It’s official: Ref boosts Broncos
PATRIOTS FANS already think NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is out to get them and their quarterback, and now they have even more “proof.”
Ed Hochuli is the referee for Sunday’s AFC Championship Game against the Broncos, and Patriots Nation already has some excuses lined up should New England lose to Peyton Manning in Denver.
The Broncos are 6-0 in games officiated by the muscular ref since 2008 while the Patriots are just 4-4 in Hochuli-officiated games over that same time frame. Conspiracy! Adding fuel to the ire is the fact that since 1999, Manning is 14-2 in games officiated by Hochuli while Brady has a more pedestrian 8-5 record in Hochuli’s games since he took over as New England’s starting quarterback in 2001 (New England lost a 2008 game to the Steelers that Hochuli officiated, but Brady missed that season with a torn ACL).
The records don’t tell the whole story though, since Manning, playing with the Colts and Broncos, beat up on teams with a combined 90-144 record while the teams Brady and the Patriots faced were 115-92-1. All but one of Brady’s five losses came against teams with winning records, and the lone loss to a losing team, the Dolphins in Week 17 of this season, is kind of a throwaway since Bill Belichick seemed to be more concerned with getting reps for his running backs — 21 of their first 26 plays in the first half were runs; New England’s offense passes the ball on 62% of its plays — than winning the game. Also, four of the five losses came on the road.
Comcast Sports Net New England points out that the home team wins 60.7% of games officiated by Hochuli, which is higher than the league average of 57.4% since 1999.
But for all of the bellyaching about the officials, Hochuli was holding the whistle when the Patriots beat the Panthers to win Super Bowl XXXVIII and when they beat the Steelers in the AFC title game en route to their first championship.
DIS AND THAT: Broncos running back C.J. Anderson said Denver is being “disrespected” in the run up to the conference title game.
How, exactly, does he see the Broncos being disrespected?
“Oh, you know, we don’t have a chance. If that doesn’t motivate you, then you are in the wrong business,” Anderson said Thursday. “We are supposed to go out there and get killed on Sunday, which is funny to me. Just go out there and play business. That’s why you play the game.”
The Patriots are three-point favorites despite the game being played in Denver.
Safety T.J. Ward didn’t seem bothered by the Broncos being underdogs.
“I try not to listen to all of the noise. You hear some of it, but it is what it is,” Ward said. “We have to go out there and prove it. We’re not world champs. We haven’t been world champs. We’re going against the defending world champs, so it’s only right.”
The safety was also asked if he hates the Patriots.
“Do I hate the Patriots? No, I dislike the Patriots,” Ward said. “Hate is a strong word.”
And what, exactly, does he dislike about them?
“That we play them this Sunday and they’re in our way of a Super Bowl,” he said. “That’s the worst part about them.”
ON HIS SHOULDERS: Broncos cornerback Chris Harris has been dealing with a shoulder injury. Team executive vice president John Elway told ESPN that Harris will be a gametime decision but Harris said he’s in good shape.
“I’m light years better than I was last week at this time,” Harris said. “As long as there are no setbacks, I should be good to go.” @SethWalderNYDN