The Super
Bowl has been set! My beloved Denver
Broncos are back in the dance against old AFC Rival, the Seattle Seahawks. I haven’t written during the season, but
figured it might be fun to put out some random thoughts from the playoffs.
- The most
overlooked aspect of the Broncos this season has been the outstanding play of
the offensive line. Despite a new center
and losing (arguably) the best left tackle in the game, Ryan Clady, they gave
up the fewest sacks in the league. Given
that Peyton Manning attempted a league leading 659 pass attempts, the line only
gave up 18 sacks. To give you a little
perspective, Matt Ryan attempted the second highest number of passes with 651
and was sacked 44 times. Astounding.
- In the
lead up to the Broncos-Patriots AFC Championship game, I was surprised that
there wasn’t much made of Josh McDaniels returning to Denver for the first
time. While his tenure in Denver was
rocky, at best, he was the individual that drafted three key pieces to the
offense; Demaryius Thomas, Eric Decker and Knowshon Moreno. Those three players accounted for 288 yards,
which is over half of the offense generated by the Broncos on Sunday.
- There’s a
lot of chatter about Wes Welker hitting Aqib Talib early
in the game. Bill Belichick even went so
far to call the play dirty, saying that it “was a deliberate play by the
receiver to take out Aqib”. Funny that
he’s not mentioning that his offense just did the exact same thing to Broncos
corner Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. It
was a natural pick play, one run by both teams during the game, and not
malicious. Belichick just has sour
grapes.
- Andrew
Luck is an exceptional quarterback, but will need to work on his
decisions. The Colts tend to fall behind
frequently due to this. While it gives
us exciting comebacks, including a tremendous AFC Wild Card comeback against
the crumbling Chiefs, it’s not a recipe for long term success against quality
teams.
- Every year
there are a couple of teams that end the season with a great record, but once
the playoffs hit, reality steps in. The
Panthers and Chiefs were the Illegitimate Champs this year. For the Panthers, 9 of their wins were
against non-playoff teams. Their 3 wins
against playoff teams were by a total of 9 points, including a controversial win
against New England that should not have happened. They simply got the benefit of football
luck. The Chiefs beat 1 playoff team,
and that was the Eagles who had yet to switch to Foles at quarterback. Then again, most of their wins were against
back-up quarterbacks so this was par for the course.
- Is there a
more dislikable coach in the NFL than Jim Harbaugh? I am all for passion but how can the head
coach, a leader of men, continue to throw temper
tantrums
and stay respected? It’s clear from the
players he’s coached and is coaching, that this sort of behavior is influencing
them. Don’t believe me? Check the next bullet point.
- The world
has completely lost their minds over Seattle Seahawks (and former Harbaugh
player at Stanford) cornerback Richard Sherman.
In case you missed it, listen to his interview and come
back. Don’t worry, I’ll wait.
Welcome
back. Entertaining, right? Was he a bit out of control? Sure, but he didn’t cross a line. He just made a play that clinched a Super
Bowl berth for his team. He gave an impassioned
speech just moments after making the biggest play of his career, against a team
that is their biggest rival. Emotions run
high in these games. He had time to calm
down and was on the podium for Fox after and didn’t say anything crazy. We’re focused on 30 seconds after the biggest
moment of his professional career.
I constantly
read that professional players don’t care enough. Here’s a guy who clearly showed he cares and
is getting racked over the coals. You
have to have a level of arrogance to play professional sports. If you don’t believe you’re the best at what
you do, then what are you doing there?
Look, we
know maybe 5% of the story between him and Michael Crabtree. These two have gone back and forth in the
offseason, during games, and after games.
They clearly don’t like each other.
What we heard from Sherman is likely the PG version of what goes on
between players during play in every game.
Don’t like it? Change the channel. Pretty sure, though, you’ll be tuning in to
the Super Bowl whether you’re cheering for or against him.
I can’t help
but wonder, why did Erin Andrews hunt him down for the interview? Oh wait, I know why…because he’s a great
sound bite! In a world of boring sports clichés,
he gave us some reality and true emotion.
We get bored hearing the same stuff over and over, but get angry when
someone speaks his honest opinion. Can’t
have it both ways, kids.
- I said it
months ago, and was surprised to see Mel Kiper agree, but the Houston Texans
have to draft Johnny Manziel. Is he the “best player on the board”? Probably not, but sometimes intangibles need
to come into play. The guy is pure
magic. If this team based in Texas,
drafts this kid from Texas, you’re looking at an increase in ticket and
merchandise revenue. Plus ESPN and NBC
will come knocking and want to feature the Texans during primetime. Manziel equals money, and above everything
else, the NFL is a business.
- I really
wish the media would stop harping on “legacies” while players are still
active. I hate to break it to them, but
one game during their careers does not make or break the fans’ view of
them. If Peyton Manning would have lost
to the Patriots, does that mean he didn’t have the greatest statistical season
every? Rings don’t define
greatness. If you don’t believe Peyton
Manning or Barry Sanders or Dan Marino are some of the greatest to ever play
the game, I will never understand you.
Is it
February 2nd yet? I’m ready
for the Super Bowl and hopefully another Lombardi trophy in Denver.
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