Football Outsiders DYAR: How Are Bronco Players Doing Now?

As I’m sure most of you know, Football Outsiders rates DYAR for quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers and tight ends. Earlier this season, when I discussed the possibility of the Denver Broncos reaching the Super Bowl, I reviewed the DYAR for the Broncos who play those positions.

I figured it was a good time to revisit where those players are at since the end of November. Let’s examine the players who are currently starting or contributing and how they have fared.
Continue reading Football Outsiders DYAR: How Are Bronco Players Doing Now?

Not So Scientific Rankings, Week 16

Time to roll out another set of Not So Scientific Rankings. Links to the rankings used are below.

Pro Football Focus Power Rankings

Pro Football Reference Simple Ranking System

Five Thirty Eight ELO Playoff Probability Rankings

Football Outsiders DVOA Rankings

Unfortunately, Andrew Mason has not posted his power rankings as of this morning, so I am moving forward without them.
Continue reading Not So Scientific Rankings, Week 16

“Go Fuck Yourself, San Diego!”: For The Last Time?

When Anchorman first graced theaters in 2004, the famous line in this thread’s title has long been a reliable one for fans of the Broncos, Chiefs, and Raiders to use when the Chargers are the next team up on the schedule.  (It’s also been handy to use the “You stay classy, San Diego” line ironically when the Chargers pull dubious stunts like this.)  But the utilization of Ron Burgundy to twist tails may only last 11 years, as a decision on what the NFL will do with Los Angeles is looming immediately after the end of the regular season.  When the Broncos play Week 17, they may be playing against the San Diego Chargers for the last time ever.  So I thought this would be a perfect time to lay out some detailed thoughts on the NFL’s plans for returning to Los Angeles.

Continue reading “Go Fuck Yourself, San Diego!”: For The Last Time?

Broncos Sign G Myers, Release S Prater

The Broncos have not yet officially announced the signing, but Klis’ story indicates Myers will report to Dove Valley Wednesday.

The Broncos have already released S Shaun Prater. Although T.J. Ward did not play much of the second half, he had no setbacks with his ankle injury and Gary Kubiak was limiting his snaps. The same applied to Darian Stewart. Both Ward and Stewart are expected to play against San Diego.

Also, the Broncos expect Omar Bolden to return to the lineup soon. It remains to be seen if he’ll play against San Diego, but it does appear he’ll be ready to go for the playoffs.

The Morning After: Breathing A Little Easier Now

A little late with this, but because my busiest work day comes on Tuesday, bear with me.

I’ll admit that I was shaking my head in disbelief during the first half of the Broncos game against the Bengals, to the point I made several observations on Twitter where I was somewhat disapproving of certain players and coaches.

Then came the second half, where they all forced me to eat some of those words.
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Broncos Playoff Standings: 2015 Week 17

You like playoffs! You. Like. Playoffs!

The Broncos needed a win plus a Jets or Steelers loss to get in, and that’s what they got.  Step 1 is complete, but there’s far more work to do. The playoff ticket may have been printed, but the seed on that ticket has yet to be written–and it can be any number but 4.  Here’s how the Broncos can end up in the other five seeds as they prepare for the Chargers next week:

  • #1: DEN win AND NE loss (@ MIA)
  • #2: DEN win AND NE win, OR DEN loss AND CIN loss (vs. BAL) AND KC loss (vs. OAK)
  • #3: DEN loss AND CIN win AND KC loss
  • #5: DEN loss AND KC win AND NYJ loss (@ BUF)
  • #6: DEN loss AND KC win AND NYJ win

EDIT: since I ended this article a bit anti-climatically, let’s throw in this beauty to conclude.

Broncos at Steelers: The 10 Things I Liked and the 10 Things I Didn’t

I apologize on the delay on this with holidays and all. These last two games we had a horrible second half. The media kept talking about the future of Brock Osweiler and Peyton Manning. I kept hearing conversations about how poor Brock Osweiler has played in the second half of games lately. Regardless of how he played, giving up 34 points on defense is rarely going to win games.

Continue reading Broncos at Steelers: The 10 Things I Liked and the 10 Things I Didn’t

The Broncos Now Just Need One Win To Make The Playoffs

Well, that was one bizarre slate of early games–an oddity that will certainly be dominated by Matthew Slater’s ill-fated coin toss adventures with Clete Blakeman.  That said, combined with the Chiefs’ struggles to win against the lowly Browns, what happened in the Meadowlands may not have been a moment for Broncos fans to laugh too hard.

But thankfully, the Ravens came through by throwing a major wrench in the Steelers’ playoff hopes by holding on to a 20-17 win.  Pittsburgh’s loss satisfies half of what the Broncos needed this week to clinch a playoff berth (a Jets loss would have also sufficed).

But now, as the title indicates, the Broncos need to only win one of their remaning two to clinch a playoff berth.  Even with a loss against the Bengals on Monday, if the Broncos bounce back to beat the Chargers, Pittsburgh will be unable to catch them even if they beat the Browns to close out.

While the Broncos can punch their January ticket on Monday, they cannot hoist their fifth straight AFC West banner that soon. In order to do that (and be no worse than the #3 seed) the Broncos need one of two things to happen:

  • Win both games
  • Win one, lose one, and have the Chiefs lose to the Raiders.

But while the Broncos can now absorb a Bengals loss and still get into the playoffs, they need that win to get the best seeding possible.  If they lose, the Bengals would clinch the other first round bye, But should they defeat Cincinnati on Monday, the following seeds are available for Denver:

  • Denver would need a win over SD OR losses by Cincinnati (vs. BAL) AND Kansas City (vs. OAK) to clinch the #2 seed.
  • Denver would need a win over SD AND a New England loss (@ MIA) to clinch the #1 seed.