NFL Season 2011-2012

[Lancer]

I like the Teebow experience, I think it's good for the NFL. Control Freak Goodell has really taken the fun out of the NFL and I think Teebow is a nice breath of fresh air for the league. As a passer, even a blind person can see he needs A LOT of work, but he's entertaining and he's winning games and winning is all that counts.

Divot - who did you play for?

[DivotMaker]

New Orleans 'Aints in 1981.....no fun watching fans show up with bags on their heads, but in all honesty, had I been a fan and paid to see us play, I would probably not have even wasted my time going to the game....

[XXXIV]

Aints or not that is pretty freaking cool Divot.

How awesome is it to suit up and play in the NFL?

[Rodster]

Aints or not that is pretty freaking cool Divot.

How awesome is it to suit up and play in the NFL?

Wasn't Archie Manning playing for the Aint's in '81?

[TCrouch]

No sh*t. Every time I see Divot post, it's like he's somebody important (that's not sarcastic or condescending at all). I don't know why, but I thought he was a developer on Tiger Woods or a big-time programmer. Now I find out he was a crazy ass world class athlete and NFL player.

It's like the dude is James freakin Bond.

"My name is Maker....DivotMaker. You're not worthy!"

And he'd be right! I feel fairly inadequate at the moment

[Rodster]

He just makes Divot's. Nothing to see here.

[Lancer]

New Orleans 'Aints in 1981.....no fun watching fans show up with bags on their heads, but in all honesty, had I been a fan and paid to see us play, I would probably not have even wasted my time going to the game....

Man that's cool. Even if your team stunk at least you guys got to play vs some greats.

Checked out that 1981 team (http://www.pro-football-reference.com/t ... r/1981.htm) and you guys played against some legends on those teams. You played against Joe Montana!

[pk500]

Very interesting breakdown of Denver's recent success from the wise men at Football Outsiders. The root of Denver's resurgence may cause Danimal to spontaneously combust:

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/dvoa-r ... oa-ratings

I had a hard time believing the real reason was Tebow before reading this. But the numbers don't lie.

[DivotMaker]

Aints or not that is pretty freaking cool Divot.

How awesome is it to suit up and play in the NFL?

It was cool, but I did not stick around long. Wasn't my cup of tea as I played HS football, but was a T&F athlete at Texas A&M. I was there long enough to go up against some great players and see what the NFL life was all about. Bum Phillips was the HC, his first year there. George Rogers (Heisman Trophy winner), Ricky Jackson (HOF), Jim Wilks, Frank Warren, Hokie Gajan (sister was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen at that time....) were all in my Rookie class. Luckily I can say I played in the NFL and don't have concussions, destroyed knees, and can still tie my shoes....

[DivotMaker]

Aints or not that is pretty freaking cool Divot.

How awesome is it to suit up and play in the NFL?

Wasn't Archie Manning playing for the Aint's in '81?

Yep...too bad he was not on a better team like his sons...he was great to watch in person and up close and a really down-to-earth guy.

[DivotMaker]

No sh*t. Every time I see Divot post, it's like he's somebody important (that's not sarcastic or condescending at all). I don't know why, but I thought he was a developer on Tiger Woods or a big-time programmer. Now I find out he was a crazy ass world class athlete and NFL player.

It's like the dude is James freakin Bond.

"My name is Maker....DivotMaker. You're not worthy!"

And he'd be right! I feel fairly inadequate at the moment

TC,

Thank you for the kind words, but honestly I am just one of the guys. I have had alot of fun in life and have been lucky to do some pretty cool things, but the best things that ever happened to me were meeting my wife of 26+ years who looks more beautiful than the day I married her (I DAMN SURE don't) and the 2 great kids we have together (Daughter is 24 next month and my son is 21 who will be lucky if he sees 22... )

At the end of the day, I am just one of the guys just like you.

[Danimal]

Very interesting breakdown of Denver's recent success from the wise men at Football Outsiders. The root of Denver's resurgence may cause Danimal to spontaneously combust:

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/dvoa-r ... oa-ratings

I had a hard time believing the real reason was Tebow before reading this. But the numbers don't lie.

It won't cause me to combust LOL

Those are interesting numbers but without getting all fancy lets just look at some basic numbers.

