Still a very outside chance at the 3 seed...

[igoe4broncos]

If we win our next two and the Texans lose their final two (@ Indy, vs. Tenn), then we will get the third seed in the AFC.

That scenario probably has about a 1% chance of playing out, but if the Texans play like they did yesterday, anything can happen. Not to mention they face a short week and travel to Indy this week after the Colts' first win of the season.

[igoe4broncos]

Go Colts tonight...

[Northman]

I dont really care where we are seeded. I just want to win the division and get a home game for the playoffs.

[VonMiller58]

Of all the potential play off teams, I'd rather play the Texans.

[Buff]

Still a real chance we miss the playoffs entirely.

[chazoe60]

Still a real chance we miss the playoffs entirely.

Shut your mouth!!!!


There's a thread for this kind of talk but it's not this one. ;)

[cardoso]

I dont really care where we are seeded. I just want to win the division and get a home game for the playoffs.

So you rather play Pittsburgh or Baltimore than play the texans and their 3rd string Qb? Sorry I don't care about home games, we suck at home anyways what are we 2-5 at home? The easiest road to a 1st round win is at Houston.

[Buff]

Shut your mouth!!!!


There's a thread for this kind of talk but it's not this one. ;)

Everyone keeps trying to jinx us, so I am just doing my part to reverse that mojo.

[BroncoStud]

I think we would be a major problem for the Texans in the playoffs. I think we match up well with the Ravens too.

As long as we can avoid an elite QB to take advantage of our pitiful secondary then we have a chance.

[Northman]

So you rather play Pittsburgh or Baltimore than play the texans and their 3rd string Qb? Sorry I don't care about home games, we suck at home anyways what are we 2-5 at home? The easiest road to a 1st round win is at Houston.

Pittsburgh is banged up, Bmore is inconsistent and TERRIBLE on the road. I like our chances against any of those two.

[BroncoNut]

i don't know about you girls, but if we get to the playoffs, I want to end up playing the 2nd best team in the league.

[OrangeHoof]

The Broncos wouldn't meet the Texans until the conference championship game as long as they remain the #3 and #4 teams, regardless of order.

The appeal of being the #3 seed is your first-round opponent at home would be someone like the Jets or Bengals instead of the Steelers or Ravens.

But if you win that game, you're either playing on the road in Foxboro, Pittsburgh or Baltimore, not Houston.

For Houston to get a first-round bye, they need for the Steelers to finish a game ahead of the Ravens because the Ravens have the division tiebreaker. Houston beat Pittsburgh in the regular season but lost to Baltimore so those tiebreakers also come into play.

Assuming the Patriots can finish off Miami and Buffalo at home, the key game will be whether Cincinnati can beat Baltimore at home in week 17. If Houston and Pittsburgh win out against weak opponents (STL and CLE for Pittsburgh, IND and TEN for Houston) but the Ravens lose in Cincy, the playoff seeding becomes:

1. New England
2. Houston
3. Pittsburgh
4. Denver
5. Baltimore
6. likely NYJ or CIN

if the Ravens beat Cincy and all else remains the same, it becomes

1. New England
2. Baltimore
3. Houston
4. Denver
5. Pittsburgh
6. likely NYJ or CIN

Those are the two most likely outcomes although we all know the any given Sunday (or Thursday or Saturday) mantra.

[Joel]

Of all the potential play off teams, I'd rather play the Texans.
I don't know why; of all the potential playoff teams, the Texans are the only ones with both an offense AND defence.

[rcsodak]

The Broncos wouldn't meet the Texans until the conference championship game as long as they remain the #3 and #4 teams, regardless of order.

The appeal of being the #3 seed is your first-round opponent at home would be someone like the Jets or Bengals instead of the Steelers or Ravens.

But if you win that game, you're either playing on the road in Foxboro, Pittsburgh or Baltimore, not Houston.

For Houston to get a first-round bye, they need for the Steelers to finish a game ahead of the Ravens because the Ravens have the division tiebreaker. Houston beat Pittsburgh in the regular season but lost to Baltimore so those tiebreakers also come into play.

