The Tale of Two Cities

I know the Patriots/Broncos game is already very hyped but there is a good reason for that. Not only do these teams have legendary quarterbacks, but they have very good teams that could make it far in the playoffs.

Lets take a look at how these two teams came to be.


Denver Broncos 
Signed Peyton Manning in 2012
Drafted Demaryius Thomas in 2010
Drafted Julius Thomas in 2011
Drafted Von Miller 2011
Signed Demarcus Ware 2014

Here is where it gets interesting
Wes Welker left the Patriots for the Broncos in 2013. He was Tom Brady's go to receiver. He later caused controversy when he injured Aqib Talib in the 2014 AFC championship game. After Talib left the game with this injury, the Broncos took control. Speaking of Talib, he left the Patriots in 2014 to join the Denver Broncos. If that isn't enough connections between the teams, here is another one. Emmanuel Sanders was signed to an offer sheet by the New England Patriots in 2013 when he was a restricted free agent with the Pittsburg Steelers. The Steelers matched the Patriots offer with about three hours to spare. Sanders became a free agent in 2014 and the Denver Broncos signed him to replace Eric Decker.

New England Patriots 
Drafted Tom Brady in 2000
Drafted Vince Wilfork 2004
Drafted Rob Gronkowski in 2010
Drafted Julian Edelman in 2009
Signed Darrelle Revis in 2014

The New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a weird connections. The Patriots didn't trade with the Bucs to acquire Revis but it does add a little something to their history. The Patriots have traded with the Bucs to receive Aqib Talib (the name never goes away), Legarrette Blount, Tim Wright, and Jonathan Casillas (Casillas was acquired at the 2014 trade deadline). Those all happened in the last 3 years. Talib, and Blount worked well and Tim Wright is off to a great start. Just an interesting thing to look at.

The Arms race of 2014
Free agency is never as exciting as I make myself believe. I always look at all the players available and think how great my team can get. Then nobody signs for weeks and they ignore my team. This year was a lot more exciting. I love Aqib Talib's talent and thought the Patriots could't let him leave after seeing the consequences of letting Welker leaving. The first night of free agency I turned on my TV as I snuggled into bed only to jump out of bed and start screaming. The Denver Broncos have reached an agreement with former Patriots corner Aqib Talib. I thought the year was over. How could they lose to the Denver Broncos in the AFC championship and let all their talent leave. They also know Tom Brady is running out of time. The next day was not fun, as my friends laughed at me for the lose of Talib. I was so upset that I forgot the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had cut Darrelle Revis. I got an update from ESPN saying Revis and the Patriots are closing on a deal. Denver responded by adding Demarcus Ware, TJ Ward and Emmanuel Sanders. The Patriots signed Brandon Browner hoping to eliminate one of Denver's million targets for Peyton and also added Brandon LaFell so Brady could hopefully open the field.

While it is still to early to decide who won the great arms race of 2014, this Sunday will be a good test. I just hope these two squads meet again in the AFC Championship.