Which Teams a Broncos Fan Should Cheer For (week three)

by Steve Nichols on Sep 21, 2008 5:00 AM MDT in 2008 Game Previews Comment 8 comments

So you're sitting there wondering which game to watch, and Denver isn't available. Which team do you cheer for if you want the outcome to help Denver? No problem; MileHighReport.com has you covered.

Denver leads the AFC West, and a couple of games into the season, it is becoming easier for the MHR computer to figure out which teams we need to win to help us in The Quest. Remember, this has nothing to do with which teams we like or hate. It is purely based on what outcomes best position Denver for the playoffs, and a good seeding once there.

We're also rating the games on how important they are for Denver fans. For instance, a Denver game, or a game that features a Denver division rival, gets near a 5, while a less important game gets a 1. So given a choice of several games, you now know which one is more important to watch!(Teams for Denver fans to cheer for are in bold).

Let's feed the schedule into MHR's Super Computer and see what results we get...

Teams we are for are in BOLD

kc at ATL - We want our AFC West rivals to lose. Rating 4

oak at BUF - oak is in our division, and only one game behind us. Rating 4.5

TB at chi - First, we are for TB because we play them and want them to have a good record for tie break reasons. We also want them to win because CHI is better than TB in their own tie-break right now. Rating 2

CAR at min - We want CAR to win because we play them and want them to have a good record for tie break reasons. Rating 1.5

MIA at NE - We want MIA to win this game. Rating 3

cin at NYG - We need for NFC teams to beat AFC teams. Rating 3

HOU at ten - As if the hurricane and Broncos heritage aren't enough, we need for HOU to win because TEN has a better record. Rating 2.5

ari at WAS - WAS has the lesser record. Rating 1

no at DEN - Well duh! Rating 5

stl at sea - PICK. It depends on what you think. STL is better than SEA by tie break (both are winless), but SEA has had their WR corps decimated with injuries. Root for the team you think will have the worse record. Rating .5

DET at SF - SF has the better record. Rating 1

CLE at bal - at 0-2, CLE has a worse record than BAL at 0-1. Rating 2

JAX at ind - We very much want Jax to win this game. In the AFC West, we play JAX out of the common division rotation. The better they do, the more a win over them means (or a loss is mitigated). Jax also has a lesser record than IND. Rating 3.5

pit at PHI - We need for NFC teams to beat AFC teams. Rating 3

dal at gb - PICK. It depends on what you think. Root for the team you think will have the worse record. Rating .5

NYJ at sd - sd is in our division, and we hate 'em anyway. Rating 4

Well there you go. Now it's time for me to reset the MHR Computer so I can try to figure out where that darned golden ticket is likely to be sold. Want to get to that chocalate factory of Mr. Wonkas!

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Okay, some questions

By “out of the common division rotation” are you referring to games outside our division or outside the divisions in which we play all the teams this year? Do these games have a special tiebreaker significance? We play both Miami and New England. Since they’re in the same division aren’t they both “out of the common division rotation” (or not)? In that case wouldn’t the only reason to pick Miami be that they’re likely to end up with the worse record so we’d rather pull New England down? You generally picked the teams with better records to lose, I assume to make it easier for us to beat them out for a playoff spot, but you picked Arizona while remarking that Washington has the lesser record. Was that an error or were you thinking that Washington was likely to have the better record by the end of the season? And since neither is in the AFC and thus competing against us for a playoff spot, what does it matter which wins if neither of them plays against us? And lastly, I would give the San Diego game a higher point rating than Oakland’s, because even though Oakland is closer to us in the standings at the moment the Chargers are a much better club and thus pose a bigger threat to beat us out for the division title. This is an interesting exercise, although I have to admit I don’t always root logically. I don’t know if I want to see the AFC do badly just so our chances to make the playoffs will be better.

"In the empty spaces - lacunae, vacuums, pauses, voids, black holes - new things begin. We are born anew from the unexplored space, the badlands, the outlaw territory." - Sam Keen

by spock on Sep 21, 2008 7:17 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Good questions.

MIA is not out of the division rotation, as you point out. (By that term, I mean the two teams that we play that are not common to the rest of the division).

On the other hand, if no other variables are present, one would be for the NFC team with weaker record because it makes it harder for the “better” team to advance. This makes our odds (small though they are), better that a worse NFC team makes the SB. As you correctly point out, this would be WAS for now).

I understand the reasoning on SD or oak. But I’m basing the system on actual records (since actual records determine the playoffs and seeding).

The article is updated. Thanks!

"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe

by Steve Nichols on Sep 21, 2008 12:43 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think you meant to write that SEA has a decimated WR core, not STL.

I agree with your sentiment on all points, but I only want teams to win that I picked in my cash league. :)

If God is not a Bronco fan, then WHY are sunsets Blue and Orange? - Jon Tollerud 5/22/08

by Tim Lynch on Sep 21, 2008 8:26 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Seattle is in worse shape...

but StL DID lose Drew Bennet…

"I could never quite get the hang of Thursdays..."

by FlaBroncoFan on Sep 21, 2008 10:05 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

So I gets its a true statement either way. heheh

If God is not a Bronco fan, then WHY are sunsets Blue and Orange? - Jon Tollerud 5/22/08

by Tim Lynch on Sep 21, 2008 10:14 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

True.

But it should have said SEA. Corrected, and thanks!

"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe

by Steve Nichols on Sep 21, 2008 12:34 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Man...the Rams are the worst team in football right now....

If God is not a Bronco fan, then WHY are sunsets Blue and Orange? - Jon Tollerud 5/22/08

by Tim Lynch on Sep 22, 2008 8:10 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

i hear ya

i was flip-flopping between buffalo and s.d. for my survivor pool, and finally decided on buffalo. this way, i can openly root for the chargers to be 0-3! i hope this doesn’t cost me, but s.d.‘s defense/injuries are a big question mark in the end, i thought. spock makes some good points i was thinking of also, and this can get very complicated. i definitely want miami, but because i would rather play n.e. at home in a tie-breaker, they will make the playoffs. in the wash. game, i’ll confuse it further by adding that they play in a division that is likely to produce a possible s.b. opponent, and we would wash. to be good, and therefore help eliminate, a better team in the event of an afc title. my point is this can go very deep, so i’ll leave the nfc to head-head matchups and root for the underdogs to take the conference in the unlikely event we take the afc. i agree with the charger assesment, they are the realer threat, and the only team standing in the way of the division title. i hate to say this living in the n.y. area, but go jets! yuk

hear me, perpetrators of bread crime, your punishment is at hand.
taste my blintzkrieg!

by davecheffy on Sep 21, 2008 8:53 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs