Manning's Next Stop?

Jim Irsay and Peyton Manning kept it classy while making the decision to part ways official. The money that Peyton Manning commands and deserves is just too much for a team holding the #1 overall draft pick and a player like Andrew Luck at the top of the collegiate list. The Colts were the worst team in the NFL without Manning and were one of the best every year with him as their signal caller, but the intersection of the player's best interest and the team's best interest crossed, just as it has for many teams that have had to make tough decisions on their star players. The Peyton Sweepstakes odds-making are in full swing and I was saddened to read the report that says Manning is not interested in playing for the Washington Redskins. For those dreaming of an All-Manning Super Bowl are just that, dreaming. No QB has left his team this late in his career and taken the next team to the Super Bowl, although Brett Favre did come close and probably would have if it wasn't for those darned New Orleans Saints and their bounties. If Manning played in D.C., the Manning brothers would be guaranteed to play twice each year, and since the divorce is ultimately about money, everyone could cash in on those matchups. Imagine tons more of those Oreo commercials! Also, moving to D.C. now would give Peyton more time to find a nice place to stay before he moves into the White House as President of the United States in 2016 or 2020.

What Should Peyton Do?

Joe Montana did it. Johnny U. did too. Namath tried it as well and I don't think it helped any of them or their legacies. Quarterback icons that leave the teams that made them icons hasn't worked out all that well in the past and I don't think it will be very good for Peyton Manning either.
The teams that will be interested in Manning's future greatness probably aren't nearly what was predicted earlier this year. Even though Manning isn't over the hill when healthy, his current health status makes him older than his real age and puts him closer to retirement than the single year that he lost this past season. Nerves are funny things and they either take a long time to regenerate or don't regenerate and the teams that will be in the bidding for his services are taking a real and risky gamble on what he will be able to do and for how long he will be able to do it.
I for one would like to see him work things out in Indianapolis or simply rest on his incredible laurels and ride off into the broadcast booth with his head held high and his Super Bowl ring shiny.
Brett Favre was the ultimate tough guy and although he still played at a high level and the Vikings wouldn't have competed into the NFC Championship without him, he should have finished with class, instead of something far less. The teams that were interested in Favre are the same kinds of teams that will be interested in Manning. A small few that think they are one year and one formerly great arm and mind away from the Big Game. Those would be this year's wildcard teams or one win out of the playoffs and ones without young superstar QB's. It isn't a big list and the history of that working well isn't super, so let's hope that Irsay and Manning can stay classy and get it done for everyone's sake.

Brees QB's Saints To Super Bowl Win

84 passes, 37 runs. Enough said. Super Bowl XLIV was one for the QB's. Peyton Manning owned the first quarter and staked the Colts to a 10-0 lead.
In last year's Super Bowl, the game changed just before halftime with an interception returned 100 yards for a touchdown. The Cardinals almost overcame that potential 14 point swing and if it wasn't for Ben Roethlisberger and Santonio Holmes fantastic play, they would have.
Tonight, the Saints had a 4th down and goal to go before half. Sean Payton went for it and lost, but went for it again to start the second half with an onsides kick and it paid off with needed momentum and kept Manning off the field for an extended period.
Drew Brees was as efficient in the biggest game of all as he was all season, going 32 of 39 for 288 and two TD's. His completions tied Tom Brady's SB record. He won the MVP and cried with his young son in the afterglow of reaching the pinnacle of the football world, both for his family and the family of New Orleans!

Super Bowl Problem: No Bad Guy

Picking a winner of the Super Bowl is usually pretty fun and while any fan can make a case for their team winning the game, there is usually a favorite. I haven't been able to come up with a good reason to pick either team, because both have the "it" factor needed to win the game Sunday night.
Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints are America's symbolic team because of what the area has been through in recent years and they have never won the Super Bowl before. Peyton Manning needs this win to really put him up there with the All-Time Winners. He is already one of the all-time greats, but winning in the Super Bowl is another matter and he needs another win.
Both quarterbacks are the consummate professionals and leaders of their teams. They are the driving force of the success of their teams. Both teams are offensive-minded and can make a comeback if down by a score or more.
It really comes down to a coin toss between the best team from each conference. Although I believe the Saints could have the best offense in all of football,
with the coin spinning in the air, I believe Peyton Manning will will his team to victory in Super Bowl XLIV.