Before Tebow the Defense gave up a total of 140 points, since Tebow 105. Sure it's not as fancy as ranks vs pass and run etc. It's just wants counts in the W/L column. There 1-4 start they lost by 3 to Oakland, 3 to the Titans, 5 to San Diego and then a blow out by the Packers where they lost by Lost by 26. So while the Defenses ranks may not of changed much they lost 3 games by a combined 11 points in their first 5 games. That 35 point difference sure seems like a reason to me. Maybe because the D is playing the same statistically but is making key stops should be credited to Tebow as well right?

Offensively before Tebow they scored 105 points in 5 games. Since Tebow 116 points in 6 games, if you take out their lowest scoring game since Tebow they scored 100 points. Obviously as pointed out there running game has improve since he can run and he opens up the running game of their backs. So offensively not much of a difference in points, different game plan keeps the turn overs down.

Again if Tebow succeeds in the league that's great and of course he deserves some of the credit for what is happening. All I'm saying is the Defense and coaching staff deserve more of it. He is a one trick pony IMO and inevitably I would guess the Broncos will get in a game where he is going to have to win the game with his arm instead of his legs. I don't think he can do that, maybe he will prove me wrong.

I'll tell you what will be interesting is seeing what happens if the Broncos lose a game again like the Detroit game where the D doesn't show up. Tebow is getting all the accolades now and some of his team mates are starting to get a little cranky about that. If they lose a game and the Defense gets blamed but old Timmy gets none of the blame, well we will see how good the Bronco chemistry is then.

This about exhaust my take on Tebow, frankly there are much more interesting and better players to discuss in the NFL, hell even on the Broncos. I wonder how Von Miller is loving the lack of attention he is getting while playing like a stud.

[Inuyasha]

Divot - hey you may not remember me but back when we were posting on SR, I met up with you for lunch in San Mateo when you were working at 2K. Just wanted to give props to Divot, he was a cool guy and really down to earth.

BTW, Divot is a Iraq Desert Storm War Veteran as well! (if I remember correctly)

[DivotMaker]

Divot - hey you may not remember me but back when we were posting on SR, I met up with you for lunch in San Mateo when you were working at 2K. Just wanted to give props to Divot, he was a cool guy and really down to earth.

BTW, Divot is a Iraq Desert Storm War Veteran as well! (if I remember correctly)

Well, since I have never worked for 2K nor have I been in the Military, I do believe you have me mistaken with someone else.

[Macca00]

LOL

[greggsand]

I wonder how Von Miller is loving the lack of attention he is getting while playing like a stud.

If Von Miller is all 'butt hurt' over all the Tebow attention, he's an idiot. The entire team is getting a spotlight shined on them they wouldn't otherwise. I've heard more Broncos on radio show's over the last 2 weeks than I heard all of last year.

[Danimal]

Divot > Tebow

LOL sorry had to be done.

[Wilk5280]

Danimal,

Von Miller is getting anything but a lack of attention. He is getting a lot of acknowledgement here in Denver and it's also starting to spread nationally. He and the entire D are getting recognized for their outstanding play.

If you want to really break it down to simplistic numbers we can do that too. Denver was 1-4 before he took over as QB and 5-1 since. Sure a lot of things go into it, but the biggest change since the turn around was the change at the QB position.

I'll be the first to admit that he needs to improve as a passer. John Elway is not completely sold on him as the future at QB for the Broncos. Anything but that to be honest.

Sure the D has been playing great as well since the switch at QB and the running game has improved too. Let's take a quick look at why I think that it is. It's pretty basic really.

Running game:
- D's have to guard the edge to account for Tebow taking the ball outside. This has opened up the middle for running backs Willis McGahee and Lance Ball.
- Our time of possession is up 4 minutes per game since Tebow took over at QB. We're wearing D's down with this style of offense. We're pounding the ball and D's are getting tired. When they're not trying to stop the run, the front 7 is chasing Tebow around.

Defensive Improvement:
- As stated above, Denver's TOP is up 4 minutes since Tebow took over at QB. We're not turning the ball over and putting the D in bad situations.
- Because we're not turning the ball over, even if we're not scoring points we have one of the best Punter's in the business pinning the opposition back inside their 20 yard line.
- The D is fresh because they're not on the field as much. They're stopping the run on 1st and 2nd downs allowing them to pin their ears back and get after the QB on 3rd and long situations.

I don't know if this style of play can win long term, but F*** long term I say. The formula for winning championships used to be strong defense and the ability to run the ball. Over the past few years offenses have become a bit more finesse and airing it out. Defenses have been adjusting to the new high octane O's and aren't really designed to stop the ground pounders any more. Denver is the anomaly right now. They're one of a few teams who can really beat you on the ground and D's aren't setup to defend that in today's NFL.

Sure it's a combination of a lot of things, but the biggest factor that correlates to the recent success of the Denver Broncos is the change at Quarterback. It can't be denied.

Does anyone truly believe that the Broncos go 5-1 in their last 6 games with Orton at QB?

[Wilk5280]

And by "We" I clearly mean "they"

[Danimal]

Sure it's a combination of a lot of things, but the biggest factor that correlates to the recent success of the Denver Broncos is the change at Quarterback. It can't be denied.

Does anyone truly believe that the Broncos go 5-1 in their last 6 games with Orton at QB?

Hey good luck and enjoy it. Tebow has played you into a mid round draft pick at this point, congrats to him and the knowledgeable football fans of Denver. LOL

[Wilk5280]

bookmarked

that's right, NFL teams purposely tank seasons early on and quit trying to win just to ensure they get high picks. I guess there's a few teams this year that blew it.

[TCrouch]

I thought this was an interesting read. It seems stats can tell us anything, and some of this seems like an informercial for their own personal stat system, but it's interesting nonetheless.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/w ... nfl_t11_a1

But this part was what really got me:

"But Tebow himself has been deadly with the ball in his hands. He produces touchdowns at an amazing clip, better than any quarterback in football in his brief career. Here's a comparison of Tebow vs. some of the more prolific quarterbacks in recent history.

Career percentage of touches that result in a TD:
Tim Tebow -- 6.0 percent
Aaron Rodgers -- 5.7 percent
Peyton Manning -- 5.5 percent
Tom Brady -- 5.1 percent
Drew Brees -- 4.7 percent
John Elway -- 3.9 percent

Wow. Tebow may not pass the ball effectively. But he's produced an incredible 22 touchdowns (13 passing, nine rushing) in just 368 touches (225 pass attempts, 121 rush attempts, 22 sacks). Nobody in football gets the ball in the end zone more often."

I've thought all season that it was Denver's defense that won them games, but the game against the Raiders in particular was eye opening. At halftime, Oakland was dominating them. They were still trying to play traditionally and Oakland was controlling them and the game, but not leading by much. Then the Broncos started in with a lot of the read-option runs and Oakland had no clue what to do. Tebow would make the proper read each time and gouged them with a handoff to McGahee if the containment stayed on the perimeter, or took the ball himself if they tried to come inside.

Once that started clicking, he was able to hit some incredibly good throws (the TD down the center of the field in particular was gorgeous...on a rope and just past the coverage, right where it needed to be). The guy can pass, he just has to get into that rhythm somehow. He won't get by forever on read option plays, but he's a huge factor in why their having so much success now.

Tebow's doing some impressive, and VERY unorthodox work at QB for them. I don't think you can say it's all the defense or the running game or Tebow himself. But that kind of TD percentage on plays he directly controls can't be argued with.

[pk500]

I loved this exchange in Bill Simmons' podcast with Cousin Sal this week. I'm paraphrasing:

BS: Tebow doesn't turn the ball over. He's doing a great job with that.

Cousin Sal: How the hell can you turn over the ball when you don't pass? That's like saying a nun doesn't catch a venereal disease.

[Danimal]

bookmarked

that's right, NFL teams purposely tank seasons early on and quit trying to win just to ensure they get high picks. I guess there's a few teams this year that blew it.

LOL

Yeah I said teams tank seasons

Look man enjoy Tebow, I am sure he is going to lead you to countless Superbowls.

[Wilk5280]

bookmarked

that's right, NFL teams purposely tank seasons early on and quit trying to win just to ensure they get high picks. I guess there's a few teams this year that blew it.

LOL

Yeah I said teams tank seasons

Look man enjoy Tebow, I am sure he is going to lead you to countless Superbowls.

You certainly eluded to it by stating Tebow just won the Broncos into a mid round draft pick.

That's how we're judging QB's, is by taking teams to "countless Superbowls"? WTF has San Diego been wasting their time with Rivers then? Or Atlanta with Matt Ryan?

SuperBowl winning QB's are just a dime a dozen. I mean, most teams carry an abundance of them. Shoot, multiple SuperBowl winners at that.

I get that the Super Bowl is the ultimate goal, but how about the fact that the team is clearly more competitive now with him at QB than they were before? We should just completely discount the fact that the once 1-4 Broncos are now 6-5? Interesting