FanPost

Random Rants and Rewards - Vikings

Yea But...

MSM tries their best to discredit Tebow's role in this Broncos turnaround. Defense is the real reason. The teams we've been playing against are bums(overlooking the fact we were 1-4). We were in the Luck sweepstakes and EFX was throwing Tebow out there to drown. He was sacked 15 times in the first two outings. Then a funny thing happened, He lead the team to the top of the AFC West. I had no idea "intangibles" could be this strong. Back when Tebow replaced Orton against SD, the players were described as fired up coming out of half time. They knew something we didn't. We didn't know how the players felt about that, but the way they acted and played showed a belief that the time was now. Tebow Time! Players have admitted that they play harder for him. They believe in him. As long as their is a second left on the clock, they'll play all out because they know they can still win with Tebow. The offense went from 24th in rushing after the first 4 weeks to 1st in just 7 weeks. That's MAJOR production. And no way does Orton lead this team to 1st in rushing or the AFC West.

"I think it's a trap"

This game had the early makings of a trap game for a HOT Broncos team facing a reeling 2-9 Peterson-less Vikings. The offense just came out flat and the defense was giving up a lot of yardage to an inferior team. The players just didn't seem like they were motivated to start this game. But unlike previous teams in recent years, these Broncos pulled it together in the second half and put a bad team away. Champ said it best, if they didn't win this game, then they have no business being in the playoffs. Well Champ, I guess we're for real!

Sweet Redemption

Demaryius Thomas was about to get on my sh*t list. For the past few weeks, his demeanor just did not sit well with me. Maybe it's just me but I could see him with an "awe shucks" look after an incomplete pass his way. After looking passionless in the first half of this game, I was ready to lay into him in my review. There was a play early in the game where Tebow hit a crossing Eddie Royal on 3rd and 8 where Thomas had an opportunity to block his defender but instead pulled up short and Eddie was tackled a yard shy of a first down. I have to admit that at that point, I had lost my belief in him. I WAS DEAD WRONG. Thank you for showing us in the second half exactly what you are capable of. I do think he is still working his way up to game speed. He just doesn't look 100% yet, but that's actually a good thing. It means the best is yet to come.

They're Dropping Like Flies

All the knocks on Tebow's game are ending up debunked. His slow throwing motion will lead to a lot of turnovers. Just 1 INT and 1 fumble so far this year vs 13 total TDs.(Jared Allen's forced fumble had nothing to do with Tebow's throwing motion) He can't win in the NFL. Longest Broncos winning streak since the great John Elway. He can't win a game with his arm. 66% passing and 2 TDs later the Broncos are on top of the division. Now they've changed their stance to he can't win a playoff game to he can't win a Super Bowl. So we've gone from it's embarrassing to think he can win football games as a QB to he can't win the biggest game in football which only 30 other QBs have won. Pretty lame.

A Helping Hand

Geez refs! I'm not one to complain about officiating because I know it eventually comes back to us. Maybe not in the same game but maybe down the road(Hochuli). It's bad enough you called Clady for hands to the face at the same time Allen was all over Ryan's. It's bad enough you missed the blatant facemask on Quan's kick return. But giving the young Ponder a second chance? You can't call 2 timeouts back to back. It's a rule, but where does it say that the ref is supposed to put time back on the play clock so the offense can get a play off? WHAT!?! That same scenario happened a little earlier in the day in another game(thanks NFL Ticket). I think it was the Bengals game and Dalton tried to call a second consecutive time out. The refs in that game did not blow the whistle. They did not interrupt the game. They flagged the Bengals with a delay of game like they should have. Really, these kinds of screw ups should not be happening in the professional football league. Fail for the zebras on this day.

That's a Special Team

Really, is there any other special teams unit playing better all around than our Broncos? This might be the most consistent unit on the team. Week after week, they are winning the battle of field position. Is this what a good special team's coach can do? Colquit punts it 51 yards and the other team can only return it for 2 yards? That's nuts. Awesome hustle by everyone on the team. Also, whoever we put back to return kicks/punts seems to be able to break a long return each game. Keep it up because all 3 phases of the team are helping us win these close games.

Goal To Go

When was the last time you were actually confident our defense would get a stop in the redzone or goal line? Really, my confidence in this defense goes back to the championship teams. I'm more shocked when we actually give up a TD in these situations. I'm sure this is how fans of the Ravens or Steelers feel about their defenses for the past decade. And we're just getting started. I love it!

Now That's a Catch

I can only say there was only 1 dropped ball this week against the Vikings.(A diving Decker down the middle of the field) Not surprisingly, Tebow had his best outing with 66% passing. I've been hard on the WRs during this run, but they definitely deserved it. Oddly enough, according to ESPN Stats & Information before the game, Eddie Royal "officially" had just 4 drops all season? Yea right. I still question what they consider drops, but the WRs held their end of the bargain this week. Did Tebow have one bad throw? You can argue that the first pass, a bubble screen, was off target. I would argue that it's two players still not in sync with each other. The way I saw it, TT was leading DT into that bubble screen so he can get up field. Tebow was VERY accurate this game. I never fully believed he was inaccurate. More, too conservative along with a case of the dropsies. And the progress continues...

Easy to Stop This Offense

Over and over again, I hear that it takes simple fundamental football to stop this offense. It's assignment football. Someone takes the dive, and someone takes the QB and someone takes pitch. Traditional football leads to 10 on 11 because players like Brady and Manning are out of the equation once they hand the ball off. The best thing about this offense of ours is that it makes it 1 on 1 football. Warren Sapp is so convinced that he can stop this offense all by himself. It's a lot more difficult to actually stop. We have a shifty QB the size of a linebacker that's usually faster. I'll take that 1 on 1 every time. Now add in the hesitation by the defense when they instinctively try to read the play. The defender needs to be in the right position to even make the play. Any error and our runners are already in the second level. I think we have an advantage as long as we keep trying to master it and develop more plays.

Until next time...Gig em and Go Broncos!

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