Assuming the Patriots can finish off Miami and Buffalo at home, the key game will be whether Cincinnati can beat Baltimore at home in week 17. If Houston and Pittsburgh win out against weak opponents (STL and CLE for Pittsburgh, IND and TEN for Houston) but the Ravens lose in Cincy, the playoff seeding becomes:

1. New England
2. Houston
3. Pittsburgh
4. Denver
5. Baltimore
6. likely NYJ or CIN

if the Ravens beat Cincy and all else remains the same, it becomes

1. New England
2. Baltimore
3. Houston
4. Denver
5. Pittsburgh
6. likely NYJ or CIN

Those are the two most likely outcomes although we all know the any given Sunday (or Thursday or Saturday) mantra.

I wouldn't call Tenn a weak team. They have a decent defense and we all saw what hasselback is, first hand.
Plus, c2kj is back to his old self.

[cmc0605]

I wouldn't be too excited about playing the Texans. For most of the season, there defense has been playing lights out. They also have Arian Foster and Ben Tate, and last I checked we let people named Tony Gerhart, Marion Barber, etc run wild against us. We have no tackling ability right now. By the time the playoffs roll around (and prob by week 17), they are also getting someone named Andre Johnson back too, whoever that is.

It would be nice playing a rookie QB and I think we'd have a decent chance, especially if VonDoom gives him a headache, but it is by no means a giveaway game. Yates has actually been playing pretty decent. Baltimore might be a similar quality team right now, and I think we could match up well with them.

Pittsburgh is dangerous because they are throwing as good as any team in the league right now, and have one of the best WR tandems in Wallace-Brown (along with Ward, Cotchery, Miller) that would give us matchup issues. Last I checked they had a few good defensive players too.

[Joel]

The Broncos wouldn't meet the Texans until the conference championship game as long as they remain the #3 and #4 teams, regardless of order.

The appeal of being the #3 seed is your first-round opponent at home would be someone like the Jets or Bengals instead of the Steelers or Ravens.

But if you win that game, you're either playing on the road in Foxboro, Pittsburgh or Baltimore, not Houston.

For Houston to get a first-round bye, they need for the Steelers to finish a game ahead of the Ravens because the Ravens have the division tiebreaker. Houston beat Pittsburgh in the regular season but lost to Baltimore so those tiebreakers also come into play.

Assuming the Patriots can finish off Miami and Buffalo at home, the key game will be whether Cincinnati can beat Baltimore at home in week 17. If Houston and Pittsburgh win out against weak opponents (STL and CLE for Pittsburgh, IND and TEN for Houston) but the Ravens lose in Cincy, the playoff seeding becomes:

1. New England
2. Houston
3. Pittsburgh
4. Denver
5. Baltimore
6. likely NYJ or CIN

if the Ravens beat Cincy and all else remains the same, it becomes

1. New England
2. Baltimore
3. Houston
4. Denver
5. Pittsburgh
6. likely NYJ or CIN

Those are the two most likely outcomes although we all know the any given Sunday (or Thursday or Saturday) mantra.
This is what I don't get: Until Houston lost to Carolina, everyone said they were the #1 seed, even though Baltimore had the same record and beat them in the regular season:

1) Houston, 2) Baltimore, 3) NE

Houston and Baltimore losing dropped Houston from 1st seed to 3rd:

1) NE, 2) Baltimore, 3) Houston

Now, if the Texans and Ravens win out, the seeding is as above IF the Pats also win out--otherwise, every playoff calculator says it's back to 1) Houston and 2) Baltimore. In other words, if the Texans and Ravens win out, whether Houston is the 1st OR 3rd seed depends ENTIRELY on New Englands record. The rationale as stated is that if Houston and Baltimore finish 1st and 2nd, Houstons better Conference record breaks the tie in their favor (i.e. the head to head is ignored,) but otherwise the head to head breaks it in Baltimores favor.

I don't get why Baltimores head to head win doesn't ALWAYS put them ahead of Houston. Everywhere I look says Houston's the top seed if they and Baltimore finish 1st and 2nd, but the 3rd seed if they finish 2nd and 3rd.

I wouldn't be too excited about playing the Texans. For most of the season, there defense has been playing lights out. They also have Arian Foster and Ben Tate, and last I checked we let people named Tony Gerhart, Marion Barber, etc run wild against us. We have no tackling ability right now. By the time the playoffs roll around (and prob by week 17), they are also getting someone named Andre Johnson back too, whoever that is.

