Woo, Let Me Pick a T-Bone With You: Winner, Denver

DARIO AKA THE REALIST MOBLEY WRITES:

T-Bone,


On straight initial NFL Pick Em impulse, I picked the Denver Broncos to win the game. The funny thing is that I had no logical reason on why. It wasn't Kyle Orton, the defense or the coaching. Also, Baltimore is a 3.5 point favorite AT HOME coming off of a bye week so there are a lot of things working against Denver. My only explanation was that it would be a grind it out game and Denver will find a way to win. WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Considering that I am Dario "THE REALIST" Mobley, I could not pick based on those thin facts so I changed my picked to Baltimore. However, that should tell you something about my evolution in my mind for Denver as a team. When I start picking a team based on gut feeling and it is not my home town team, something weird is happening and that phenomenon can be nothing but good. Anyhow, I know you rock with Denver to the T-Bone (Damn, That was a corny joke) so I know you picked them.Still, I am curious to hear your thoughts because you like the game of football too. Oh, don't worry about the Reggie Bush mouth running either. The game is played on the field.

Your thoughts?

TYLER AKA T-BONE HILL RESPONDS:

As far as the Reggie Bush thing, I am not worried about him, I was just saying most years when an undefeated team starts talking about being undefeated, that is usually when they lose.

 As for the Broncos, I was like you, going back and forth on my pick. I ended up picking the Broncos, and I thought it must be because of my hometown bias. But then I started looking at it a little closer, and there might be more to it. Baltimores defense has not really performed that well this year. Take out the Cleveland game and their stats are just average. Denver on the other hand has been stellar at defense. Lets look at the offenses. Again Baltimore has been good, but not fantastic. Denver is the same, the difference is the direction they are going. Denver seems to be getting better each week, whereas Baltimore if anything seems to be going backwards.

Lastly, everyone has been saying "Baltimore is coming off of the bye week" and they are giving them an advantage because of that. However, Denver is coming off of their bye week also, and who has been better at scheming offensively and defensively than Denver? McDaniels and Nolan have had an extra week to plan and scheme for the ravens. So offensively, to me, advantage- no one. Defensively, advantage, denver. Coaching, to me, advantage Denver. Winner, Denver.

your thoughts?

Woo, Let Me Pick a T-Bone With You: Mike Nolan My Brother

THE REALIST WRITES:

T-Bone,

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Charger Game was the game I picked the Broncos to lose. If they can beat their biggest rival coming off a bye week and a lost, the Broncos are for real. I might have to retract my statement about the Chargers winning the divison because as it stands, the Broncos have beaten San Digeo and New England and that was two of the games I said they would lose. They run the ball very well, they don't turn the ball over, they have a big play receiver and they rush the hell out of the passer. T-Bone, you might have something special on your hands. I am convinced and I know you are riding on cloud nine right now. As of now, McDaniels is a good coach. The Broncos play what I call WINNING FOOTBALL.

They seem to game plan for each team thoroughly and so far, they seem to have the right combination of veterans and young players to make a deep run in the playoffs. I had them at 9-7 but with the two extra wins against NE and @ SD, that would make them 11-5. WHAT? 11-5 !!! WHAT? 11-5!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT? Getting Funky on the Mic like a whole batch of ____________ Greens. Yes.

Your thoughts?

TYLER AKA T-BONE RESPONDS:
 
Yes, I agree. To say that I am surprised with their record would be an understatement. To say that I am on cloud nine is about right. McDaniels does look like a pretty good coach as of right now. But the part of the equation that most people seem to overlook, and the part that I think has had the most significant change is Mike Nolan. Last year that defense could not stop Tardy McBoatlifter.

This year, they cant be stopped. The defense is good in the first half. The defense is SUPERB in the second. They have only allowed, what, 10 second half points this season? Are you kidding me? They shut out the New England Patriots in the second half. The same team, I might add, that scored 59 against the Titans. You have to give props to Nolan for scheming number one, but also for second half adjustments. The reason I give Nolan the most credit is because McDaniels already had a good offense to work with. He had all of the key pieces. He just had to figure out how to use them with a new and very different quarterback. But Nolan took over one of the worst defenses in the league and has turned them into a force to be reckoned with.

