Broncos vs. Patriots The Rivalry

     In the very first game of the American Football League(AFL) on September 9 1960, the Denver Broncos played the Boston Patriots.  The two original AFL franchises faced off, and in Boston, the Broncos beat the Patriots 13-10.  I have heard from Patriots fans, that they never thought of the Broncos as a rival, they think of the Dolphins, Jets, and Colts as more of rival than the Broncos.  Maybe that's because the Broncos beat that ass into a 25-18 record overall, including a 13 year win streak over New England, where John Elway never lost(11-0).  Patriots fans don't really seem to understand why the Broncos hate them so much, and in defense of their team, respectfully, hate the Broncos in return.  Well the Broncos never saw the Patriots as a rival for a long time either.  It took longer for New England to become a consistently good team, year in and year out.  So we are going to take a look here and we'll see that this is becoming one of the good AFC conference rivalries.
     These two franchises are powerhouses in the AFC, for sure.  The Broncos have won 6 AFC championships, and 2 Super Bowls.  The Patriots have won 7 AFC championships, and won 3 Super Bowls.  The Denver Broncos have John Elway, THE Bronco, and the Patriots have Tom Brady.  Both men are synonymous as the fac9es of their franchises for all eternity.  Both men are the only QB's to take their team to 5 Super Bowls.  Both teams have had Hall of Fame head coaches, Mike Shanahan in Denver, and Bill Belichick in New England.  But let's see where this rivalry began to sort of come into fruition.
     I honestly think it was the game in 1995, where the Broncos blew the Patriots out of the water, and Shannon Sharpe got on the phone to call the president and asked him to send in reinforcements.
 
     It was a 34-8 Broncos victory, and both teams went on to be the AFC champions in the next 3 years. the Pats losing to Green Bay, and the Broncos winning back to back Super Bowls.  But this was before Tom Brady and the "Hoodie" (Bill Belichick), arrived in Boston.  Bill Parcells was the coach for New England, and he had a big hand in turning that franchise around.  Him and Robert Kraft purchasing the team.
      Now, rivalries begin usually in division, or in the playoffs.  The Broncos have the Raiders, Chiefs and Chargers, and the Pats have the Jets, Dolphins and Bills for division rivals.  They have only played each other 3 times in the playoffs, Broncos winning twice, in 1987 and 2006.  So you wonder, how did this rivalry come about?!
     Tom Brady was 10-0 in the playoffs, and had 3 Super Bowl rings before he played Denver in 2006.  Since that loss, he has lost 2 Super Bowls, and a perfect record.  Belichick was 1-7 vs the Broncos all time.  Were these reasons to start a rivalry?
     Nope!
     This man here!
     Josh McDaniels
.
     His name alone is insulting to all Broncos fans.  The Broncos had the worst season since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.  McD was the offensive coordinator for the Pats in 2007 when they broke all sorts of records, and was supposed to bring that awesome high scoring electric offense to Denver.
     Yep, that, uh, never happened.
     Days after arrival in Denver, he began to shop Jay Cutler, the franchise QB who was signed to a 5 year contract, on the trade market.
     Why?
     Scoring was not the problem. The Broncos were abysmal on defense.  So Cutler got pissed off and was traded to Chicago for Kyle Orton, and a first round draft pick.
     And we all know what happened after that.  I will say though, if it weren't for McD, the Broncos would not have Peyton Manning, or Von Miller, so there's some light for your darkness.  But also getting caught in London spying on the 49ers was a black eye for Denver, and this was when Spygate was fresh in the headlines.  McD, traded up two rounds to draft Tebow in the first, traded our best offensive threat in Brandon Marshall, and traded off our starting running back, Peyton Hillis.  He made so many bad decisions for Denver, it's almost as if he did it  on purpose.
     Which, I think he did.  He is from Cleveland, and is on the record saying he grew up hating Denver.  The Broncos crushed the Browns every year in the 1980's, no wonder.  Why would you interview for a job at a company you fucking despise?  That just makes no sense at all.  He had a personal vendetta and he settled it.  Did he throw away his career?!  No.  He is young enough that he could interview for another head coaching job in a few years, but it will be hard as hell for him given his shady history.
     Josh McDaniels came from New England, got fired twice, and is now back in New England, and this is a big reason why Broncos fans cannot stand the Patriots.  He represents New England in the eyes of Broncos fans.  So, if the Patriots don't see this as a rivalry, well then fuck 'em.  All the MORE reason to want to beat them.  This is just more of two big franchises in two big sports cities, going head to head and there are reasons to wanna have success against each other.  It's not that big, yet, but it is interesting especially when you dig a little into reasons why so many fans around the world hate the Patriots.
     I don't even really have much respect for New England especially after Spygate, and them being proven cheaters, but throw Josh McDaniels into the mix and you get the feeling in your stomach that makes you cry on the toilet wishing it will all be over soon.  He ran the Broncos into the ground and that's just fact.  So that''s just how I and many other Broncos fans see it.

OH YEAH BABY! I LOVE IT WHEN YOU TALK "DERBY" TO ME!

 

      Hey what the?!  Yep it's that time of year again!  Time to bust out those big hats ladies, and gentlemen, bring those pocket books!  It's time for the Kentucky Derby!  These majestic creatures get ridden by a tiny man, who spanks them with a tiny whip and the horse has only one choice!  "Run away from the whip!" I'm sure is what the horses are saying to themselves.  "But why is it following me?!?!? I can't get away from this fucking whip!!!  I'll follow the other horses who are getting whipped and maybe I can get away from the whip before they can!! Ha-Ha!"  Thus meaning, the fastest horse to run away from the whip, is the champion!  And there is a lot of money to be made, if you can pick the right horse.  My favorite part of the Derby, are the horses names.  "Lady in the Rear", "Something in my Pocket", "The Meatloaf was lovely", "Dr. HardtoHear", and "Honey, where are my keys?" are all awesome horse names!


