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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, Uncategorized

Seattle – New Orleans preview

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Beast ModeMarshawn Lynch, doing that Beast Mode thing.

by Jim Bearor

This might be the least professional post I ever publish on here, but whatever. I’m a little crunched for time, and I wanted to sound off a bit on the upcoming Saints at Seahawks game.

Everyone knows about how important home field advantage is for Seattle (7-1) and how much difficulty New Orleans has had with road games this season (4-5). Also, it looks like it’s going to rain during today’s game. Yeah. I know the Saints had a big “statement win” on the road in Philadelphia last week, but comparing the impact of Eagles fans with ‘Hawks fans is just plain stupid.

There is no place more hostile to play in than Seattle’s home field – the crowd noise reaches about 136 decibels, just a touch below that of a jet engine (140 db). That has an effect on visiting team that cannot be denied, and I expect to see this loudness – paired with not-so-perfect weather – to expose New Orleans as the dome team they are. I’m not saying that last week was a fluke, but this is apples and oranges.

Seattle’s secondary should have no trouble matching up with the wideouts of the Saints, so I think Payton will decided to test his luck on the ground with former Ingram and Robinson. This is – in my opinion – the key to an upset, if there is one (there won’t be). But maybe, if New Orleans can control the tempo with a physical run game (nope), they’ll open up the possibility for Drew Brees to work some play action (probably not, though).

What I see happening is Russell Wilson managing the game (not an insult), and do what he can to control the clock as Marshawn Lynch does his thing. Alright, game time is getting real close now.

Here’s my prediction: Seattle takes the wind out of New Orleans’ sails early, and they control the tempo throughout. The Saints may put up some points, but not until they are already in a sizeable hole and the “Legion of Boom” starts giving receivers some cushion.

Seattle wins, 31-14.

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NBA, NFL

Control Freaks in Sports

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Just thought I’d chime in on something that was brought up by Colin Cowherd today: being a control freak isn’t such a bad thing – at least when referring to sports. Some names that come to mind are Belichick, Saban, the late George Steinbrenner, and George Karl. When management lets one guy rule with an iron fist, it tends to work out better than when everyone gets to help shape a team philosophy. Don’t get me wrong, I hate communism as much as the next guy, but when we’re talking about building a team, you need clear direction and having a group of people calling the shots instead of one definite leader can complicate things.

Back when (a younger and less senile) George Steinbrenner was running the Yankees, everyone was kept on a short leash. Sure, this lack of freedom wasn’t the most fun way to do things, but obviously it worked. Same goes for Bill Belichick’s Pats; if a player doesn’t fit into his system perfectly, he doesn’t compromise his beliefs to make them fit – think Ochocinco. It seems harsh and perhaps illogical at the time (like when they cut Randy Moss), but it’s hard to argue with the results of his no-nonsense approach.

When an organization trusts one man’s vision of how he wants to build a team and they don’t interrupt the process, they allow him to do what he was hired to do without having to look over his shoulder. For example, Gregg Popovich – the longest tenured coach in the NBA – has been in control of the Spurs since 1996 and hasn’t had to worry about his job security too much. Ask the Spurs how this approach has treated them.

It may take time for an appointed leader to implement his system, but growing pains in the early stages are to be expected – regardless of how good he is. Belichick’s first few years in New England were not pretty, but Robert Kraft trusted that he was leading the team in the right direction and again, look how well the Patriots have been doing under his reign. However, many times management becomes impatient and decides to blow everything up before the previous rebuilding process had a chance to finish.

This is where Jerry Jones of the Cowboys fits in.

Jones isn’t quite a control freak, because he is never completely in control – at least not anymore. Yes he does have the final say about who stays and who goes in Dallas, but he isn’t calling all the shots. He brings in guys like Parcells, Phillips, and Garrett and lets them believe that they are allowed to develop a squad the way they want for a time – then he pulls out the carpet from under them, voicing his dissatisfaction with the team and calling for change. Back to square one. It pains me as a Yankees fan to say it, but I’d be lying if I said that George Steinbrenner didn’t do something similar in his later years. Al Davis was the same way, too. These are all guys who were great control freaks when they were mentally intact, but refused to let somebody else call the shots when they should have – becoming more of a freak than a controller, if you will.

So for the most part, I’d say that when an organization picks a coach and lets him mold the team to his style of play with limited interruption, the results will be much better than they would if the team was run as a democracy.

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