It would be nice playing a rookie QB and I think we'd have a decent chance, especially if VonDoom gives him a headache, but it is by no means a giveaway game. Yates has actually been playing pretty decent. Baltimore might be a similar quality team right now, and I think we could match up well with them.

Pittsburgh is dangerous because they are throwing as good as any team in the league right now, and have one of the best WR tandems in Wallace-Brown (along with Ward, Cotchery, Miller) that would give us matchup issues. Last I checked they had a few good defensive players too.
Yates has looked very good for a third string rookie (though not against Carolina,) largely due to, IMHO, the best receiving corps in the NFL plus a stellar offensive line. The receivers are significantly better than New Englands and the pass blocking nearly as good, maybe better; we just saw what that combination does to our vaunted pass rush: The QB is protected all night long and shreds are non-existent secondary. Meanwhile, the Texans D was ranked first in the League coming into last week (the Panthers blowing them up probably lowered that ranking, but Wade Phillips will be out of the hospital before the playoffs.) I'd rather play Baltimore or Pitt.

[OrangeHoof]

Joel, the key is who ties with the same record. Since NE was the only one of the top AFC teams to not lose last week, they now project to a 13-3 record. Even if Houston, Pittsburgh and Baltimore run the table, the best they can do is 12-4.

However, if NE loses and falls back into a 12-4 tie, Houston likely wins the #1 seed due to conference record. Two of Houston's losses were to New Orleans and Carolina. But if NE reaches 13-3, then the first tiebreaker would be between Pittsburgh and Baltimore which Baltimore wins because they swept the Steelers head-to-head.then Baltimore also wins the tiebreaker with Houston because of head-to-head record.

(if two or more teams from the same division finish tied, the NFL settles the division tiebreak first and then turns their attention to other ties within the conference).

That's why Houston needs for Pittsburgh to finish ahead of Baltimore so they can leap past both into the #2 seed however if the Patriots also lose, Houston wins a three-way tie as long as the Patriots are one of the other two teams.

[Joel]

Joel, the key is who ties with the same record. Since NE was the only one of the top AFC teams to not lose last week, they now project to a 13-3 record. Even if Houston, Pittsburgh and Baltimore run the table, the best they can do is 12-4.

However, if NE loses and falls back into a 12-4 tie, Houston likely wins the #1 seed due to conference record. Two of Houston's losses were to New Orleans and Carolina. But if NE reaches 13-3, then the first tiebreaker would be between Pittsburgh and Baltimore which Baltimore wins because they swept the Steelers head-to-head.then Baltimore also wins the tiebreaker with Houston because of head-to-head record.

(if two or more teams from the same division finish tied, the NFL settles the division tiebreak first and then turns their attention to other ties within the conference).

That's why Houston needs for Pittsburgh to finish ahead of Baltimore so they can leap past both into the #2 seed however if the Patriots also lose, Houston wins a three-way tie as long as the Patriots are one of the other two teams.
OK, I think I get it now: In a three way NON-DIVISIONAL tie the procedure is:

1) Apply division tie breaker to eliminate all but the highest ranked club in each division prior to proceeding to step 2. The original seeding within a division upon application of the division tie breaker remains the same for all subsequent applications of the procedure that are necessary to identify the two Wild-Card participants.

2) Head-to-head sweep. (Applicable only if one club has defeated each of the others or if one club has lost to each of the others.)

3) Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference....
so Baltimore loses FIRST due to their habit of losing to crappy AFC teams; then Houstons Conference record dominates any other team. If, however, any other AFC North team is tied with Baltimore and Houston, the first tiebreak eliminates that team, the process reverts to the TWO WAY procedures first tiebreak (head to head) and Baltimore wins.

I got confused because of a similar situation the last time we were 9-7: We had the best and KC the worst Conference record of all 9-7 teams--but they had a better DIVISION record, so we could only make the playoffs if they were the #5 seed. It seemed the same rationale should apply here, and ultimately it does, I just mistook the precedence: It's Divisional tiebreak>non-Divisional tiebreak, not 2 team tiebreak>3 team tiebreak.

