NCS's Notes - Broncos Game

Alright, well, skipping the nonsense, here goes.

Brady had probably the best game of the season, or at least one of the better ones. Some people say this was his best post-season game, but I didn't watch Brady's post-season games for half his career so I can't really say.

I will say this, though: the progression of the the team is obvious. Last year, it was if we hacked down the old, dead tree and planted a seed, which sprouted and turned into the TE-based, BJGE-running-it offense/BendButDon'tBreak D. This year, that offense has grown significantly - it might not be a 10-foot wide Redwood yet, but its certainly a sapling!

Now, the other thing I really noticed was that this is what the Jets came last year could have been. Everybody asks "is BB hiding stuff away for the playoffs," and I'd say tonight is a good example of how his style changes during the playoffs. He tries to attack with more complex, trick plays, such as putting Hernandez at RB. Last year, this was working perfectly for the first part of the first quarter, and then was brought to a sudden halt by Brady's int/Crumpler's drop. This year, instead of coming away with 2 great drives and 3 points, we came away with 2 great drives and 14 points. People will say this was utter domination and that that was a loss from the start, but I disagree - the latter half of the first quarter set the tone for both games, likely ultimately deciding their outcome as well.

Next, of all the things that worked well tonight, I'd say the D, and especially the D-line, did the best. I used to think "oh god, what sort of idiotic thing is the defense going to do now" every time the other team snapped the ball. Tonight, it was more like "is it going to be a -10 yard sack, a -5 yard run stop, or a well covered pass?" It seemed like every single play we were blowing up their pocket, even if we didn't get a sack.

And think of this - Tebow is a big, tough dude used to running and backed up by a great O-line. We dominated him. What if we were applied similar pressure to a more fragile QB, such as say Yates, Flacco, Manning, or Rodgers, many of whom probably won't have as many good players protecting them?

So yea. People like to hate on our D, but when everybody is healthy (keep in mind we were dominating even without Carter, the AFC's best pass-rusher) we are at very least middle of the pack. If we can pick up 1-2 good DBs, Ras-I comes back and the D-line plays like it did tonight, hell, I believe you've got a top-10 defense. Also, keep McCourty at safety. I don't know why, it doesn't make sense, but it seems to work.

Other notes:

Did I hear that John Kerry was there? I know Bon Jovi was.

Its so nice to see all those loyal fans finally enjoying a playoff game, like they should be. If any of you were there, I both thank and am jealous of you.

At the end, I couldn't help but think about how last time we won a post-season game, Moss would have been next to Brady. Now, its Gronk. Conclude what you want from that, but they're my new desktop background.

Someone should tell that Bronco player its not a good idea to shove a 250+ pound linemen when there are like 4 other 250+, fired-up linemen right there to back him up. Your already losing bad, nothing to gain from ending up on the bottom of a pile on the Pats sidelines.

Nicely done 49ers, that was a great game. Great final 2 minutes too.

And finally, hats off to all you Bronco fans. I hope Tebow has give you reason for optimism, and congratulate you on a great season. Though I've always been pretty much Tebow-neutral, I'd like to apologize on behalf of all the haters out there who thing its their job to make a mountain out of a molehill. Good luck going forward, to both you and the Pats! =D