Oh, and while I’m at it, here’s my take on the Super Bowl.
I don’t know if I’m alone on this in Portland, but I tend to doubt it. Portland area football fans have this thing with the Seahawks where we often tend to find them annoying, for no other reason than for years when Seahawks have been super bad, we’ve been unable to watch many of the best football games out there because regional broadcasters seem to think that we’d rather watch the Seahawks lose. The last few years under the Holmgren regime have almost been more maddening because they’ve been flirting with actually being good, but even then for years their receivers were all dropping passes left and right and they’d choke in the playoffs.
I’ll say this, though… I was impressed by what I saw from the Seahawks in the NFC title game. I think they’re not being given a very good pass by the media largely because of all the east coast Jerome Bettis hype. And there is that Pac-NW instinct to really resent all the football hype that seems to think that we only play football up here when we can successfully beg the Indians super nicely not to raid the stadium before halftime. (And that goes both at the college and professional level.) I don’t think Bettis is overrated. Old, yes. Overrated, no. Yes, Alexander is generally a better statistical and fantasy player. And that frankly is a lot of rubbish, because if it weren’t for stats and fantasy football nobody would ever be stupid enough to think that a certain quarterback in Indianapolis who’s won three playoff games in his life is actually better than another certain quarterback in New England who’s won as many Super Bowls. (No, I’m sorry Patriot haters, “system quarterbacks” do not win three Super Bowls in four years and go undefeated in the playoffs up until their eleventh start.) Bettis is still a serious threat late in the game, and that’s when a running attack is always at its most dangerous, and the guy just doesn’t fumble the ball (usually). He’s been the embodiment of the Steeler rushing attack for so long that it’s almost hard to think of the Steelers without thinking of the Bus.
That said… I see the Seahawks winning this anyway. I think Holmgren’s going to have them mighty pissed off at all the Steeler love going on.
I suppose I can take a day off from being a disgusting, anti-social warcraft zombie to come play some marvel/poker. Plus, if I dont go, Kyle is gonna make me open on Saturday morning. Count me in.
This whole “system QB” label for Manning is getting kinda old. It’s fundamentally redundant 'cause any offense is a system to begin with. By default, any quarterback is a “system” player. If you switch Brady and Manning, you’d see an immediate drop in performance 'cause they wouldn’t know the other team’s offense.
If anything, one could argue Brady owes more of his success to a system than Manning does. The Pats never had a top offense during their Super Bowl runs; they won playoff games with an outstanding defense and a QB who could make plays and didn’t turn the ball over, not to mention one of the best coaching staffs in NFL history. And that defense was able to keep going 2 years in a row 'cause the Pats organization kept scouting and churning out solid defensive players to make up for injuries.
Manning’s real problem is that his offense is still dependant on finesse. At his best, he runs the #1 offense in the NFL and is easily one of the best pure passers to ever play the game, but their margin for error is damn small if they fall behind early and can’t move the ball. That’s exactly what happened vs San Diego and Pittsburgh. In both games, they had a chance at a first half touchdown that got fucked up, and it would’ve made all the difference in the long run.
If Manning got to work with Brady’s defense from '01, '03 and '04, odds are he’d be breaking more records winning rings in the process. As it stands, their defense still isn’t consistent enough to give him good field position AND he’s effectivey become the Colt’s offensive coordinator; it’s amazing to think about just how much Manning does on his own.
One thing you can fault Peyton for is being a statue, as he can’t throw while running to save his life. His relationship with the coaching staff also seems troublesome. While the few obvious times he’s overridden Dungie have resulted in big 4th down plays, it still suggests he’s a control freak and it seems he overthinks and makes things harder for himself than necessary. Sometimes you just gotta give James the ball.
Oh, good lord. Shall we just go down the list of usual excuses that Pay-a-ton’s apologists always throw out and get it out of the way quickly?
It’s not about the defenses. Indy had the second best scoring defense in the NFL this season.
It’s not about the New England cold. Indy had home field throughout the playoffs and they got punked on their own nice shiny green carpet just as badly as they always get punked on the road in the playoffs.
It’s not about the coaches. Belichick was far from impressive in Cleveland as a head coach and New England was going nowhere with him at the helm until Drew Bledsoe gets leveled in game 2 of the 2001 season and loses 70-80% of his blood supply internally. Brady is not a product of the system, he is the system on the offensive side of the ball. He’s had no one around him aside from maybe Corey Dillon, he’s been the one-dimensional offense for most of New England’s run. And don’t give me this, “he just doesn’t turn the ball over” stuff, he’s been putting up pass yardage in the upper 3000s a season throughout his starting career and holds the record for most passes completed in a Super Bowl.
The fact is, Indy supposedly had all their problems solved this year. They weren’t going to have to play a playoff game in Foxboro. They weren’t going to have to get cold anywhere. They got to play in the RCA Dome throughout the AFC playoffs. They had balance on offense. They supposedly finally had a defense. Everybody was ready to pencil them in all the way to the Super Bowl for free.
But there was one minor issue. This whole idea is nothing if Peyton Manning can’t win a playoff game against a team that’s actually heard of pass defense.
Manning is 3-6 in the playoffs. Three… and… six. The guy has never put up a legitimate argument in the playoffs for why the Colts have any business anywhere near a Super Bowl. When I say Tom Brady’s won as many Super Bowls as Manning has total playoff games, I’m literally stating a fact. It’s not like Manning has just had one nemesis in particular. Sooner or later, he has laid an egg in the playoffs every single year he’s been a pro. Just once, I’d like to see him actually back up all the sexy stats and all the hype, and manage just ONCE to bow out of the playoffs by less than two touchdowns. I mean, I’m not even just saying he’s a great quarterback who hasn’t yet won a Super Bowl. He hasn’t even proven to me that he’s a great quarterback who can win a single big game at any level.
