Manning legacy not lost on these eyes

by | Feb 19, 2010 | NFL History, NFL Random Thoughts, Super Bowl

We’re closing in on two weeks since the Saints beat the Colts in the Super Bowl and my body is slowly adjusting to the next six months without football.

One of the things I keep reading in the days since what I thought was a pretty exciting game between two very good teams and two great quarterbacks is that the interception Peyton Manning threw on his way to the game-tying touchdown drive somehow cheapens his legacy as a star quarterback.

I’ll grant you, Manning has, at times, struggled in big games. But to say throwing a pick-six against New Orleans somehow detracts from him being one of the top quarterbacks of all-time is ridiculous.

First of all, this wasn’t an all-time great Colts team all season long. Sure, they were 14-0 before the coaches pulled the starters against New York. But Indianapolis won eight games by one score or less. Other than a four game stretch of dominance from their third game to their sixth game, when they won games by 21, 17, 22 and 36 points, the Colts generally played competitive games this year. This was a very, very good team, but any belief that this was a dominant bunch was misguided.

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Brees MVP moves him closer to HOF

by | Feb 8, 2010 | Hall of Fame, NFL Random Thoughts, Super Bowl

Drew Brees, not Peyton Manning, displayed the poise and leadership of a Super Bowl champion Sunday night in Miami, leading his New Orleans Saints to their first Vince Lombardi trophy.

Brees completed 32 of 39 for 288 yards and two scores, winning the MVP trophy in the meantime.

His career is far from over and he’s got a lot more history to write in the years ahead. But I asked the question two weeks ago – will Drew Brees make the Hall of Fame? His last four seasons have certainly been trending in that direction.

Super Bowl performances like the show he put on tonight certainly won’t hurt his cause. Sure, it took Tracy Porter’s pick of Manning late in the game to seal the deal. And Sean Payton’s onside kick was a gutty call. But Brees’ performance was nearly flawless. My guess is he leads the Saints to many more playoff victories over the next few years as well.

If he does it’d be hard to keep him out of Canton in a decade, give or take a year or two.

Sunday to be Super for Colts or Saints?

by | Feb 7, 2010 | NFL Gambling, NFL Picks

I don’t know if it means I know something or if it was a case of the blind squirrel finding a nut, but I nailed the conference championships, picking the Colts to beat the Jets both straight up and against the spread while guessing the Vikings would beat the spread but lose a close one to New Orleans. That puts me at 7-3 straight up and 6-4 against Vegas lines for the playoffs. And so on to the Super Bowl.

Straight up: Colts
Spread: Saints +5

The Super Bowl presents another intriguing match-up between two high-powered offenses going against defenses that have been vulnerable at times this season.

Among the most interesting aspects of this tilt will be the quarterback duel between Peyton Manning and Drew Brees – a match-up that brings back memories of Staubach vs Bradshaw or Montana vs Elway. With Dwight Freeney injured and either out or playing at less than full strength and the Saints sporting a very good offensive line, I expect Brees to have plenty of time to throw. The same should be true of Manning, who is rarely sacked.

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Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2010 Announced

by | Feb 6, 2010 | Hall of Fame

Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith were the two shoe-ins for election into the NFL Hall of Fame this year. The rest of the class was a crapshoot. But in the end another deserving class of players got the call they had been waiting for.

Stephen A. Perry, the president and executive director of the Hall of Fame, made the announcement this afternoon on the NFL Network.

The Class of 2010 is:
WR Jerry Rice
RB Emmitt Smith
DL John Randle
LB Rickey Jackson
OL Russ Grimm
RB Floyd Little*
DB Dick LeBeau*
*Senior candidate

While the entrants are deserving some of the guys who didn’t make it are surprising. Cris Carter was left out again, not even making the list of 10 finalists. Neither did Tim Brown. Shannon Sharpe made the final 10, but didn’t survive the final cut. Charles Haley and Richard Dent also have to wait at least another year.

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NFL announced Team of the Decade for 2000s

by | Feb 1, 2010 | Hall of Fame, NFL Random Thoughts

The NFL Hall of Fame Selection Committee announced its Team of the Decades for the 2000s last night during the Pro Bowl. There weren’t a ton of surprises on the list.

Comments at a few sites have made cases for guys like Priest Holmes and Torry Holt. I can see their points but I also have little disagreement with the players that were picked. Theirs seems largely in tune with the one we published a year ago.

Any major disagreements (Real ones, not complaints about the timing of the list being off because of the calendar starting at year one and not year zero)? Guys you think should have been on the list?

Here’s the list:

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