Looking at the whole procedure again it made sense that head to head couldn't be applied in the way I thought: If Baltimore had beaten NE we'd end up in a rochambeau situation where none of the three teams could claim superiority over BOTH the others, so the only way head to head>Conference record in a 3+ way tie is if one team beat ALL others.

So, go whoever's playing Baltimore (good luck; the best opponent they have left is Cincy, who's pretty much toast if they lose, even though all 7 of their losses would be to playoff teams.)

[TXBRONC]

I dont really care where we are seeded. I just want to win the division and get a home game for the playoffs.

Al Davis wasn't one of my favorite people in football but his old motto is very true for Denver "Just win baby." All this other will sort itself shortly they just need win this game then we can worry about the Chiefs.

[Canmore]

Al Davis wasn't one of my favorite people in football but his old motto is very true for Denver "Just win baby." All this other will sort itself shortly they just need win this game then we can worry about the Chiefs.

I've been tempted to post this for the past two weeks but couldn't bring myself to type it out. :lol:

[TXBRONC]

I've been tempted to post this for the past two weeks but couldn't bring myself to type it out. :lol:

I was only able to type itbecause I had a hazmat suit on. :D

[wayninja]

I dont really care where we are seeded.

Me neither. Unless it's the back seat of a camaro.

[igoe4broncos]

Step one (Colts over Texans) - Complete

[BroncoWave]

I'd put that somewhere closer to 10-20% now. What an ideal scenario that would be for us. We'd get likey NY in the first round and Baltimore in the second if we win. Of all the likely AFC playoff team, those are probably our two best matchups. Obviously I am getting way ahead of myself, but assuming we aren't fighting them for a WC berth, I will be a huge Titans fan next week!

[BroncoBJ]

All we need is Houston to lose 1 more, Ravens and Steelers both to lose the next 2 games. Broncos to win the next 2. And then the #2 seed is ours boysssssssssss :elefant:

[Joel]

Step one (Colts over Texans) - Complete
Game ball to the refs:

"We were behind all night... but our guys never gave up... when the game was on the line, and we needed a score... they just kept penalizing Houston until they got us in the end zone... I LOVE YOU GUYS111" *vomits*

I'd still rather play any of the other one dimensional teams battling for the bye than the only team that has more rushing attempts than us AND the #2 defence. The Texans would destroy us guys, even with Yates.

All we need is Houston to lose 1 more, Ravens and Steelers both to lose the next 2 games. Broncos to win the next 2. And then the #2 seed is ours boysssssssssss :elefant:
If a sink hole opens up beneath all 31 other NFL host cities we win the Super Bowl by default. *begins tabulating odds* See ya'll after New Years.... :rolleyes:

[BroncoJoe]

Game ball to the refs:

"We were behind all night... but our guys never gave up... when the game was on the line, and we needed a score... they just kept penalizing Houston until they got us in the end zone... I LOVE YOU GUYS111" *vomits*

I'd still rather play any of the other one dimensional teams battling for the bye than the only team that has more rushing attempts than us AND the #2 defence. The Texans would destroy us guys, even with Yates.

If a sink hole opens up beneath all 31 other NFL host cities we win the Super Bowl by default. *begins tabulating odds* See ya'll after New Years.... :rolleyes:

Both statements: laughable.

And here I thought you were a better man, Joel.

[dogfish]

idBhoV01ryo

[Joel]

Both statements: laughable.

And here I thought you were a better man, Joel.
Please, every time the Texans D made a good play the refs were right there to give Indy a first down. It was like that all game, but especially bad on the last drive, where it seemed like every down was either a big gain for Indy or a penalty on Houston. And, yes, a rushing offense nearly as "good" as ours, packing a much better line and better backs, combined with the #2 NFL D, would rip us apart in short order. That's if their rookie third stringer didn't just play pitch and catch to Andre Johnson, Kevin Walter, Jacoby Jones, Joel Dreesen and Owen Daniels all day. The beat Pitt, Cincy and Atlanta, should've beaten Oakland (if Schaub runs in the TD on the last play instead of throwing a pick in the end zone) and came within a TD against New Orleans.

