Good Morning, Broncos fans! After they pummeled the rival Chargers in Week 8, Denver remains atop all of the rankings we've been tracking this year.
For the second straight week, the Broncos have the #1 offense and #1 defense per AFA's efficiency rankings.
Their Gross Winning Percentage (explained here last week) inched up to an otherworldly 0.70.
PFR's SRS ranking also has Denver head and shoulders above the rest of the league, with six AFC teams ranking higher than the top NFC team (Arizona).
In his post today, Chase Stuart takes a closer look at SRS and explains how those figures are derived.
FO's DVOA now has Denver as a 30% chance to win the Super Bowl, which is an overwhelming advantage over the next best teams.
Least importantly (by far), the Broncos were a unanimous #1 in the AP poll this week.
Broncos
In the first halves of their past four games, Denver's run defense has allowed but 71 yards (!).
Demaryius Thomas leads the league in red zone receiving, according to PFF.
T.J. Ward was mic'd up for last week's win over San Diego; Andrew Mason revisits the victory.
Cecil Lammey expects Denver to employ several strategies to defense Rob Gronkowski.
Jeff Legwold thinks the running games have keyed recent matchups between Denver and New England.
Thankfully, Denver Police say the Broncos fan who went missing during last week's game has been found and is safe.
Champ Bailey
Current and former NFLers filled the Twittersphere with praise for Champ Bailey.
Champ says neither the Broncos nor Saints ever asked him to switch to safety, but that he was willing to try.
Mason revisits Champ's iconic interception from 2005 divisional round against New England.
Patriots
To make room for Jonathan Casillas, New England released lineman Chris Barker.
Bill Belichick did not hold back in his praise for Peyton Manning on Tuesday; he also complimented the play of Terrance Knighton and Ronnie Hillman.
Josh McDaniels says quick snaps in the running game can sometimes backfire.
Erik Frenz studies New England's Week 8 demolition of the Bears.
Ron Borges explains why Tom Brady is better than Peyton Manning, but of course doesn't also say that Terry Bradshaw was better than Brady.
The Pats will honor their three SB-winning teams on Sunday.
News
If the LOLJets fire GM John Idzik, Gary Myers thinks they may turn the team over to Scott Pioli or Chiefs personnel director Chris Ballard.
Former Broncos Gerell Robinson (Cleveland) and Tavarres King (Jacksonville) cleared waivers on Monday, while Andre Brown is off suspension.
Analysis
Andy Benoit's midseason All-Pro team includes Peyton Manning, Demaryius Thomas, Von Miller, and Aqib Talib, with DeMarcus Ware and T.J. Ward second-teamers.
Stunningly, this year's rookie wideouts have scored more touchdowns than have any other draft class.
Bill Barnwell discusses the injuries to Tony Romo and Lamarr Houston; Benoit says the Cowboys' offensive line deserves credit for their recent winning streak.
Brian Burke thinks teams that are efficient at passing should probably throw the ball more often.
Jon Bois looks back at a weekend at Heinz Field that ran the gamut of offensive performances.
Yup, there are LOLJets fans who think Tim Tebow would be leading their team to winz.
KSK meme-ifies Week 8.