I do give McDaniels props for good play calling. (a quarterback sneak to get denver in field goal position was a great call, even though they missed the try) I also give him props for staying out of Nolans way. He knows what kind of defensive coach he has, so he just stays out of the way and focuses on offense. Altogether, I think they do have something special. I can't wait to see what happens in Baltimore.

Later,
Tyler

Woo, Let Me Pick a T-Bone With You: It Pains Me to Pick New England

THE REALIST WRITES:


With my first mind, I picked Denver to beat New England. I went through and picked that game without any hesitation. What does Denver have going for them? They are at home again and New England has to travel a long way from Foxboro to Mile High. They will have the crowd and a lot of momentum after a big win against Dallas. However, I think if both teams play mistake free football, The NE offense will eventually make a play.

 Also, New England may go to the run like they did against Atlanta but to Denver's credit, they held Dallas to 74 yards and Dallas has a good running game. I don't know. I just don't see Denver beating New England at it's own game. I have to go with New England. What are your thoughts?

T-BONE WRITES:

I agree. That is why I had to pick against them even though I hate to do it!!!!!! I think that Denver's defense will play well enough to get it done but I do not think that the offense has enough big plays in them to win. Denver played a mistake free game against Dallas and came away with the win. But on the real, Dallas made some mistakes and missed some big opportunities on offense that could have won them the game. I dont see Brady making those same kinds of mistakes. Also, who would know better how to scheme against Denver and Josh McDaniels than the Patriots and Bill Belichick with the awesome short sleeve sweat shirt?

 I do think that the game will be close, but I do not see Denver pulling this one out. I have to say 23-13 New England.

P.S., better bring a coat out here, it is going to be cold.

Later,
Tyler

Woo, Let Me Pick a T-Bone With You: I AM ON THE BANDWAGON!!!!!!

T-BONE WRITES:


So, what is up with the Denver Broncos? They are off to a 3-0 start, which nobody, including us die hard fans, would have predicted. So far, they have beaten Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Oakland. These teams are not exactly the cream of the NFL crop. Denver has lost more than half of the roster from last year, they have a brand new inexperienced coach, and lost one of the premier quarterbacks in the league. So, why are they 3-0? Yes, admittedly, the competition has not been stellar. Cincinnati is the only team they have played so far that looks like they are any good and they beat them on a fluky play. So what is the key? To me, it looks like a huge change on defense. The defense has new players, a new attitude, and a new scheme. Sure, they have played some bad teams but didn't they beat them soundly which is what you are supposed to do against a bad team? In the last two games, they have given up only 9 points (6 and 3 respectively). Cincinnati did not fair much better. How about the offense? Is Kyle Orton a star in this league? Certainly not !!!! However, lets look at the system he is playing in. Why was Matt Cassel successful last year? Is he a star in this league? Definitely not!! The new offense is a methodical, take what they give you and pick your moments type system. Denver has a trio of backs that are capable of ripping off a big gain at any time so they have to be respected. When the defense sucks up to take out the run, then you attack the secondary. Kyle Orton is suited very well for this offense. Is he suited better for this offense than Jay Cutler was? Maybe so. Cutler has proven over his first couple of seasons to be immature and impatient. He can make the big play, but is also prone to the big mistake.

 Orton, not being a star, will run the play that is called, be patient in the offense, and does have the ability to make the big play when it is time. If Denver had acquired Cassel, I think that they would still be 3-0 for those reasons. Hmmm, maybe Josh McDaniels knew what he was doing after all. Maybe he knew that Cutler might not be the best fit for the type of offense he wanted to run. Maybe he thought that his ego might conflict with the direction that he wanted to take the offense or maybe he just got lucky. We may never know.