Far more importantly, I'd rather have a rematch against the Pats crappy D, whom we ran on effortlessly all day, or the crappy Steelers and Ravens offenses. Those are teams with very exploitable weaknesses; the Texans only real weakness is that their best defender and their QB are out for the year.

[dogfish]

Far more importantly, I'd rather have a rematch against the Pats crappy D, whom we ran on effortlessly all day, or the crappy Steelers and Ravens offenses. Those are teams with very exploitable weaknesses; the Texans only real weakness is that their best defender and their QB are out for the year.

all well and good on paper. . . in the real world, i would vastly prefer to play houston in the playoffs than pittsburgh-- just compare the two teams' playoff histories. . . i'll take TJ and wade phillips-- pig ben and dick lebeau are proven post-season winners. . .

[BroncoWave]

Please, every time the Texans D made a good play the refs were right there to give Indy a first down. It was like that all game, but especially bad on the last drive, where it seemed like every down was either a big gain for Indy or a penalty on Houston. And, yes, a rushing offense nearly as "good" as ours, packing a much better line and better backs, combined with the #2 NFL D, would rip us apart in short order. That's if their rookie third stringer didn't just play pitch and catch to Andre Johnson, Kevin Walter, Jacoby Jones, Joel Dreesen and Owen Daniels all day. The beat Pitt, Cincy and Atlanta, should've beaten Oakland (if Schaub runs in the TD on the last play instead of throwing a pick in the end zone) and came within a TD against New Orleans.

Far more importantly, I'd rather have a rematch against the Pats crappy D, whom we ran on effortlessly all day, or the crappy Steelers and Ravens offenses. Those are teams with very exploitable weaknesses; the Texans only real weakness is that their best defender and their QB are out for the year.

Crappy Steelers offense? Big Ben, Wallace, and Mendenhall are pretty solid players. I'd much rather go against Baltimore out of the two. And NE is BY FAR the worst matchup for us. We just cannot stop their offense.

[Joel]

all well and good on paper. . . in the real world, i would vastly prefer to play houston in the playoffs than pittsburgh-- just compare the two teams' playoff histories. . . i'll take TJ and wade phillips-- pig ben and dick lebeau are proven post-season winners. . .
Wade's a great DC, just not a head coach. Kubiaks playoff record isn't too shabby though, and he IS the head coach. All he needed was someone to run his defence for him, and now that's he's got that, witness the result.

Crappy Steelers offense? Big Ben, Wallace, and Mendenhall are pretty solid players. I'd much rather go against Baltimore out of the two. And NE is BY FAR the worst matchup for us. We just cannot stop their offense.
Big Ben is Tebow with more picks. A LOT more. He has played well in Super Bowls against teams that didn't belong there in the first place, so in that sense he would give us trouble, but he's the QB for a great team, not the reason they're great, or even a large contributing factor. Mendenhall falls into the same category; I'd much rather face him than Arian Foster, especially with the kind of gaping holes Fosters line opens for him. The Steelers win games because of their D; when Big Ben and their offense is forced to win you get what happened against SF the other night.

No, we can't stop the Pats offense, but do you really think we'd do better against the Texans? That's trading Arian Foster and a BETTER receiving corps for Brady--plus a VERY good D that would make our offense long for the Pats performance last week. Unless you have an offense like the Saints you just don't put points on them; Wade has completely turned that teams D around, and that was the one thing preventing the Texans from being a VERY scary team. Unless we could count on the refs turning third down sacks into automatic first downs and throwing a flag every single time they make a good play, they would beat us stupid.

[dogfish]

No, we can't stop the Pats offense, but do you really think we'd do better against the Texans? That's trading Arian Foster and a BETTER receiving corps for Brady

a trade that 32 head coaches in this league would make six days a week and twice on sunday. . .

let's not forget that belichick guy either. . .


edit: also, did you just say the texans would "beat us stupid?" you mean the texans that just lost to one-win indy? the team that's averaging 17.2 points per game since matt schaub went down?

[bcbronc]

Crappy Steelers offense? Big Ben, Wallace, and Mendenhall are pretty solid players. I'd much rather go against Baltimore out of the two. And NE is BY FAR the worst matchup for us. We just cannot stop their offense.