In AFC it's Great vs. "Green"

Peyton Manning was this season's NFL MVP and many say he is the greatest QB of all-time. I say not yet. For all of his regular season heroics, he hasn't won enough in the "money" games to be given that title, hence the reason Tom Brady was the ABQB of the decade. Manning has a chance to change that with another Super Bowl title and the only way he gets that chance is a win against a very game Mark Sanchez and the New York Jets.
The Jets have won in similar fashion to last year's Baltimore Ravens and their rookie QB Joe Flacco. The QB manages the game, doesn't lose it, and gives the defense a chance to make enough plays to win it. They have held to that philosophy in the playoffs and now make another trip to Indianapolis for all the marbles.
The Colts win today because of Peyton Manning's greatness and Mark Sanchez's "greenness". The Colts' pass rushers will get enough shots on Sanchez to force mistakes by playing the old Tampa 2, making Sanchez hold it just a bit too long.

Best Teams Choose Losing Streaks Into Playoffs

The Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints posted the top records in their respective conferences, but chose to rest their best players in the season finale and before another week off with their well deserved byes. Peyton Manning played a bit in the snow, but not enough to make a difference as the Colts got blown out.
Win the Super Bowl and it is a great decision, but if they don't play well after the layoff, the second-guessers will be in full force as both teams head into the playoffs with two game losing streaks.
The New England Patriots also lost their final game of the regular season and watched one of their best offensive weapons limp off the field with Wes Welker reportedly tearing up his knee. The second guessers there will say he should have sat and waited for their first round game.

Colts In Precarious Position

Writing on Saturday about ABQB's of the year, I mentioned my concern for the Colts decision to carry a rookie QB as their backup. The post wasn't even warm before Peyton Manning had put Indy in the lead against the New York Jets Sunday afternoon and inserted Curtis Painter to finish the job. A sack, fumble, touchdown moments later left the home crowd devastated and it looked like the Hall-Of-Fame QB on the sideline was as well.
Manning has worked as hard this year as any year I've watched to will his team to victories and keep them perfect, only to watch it disappear so quickly. Now, Jim Caldwell and the rest of the team will say that winning the Super Bowl was and is the goal, but this team had a chance that only the New England Patrtiots had before them and would set them apart from every other team in the history of the NFL. The Patriots missed it by the "stick-um" on David Tyree's helmet, but the Colts should have tried for history.
Now this team that was so close to regular season perfection and quite possibly football immortality, is now stuck with a loss and final regular season game to play before taking off for their bye week. Can Indy win with Painter in at QB? I'm sure they can, but what if they don't? And what if Manning were, God forbid, actually to get injured? I don't think the decision to pull Manning was the correct one and I think failing to carry an experienced backup QB could be the biggest mistake of them all.

Should Belichick Have Punted?

New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick went for it on 4th and 2 from his own 28 yard line, trying to keep the ball away from Peyton Manning and the Colts' offense with just a couple minutes remaining in the game.
I heard a number of "experts" bat the choice around this morning on the pre-game shows, most saying that they would have punted given the situation. ESPN cited a study done a few years ago that concluded that the odds favored going for it instead of punting and playing defense. I don't think the study took into account all of the situations involved, but simply relied on the success/failure rate of the individual plays. Belichick does go for it more than most coaches and is successful more than most coaches, but the Patriots have been more successful than most teams over the past decade as well.
For the record, I would have punted and agree with Jimmy Johnson's reasoning. He simply stated a well known fact that the further away a team starts from the endzone, the lower the percentage is for scoring. Even though Manning is the best, there are 10 others on the team that still have to execute more plays if they are further away and gives your team more chances to stop them as well.