Broncos Defense Shuts Down Brady, and Patriots Lack of Any Deep Ball Threat

As Peyton Manning took and knee and let the clock run out, the Broncos celebrated a trip to New York, and the Patriots were left to deal with the heartbreak of a second straight AFC Championship loss. For the Broncos this is their first Super Bowl berth since the late 90s when John Elway was riding Terrell Davis to his second straight Super Bowl win. For Peyton he is back. It has been a long road for Manning since throwing game clinching pick six right into the hands of the Saints defense, and leaving South Beach with the bitter taste of another playoff loss. Manning struggled through his last couple years in Indianapolis with neck injuries, and arrived in Denver looking to resurrect his Hall of Fame career. Well, Peyton did just that by leading the Broncos to back to back 13-3 regular seasons, and this year an AFC Championship win.
On the other side Brady suffered a frustrating loss as it was as clear as ever that something was missing from the Patriots. No it was not Aquib Talib's absence in the secondary, or Wilfork on the defensive line, not even the gaping hole in the middle of the field that Jerod Mayo and Brandon Spikes once filled, it was a player who has not been in New England all year. The Patriots did not have that 6'3"-6'4" strong receiver on the outside. Now I know Gronk is a huge target who was lost to injury this season, but he has been there in recent years. The Patriots fully healthy would be scary with a star receiver on the outside, Randy Moss proved it.
This may sound like a sorry Patriots fan going off and making excuses, because New England has been very successful in recent years, but they haven't been scary like Denver's offense, or New Orleans. I guess what I'm saying is that despite all of this New England still made it to the AFC Championship game, and lost to a team with one of the best offenses of all time, maybe even the best.  If the Patriots want to be back in the Super Bowl next year, they're going to have get a little lucky health wise, and pick up a star receiver. It could be through a trade, free agency, maybe even a rookie through the draft, but it got to come from somewhere.
The reality, however, is that the Broncos and Seahawks still have one game to play, and it should be a great one. I'm leaning towards Seattle as of now just because of the weather, and a stronger built defense, but that could change over the next couple weeks. Come next week I'll know my favorite, and the fact is I don't want Peyton to win, so don't be surprised if I give Seattle the edge.