TXBRONC
12-17-2009, 04:28 PM
http://www.denverpost.com/premium/broncos/ci_14005752
Broncos not yet willing to talk about playoffs
By Lindsay H. Jones
The Denver Post
Posted: 12/16/2009 01:00:00 AM MST
Updated: 12/16/2009 01:54:07 AM MST
From one end of the Broncos' locker room to the other, there's one word players won't dare utter: playoffs.
That is, unless they are talking about what they won't talk about, not with three weeks left in the regular season.
"We'll try to win as many as we can down the stretch, and then we'll see where that puts us," Broncos outside linebacker Darrell Reid said.
But just because the Broncos are sticking to the ever-popular sports cliche, it no longer is presumptuous for the rest of us to talk about playoff football.
As it stands, the Broncos — at 8-5 overall and 6-4 in the AFC — hold one of two wild-card playoff spots. And with home games remaining against conference bottom-feeders Oakland (4-9) and Kansas City (3-10), and a road game at NFC East leader Philadelphia, two victories would ensure the Broncos of their first playoff berth since 2005 unless two of their closest pursuers win all their remaining games.
It is certainly good to be the one being chased, rather than in the jumble of teams at least one game behind the Broncos in the wild-card race. When teams need not only to win, but to have other teams lose, to make it to the postseason, it is easier to get distracted, veteran defensive end Vonnie Holliday said.
"I think when you're in that situation, you do tend to look a little more," Holliday said. "I've been in that situation before, and you can find yourself looking at the scoreboard seeing what's going on somewhere else."
If the Broncos win this weekend, they will remain alive in the AFC West race, where they are two games behind San Diego. But with San Diego's remarkable December winning streak, now at 16 games, the wild card will be the Broncos' most likely postseason path.
But there are a host of other teams in position for a playoff push as well, with four teams at 7-6, and a couple with a chance of winning out the rest of the season.
Jacksonville holds the No. 6 spot in the AFC, but with games against Indianapolis — playing with starters — and at New England in the next two weeks, and coming off a loss to Miami, the Jaguars have moved from the wild card front-runner to longshot.
The favorites, and the teams the Broncos should pay most attention to, are Baltimore and Miami, both playoff teams last season.
The Ravens have an identical AFC record (6-4) as the Broncos and hold a tiebreaker against Denver, thanks to the Ravens' 30-7 victory over the Broncos on Nov. 1.
The Ravens also have the most favorable schedule over the final three weeks, with a home game Sunday against Chicago (5-8) and road games at free-falling Pittsburgh (6-7) and Oakland.
The Dolphins have a trio of teams on their schedule that are 6-7: at Tennessee this weekend, followed by home games against Houston and Pittsburgh in the final two weeks.
None of those games figure to be easy wins, but with the NFL's top-ranked running game (150.1 yards per game) and a solid run defense (allowing only 106.1 yards per game), the Dolphins are playing the right kind of football to win late in the year.
The Jets are the final team at 7-6. But with a conference record of 4-6 and upcoming games against Atlanta, Indianapolis and Cincinnati, the Jets have the hardest road of any of the challengers.
Not that anyone at Dove Valley really cares.
Holliday said he doesn't know all the playoff scenarios.
"For us, the season has played out the way it has, but we still find ourselves in a pretty good situation," Holliday said. "We control our own destiny, and for us, what we all have to believe in, is that the most important part of it all is the next game."
Lindsay H. Jones: 303-954-1262 or ljones@denverpost.com
Broncos not yet willing to talk about playoffs
By Lindsay H. Jones
The Denver Post
Posted: 12/16/2009 01:00:00 AM MST
Updated: 12/16/2009 01:54:07 AM MST
From one end of the Broncos' locker room to the other, there's one word players won't dare utter: playoffs.
That is, unless they are talking about what they won't talk about, not with three weeks left in the regular season.
"We'll try to win as many as we can down the stretch, and then we'll see where that puts us," Broncos outside linebacker Darrell Reid said.
But just because the Broncos are sticking to the ever-popular sports cliche, it no longer is presumptuous for the rest of us to talk about playoff football.
As it stands, the Broncos — at 8-5 overall and 6-4 in the AFC — hold one of two wild-card playoff spots. And with home games remaining against conference bottom-feeders Oakland (4-9) and Kansas City (3-10), and a road game at NFC East leader Philadelphia, two victories would ensure the Broncos of their first playoff berth since 2005 unless two of their closest pursuers win all their remaining games.
It is certainly good to be the one being chased, rather than in the jumble of teams at least one game behind the Broncos in the wild-card race. When teams need not only to win, but to have other teams lose, to make it to the postseason, it is easier to get distracted, veteran defensive end Vonnie Holliday said.
"I think when you're in that situation, you do tend to look a little more," Holliday said. "I've been in that situation before, and you can find yourself looking at the scoreboard seeing what's going on somewhere else."
If the Broncos win this weekend, they will remain alive in the AFC West race, where they are two games behind San Diego. But with San Diego's remarkable December winning streak, now at 16 games, the wild card will be the Broncos' most likely postseason path.
But there are a host of other teams in position for a playoff push as well, with four teams at 7-6, and a couple with a chance of winning out the rest of the season.
Jacksonville holds the No. 6 spot in the AFC, but with games against Indianapolis — playing with starters — and at New England in the next two weeks, and coming off a loss to Miami, the Jaguars have moved from the wild card front-runner to longshot.
The favorites, and the teams the Broncos should pay most attention to, are Baltimore and Miami, both playoff teams last season.
The Ravens have an identical AFC record (6-4) as the Broncos and hold a tiebreaker against Denver, thanks to the Ravens' 30-7 victory over the Broncos on Nov. 1.
The Ravens also have the most favorable schedule over the final three weeks, with a home game Sunday against Chicago (5-8) and road games at free-falling Pittsburgh (6-7) and Oakland.
The Dolphins have a trio of teams on their schedule that are 6-7: at Tennessee this weekend, followed by home games against Houston and Pittsburgh in the final two weeks.
None of those games figure to be easy wins, but with the NFL's top-ranked running game (150.1 yards per game) and a solid run defense (allowing only 106.1 yards per game), the Dolphins are playing the right kind of football to win late in the year.
The Jets are the final team at 7-6. But with a conference record of 4-6 and upcoming games against Atlanta, Indianapolis and Cincinnati, the Jets have the hardest road of any of the challengers.
Not that anyone at Dove Valley really cares.
Holliday said he doesn't know all the playoff scenarios.
"For us, the season has played out the way it has, but we still find ourselves in a pretty good situation," Holliday said. "We control our own destiny, and for us, what we all have to believe in, is that the most important part of it all is the next game."
Lindsay H. Jones: 303-954-1262 or ljones@denverpost.com