Good bye.
Hello playoff run.
Yes, a week off in the first round of the playoffs is that important.
The Broncos don’t talk about it much. They don’t have to. In order to get a first round bye in the postseason, the Broncos need to keep winning. Therein lies the narrative.
“We’re just trying to take them one at a time. I know it’s cliché, but (this is) obviously a big game on the road,” Head Coach John Fox said. (They’re) a team that played in the championship game of our conference a year ago, a well-coached, talented team that plays really well at home. Their home record is pretty darn high. They’re 5-1 at their place this year. We want all our focus on the Baltimore Ravens.”
Quarterback Peyton Manning called the same play when he spoke with reporters this week.
“It’s the next game. I think we’ve done a good job placing importance on every team we have played,” Manning said. “We have focused kind of on the moment. Certainly Baltimore is a very easy team to grab your attention, especially when you’re playing there. That’s who we’re focused on. We’ve done a good job of that all season and hopefully that will continue this week.”
Regardless of what they say, the Broncos know how critical it would be to have a week of rest when the playoffs begin.
We all know that having a bye does not guarantee anything. Recent Super Bowl champions such as the Packers and the Giants have proven that.
But what team wouldn’t want a week off when the postseason begins?
The easiest way for the Broncos to climb into one of the top two spots in the AFC is to win their final three games (at Baltimore, then home against Cleveland and Kansas City).
If the Broncos can win out, all they would need is for the Patriots to lose once in their final three games (home against San Francisco, at Jacksonville, home vs. Miami) for Denver to jump into the second spot.
There are other ways the Broncos could move up into the top two spots in the conference but the key is winning their final three games. That is what keeps them in a realistic position.
“This will be a playoff-type game,” Fox said.
Even though the loser of this game won’t be eliminated, there will certainly be playoff implications.
A bye is on the line for the Broncos. Without a doubt, it would be a very good bye to get.
What will it take for the Broncos to beat the Ravens? Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts.
Sincerely,
Mike
Tags: Mike Rice
The Broncos to score more points than Baltimore… Lol. Couldn’t resist!
Broncos 31
Ravens 24…
I dont know how I keep splitting up my scores…
As for the best qb of all time conversation, Im surprised nobody mentioned the great Terry Bradshaw if we were going with the superbowl argument…
Hey Mike,
I think we win this game because the Broncos are gelling. All three phases have had not-so-stellar times, but are now as good as ever. No dishing to our former running back, but the Knowshon and Ronnie tandem is better overall. The extra time from TNF also helps on this one. The defense is better than ever, even the previously no-name guys are stepping up. I think Prater is out of his mid-season blip-slump. And Holliday takes one to the house on Sunday. We have been working hard and staying focused and humble…that continues, along with protecting the rock…and there is really no stopping us to go all the way on top.
Go Broncos!!
RC
I would like to see Dumervil come around the end and knock Flacco out…I mean, hit him so hard he doesn’t know if he’s at home, away, at the stadium, or dreaming. THEN, as he stares at his left tackle during the next few pass plays, Miller puts his patented spin move on the RT, and hits Flacco right in the chest, full speed, splatters his ugly purple jersey all over the rain-soaked nasty Baltimore field, gets up and dances a jig.
I like to see the hurry up offense, 12-16 play drives, check downs to spread out their defense, and lastly, keep their offense off the field. I am praying for a 49er victory, big time.
Is it Sunday yet?! BRONCOS 2012!!
Honestly, it won’t take much. These Ravens are beat up and in disarray. Manning and co will have a field day. They are soft in the middle so Stokes, Tamme and Dreesen can do some damage and move the chains. They haven’t been good against the run either so NoMo can do his thing for another week.
New blog
I am a bit concerned about this game for a fewof reasons, Ray Rice, Joe Flacco, and their defense.
The thing is we couldn’t stop the run against the Chiefs and really it’s a good thing Quinn performed poorly in that game. Now we’re facing Ray Rice who is a good back and Joe Flacco even with his recent struggles can still carve up a defense. Even though their defense is banged up a bit, it’ll still be a tough game on the road for us. As we all saw against the Texans and Patriots, they get the running game going and we’ll be giving up the big plays down the field on playaction.
I anticipate this game being very similar to the Chiefs game a few weeks ago. A tough battle and not a lot of scoring. I believe the game will come down to less than 3 pts. The key to this game is not making the mistakes because I think it will be a defensive battle the team to turn the ball over or have mental breakdowns is going to lose. I also believe that this is the week that Moreno might not be as productive as he has in the past couple of weeks. I think the last time Moreno played the Ravens, Ed Reed about took his head off on a screen pass from Orton. A hit like that stays with you for a long time. I’m not dissing him I’m just saying the Ravens D is always stingy against the run.
“Flacco drops back, it’s 3rd and 6 from the Broncos 39 yard line, he looks right, steps up….OHHH, boy was he hit hard…I think the ball is out…his helmet is rolling around, Unrein falls on it…Denver Football!” let’s look here the replay, “Dumervil came off the edge and hit Flacco right between the numbers, that’ll go down as his 3rd sack of the game and 7th Forced Fumble on the year.”
“Manning starts the drive up 10 early here in the 4th quarter. Flacco just hasn’t had much time all day today. They better get this cleaned up or they’ll miss the playoffs this year.” “Next week is going to be a do or die for them at this point.”
When this happens Sunday, just remember, I only dreamt this up…I can’t see the future or anything like that. I thought it would be a nice taste of what we’re in for this weekend. Go Broncos