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NFL

A Word on Peyton Manning and the NFL PLayoffs / Broncos – Chargers Preview

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broncos chargers

By Jim Bearor

Today at 4:40pm EST, the Denver Broncos host the San Diego Chargers for the right to face the Patriots in the AFC Title game.

But before I even talk about today’s game, I want to address the one topic that is always the focus when Peyton Manning is in a playoff game: he isn’t the same player once the regular season ends.

I don’t disagree.  You can look at his legacy in the postseason any way you want and try to convince yourself and those around you that his playoff shortcomings aren’t his fault, or that the choking narrative is just not true. But however you try and spin it, the results are still the same – for whatever reason, the elder Manning doesn’t live up to expectations after Week 17.  Only if the Broncos win out and claim the Lombardi trophy, does this criticism stop – and even then, it doesn’t change the past.

Now does this mean that I don’t want Peyton Manning quarterbacking my team in the playoffs? Absolutely not.  I’m just saying, it is an established fact that to this point in his career, Peyton in the playoffs isn’t the same as Peyton in the regular season, and he certainly isn’t Tom Brady in the playoffs. Just accept it.

That being said, I don’t expect him to fall on his face in every game after December.  His past failures shouldn’t be ignored, but any knowledgeable football fan knows that the script can always be rewritten.  While I don’t expect to see Peyton play at Brady’s level – because let’s face it, nobody is Tom Brady – I also don’t expect him to be the reason the Broncos get knocked out.  Remember, if it wasn’t for a horrifically bad read by Denver Safety Rahim Moore in last year’s AFC Chamionship, Peyton would be praised for carrying his team to the Super Bowl.

But let’s talk about the game today…

Coming off of a bye, the top seeded Broncos are the obvious favorite, considering the offensive fireworks that they put on display all season. The Chargers are pretty comparable in essentially every category besides passing offense, and I favor their rushing attack over Denver’s. San Diego even came into Mile-High Stadium in Week 15 and got the win during their playoff-clinching 5 game streak to close the year.  The gap between these teams is not what you would expect in a matchup between the top and bottom seeds in the AFC – and remember, this is a divisional matchup.

Phillip Rivers is 2-0 against Peyton, for whatever that’s worth (it’s not like they’re on the field at the same time), but Manning is on a different team now and the present-day Chargers look nothing like the groups of years past.  Although San Diego put together quite the impressive streak to close the season, they needed help to get in and snag the last remaining playoff spot.  Now, if you think back to the Marty Schottenheimer days, you’ll remember how supremely talented those Chargers teams were, and how often their postseason success fell short of expectations they set during the regular season.

I don’t know what kind of label I want to put on this Chargers team.  Are they as good as they have looked in recent weeks, or are they an over-performing team that is about to be exposed in a big way?  They do resemble – at least to a degree – the championship Packers and Giants teams that got hot at the right time, snuck in, and beat a lot of teams that were better than them.  This is just a gut feeling though, a sort of déjà vu that I may be forcing myself to buy into because of the crazy things I’ve seen in years past.

I could see this game going a couple of ways:

Scenario 1: The game starts with the Broncos creating a little havoc up front – just enough to disrupt the run game and make Rivers uncomfortable – and Peyton gets a few early opportunities.  He gets into a rhythm and puts up a couple quick scores.  He gets the playoff monkey off his back and out of his mind early and the Broncos roll.

Scenario 2: Ryan Mathews and Ronnie Brown do some work on the ground, and help get the heat off of Phil’s back. The Chargers control the clock and hang around long enough to create doubt among the Broncos and their fans. Chargers squeak it out.

This is a tough, and I’m honestly not leaning one way or the other. But again, if you had a gun to my head and I have to make a pick?

Denver wins 35-14

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NFL

Panthers – 49ers Preview

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panthers_49ers_APBy Jim Bearor

These teams look very similar on paper and on the field, because for the most part, they are.  Both have elite defenses, a young versatile quarterback, and a ground-and-pound offensive mentality.  Last time they met up, Carolina bested San Francisco, 10-9 in a game where offense was hard to come by.  To me, this is less of a knock against Newton and Kaepernick, and more of a testament to the defensive squads of each team – linebackers especially.

On the Panthers side of things, it’s Thomas Davis and Luke Kuechly leading the charge.  The two have combined for 179 tackles on the season and are not only making a difference up front, but also in the flats and other passing situations.  They definitely gave Kaepernick some trouble the last time these guys met, sacking him six times and holding him to 91 passing yards.