2013 Kentucky Derby Odds
*=Early Favorites ^^=Long Shot

Falling Sky 50-1^^

Itsmyluckyday 12-1

Orb 9-2*

Overanalyze 10-1

Oxbow 35-1*

Verrazano 9-2

Revolutionary 8-1*

Will Take Charge 20-1*

Java's War 16-1

Normandy Invasion 10-1

Frac Daddy 40-1^^

Mylute 25-1

Charming Kitten 40-1^^

Fear the Kitten 40-1

Palace Malice 25-1^^

Lines Of Battle 20-1

WyJack 16-1

Black Onyx 40-1

Top 10 NFL Draft Steals All Time

     Ok, maybe not all time, but these are players drafted by the team they played for and were well known on.  Most of these players are retired, but the body of work that these players had was incredible.  Again, these are my opinions, so don't get offended folks.

Worthy Notables
Deacon Jones DE L.A. Rams, Cris Carter WR Eagles, Jared Allen DE Chiefs.

Top 10 NFL Draft Steals
10. Andre Reed WR Buffalo Bills 1985 Rd 4 #86

     Man, if that Buffalo Bills team won just one of the 4 straight super bowls they went to, they could have been one of the best teams of all time.  Now, they are probably the best team to never win a super bowl of all time.  Reed was drafted one year after QB Jim Kelly and one year before RB Thurman Thomas and no doubt, was one of the best backfields in history.



9. Dan Marino QB Miami Dolphins 1983 RD 1 #27

    Dan Marino had probably the best career for a QB, but if you ask him, I'm sure he'd rather have a ring.  Playing a Pitt, Terry Bradshaw was about to retire, and the Steelers fans were hoping Marino would be in black and yellow.  Instead, they passed him up, and he fell to Miami, after Ken O'Brien.


8. Randy Moss WR Minnesota Vikings 1998 Rd 1 #21

     I almost didn't put him on the list, but he did fall hard in 1998.  The Vikings already had a solid offense, and adding Moss put them one FG miss away from playing the Broncos in Super Bowl XXXIII.  But he had a shitty attitude all throughout his career, and he will probably go down as the best downfield receiver of all time ungratefully.

7. Aaron Rodgers QB Green Bay Packers 2005 Rd 1 #24

      The sad look on Rodgers' face was priceless, especially when his hometown team, the 49ers, took Alex Smith at no.1.  He just sat there waiting, super fucking irritated, and waited.  He was the last player in that green room, and ESPN just kept shoving him not getting picked in his own face.  Then he got the call from the Packers, waited for a few years behind Favre, and won a Super Bowl.  Now he is the highest paid QB of all time.

6. Hines Ward WR Pittsburgh Steelers 1998 Rd 4 #92

     Hines Ward always had a smile, and he always had fun.  And man could he hit!  He made sure that defensive players better keep their head on a fucking swivel!  He went overlooked by a lot of teams, but Bill Cowher saw him and saw a Hall of Famer.  Well at least that's what he will tell you!  Ward has over 800 receptions, and 10,000 yards, and is the leading receiver in so many categories in Steelers franchise history.  A very storied franchise.

5. Shannon Sharpe TE Denver Broncos 1990 Rd 7 #192

     Sharpe probably changed the way the position is played, and with all the shit he talked, he was one player that was able to back it up, week after week, year after year.  Elway got his favorite target, and Sharpe went on to win 3 Super Bowls. 2 with Denver, 1 with Baltimore.  At his retirement, Sharpe lead all TE's in history, in receptions, yards and touchdowns.

4. Bart Starr QB Green Bay Packers 1956 Rd 17 #200

     Almost considered the QB who defined the position.  He and Lombardi had a great relationship, and won 5 NFL titles, and the first two Super Bowls together.  You think the draft is boring now, try 17 fucking rounds of it, then you'll know boring.

3. Terrell Davis RB Denver Broncos 1995 Rd 6 #196

     Super Bowl MVP, 2,000 yards rushing in a single season, 1998 NFL MVP, and considered one of the best running backs in Broncos history.  Mike Shanahan almost cut TD, but in game 4 of the preseason in 1995, TD made tackles on special teams, ran for over 100 yards, and scored twice.  The next week he was starting.  Had Matt Lepsis not injured him in 2000, he may have gone on to be one of the best backs of all time.  And he created the Mile High Salute!

2. Joe Montana QB San Francisco 49ers 1979 Rd 3 #82

     Phil Sims was taken in the first round, and Montana went in the 3rd.  The very last pick in the 3rd round.  With Bill Walsh, the 2 formed the West Coast Offense, and changed the game.  4 Super Bowl Championships, and a 2 time Super Bowl MVP, Montana is among the elite in football history.

1. Tom Brady QB New England Patriots 2000 Rd 6 #199

     Tom Brady barely played at Michigan, and was drafted to back up Drew Bledsoe.  Then he took his job, and has led the Patriots to 5 Super Bowls, winning 3 of them, and is a 2 time Super Bowl MVP.  He also holds the record for most TD passes in a season(50), and gets to date supermodels and be the host of "Saturday Night Live".  Pretty fucking good resume for a kid who didn't weigh 180 lbs coming out of college, in the 6th round.