Pressure-packed? Well maybe

by lovewatchinthegame on Dec 26, 2008 4:22 PM MST Comment 8 comments

There are really very few career choices that at some point don't have at least some pressure. A salesman closing the deal that keeps his company going, the contractor landing the bid that keeps his crew going, a surgeon keeping his cool as a surgery starts to go south. Oh and of course NFL football games that have the post-season at stake. This Sunday will most assuredly bring pressure on the Broncos and Chargers but for which team will feel the most pressure to win?

THE COACHES

While no coach wants to go down in the record books for being the first to go down after leading the division by three with three to go, I think that most coaches would agree that it's better than knowing that after this loss you'll most likely be packing your bags, especially when this will be your third team to be worse off than when you started with them. Meaning it may be a while before he's gainfully employed again.

More Pressure? Chargers

THE PLAYERS

Expectations are one of the most cruel things you can do to another person, it can get into your head at the worst time and Charger fans and media have made it abundantly clear that they have only one expectation WIN, and that expectation has been getting into the Chargers head all season. A team that was picked to go to the Superbowl will be lucky to break even. Why? There is a certain pressure that starts to invade your mind when you start to feel that you are not living up to expectations, when something goes wrong finger-pointing starts and camaraderie goes out the window. Defensive coordinators get fired. Preseason expectations aside these teams are truly two ends of the spectrum If Denver pulls out the win everyone from ESPN to the local Gazette will agree that they have been over-achievers, heroes for persevering through adversity, If the Chargers win, even if they win, under-achievers. OUCH

More pressure? Chargers

Denver can, should, and I think will go into this game loose and just have fun. Play their hearts out and leave everything on the field and when the final seconds tick off the clock, win or lose, they will stand as a team that has a future, a bright one. After all, once all is said and done, this isn't heart surgery, everyone gets to go home and continue on with their lives. With the exception of players like Kevin Everett who paid way too big of a price. Our hearts go out to him and his family and other players like him!!!

This is a Fan-Created Comment on MileHighReport.com. The opinion here is not necessarily shared by the editorial staff of MHR

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Another fine post love....game, however you left out the unknown pressured.

Village idiots like my self that come out boldly say crazy things like, “We will win this game! Period!”…and then believe it. I like your approach to the game, so much common sense, not the Thomas Paine type, but the HT and styg type. I wish I could do that—but I cannot—therefore I stress. I will hate it if we lose this game.

I hope you’re right that our team comes loose and have some fun because this game has the smell of a complete collapse…of someone. Maybe us, maybe the Chargers, but I don’t think this game will be close.

The best defense is a good offense!

by Mike Clark on Dec 26, 2008 6:17 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

and by the........Welcome to MHR.

The best defense is a good offense!

by Mike Clark on Dec 26, 2008 6:34 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

don't get me wrong

I HATE to see them lose, I hate to see them lose, but it happens in the NFL sometimes you win the ones you should lose sometime you lose the one you should win. Some teams put together great seasons like the end of Superbowl win 1 till the close of Superbowl win 2 or the Patriots of last year but the norm in the NFL is 6-10 to 10-6. Most teams that are really good average a #2 ranking in their division over the period of 10 years. AND I mean really good teams look at my other post “What makes a Superbowl Team?” I have learned to take the great wins with the horrible losses and the great losses with the horrible wins, that is the bain of Bronco football, some have the moxy to stick with them and sadly many don’t. These things will change when Shanny is gone I am sure. We will go to either another type of mediocre team like Minnesota that is rarely great and/or rarely horrible or we will turn into a Seattle with runs in both directions but as long as we have an owner that loves the game like Bowlen I have a feeling this will always be a team no one looks forward to playing. And believe me down deep inside the Chargers are not looking forward to this game like the Broncos are!!! They know if they loose they loose way more than a game if the broncos lose they lost a game or two. Then look out next year with this offense and even a slight improvement to the defense.Hang in there, there is whole lot more fun football to watch in Denver.

by lovewatchinthegame on Dec 26, 2008 7:20 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

I completely agree--still have the preasure however--but I completely agree

I … in no way… want Shanny to go, Bowlen to sell, or anyone to think I underestimate the value of this young team. I salvate at the thought of Hillis as the power back and Alridge as the change-up. Its way wrong that Hillis went down just as our Young OL seemed to get the zone block thing. Early this spring Alridge was my dark-horse for greatness. ………..frustration…..should have saw it coming.