 What we do know is that Denver is a solid team and a lot better than we thought they would be. They have a tough road for the next 5 or 6 weeks and we will know a lot more about them after those games. But I am going to say that right now, I am officially on the bandwagon, and they are going to beat Dallas this week.

Tyler (aka the Colorado Thugz, aka tbone, tbizzle, Im sweating again, getting funky on the mike like a whole batch of c o l l a r d g r e e n s.)

THE REALIST WRITES:

Denver has done what it needs to do defensively and way beyond!!! They have a +6 turnover differential so far this year after having a -17 differential last year. Their defense is ranked #1 overall after ranking 30th overall last year. The additions of Andra Davis, Nick Griesen, Renaldo Hill, Andre Goodman and Brian Dawkins paired with Champ Bailey and DJ Williams and the installation of a 3-4 has definitely made a difference so far. Additionally, Elvis Dumervill is getting back to being able to rush the passer after falling off last year with 5 sacks. He has 6 sacks already.

However, I have to say that Denver has played some bad teams in Oakland, Cincinnati and Cleveland. The three teams are a combined 3-6 this year and none of them went to the playoffs last year in 08-09 going a combined 16-31.Offensively, Oak, Cle and Cin are all in the bottom half in total offensive yards for the year. Cleveland has given up more points than anyone this year with 95 points allowed. Also, all the teams are in the bottom half of turnover differential.

Although I agree that Orton could possibly be a better fit for the system,I just don't believe that Orton make key plays when necessary in the key moments. His career 27 INT's with 33 TD's makes me believe that. The ball should have been knocked down or interecepted in the Cincy game and he has not had to make any plays in the other two games. Kyle Orton has always won games with a 21-12 overall record but I never felt he was a championship quarterback who could manage the game and step up like he needed to in clutch situations like Big Ben and Tom Brady in his early years. Even level headed Lovie Smith never had his full faith in him as evidenced by him contiually going with Rex Grossman throughout the years. That also makes me think that the players might not have had the faith in him because I have to feel that Smith seeked the advice of the veterans to help with the decision. They can only go so far with the quarterback not making enough plays. Not only do I think he will not make the plays but I don't think he has the physical or mental ability to make the plays. Yes, I feel the defense is much improved but it is not a dominate defense like Ravens 2001 or Tampa Bay 2003 where the defense can win it by themselves. Kyle Orton will look like this in the clutch time:

Their next five games are DAL, NE, @SD, @BAL and PIT. They also play IND, NYG and @ PHI and SD again which is a brutal 9 games. That is twelve games with the four other games against OAK, KC twice and @ WASH. Let's assume they beat the last four putting them at 7 wins. Now they would have to win 4 out of the nine to win the division(11-5) in my opinion. I think they could get two from SD and Dallas in Denver which gives them 9 wins. San Diego won the division last year at 8-8 so they could potentially win the division but I don't think they do because I think SD goes 10-6 and if Denver goes 10-6 which I don't think they will, SD will have the conference tie breaker with 9 wins and Denver only having 7 conference wins which is the third tiebreaker. I think Denver and SD both go 5-1 within the division which is the first tiebreaker and they both beat Dallas, Washington, Cleveland and Cincy so the common games which is the second tiebreaker will be even. The other two wild card teams come out of the AFC East and AFC North. The last spot will be between Denver and Pittsburgh and I think Pittsburgh beats Denver and has the tiebreaker in the head to head matchup which is the first tiebreaker.

With that being said, I think Denver beats Dallas this week with Marion Barber and Felix Jones being injured, the game is played in Mile High and I DON'T BELIEVE IN TONY HOMO. lol!!!

Woo, Let Me Pick a T-Bone With You: Denver 3-0!!!!!!

Tyler aka T-Bone Hill Sunday, September 27, 2009, 6:23 PM wrote:


I got to give you props, D. You said that the broncos might be 3 and 0 and I said that it was not gonna happen. They actually look pretty good.