11/23/24
January 12, 2014
Broncos Hold Off Chargers: The Denver Broncos narrowly avoided a repeat of last year's playoff debacle, advancing to the AFC championship game with a 24-17 win over the San Diego Chargers on Sunday. After taking a 17-0 lead into the fourth quarter, Denver saw San Diego pull to within 24-17. Peyton Manning completed 25 of 36 passes for 230 yards and two TDs, ending a three-game postseason skid dating back to 2010.
Denver's WRs are having a pretty pedestrian day so far.
Also, I'd love to know what "Omaha" means for Denver's offense. Peyton uses it more at the Line of Scrimmage than most people use articles.
posted by Bonkers at 07:12 PM on January 12, 2014
I always assumed it meant "Hike, for real!".
posted by jeremias at 07:22 PM on January 12, 2014
All I can think is that it's his way of cutting through the noise and confirming to people that it's him yelling. They know exactly what Peyton Manning yelling OMAHA sounds like, so they know that what comes next is actual directions.
posted by Etrigan at 07:32 PM on January 12, 2014
How is Thomas that wide open on 3rd and 17? Baffling.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 07:50 PM on January 12, 2014
I always assumed it meant "Hike, for real!"
Do you play defense for the Chargers?
posted by LionIndex at 08:17 PM on January 12, 2014
looks pretty foolish that they didn't kick another onside kick - then again they also should probably have covered Thomas on 3rd and 17
posted by kokaku at 09:06 PM on January 12, 2014
The onside kick wasn't needed. If they stop the Broncos on that long third down, they have the ball with over three minutes left and Denver is reeling.
posted by rcade at 09:25 PM on January 12, 2014
This where I admit I was wrong when I said about two years ago that Manning would never win another playoff game. Props to his surgical team.
posted by Etrigan at 09:38 PM on January 12, 2014
The real big news is that The Tebow Curse has been lifted from the Denver Broncos.
(I'm guessing the Jets have not paid enough penance until they fire RexRyan).
posted by Bonkers at 09:52 PM on January 12, 2014
Props to his surgical team.
Peyton is in fact a modern-day NFL Frankenstein. He's got two breadsticks coming out of his neck, you dip them in marinara and that reactivates his throwing arm.
posted by phaedon at 09:57 PM on January 12, 2014
Wes Welker's Specialized Helmet Makes His Head Look Really Small
posted by BornIcon at 09:45 AM on January 13, 2014
Don Beebe was the originator of the "big helmet" protection.
posted by grum@work at 10:36 AM on January 13, 2014
The onside kick wasn't needed.
I would have loved to hear Phil Simms' explanation in more detail though. He'd insisted they had to onside the first time because they couldn't risk facing Manning's offense then said they just needed to get a stop the next time around. Why couldn't it be him and Nantz retiring?
posted by yerfatma at 11:57 AM on January 13, 2014
I agreed that they only needed a stop the next time around. They were down by enough the first time that they needed to start making risky plays to get back into it, and there was no hope of getting back into the game without getting a successful onside kick. But they only needed *one* to get back in the game. So, you take your risky play early in case it fails and you need to do it again. An onside kick is only a 15% or so chance of success (although there was a stat flashed on the screen that Novak has been ridiculously successful at them), so it's not something you want to throw out there just because. I would have thought that a team would generally have a better chance at getting a stop on 3rd and 17 (or just getting a stop at some point anyway) than recovering a 2nd onside kick, especially when the risk of onside failure is so high.
posted by LionIndex at 12:12 PM on January 13, 2014
If you have 4 minutes and two timeouts left and you're only down by a TD, that ain't too scary. I think they've been in worse situations this year already.
posted by LionIndex at 12:19 PM on January 13, 2014
They were down by enough the first time that they needed to start making risky plays to get back into it . . . they only needed *one* to get back in the game.
Yeah, I sort of get it, but spelled out it sounds like The Gambler's Fallacy.
posted by yerfatma at 01:22 PM on January 13, 2014
I think the only distinction is that if you know you're going to have to do something risky (2 point conversion, onside kick, stuff like that), you don't want to put it off - get it done early so that if you fail you still have time to deal with the repercussions.
posted by LionIndex at 01:37 PM on January 13, 2014
posted by Etrigan at 03:01 PM on January 13, 2014
if you know you're going to have to do something risky (2 point conversion, onside kick, stuff like that), you don't want to put it off - get it done early
But that's not always true: if you're down 15 points late and score a TD, the coach always kicks the extra point to keep the dream of tying in two scores alive.
posted by yerfatma at 03:14 PM on January 13, 2014
That's what they do, but just going off what Bill Barnwell (at Grantland) says in all his "Thank You for not Coaching" articles, they should go for two the first chance they get.
posted by LionIndex at 03:46 PM on January 13, 2014
In re Omaha
Joe Montana used "Omaha" to signal Jerry Rice that he recognized single coverage and the ball was coming his way, most often immediately followed by an extra point.
posted by cixelsyd at 03:59 PM on January 13, 2014
Here I thought "Omaha" was a toppings code that Peyton and his good friend Papa John cooked up. Onions, mushrooms, and ham.
I'm pretty sure that "Jalapeno" is shorthand for Goddammit Donald.
posted by beaverboard at 04:48 PM on January 13, 2014
An interesting analysis of Tom Brady's line calls in the game against Indianapolis was offered in the Boston Herald recently. All I really want to know is why are all linebackers named Mike?
posted by Howard_T at 02:31 PM on January 14, 2014
Game is starting to have the feel of the inevitable, SD would do well to get some points on the board before halftime.