Following the New England Patriots upset victory over the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI, I like many others began paying much more attention to Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and company. I grew an enormous amount of respect for the team and organization. By 2008, when I moved to Boston, I was thrilled to be a Patriots fan in Patriots land, and I remain to this day a Patriots fan...
In 2006, I started to hear about a freshman quarterback at the University of Florida by the name of Tim Tebow. I watched Gators' coach Urban Meyer use his first-year future star situationally and couldn't help but be enamored with his unconventional skill set. He was fun to watch and added an unseen element to the game when he was on the field.
Over the next three years I watched Tebow lead the Florida Gators religously - pun intended - on Saturdays. I quickly noticed that he was far more than just unconventional - he was simply astonishing. I've never enjoyed watching an athlete compete more than I enjoy watching Tebow. Thus, when the Denver Broncos selected him with the 25th pick in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft, part of me became a Broncos fan.
And that brings me to today, when the New England Patriots square off against Denver Broncos in the mile high city. As I sit here awaiting the game to begin, I do feel my loyalties torn. But I've loved rooting for the Broncos since Tebow took over as their starting quarterback this season more than I recall loving a team since watching the Philadelphia Phillies every summer night growing up. That love has me rooting for Tebow and the Broncos this Sunday afternoon.
Watching will surely be an emotional experience, and one that I am going to attempt to share. Without further delay, here is my live-blog of the New England Patriots versus the Denver Broncos...
Pregame: Due to contractual obligations, CBS now leaves the Dolphins/Bills snow bowl to go to commercial before the Patriots/Broncos - can't miss that pregame shot of Tim Tebow singing Christian rock songs out of tune.
Let's check the weather - sunny and 60 in Denver. What?! It's 26 degrees in Boston right now - geography fail.
Kickoff: New England won the toss and kicked to Denver - wouldn't it be great to see the Broncos go right down the field for a touchdown?! For the record, I expect the Patriots to win this game comfortably.
13:12 1st: Broncos start with two straight first downs - running of course. The Broncos receivers are outstanding run blockers - which is good cause they're somewhat less than outstanding at route running and catching.
11:53 1st: Tebow completes his first pass! And it was more or less a checkdown pattern, which is nice to see - I'm not sure they game him checkdown patterns to throw to more than once in the first 56 minutes of the game last week against Chicago.
10:45 1st: Phil Simms discusses how the Patriots are being caught off guard because they practiced to stop the option - guess it's news to him that the Broncos haven't run more than five option plays either of the last two games.
9:49 1st: TOUCHDOWN TEBOW! That was a great start to the game for the Broncos - not so much for the New England Patriots' tackling efforts.
9:49 1st: So about that clutch special teams the Broncos have displayed lately...
8:?? 1st: Big time catch and run by Hernandez - 3rd downs could be the deciding factor in this game - another reason I expect the Patriots to win.
7:24 1st: TOUCHDOWN OCHOCINCO! Strong answer to Denver's opening drive by New England.
5:20 1st: FANTASY! I'm starting both Tim Tebow and Demaryius Thomas in the semifinals of my fantasy football league today and am in good position to claim victory this weekend - thanks in large part to my opponent's team having what one might term abysmal day.
Also, the Broncos ran a slant pattern! With a WR! In what has already been a wild and wacky NFL Sunday, that was one of the more unbelievable occurrences thus far.
5:01 1st: We have ourselves a shootout! Lance Ball runs it in for a TD. Patriots' tackling woes continue - their defense is getting blown off the ball in the early goings. Meanwhile, the Broncos manage to successfully kick an extra point before the 4th quarter - not something they have much experience doing this season.
By the way, the many typos that I'm sure currently exist in this post will be fixed later.
4:10 1st: Weak holding call on Denver saves us from the game's first three-and-out - correct call but a weak call.
Watching the replay, I'm impressed with the Patriots' pass blocking early in the game.
3:21 1st: And we have our first defensive stop of the game - great throw by Brady though.
3:01 1st: Yeah, Tebow is not an accurate QB, not at all (sarcasm alert).
0:58 1st: Nope, he's not accurate (lack-of-sarcasm alert). Actually, that was a good example of how smart Tebow is as a young quarterback. Decker was bracketed with coverage so Tebow threw it low, where only his guy would have a chance to catch the ball - he just threw it too low.
0:03 1st: Tough loss for the Patriots as Andre Carter, their best pass rusher, is carted off the field with an injury.
End 1st: And tough break for football fans everywhere as CBS goes commercial, guy getting carted off the field, commercial. After the first frame, I'm really impressed with how the Broncos have started and controlled the game, yet also terrified by how explosive the Patriots passing offense has the potential to be before this one is over.
14:52 2nd: I love that option shovel pass the Broncos just ran! I don't care that it only earned them 2 yards, those are the type of easy completions the Broncos don't give Tebow often enough.