No kidding. I'm not sure if NFL.com's "average" is per passing attempt or completion, but Pitt is tied for 3rd with NYG and NO and behind only NE and GB. They're closer to a vertical offense than ground and pound. Very much an outdated impression of the Steelers if you think they're still running Chin's offense.


Wade's a great DC, just not a head coach. Kubiaks playoff record isn't too shabby though, and he IS the head coach. All he needed was someone to run his defence for him, and now that's he's got that, witness the result.

Considering the key injuries and being the first Texan team to make the playoffs, there's a very real chance they lay an egg imo. They're losing games now and not sure they'll have the experience as a unit to flick the switch back on.

They're a good team still, but so is every team in the playoffs.


Big Ben is Tebow with more picks. A LOT more. He has played well in Super Bowls against teams that didn't belong there in the first place, so in that sense he would give us trouble, but he's the QB for a great team, not the reason they're great, or even a large contributing factor. Mendenhall falls into the same category; I'd much rather face him than Arian Foster, especially with the kind of gaping holes Fosters line opens for him. The Steelers win games because of their D; when Big Ben and their offense is forced to win you get what happened against SF the other night.


Teams that didn't belong there? Really? Shit, do we have to give back one of Elway's rings now? He really is the reason they're a great team now. Still a good defense, but not as intimidating as it has been. To say Ben isn't "even a large contributing factor" is just silly.

He might be a douche off the field, but he's still a great QB. If Tebow can get to within a Matt Prater field goal of being as good as Ben, we'll win a Superbowl or two.

[Nomad]

I dont really care where we are seeded. I just want to win the division and get a home game for the playoffs.

Right on! BRONCOS have been here in this exact scenerio and we know what happened the last time. BRONCOS need to win these next 2 games and then there will be no doubt of whether the BRONCOS make the playoffs this time plus they go into the playoffs with momentum and confidence.

GO BRONCOS!

[dogfish]

Right on! BRONCOS have been here in this exact scenerio and we know what happened the last time. BRONCOS need to win these next 2 games and then there will be no doubt of whether the BRONCOS make the playoffs this time plus they go into the playoffs with momentum and confidence.

GO BRONCOS!

nomad's posts. . . now with 100% more broncos!


:defense:

[Nomad]

nomad's posts. . . now with 100% more broncos!


:defense:

Damn skippy!

[cardoso]

Please, every time the Texans D made a good play the refs were right there to give Indy a first down. It was like that all game, but especially bad on the last drive, where it seemed like every down was either a big gain for Indy or a penalty on Houston. And, yes, a rushing offense nearly as "good" as ours, packing a much better line and better backs, combined with the #2 NFL D, would rip us apart in short order. That's if their rookie third stringer didn't just play pitch and catch to Andre Johnson, Kevin Walter, Jacoby Jones, Joel Dreesen and Owen Daniels all day. The beat Pitt, Cincy and Atlanta, should've beaten Oakland (if Schaub runs in the TD on the last play instead of throwing a pick in the end zone) and came within a TD against New Orleans.

Far more importantly, I'd rather have a rematch against the Pats crappy D, whom we ran on effortlessly all day, or the crappy Steelers and Ravens offenses. Those are teams with very exploitable weaknesses; the Texans only real weakness is that their best defender and their QB are out for the year.

everything you mentioned is irrelevant in regards to why Houston is good. The playoffs are all about peaking at the right moment and being hot. Houston could very well go into the playoffs 0-3 in their last 3 games. They lost to Carolina and Indy. any fear factor they had has gone out the window.

[MOtorboat]

To be honest, I don't think Denver matches up overly well with any playoff teams, and the likelihood of playing Houston before the AFC Championship game is almost nill.

I just want to see Denver playing after Jan. 1. That's all I care about right now.

[WARHORSE]

Denver can beat NE.

If we dont turn the ball over three times, we have a great shot at winning that game. With the ball in our hands for three extra drives, not only would our running continue to chew up the clock, but we score.


They simply were being dominated by our run game.


Pittsburgs defense will be tough for Tebow, just like it is for everyone.

But we play hard nosed ball, and Rottenbooger on a gimpy leg is going to meet VonDoom all day.

Win the turnover battle, and I dont see a team in the AFC that we cant beat.


We can BE beat....but I totally think we can beat those teams as well.


Im Tebowing as I type this......:salute: