John’s Well-Educated Guesses: Week 10
It’s always been my dream to start a blog series that would
go until the end of the season. This is
one blog in that series, and I will answer for my predictions next week.
Disclaimer: My takes are almost always correct. So buckle up- buckaroo.
Coming off the bye week is one of my favorite games of the
year. Fresh off a weekend of apple
picking and sleeping in. I haven’t had
to worry about football since the Pats played two weeks ago. Now we get to jump back into things. The team is (hopefully) well rested and
injuries have had a week to heal.
Tom Brady and the boys will play 5 out of the next 6 games
on the road. That includes this game in
the altitude of Denver. They will stay
on the road all week after the game before meeting the Raiders in Mexico City
(I hate these London/Mexico games). I
had originally marked these next two games as the hardest on the schedule, but
recent developments have made me back off on that.
The Broncos are one of few teams that have been able to get
the best of Brady consistently. Their
defense always seems to be really good, and that altitude is a HUGE factor. This is the third year in a row that the Pats
have had to travel to the Mile High City in the regular season. That place has been a house of horrors in the
past (Mostly thinking of playoff losses in January 2006, January 2014 and
January 2016…OUCH). The Broncos are on a four game skid, and it
appears that their willingness to sign their whole team to huge contracts has
caught up to them. (Seriously, they gave
top market contracts to TJ Ward, Aqib Talib, Demarcus Ware, Derek Wolfe, Peyton
Manning, Demarius Thomas, Von Miller, etc….How does that not ruin a team 3-4
years after that?)
The story of the Bronco offense is that they have no
QB. They won a Super Bowl in spite of
Peyton Manning, not because of him. At
that time their window looked wide open, but the inability to put a good signal
caller in the lineup has ruined their chances.
Trevor Siemian has flamed out, Brock Osweiler is back and looking as
ineffective as ever, and Paxton Lynch still has not seen the field. Not a good look for him.
The defense is legit.
I still wake up at night remembering Brady getting rag-dolled all night
in the AFC Championship. Those Ends had
the snap count figured out, and were in the backfield before the ball was. They have talent at every level, and can keep
the game close even with a bad offense.
I think it is going to be very important to get this W. This is a struggling team that is close to
packing it in. Let’s put the nail in
their coffin and make a game that initially looked very tough into a cake walk.
Prediction: Brock Osweiler throws a pick. I never like to predict turnovers because
they are kinda fluky by nature. That
being said, Brock is good for at least one a game right? Let’s hope he can make the Pats defense look
good.
Prediction: Von Miller gets two sacks. Marcus Cannon is still hurt, and although I
think LaAdrian Waddle has stepped up well, (See his performance against JJ
Watt.) he is going to be over-matched.
(P.S. What ever happened to Cameron Fleming?? That guy used to start for
us and now he is the 4th tackle?)
Prediction: They will show Patriots players using oxygen
masks at least 3 times. That altitude is
the greatest home field advantage in all of sports. They also like talking about it. I’m saying it’s gonna be a factor.
Prediction: Pats Win 27-17 – Hope they enjoy staying on
the road for the week. In the past it
has brought the team closer together which is huge down the stretch.