The 49ers have an equally impressive defensive unit that is getting hot at the right time, due mostly in part to their linebackers – who in my opinion are the league’s best.  The star-studded group consists of Patrick Willis, Navarro Bowman, Ahmad Brooks and Aldon Smith.  Bowman and Willis are the heart of the defense, stuffing the few running holes that opposing offenses manage to open up at the line of scrimmage and covering a great deal of  ground over the middle in the passing game as well.  Brooks and Smith are great at rushing off the edge, combining for 17 sacks during the regular season.

While the linebackers draw most of the attention for both of these teams, their offensive and defensive lines are also big difference makers. In a league where passing and defending the pass are usually the focus, the 49ers and Panthers win their games the old fashioned way – by controlling the line of scrimmage, creating pressure on the quarterback, and running the ball effectively.

So what’s the difference between these teams?

Not much, in my eyes.

            Carolina is playing in front of their home crowd, and there are injuries to consider, and that’s about it.  I don’t trust Colin Kaepernick more than Cam Newton or vice-versa.  Kaepernick has a touch more playoff experience than first-timer Newton, but neither has a playoff reputation to this point, and they both know how to play in big games (look at Newton’s college career and his most recent encounter with the Saints).

            What I think this game will come down to is the performance of the quarterbacks.  The difference will be which quarterback breaks out or falls on his face.  If I had to a gun to my head and had to choose between Colin and Cam, I think I’d take Cam. Steve Smith’s return and Carlos Rogers’ absence also factors in to that choice.

Panthers win 24-14

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NFL

Rob Parker: RG3 a “Cornball Brother”

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by Jim Bearor

This past Thursday on First Take, Rob Parker put his foot so far in his mouth that he’s going to be taking some time off of work. Parker never really wowed me with his insight or analysis to begin with, but then again, those aren’t two elements that I look for when I watch the show. Usually when I tune in, I anticipate a few talking heads calling each other names and carrying out farfetched arguments over a number of moot points for a couple hours. The show gets incredibly heated, and that’s probably the only reason it is still on television. But during an intense discussion of Robert Griffin III and how he carries himself, Parker went a bit too far when voicing his opinion and earned himself an indefinite suspension from ESPN.
Parker opened his little rant by asking if Griffin is a “real brother” or a “cornball brother”, which is not a good way to start an argument that is supposed to be professional. He then went on to say: “He’s black, he kind of does his thing, but he’s not really down with the cause, he’s not ‘one of us.’ He’s kind of black… but he’s not like the guy you really want to hang out with.”
You may want to read through that a couple times, I know it made me laugh even harder the second go-around. After you get your laughs, try to think of why Parker would even consider saying something of that nature while working for ESPN. I pondered that for a while, and came up with nothing. Who knows, maybe he just got so fired up about the topic that he said something that he didn’t really mean, but more than likely this was just another example of Parker revealing his inner knucklehead on national television – but this time he brought it to another level.
You probably have heard opinions like this before, and they probably make you shake your head. They should make you shake your head. The idea that RGIII isn’t really black in some people’s eyes because he doesn’t act or talk a certain way is ridiculous and irrelevant. People like Parker are just reinforcing stereotypes that African Americans have been fighting against for so long.
Is RGIII a “cornball brother” because he is articulate and dresses nicely? If so, then what’s the alternative, acting like Terrell Owens or Allen Iverson? Sorry for bursting your bubble Rob Parker, but that’s not who RGIII is.
I was listening to Dan Lebatard the other day, and he brought up a good point. There are plenty of other successful black athletes that pride themselves on being professional, something that Parker is not familiar with. A few names that came to mind right away were Tiki Barber, Tiger Woods, and Marcellus Wiley. All of them have experienced their fair share of success in sports, and managed to do so while also being role models.
Another interesting part about Parker’s little ramble was right near the end where he said that “[RGIII] is not like the guy you really want to hang out with.” This is a bit confusing to me, was RGIII not endorsed by several large corporations even before he stepped on an NFL field? John Gruden seemed like he had a good time talking with him during his quarterback camp (but I guess Gruden is always excited, so never mind), and all you hear from his teammates is how great of a guy he is and what kind of leadership he brings to the team.
But regardless of what everyone else says, Rob Parker is probably going to continue to think the way he does. If he is going to speak for a small, uneducated group of people and disown RGIII because he sounds a little like Wayne Brady when he talks, then let him be. I’m just glad that we don’t have to deal with that sort of nonsense when we turn on ESPN, at least for a while.

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