.

In the past the Patriots have lived and died with their offense because that was their clear strength. This year, and especially on Sunday, their defense was better than their offense. So I would have taken the points and had confidence the D would continue to keep the Broncos in check. Their offense was just so one dimensional and ineffective on Sunday, I didn't have high hopes they could even gain a yard in that situation.

I get the decision. It's far from the worst coaching decision ever made, I just didn't agree with it at the time and I agreed with it even less after they didn't pick up the first and with how the rest of the game played out. But I honestly thought it was a mistake before any of that happened.

[Sober_times]

It tough to say what Bill should have done on 4th and 1 in that case... hind sight being 20/20 we know that they got 3 possessions so technically if they just kicked 3 field goals they would have won by 1 point... at the same time if they got the TD with about 5 minutes left and even missed the 2 point conversion they still would probably get one more possession only needing a FG to win if they get a stop on defense, which was likely. Denver punted 9 times in the game and only gained 83 yards in the 4th quarter (with 30 of that coming on a single run). When Peyton could have put the game away with about 2:20 to go, he went 3 and out and only burned 11 seconds off of the clock before punting.

In the past the Patriots have lived and died with their offense because that was their clear strength. This year, and especially on Sunday, their defense was better than their offense. So I would have taken the points and had confidence the D would continue to keep the Broncos in check. Their offense was just so one dimensional and ineffective on Sunday, I didn't have high hopes they could even gain a yard in that situation.

I get the decision. It's far from the worst coaching decision ever made, I just didn't agree with it at the time and I agreed with it even less after they didn't pick up the first and with how the rest of the game played out. But I honestly thought it was a mistake before any of that happened.

I am admittedly a fan of being super aggressive in almost any 4th and short(in opponents territory/field goal range) or 4th and goal situation, especially early in games or when the game has been trying. So part of that is probably why I am in favor of those decisions. With the game on the line, even struggling, I'd much rather have the ball in the hands of Tom Brady then relying on a defensive stop. Not even Tom Brady necessarily, even watching other teams I hate when teams are inside the five and kick field goals early in games. I always say go for the points, you have lots of time to make up for it if you don't get it. Even late in games when teams are up by 3 I hate when they go conservative inside the redzone, kick a field goal and go up by 6. I'm a much bigger fan of going for it, and if you don't get it the team has a long field ahead of them and will most likely play more conservative and for the tie down by only 3.

Even in this game, I see Denver being more aggressive offensively if the Patriots kick field goals as a Patriot touchdown would now win the game. Ahead by 7 or 8, teams are more likely to be conservative and rely on a defensive stop. Though I have probably spent too much time the last couple years reading stuff by guys like Bill Barnwell, following advance anayltics in football with win probabilities, fourth down probabilities and stuff from Football Outsiders, Pro Football Focus and others that have turned me into being a much bigger fan of aggressive play. Which definitely goes against what has been conventional for the NFL over the years.

its an interesting conversation to have.

[LongGoneDay]

I wasn?t the least bit surprised they went for it on 4th and 1.
Belichick is notoriously aggressive. Most coaches probably would have played it safe.
And maybe in hindsight that would have been the way to go, but he?s operating in real time.

Picking up one single yard versus relying on your defense to not only get off the field, but get off the field quickly, and hope the turnstiles that have been your offensive line all day, finally figures it out?
I didn?t mind the call at all.
In fact I loved it. Until I saw the result. But that?s football.

Belichick and the Pats had a pretty bad month overall.
If they take care of business versus just one of the teams they had no business losing to in the Osweiler led Broncos, Jets, Eagles, or Dolphins, then they get to host that game in Foxboro, and are now preparing for the Super Bowl.

It stings, but we are spoiled as New England fans, and can probably expect them to be in the thick of it come this time next year.

[JAEBALL]

I wasn?t the least bit surprised they went for it on 4th and 1.
Belichick is notoriously aggressive. Most coaches probably would have played it safe.
And maybe in hindsight that would have been the way to go, but he?s operating in real time.

Picking up one single yard versus relying on your defense to not only get off the field, but get off the field quickly, and hope the turnstiles that have been your offensive line all day, finally figures it out?
I didn?t mind the call at all.
In fact I loved it. Until I saw the result. But that?s football.

Belichick and the Pats had a pretty bad month overall.
If they take care of business versus just one of the teams they had no business losing to in the Osweiler led Broncos, Jets, Eagles, or Dolphins, then they get to host that game in Foxboro, and are now preparing for the Super Bowl.

It stings, but we are spoiled as New England fans, and can probably expect them to be in the thick of it come this time next year.

I could not comprehend why they laid down to the Dolphins like that...

Especially since they have struggled a little bit in Denver over the past few years right?

[LongGoneDay]

I wasn?t the least bit surprised they went for it on 4th and 1.
Belichick is notoriously aggressive. Most coaches probably would have played it safe.
And maybe in hindsight that would have been the way to go, but he?s operating in real time.

Picking up one single yard versus relying on your defense to not only get off the field, but get off the field quickly, and hope the turnstiles that have been your offensive line all day, finally figures it out?
I didn?t mind the call at all.
In fact I loved it. Until I saw the result. But that?s football.

Belichick and the Pats had a pretty bad month overall.
If they take care of business versus just one of the teams they had no business losing to in the Osweiler led Broncos, Jets, Eagles, or Dolphins, then they get to host that game in Foxboro, and are now preparing for the Super Bowl.

It stings, but we are spoiled as New England fans, and can probably expect them to be in the thick of it come this time next year.

I could not comprehend why they laid down to the Dolphins like that...

Especially since they have struggled a little bit in Denver over the past few years right?

Yea, it almost seemed like they started the game playing to not get hurt, which is uncharacteristic of them.
I think they obviously wanted to win, but also stay healthy, especially Brady whom they were having trouble protecting at the time with the multiple injuries at o-line. They probably thought they could do both, and running the ball would be enough vs Miami, but it backfired as they eventually did have to go to the air, and Brady did get hurt, and they lost. Tough day at the office, no doubt.