And sooner or later, that’s a more important standard to me than the stuff they measure in fantasy leagues or record books.
I don’t THINK my controllers will be here by tomorrow. They said they’d try, but I doubt it.
The Marvel cab may make it. Expect a moving van in front of my house at the least with that cab in it. And if anybody big and burly wants to show up at about 6PM or so, that might be cool. =
The Japanese programmable command pads will be here next week.
:tup:
I think that a QB having a good playoff record and winning Super Bowls is an overrated statistic. That isn’t to say it isn’t impressive, and isn’t worth mentioning, but to use it as a basis for explaning why one QB is better than another doesn’t seem to be very fair. Football is and always will be a team sport and while a QB can certainly guide his team more than any other player he needs 21 other guys on the field to actually allow him to win games. I personally think that Peyton Manning is a better quarterback than Tom Brady. That isn’t to say Tom Brady isn’t good, he is, but Peyton Manning is more impressive to me. The Patriots have been, the past few years anyways, a team that gets a lead and consumes the clock with their offense and holds them off with their defense. Tom Brady is perfect for that offense because he is generally a mistake free passer and has a lot of poise in the face of adversity when the defense somehow messes up and relinquishes the lead. I just personally think that Peyton Manning is a better pure QB overall. He’s more or less the offensive coordinator for the Colts. He calls all the plays. His stats speak for themselves. Tom Brady is better in the playoffs, better in the Super Bowl, and generally better in pressure situations, yes. I concede all of those things. But if those are the only stats that make a QB worth anything than I suppose Jeff Hostetler (sp) is better than Dan Marino since Marino never won a super bowl and Jeff did.
Okay, I will concede one small argument here. If a quarterback makes it to, or wins, a Super Bowl, then no, that doesn’t automatically make them better than Peyton Manning. But somewhere between that and “starting on three or more championship teams”, I have to say, yes it does. I mean, let’s look at the number of quarterbacks since 1950 for whom that’s true.
Otto Graham. Bart Starr. Johnny Unitas. Terry Bradshaw. Joe Montana. Troy Aikman. And yes, Tom Brady.
I see exactly zero names on that list who aren’t either in the Hall of Fame already or mortal locks to get there some day, and who don’t absolutely, no-arguments-need-be-advanced belong there.
Yes, Manning is probably going to the Hall of Fame as well. But he’s not going to go there next to those guys. He’s not even going to rate with Marino, who at least actually got there once. No… his bust is going to go right next to Dan Fouts… who also passed for a ton of yards and touchdowns, and who also never started in a championship game in his life.
And unless he shocks me and starts playing a hell of a lot better under pressure than he has so far in his college and professional career, that’s exactly where he’s going to belong.
Peeps should remember to bring sticks if they want to use their own. I do have two DCs … We could even have side by side Marvel/whatev since I do have splitscreen…
Troy Aikman is tight for playing tic tac toe during the Seahawks/Panthers game. As far as the Hall of Fame goes, I’d like to see Thurman Thomas make it someday. That guy was tight.
Pete Metzelaars was tight too.
So was Andre Reed.
So was Jim Kelly.
Man the Buffalo Bills were filthy back then damn. Until the Super Bowl anyway.
Jim Kelly was a quarterback that history is not going to be as nice to as he probably deserves. If Scott Norwood makes the kick he probably would’ve felt a lot better in the other three Super Bowls and probably would’ve even won one or two of them. I think that first one made him grip a little too much in the next three and it just snowballed from there.
But I’d still put him ahead of Manning, too. At least he consistently got to the Super Bowl before he choked instead of coughing up the hairball in the first round almost every year.
Jetay and Lawrence will be taking the bus here, a greyhound I imagine. They’ll be getting here at 10:25pm. If anyone’s willing to give them a ride, they’re willing to pay you gas money. If it’s the greyhound station I’m thinking of, it’s in Downtown Seattle by Gameworks, but don’t quote me on that. If you’re willing to help call Lawrence at (503)756-2023.
I dunno how the bus system runs and I dunno if they can catch a bus to Kirkland that late at night so yeah. Any help would be appreciated. Remember, I’m the messenger but it’d be cool if they got some help.
My car is a two-seater but if everyone agrees I think they should take a cab and we hook em up with the fare which should be ~$30 from downtown. That is of course if no one can pick em up.
Thanks for holding another party/get together Zach, they are always enjoyable. No matter how upset I get about anything that happens. Thanks a lot for the custom marvel too btw.
Small update on this remark. The only person on his list who isn’t still playing and wasn’t already in the Hall – Aikman – has just been announced as a first ballot member of the Hall of Fame class of 2006. So you can take him off of the “mortal lock to get there some day” list, he’s going in now.
Take the year Tom Brady retires. Add the required six. That’s going to be his HoF class. Bank on it.
Peyton Manning? Maybe. Dan Fouts needs company, after all. And everyone knows he was a greater quarterback than Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw, who he was a contemporary to, right? After all, look at the numbers, Fouts passed for way more yards in the regular season! Who cares about rings when you’ve got sexy regular season stats?
And if anybody big and burly wants to show up at about 6PM or so, that might be cool. =