13:47 2nd: 16-7 Broncos lead. Simms and Jim Nance say these decisions to kick field goals are easy for John Fox. I suppose, though I wouldn't mind him taking a chance just once. Especially with Tebow, a fourth and short could be an ideal opportunity to catch the defense off guard with a big pass play.
12:51 2nd: Patriots try no-huddle for the first time today. Can they do that consistently at this altitude? I expect they can - Patriots are sneakily one of the better conditioned teams in the league, I think in part because they practice outside in the summer months while most teams take to air-conditioned facilities and bubbles.
12:01 2nd: Another huge 3rd down conversion by Hernandez - must be nice to have a TE you can use as a WR or RB when needed.
9:18 2nd: Welker down one foot from the endzone, apparently - one foot from fantasy points for me!
8:43 2nd: TOUCHDOWN HERNANDEZ! So far, Tebow's former TE has been the star of this game.
Quick aside: Live-blogging is an exhausting way to watch a football game - I feel so much pressure to keep up with everything without annoying my sister and girlfriend, watching with me, by hitting pause on the DVR after every other play - how does Simmons do it? I may have to take some breaks...
8:30 2nd: Lance Ball loses it. The Patriots' defense makes a play and now gives their offense a chance to take back control.
7:04 2nd: I still fail to understand why the Broncos never run plays like that quick screen pass to Hernandez in the slot.
4:32 2nd: That's a couple games in a row the pitch-option plays haven't worked well for the Broncos. That's also the second great play by the Patriots' defense in the last few minutes.
2:00 2nd: Patriots have flipped the script in the 2nd quarter, using their passing game to control the clock and keep Tebow off the field - Broncos haven't done themselves any favors turning the ball either. But this is huge for New England's defense if it wants to be able to contain Tebow Time later on.
1:12 2nd: Brady touchdown! Brady spike! Tebow looks angry - will they like him when he's angry?
1:08 2nd: The new NFL kickoff rule may need to be modified for games played in Denver.
0:03 2nd: In the words of Jim Nance, "Another miscue by Denver!"
Halftime: Broncos came out and played well in the first quarter, but New England roared back and dominated the second. Denver needs to regroup at the half and get back to knocking the Patriots off the ball when play resumes.
13:00 3rd: Broncos' defense starts the second half hot, but also shows its inexperience with a costly penalty on 3rd and long. I'm not sure I get the reasoning behind having illegal hands to the face result in a first down - shouldn't there be a distinction between that and a personal foul facemask?
9:43 3rd: Very, very happy to see Eddie Royal on the field to fair catch the punt - a la Kevin Faulk/Wes Welker.
8:23 3rd: Nice throw by Tebow off of play action - went to his 3rd read and threw it wide of double coverage to hit his receiver in the numbers. Again, those who say he can't throw or is too inaccurate are ignorant. Tebow's weakness throwing the ball is consistency - and it's a weakness that's been eroding right before our eyes the past several weeks. Over time, the Broncos will be able to expand their passing offense and become a much more dynamic offensive team if they commit to Tebow.
0:39 3rd: Touchdown Woodhead. The Patriots offense is flexing its muscle and exerting its will on this game, which is precisely why they are a great team despite the weaknesses of their defense - the offense can play whatever style it needs to win a game.
13:13 4th: Von Miller and Elvis Dumervil have been non-factors to this poi...
12:45 4th: Dumervil just went Goldberg on Tom Brady! The crowd gets back into the game for the moment.
10:39 4th: Lost in what has so far been a dominating performance by the Patriots is that Tim Tebow has looked very good throwing the football.
9:52 4th: However, Tebow must get better at recognizing disguised/delayed blitzes.
8:41 4th: Touchdown Tebow! Nice drive for Denver to keep them in the game, but I'm not expecting the stars to align today...
However, with Tebow and Thomas connecting several times on that drive and Tebow finishing it off with a TD, my fantasy team has taken a commanding 17 point lead.
4:24 4th: Killer drive here by the Patriots to put the game on ice. It's amazing how they can control pace and clock with their passing game. Brady paints the field like Picasso.
3:00 4th: What's been overlooked since the Broncos took to a run-dominated offense is that doing so was largely a response to their offensive line's struggles with pass blocking.
2:17 4th: Tebow run for 30 yards - Tebow gets sacked for 30 yards.
Final: Patriots 41-Broncos 23. The Broncos simply were not ready to win this game. They made too many mental errors and allowed the Patriots to dominate the second and third quarters. But, Denver kept their compete level high and showed that they're not that far away from being in a game against the New Englands of the NFL. In particular, Tebow played well and threw the ball very well*. While he continues to keep some plays alive longer than he should, overall he makes outstanding decisions on the football field.
*I'm sure there will be many who cite his completion percentage when dissecting his performance on radio and tv tomorrow, but those who do suffer from the aforementioned ignorance and clearly did not watch the game.
Denver continues to lead the AFC West - thanks in large part to Ndamukong Suh and the Detroit Lions - and are a team that has the ability to make noise if they do indeed make it into the postseason. As a Broncos fan, it's a tough loss to take, but not a discouraging one.
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