Yet, I am what I am. Win, lose or (can’t be a draw in this game) I will either move into the playoffs or wait for the draft. I will open the “La-La-Land-Of-Pre-Season-Goods” and know that we are very close to the Super Bowl we want.

As for this game:

We Will Crush San Diego!! ……………Period!!!!!!!!!!!

The best defense is a good offense!

by Mike Clark on Dec 26, 2008 8:05 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Great Post and a great Comment

Thanks lovewatchingthegame.

It all starts in the trenches HT 11/11/08

by firstfan on Dec 26, 2008 9:44 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Good posr again

And it leads on to my post on karma. I believe, too, there is more pressure on the Chargers.

Those that cant coach, compete!
Failing to plan is planning to fail.

by boydy2669 on Dec 27, 2008 6:01 AM MST reply actions 0 recs

this is crazy, folks

are you trying to tell me last weekend the chargers were telling themselves “oh no, we get to play for the division title at home next sunday”, and the broncos were celebrating the chance to miss the postseason after leading the division all season. playing on the road to a team that has ripped off 3 straight just to get to this game? coaching? the shanny guarantee is on the line, too. 8-8 this season with the soft schedule we had is an utter failure, regardless of injuries. a playoff berth is the bottom line, and i care not the record it took to get it.

listen, i love all the optimism, but the pressure is squarely on the broncos for choking at every turn, while s.d. is just thankful this game has meaning after taking care of business the past month. in addition, they have been playing well, and we have certainly not. i believe we can win this game if a bunch of things go right, but we are walking into an ambush here, and we had better be prepared for that. and for this: the next 2-3 controversial calls will go to the chargers. we have to play hard, aggressive, and clean to take this game. can we do it? we’ll find out tomorrow, but this is not a situation we wanted to be in. advantage: chargers.

hear me, perpetrators of bread crime, your punishment is at hand.
taste my blintzkrieg!
all i want for xmas is blitzen.

by davecheffy on Dec 27, 2008 8:03 AM MST reply actions 0 recs

crazy?-maybe not

actually last weeks games between Denver/Buffalo and S.D. /T.B perfectly demonstrates what pressure can do to players! Denver went into that game seeing it as a MUST-WIN game and it got into their head, same with Tampa Bay, while Buffalo and San Diego stayed loose and just stuck with their game plan, really they were expected to lose, so way less pressure. Buffalo will do the same thing this week and I have a feeling will upset the Patriots, although most of the time the better prepared/ more talented team wins. But things are different for the Chargers this week. It isn’t just a MUST-WIN game for them it is the Broncos!!! If they lose to the Broncos they lose way more then a game, they will lose their self-respect and Identity as a team they have building the last 4 years. They’ll lose the respect of the league and all the sports writers, they go into next season somewhere around 20 or 21 on the power rankings, quite a fall from #3 where they started this year. Whichever team loses is going to fall and it will hurt. But believe me the Charger coaches and fans and players all know that their fall is going to be a lot farther and a lot more painful than the Bronco’s. Let’s face it when this season began very few of us had any hopes that this last game of the season would determine the AFC west. But as the season wore on we kind of got caught up in the possibilities, but the Broncos have not lied to us or broken any promises they are exactly what we thought they would be, well… actually quite a bit better. The same can not be said of the Chargers even if they sneak into the play-offs with an 8-8 record. Not to mention the unsportsman like waving bye-bye last year, man if they lose Sunday they will surely have egg on their face, that has got to be in the back of their mind as well. Another interesting thing that demonstrates what pressure can do to the Broncos is, if I’m not wrong, they have a losing record in games they were favored and a winning record in games they were underdogs. I cringed every time they went into a game favored and that is one thing they are going to have to turn around next year. At any rate I believe that the Chargers have the most to lose and thus have the most pressure, maybe they will play through it and get the win but it is just another one of those intangibles that sometimes wins games and in this game, when it comes to pressure its
Advantage – Denver

by lovewatchinthegame on Dec 27, 2008 9:46 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs