Sunday 1/8/17 (Wildcard)

Pittsburgh Steelers, 30 Miami Dolphins, 12

The promising pieces of Pittsburgh have clicked. The offense thrived by getting the ball into the hands of RB Le'Veon Bell and WR Antonio Brown behind a healthy offensive line. 

On defense, while this is no Steel Curtain, strong linebacker play in Pittsburgh continues to be a tradition-  LB Bud Dupree, LB Ryan Shazier and the ageless warrior LB James Harrison turned in strong performances. Dolphins QB Matt Moore gave a tough, valiant effort but was never equipped for this type of beat-down, or this type of shoot-out. 

The spark of Bell and Brown was just too much. Brown turned two short passes into 100+ yards and 2 TDS in the first quarter and after Bell's touchdown put them up 21-3, the sideline started to feel awful cold for poor Miami who practice all week in Florida. After Brown's early touchdowns, the game never felt in doubt. 

The Dolphins never quite got their stars going. WR Jarvis Landry was fed the ball but couldn't break the big play and RB Jay Ajayi, who torched Pittsburgh for 203 yards in Week 7, ran for only 33 yards before being injured in the 4th quarter. 

MVP: RB Le'Veon Bell. With Rothlisberger still groggy, the Steelers turned to defense and the graceful patience/explosive decisiveness of Le'Veon Bell. The highlight was a 10-play, 83 yard drive ending in 1 yard TD for Bell to go up 21-3. All 10 plays were handoffs to LeVeon Bell, that's simply amazing. He finished with 167 yards on 29 carries. 

Green Bay Packers, 38 New York Giants, 13

The Giants dominated the first quarter but because of drops by WR Odell Beckham Jr and rookie WR Sterling Shepard, they were only up 6-0. The Giants D held the red-hot Aaron Rodgers offense to 7 yards. Unfortunately for New York, the Giants D looked shakier and shakier with some tough injuries. It culminated in a disastrous final 2 minutes of the half : A Rodgers touchdown to WR DaVante Adams, an Eli Manning fumble forced by LB Clay Matthews, and the Rodgers Hail Mary with 0:00 to play. The highlight of the weekend: An amazing, high arcing throw that landed comfortably to WR Randall Cobb at the very back line of the end zone. 

Some may recall Eli's hail mary to end the half against Green Bay in the 2011 playoffs. In 2017, Rodgers finally got his revenge. After a solid half of play, how could the Giants have went into the locker room down 14-6?

Mid-3rd quarter, Packers coach Mike McCarthy appeared to hand the momentum back to New York. On 4th-and-1 at their own 42 the Packers handed off RB/WR Ty Montgomery who was stopped by S Landon Collins (who also made the key 3rd down stop). Two plays later, Eli Manning put an exclamation point with a 41 yard pass to WR Tavarres King.  14-13

Ok, after a weekend of wildcard duds- we are finally getting a GAME - two Super Bowl winning QBs dueling in the wildcard round - let's do this!

Well, to the disappointment and befuddlement of the NFL audience, Eli Manning and the Giants offense hardly threatened to cross mid-field for the rest of the game. Meanwhile, Rodgers & the Packers responded directly with another touchdown to Randall Cobb, added a field goal, then a 3rd touchdown to Randall Cobb. Only 7 minutes of game-play after the Manning-to-King game-maker, it was 31-13 with 9 minutes in the 4th. Another dud in a weekend of duds. 

MVP : QB Aaron Rodgers shook off a 7-yard 1st quarter to finish 362 yards and 4 TDs with 0 INTs. With Rodgers playing like that, the Giants never had a chance. Even with WR Jordy Nelson out with a rib injury in the 1st half, Rodgers continued to prove why he is one of the best players in the league. Special shout-outs to the LT David Bakhtiari and RT Brian Beluga who helped provide some surreal pockets for Rodgers all game.

Saturday 1/7/17 (Wildcard)

Houston Texans, 27 Oakland Raiders, 14

Connor Cook's first NFL start, a postseason matchup on the road against a top 3 defense went as well as you'd think that could go. There was some garbage time stat padding, 122 of Cook's 161 yards were in the 4th quarter when the game was out of reach. Make no mistake, the Raiders were not an NFL offense this Saturday. Amari Cooper, Michael Crabtree and Latavius Murray were invisible without Derek Carr and two Pro Bowl O-linemen also missing time. The blind optimism that the Raiders were anything but decapitated was extinguished before halftime.

By comparison, it may appear Brock Osweiler had a great game. Okay, but not great. Osweiler has been so bad this year that so routine completions were raising eyebrows, hey- maybe he can complete a pass. It also helped that Oakland's suffering offense provided endless quarters for second chances at the Wildcard Arcade. It's nice that Brock had a highlight sideline throw to WR DeAndre Hopkins but there were also consistently blown opportunities, missed throws and for a 6'8 gargantuan in the pocket- why are there so many balls batted down at the line?

It was a miserably hopeless wildcard kickoff, the Raiders hopes were in the hands of the their defense which has been their greatness weakness all season. RB Lamar Miller was able to punch a TD in, WR DeAndre Hopkins caught a short slant. The Texans were dead last in Touchdowns this season, it was nice for Houston to see those two big names celebrating in the end zone.

MVP : The Texans defense did what they had to do, they dominated. Jadaveon Clowney, with JJ Watt cheering on the sideline, was the undisputed highlight. Clowney was moved all over the line- his highlight was reading a screen, tipping the ball, and making the interception to set up the aforementioned Miller TD.

Seattle Seahawks, 26 Detroit Lions, 6

The Lions have had the "indoor team with an outdoor mentality" mantra going for 2-3 years now. In retrospect, doesn't it just seem so obvious that those declarations of strength were giving away precisely the team's weakness? Golden Tate, Marvin Jones and the Lions WRs did not show up to help Matt Stafford. Clearly, Stafford never felt right after his week 14 finger injury. Against the Seahawks, the Lions never threatened the end zone.

The Seahawks flashed their old formula - run it with a feature back (Thomas Rawls) and play great defense. These were two things were not a given without S Earl Thomas and the way the 2016 Seahawks have run the ball. Without a consistently healthy running back or a healthy Wilson, the Seahawks averaged under 100 yards rushing per game this season (after 3 years of 142/g, 172/g, 136/g).

The game remained close on the scoreboard for the 1st half and through the 3rd. The Lions' defense put up some stiff resistance in the red zone. The score was 10-6 to start the 4th but did not feel that close. Finally, the time of possession (Seahawks-37m, Lions-23m) wore the Lions down and QB Russell Wilson led two back-breaking 80+ yard touchdown drives to put the outdoor Lions to sleep.

MVP : RB Thomas Rawls. I know WR Paul Richardson provided the one-handed highlights and WR Doug Baldwin continues to be a force as the TDs add up but the MVP was clearly Rawls who set a postseason Seahawk record with 161 yards. Rawls could well be the x-factor of the entire NFC bracket. If the Seahawks can run the ball- can they be stopped?

Wildcard Weekend 2017

Oakland Raiders @ Houston Texans

The Football Gods have not been kind to the Raiders. As recently as halftime of their Week 16 blowout of the Colts, the Raiders were a red hot Super Bowl favorite. QB Derek Carr was in MVP consideration and a big, rock steady offensive line was happy and healthy. The defense- admittedly a weakness - at least has that explosive pass rush of LBs Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin. We've seen teams win with this formula.

Now, only six quarters later; the Raiders have lost Derek Carr, the 1st round bye, home field advantage and back-up QB Matt McGloin (shoulder) may even be sitting out. In his place, may be rookie QB Cooper Cook. The Raiders have gone from worrying about displacing the Patriots as AFC Champs to hoping for an upset against a terrible Houston team.

Yes this game sucks, the Football Gods have been no better to Houston but somehow they bumbled to the playoffs. For the Texans' it's been a long, slow burn. $77 million dollar man QB Brock Osweiler has been a joke, benched for QB Tom Savage who hasn't been inspiring. RB Lamar Miller, WR DeAndre Hopkins have been prisoners of a limited offense. Houston's defense led by former #1 overall DE Jadeveon Clowney has been solid but nothing Super Bowl special.

So what are we left with here? A game of Osweiler/Savage -vs- McGloin/Cook? These are talented rosters, that's why they are in the playoffs, but there's little drama- the battle to be the inevitable divisional loser in New England.

KEYS for OAK : The big offensive line needs to take over the game. LT Donald Penn and LG Kelechi Osemale are the engine of this 12-4 turnaround and both were knicked-up in the Week 17 loss in Denver.

KEYS for HOU : Houston's QB, be it Savage or Osweiler, just have to play decent enough to win an ugly game. There is not a lot of hope for the Texans in the next round of the playoffs, it's true, but drawing a decapatiated Oakland team in the wildcard has been fortuitous.

Detroit Lions @ Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks don't come into the postseason with the special "playing for January" momentum as they have been the last 3 seasons. QB Russell Wilson suffered injuries earlier in the year, and the offense has struggled to move, seemingly every other game. Meanwhile, the defense lost it's true heart and soul S Earl Thomas.

The Lions have lost 3 straight, including the Week 17 loss to Green Bay - the final act of an improbable comeback- 3 losses for Detroit, 3 wins for Green Bay. It's not a particularly feel-good underdog story - Detroit still hasn't won the division since 1993 and Green Bay has won 5 out of the last 6 seasons. QB Matt Stafford has created a smoke-and-mirrors season built on heart-filled comebacks, stunning resilience, and healthy heaping of Lady Luck.

KEYS for DET : WR Golden Tate and WR Marvin Jones Jr need to play well at the same time. They have had opposite trajectories this season- Jones the early star, Tate the late star - but Stafford needs them both, all game. The Detroit passing game needs to carry the team, not just with 1 minute left in the 4th but all game long.

KEYS for SEA : With a below-average (even for the Seahawks) O-line, the most important aspect of a deep Seahawks' run is a clicking of the run game, and that will be on RB Thomas Rawls. The defense can grit through even without Thomas, Wilson is still a Top 5 QB, but the run game must ignite.

Miami Dolphins @ Pittsburgh Steelers

Steelers QB Ben Rothlisberger is the only playoff-caliber Quarterback in the AFC wildcard. The Steelers are hoping that's enough to pull them through to a vintage KC/PIT battle next week. The Dolphins will certainly be missing injured QB Ryan Tannehill replaced by journeyman QB Matt Moore, but they are not the rollover it may first appear : RB Jay Ajayi has emerged as a workhorse and the defense behind DT Ndmankong Suh is why the Dolphins are here. Running game and Defense always carries potential.

Speaking of potential, we are still waiting for the Super-Steel-Offense of Rothlisberger, RB Le'Veon Bell and WR Antonio Brown to blow us away. We saw a glimpse at the end of the Week 16 division-clinching victory over the Ravens, but injury and inexplicable ineffectiveness has kept this from being the #1 offense you would think with two Top 3 guys at the RB and WR positions. 

KEYS for MIA: WR Jarvis Landry needs to make plays early and often. He is an X-factor in the short passing game. With a journeyman QB at the helm, the talented Landry can help the Dolphins compete and keep the Steelers from stacking against Ajayi.

KEYS for PIT : Despite being an elite part of the 2014 and 2015 Steeler teams, this is the first postseason game of RB Le'Veon Bell's career. He's been a fantasy superstar, it's time to make himself a true superstar the only way possible- in the postseason. 

New York Giants @Green Bay Packers

It's tough to say what is going to fly out of New York and walk onto the frozen tundra this Sunday. QB Eli Manning has not been inspiring this year, but he wasn't in 2007 or 2011 either. 3-year phenom WR Odell Beckham Jr has bailed Eli out game by game, short slant to the house after short slant to the house. That's a tough act to carry into the postseason. It's a good thing the Giants are a lot more than that. They are also an excellent defensive unit led by S Landon Collins and DE Oliver Vernon and recently-returned from injury CB Janoris Jenkins. 3 free agent players who have come to New York raised their game in 2016.

The Packers started slow this year offense (they are always slow on defense) and looked destined to miss the playoffs- had the league finally figured Green Bay's offense out? Is Coach Mike McCarthy actually holding Aaron Rodgers back? Then, QB Aaron Rodgers caught fire. The Packers are on a 6 game winning steak, Rodgers has 15 TDs and 0 INTs. Rodgers said they could and they did, they "ran the table".

KEYS for NYG : Pressure on Rodgers is always the key against Green Bay. Even the expensively signed talent in the Giants' secondary cannot hold off Rodgers for long. The defense can drive a deep postseason run. The ideal would be that the momentum carries off their 10pt domination of the Washington in Week 17. The Redskins were playing for a playoff spot while NYG had #5 seed already locked, it was a remarkable performance. Both of these teams are hot at the right time.

KEYS for GB : RB/WR Ty Montgomery could fill the shoes of the necessary, gashing RB. Green Bay continues to falter since 2010 without a consistent rushing attack, Montgomery has made a unique positional transition this year but looks ready to take on the challenge.

Football Eve - The 1/16 Fever

Today we are all waiting. 

Maybe we’re making due with college football, or just killing time at BBQs but we the Fantasy Football faithful are waiting for the big day : the true Opening Day tomorrow with 13 games. 

After that, we will move into the most difficult week of Fantasy Football. The time between Week 1 and Week 2.  What I call the 1/16 Fever. 

How do you win in Fantasy Football? By looking ahead and keep perspective. I wanted to come out with this blog right now (as opposed to after the games) to remind you to watch Week 1 with a skeptical eye. Do not be infected by good or bad performances. Don't panic and drop a high draft pick. Don't make a trade that reflects Week 1's results. 

After Week 1 is on the books, there will be a very difficult transition for the fantasy community. We have spent 7 months ranking, tinkering, shuffling, projecting and predicting without any data on the 2016 season. Suddenly, we will have 16 games to digest in 7 days before another 16 games. We will feel full of boatloads information with more incoming, but in reality- if we can keep perspective- we will actually be dwelling within a small sample size, only 1/16th of the Fantasy Season. Week 2 will be just as contradicting & confusing as Week 1.

I'm not saying putting too much stock into Week 1 is not an intellectually statistical thing, it is an emotional reaction to what you will see. The 1/16 Fever is not just a dangerous mindset, it's a tempting mindset. It's comfortable, it's easy, and it feels good to supposedly know who's actually going to be good this year and who isn't. Some of your equally obsessive fantasy friends will cave into the admittedly glorious feeling of praising the player who scored the Touchdown, while scoffing at the player who did not. They’ve got “answers” now, when before we only had questions.

Even the experts will not be able to resist the urge “Player A was a focal part of the Red zone offense we saw that - Oh what a satisfying little phrase to throw in after months and months of “I think this will happen ! To point at something we actually saw is a tempting thing. It will happen because we just saw it happen. 

Only it very well may not. Week 1 won't answer our 2016 questions, we will need more games. 

The cure for the 1/16 Fever starts with Week 2 which will equally change the fantasy landscape again, and Week 3 will do the same. Things will begin to stabilize around October, and even then we know how much uncertainty there will be. 

I am just as excited for football as anyone, but just a quick inoculation for you, we are walking into the most difficult part of the Fantasy Football Season. 

Many things that happened in Week 1 did end up becoming trends, but there was no way to tell until the season progressed.  Here are some of the horror stories from last year. They seem obvious now that they were just flashes in the pan but at the time, many of these bullet points were being touted as "common knowledge". 

2015 Week 1: 

-Austin Seferian-Jenkins had 110 yards, 2 TDs, analysts were projecting him as genuine competition for Gronk because the rookie QB clearly loves his big TE. 

-Carlos Hyde had 168 yards and 2 TDs on MNF, in many circles he was thrown into Top 5 RB status instantly. 

-Alfred Morris had 121 yards, same ol’ Alf said the masses.

-Blake Bortles had only 183 yards, 1 TD and 2 INTs. Same Bortles as last year said the masses.

-Doug Martin had only 52 yards on 11 carries and shared a lot of time with Sims & Rainey, so much for that preseason hype that he was back. 

-The Panthers could only muster 175 of total yards against the Jaguars. Even in a winning effort with a defensive TD to help, Jonathan Stewart could only manage 56 yards. 


-Miles
Headless Chickens Fantasy Football

Fantasy Football Hype

The Preseason has always been a love/hate relationship for fantasy football players and NFL fans in general. It's the least important football of the entire year, but it's also the first football after 6-7 months of NO football. 

Week 3 of the preseason is the dress rehearsal, the week that the starters play the most time (usually the first half and start of the 2nd) and since almost all of them will not play in Week 4 it is the last thing we will remember as we wait out the 10 days between the end of Preseason Week 3 and Opening Weekend.

Fantasy Football players can never wait - and neither can the experts - we waited 3 months for the Draft, then 3 more months for training camp, and now we're waiting through preseason - we are hungry for news, insights, anything that will help them get a great angle on the main course, the long-awaited regular season. 

It takes a Zen master to avoid buying into the Preseason narratives and stars, but every single year- every single year- they are proven moot once the regular season begins.

If Zen will not work, explanation will usually do the trick. Below are the 3 reasons to avoid pre-season hype and the 1 type of hype to buy into.

1) Game Plans. Or lack thereof - real NFL game-plans are not happening. Opposing coaches will often discuss what they are going to try to do at different parts of these games -with each other- so as to match up personnel and game scripts for evaluation. Anybody who says the Giants looked great "running this scheme" are missing the point of preseason. There is no element of surprise or in-game adjustments to what is happening on the field, two incredibly key ingredients to what makes NFL teams win and lose games. 

2) Personnel Variation. There are various levels of dedication and personnel on the field. Simply put, some players need the preseason more than others, some play more than others. 

Say, Melvin Gordon runs sprint right and breaks a weak arm tackle by an established DB who is not going to risk injury in the preseason and Gordon gains 25 yards. The next play, Melvin Gordon runs sprint left and is met by a 2nd-string LB literally playing his heart out to make the team, this is moment this LB has to put on tape to help sell himself for his career & livelihood - he lays out and tackles Godron for a 2 yard gain. With this type of variation all over the field, is there really that much information we can glean out of Melvin Gordon's stats at the end of the day? 

3) The speed. The NFL is about fast decisions, quick first steps and solid techniques under pressure. The preseason is played at a slower pace. If you've been watching pre-season, it's immediately evident when Opening Day kicks off. What does this mean? It means that the environment that Aaron Rodgers, A.J Green, Von Miller, Richard Sherman excel above their peers is not available for preview in the preseason. When the speed is cranked up another level, the cream rise to the top- while the speed is sitting at a comfortable medium-high, some players will look much better than they will in the regular season. 

but that's not to say there is nothing to be gained by Preseason...

because there is one key thing to watch for...

Eyeball Hype Doug Martin last year, Mark Ingram last year - these guys looked better, faster, quicker. They didn't pop off stats or big highlights- none of that would even matter because of what I wrote above. It's only that they looked different- does a WR look like they're cutting sharper than they have before? Is an RB making better decisions? These things you cannot quantify- you can only trust your eyeballs (or the eyeballs of someone you trust!)

This weekend I will be watching for players that hype my eyeballs, I hope you will be too! 

Follow us @HeadlessFF on Twitter, eyeball hype will be a big theme this weekend. 

-Miles McGillivray

SUPER BOWL 50

Denver Broncos, 24 Carolina Panthers, 10

The last 10 years have been a golden age of passing offense for the NFL. The rules are tougher on an NFL Defense than they have ever been. Holding, targeting, launching, expanded definitions of interference and roughing- it is tough to be an elite defense now-a-days. The highlight reels of the 70s Steel Curtain, 1985 Bears, 2000 Ravens are filled with plays that today would be flagged as roughing the passer, hitting defenseless receiver, illegal contact, or simply personal fouls for unnecessary roughness. In this context, to see two elite defenses go toe-to-toe for 60 minutes of Super Bowl 50 was a real treat.

When you watch football live, you watch it for the big plays. Maybe this Super Bowl was short on the big highlights, but now that we know the result this game is worth a re-watch to appreciate what both defenses did all game. As the years go by, it's possible we may look back at this game as one of the greatest collections of defensive talent to play in a Super Bowl.

For the Panthers, 3-time 1st team All-Pro LB Luke Kuechly played one of his best games ever and still wasn't even the top LB in the game. CB Josh Norman shut down 100-catch man Demarious Thomas. LB Thomas Davis played every snap through a broken arm for 7 tackles. Backup DE Kony Ealy had 3 sacks, an interception and a forced fumble. DT Kawaan Short was impossible to block. The Panthers shut down Peyton Manning and RB C.J Anderson's hard running from the opening whistle to the final confetti. The Broncos managed only 11 first downs and 194 yards. So why wasn't the confetti blue and silver? Because the Broncos defense was even better.

For the Broncos, LB Von Miller played his 2nd-straight game of Lawrence Taylor-esque dominance. DE Malick Jackson and DE Derek Wolfe were an absolute force all game. The inside was clogged, the outside had DE DeMarcus Ware and Miller. There was nowhere to go. The Broncos forced 4 fumbles, recovered 3 of them, had 7 sacks and a crucial interception. The big names Ware and Miller combined for 4.5 sacks, but D-Coordinator Wade Phillips also brought blitzes from the secondary, CB Chris Harris Jr and S Darian Stewart each took part in the feeding frenzy.

2015 MVP QB Cam Newton still got a few plays in, he found a slicing WR Ted Ginn Jr for 45 yards, he hurled a deep ball to WR Philly Brown that S T.J Ward mis-played for 42 yards, Newton and WR Devin Funchess had two impressive over-the-middle 20-yard connections. However, none of these plays were part of sustained drives. The Broncos pass rush was simply too furious, Newton landed a punch or two but was no match against the onslaught. As I talked about in my preview blog, the Panthers line needed all the resources they could commit to contain DEs Derrick Wolfe and Malick Jackson and move the ball against under-rated LBs Danny Trevathan and Brandon Marshall. As as result of that devotion of manpower to the middle, they couldn't consistently double-team Ware and Miller on the outside, All 7 sacks were a product of inevitability. It was just a matter of time.

QB Peyton Manning didnt have a Manning day, more of a Dilfer day, but he deserved this. For all the mediocre, subpar or injury-depleted defenses he dragged to the playoffs over the last 18 years, Peyton Manning deserved a 2001 Tom Brady type Super Bowl. His career has now taken a remarkable ark, the 200-win 2-time Super Bowl Champion. The man with the repuation for playoff losses and "choking" in big games is the only QB to win a Super Bowl with two different teams. Add in the All-Time Records for passing yardage and TDs and it's safe to say Peyton's career is now complete.

KEY PLAY: The score was 16-7 with 5:57 remaining in the 3rd quarter, the Panthers driving towards the red zone, Cam Newton overshot Ted Ginn Jr into the waiting arms of S T.J Ward. Ward has been the Tasmanian devil of this defense full of energy but unpredictable. In this case, he couldn't find his footing but was stubbornly determined to run it back. Predictably, the ensuing hit caused a fumble that LB Danny Trevathan, at a full sprint, recovered at the 10 yard line. That fumble was the break the Panthers needed, and it didn't bounce their way.

MVP: Von Miller sped around RT Mike Remmers to force the fumble that bounced into the end zone for the first Touchdown of Super Bowl 50. Von Miller bulled through Remmers to force the fumble the sealed the game with 4 minutes remaining. Two perfect bookends to a dominating performance.

The Denver Defense

The Panthers convincing playoff victories are fresh in everyone's minds. They are currently favored by 6 in Vegas and soon Cam Newton will win MVP. I'm here for the 2nd time in 3 years to tell you, the Defense is being overlooked.

It was only two years ago that Peyton dragged a decimated Denver Defense into the Super Bowl only to be blown out by a Seahawks Defense that everyone knew was "really good" but didn't know the extent until the actual game. It's happening again only this time Peyton is being dragged by a Defense that everyone knows is "really good'. Why will the Denver Defense became great on Sunday?

#1 - 100-tackle men MLB Brandon Marshall and MLB Danny Trevathan are having their career years in the middle of this Denver Defense. They are smart, quick and powerful against the run and work well together. Their relentlessness combines with the unexpectedly elite level of play from D-Linemen Derrick Wolfe and Malick Jackson. Wolfe and Jackson have been consistently bad match-ups for interior O-linemen- both have quick first steps, yet they are powerful enough to hold the middle. The offensive line can take no liberty, they must scheme and account for these four in the middle. Thus, they have less resources to devote to problem #2…

#2 - Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware. When you have elite talent on the field, it will shine through. Miller is becoming a superstar as we speak while Ware has been one of the best players in the NFL for a full decade. The Broncos move both around to find the best match-ups, usually on opposite ends of the formation. You've seen enough highlights to know what these guys can do in a 1-on-1 situation. However, if an offense devotes double teams to both Miller and Ware, then 2 key blockers are taken from the ongoing battle with Marshall, Trevathan, Wolfe and the muddy middle. This is not an easy puzzle to solve, this is why Denver's been so good on defense this year.

But there's more. We've seen excellent front 7's with match-up nightmeares before- they don't all win the Super Bowl. Why not? Even all-time great front 7's can be overcome through the air - yes, you're facing a tough pash rush, but a good QB (such as the reigning MVP Cam Newton can claim to be) could make quick enough decisions to hit his playmakers in space. The key to Denver's truly dominant defense, is that there's elite defensive talent within that space as well...

#3 - CB Aqib Talib, CB Chris Harris Jr and CB Brandon Roby. The Denver Broncos have 3 of the top corners in the league.  They have allowed next to nothing to opposing WRs this season. It has been so utterly hopeless that teams have all but sacrificed their WRs as options (as the Patriots chose to target RB James White 18 times to Amendola & Edelman's 11 total targets)

#4 - S T.J Ward. Another key piece to the Denver puzzle - the frentic play of S T.J Ward. He's the rapid fire support that comes in on the run and flys out into pass protection. In this modern day passing world of the NFL, the Safety has become more and more important. T.J Ward is having a great year, the Broncos have elite pass-rushers, elite run-stoppers, elite corners- all of whom don't need help from T.J Ward. Ward is free to do what he does best, find the ball and make things happen.

#5 - Wade Phillips. It's been a long and befuddling road for Wade Phillips who has is most remembered for his blank expressions during his Buffalo and Dallas head coaching tenures. But he's still a top shelf Defensive Coordinator. He doesn't have a fancy scheme that he forces on his players, Phillips is taking this personnel and maximizing it.

-miles.