Eight in the Box: And Then There Were Two

The Super Bowl is now set. Thirteen days from now on South Beach the New Orleans Saints will face off against the Indianapolis Colts in what could be the greatest quarterback battle in the history of the game. I’m expecting it to rank right up there with Favre-Elway and Staubach-Bradshaw and slightly behind Manning-Grossman. Every once in a while the Super Bowl actually pits the two best teams throughout the entire season against one another and this year they actually got it right. The Colts and Saints were the last two undefeated teams and both are eerily similar. Both have explosive offenses and quick, playmaking defenses. This game is definitely shaping up to be an epic affair. But that game is still almost two weeks away and we have a lot of time until then to delve into that game in exhaustive detail. So before I venture into two weeks of analysis and interesting side-stories, let’s take a look back at championship Sunday for the moments that captured my attention (and for more observations, or some of the same, take a look at my column over at NFL.com).

In a shocking turn of events, Manning changes the play at the line of scrimmage. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

1. Defense wins championships… unless you face Peyton Manning. The Jets defense had overwhelmed the Chargers and the Bengals twice in the previous three weeks and was the #1-ranked unit during the regular season. But against Manning they were helpless and unable to stop the onslaught once he got rolling at the end of the first half. Their defense was stout for the first quarter and a half but after Manning hit Collie three times on their last drive of the first half the Jets were baffled and were on their heels the rest of the game. After the game Manning said he basically changed every play at the line of scrimmage, which essentially means that he knew exactly what the Jets were scheming and he figured out a way to overcome them. Who needs an offensive coordinator when Manning is your quarterback? Just another example of why he is the most valuable player in the league.

2. Trading places. The Colts and Jets took on the roles of Dan Akroyd and Eddie Murphy as the run-rich Jets were outgained on the ground by the team that just happens to be the poorest running team in the league in the Colts. The loss of Shonn Greene in the third quarter certainly helped, but the Colts were doing a pretty damn good job against the run before he left the game with a rib injury and when all was said and done they kept the Jets to just 86 yards on the ground, almost a hundred yards below their league-leading 172 a game. Maybe more surprising though was the play of Joseph Addai who looked like the player he was in his rookie season rather than the player he has been in the three seasons since. He ran with purpose, breaking tackles and showing more juice than we’ve been accustomed to seeing from him. His play was a boon to the Colts offense that could then keep the Jets honest and utilize the play-action game to pick apart the overrated Jets secondary (I’m sorry, but everyone outside of Darrelle Revis in that secondary is not all that great). The Jets running game suddenly being turned into the equivalent of the conniving Eddie Murphy character Billy Ray Valentine was definitely the most stunning revelation of the day (which by the way I kind of predicted).

The sad thing is this jackass may be better than his quarterback. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

3. Rex comes crashing back to Earth. I couldn’t be happier that Rex Ryan was fed a plate of crow to eat after his team got spanked in the second half and had to walk off the field with their tails between their legs. But apparently he didn’t get the memo that after your team gets its ass handed to it on a silver platter you’re supposed to be humbled. But Ryan still hasn’t stopped talking as he has come out today and basically pronounced everyone on his team as the best at their position, even going as far as declaring Braylon Edwards the best receiver in the game. I mean, that is so ludicrous it doesn’t even deserve a response. Seriously? I guess some people just never learn. And on top of all of his ridiculous outlandish declarations he has also proclaimed his team as the biggest show in town, which by my assumption is a not-so veiled shot at their fellow NYC brethren, and three-time Super Bowl champion, Giants. So not only do you get your ass kicked and declare your roster the best in the league, you then take potshots at your more prestigious and accomplished neighbors? Ryan sure knows how to make himself look like a pompous jackass now doesn’t he? It’s no wonder that the normally complementary and extremely professional Peyton Manning took exception the Jets braggadocio and called them out in his trophy acceptance speech when he complemented his teammates for “shutting their mouths” and just concentrating on doing their jobs and getting down to business. If only Rex was capable of learning a thing or two from the ultimate sportsman.

4. Crazy nonsense. I just wanted to touch on something that really had me beside myself during the live chat I participated in for the Colts-Jets game. A few of the other panelists disagreed with my belief that Mark Sanchez stinks (which he does and I don’t care what you say) and that is completely fine because everyone is entitled to their own opinion, regardless of how wrong it may be. But when I said that I would rather have 25 other quarterbacks than the Dirty Sanchez right now I was shocked by the response I received. Two of these panelists said maybe 10 but definitely not 15. Seriously, there are people out there who consider Sanchez the 11th best QB in the league? That could be one of the most ridiculous and ludicrous statements that I’ve ever heard. I then effortlessly rattled off 21 of those quarterbacks, but by then, and probably realizing they were sounding completely and utterly senseless, they didn’t want to talk about it anymore. Look, I understand he had a pretty decent game and played better than anyone could have imagined, but the Jets obviously don’t trust him as they showed by refusing to try and answer the Colts score at the end of the half by running three times and content with letting the clock run out. Teams with quarterbacks they believe in don’t do that and if his own team doesn’t trust him, how can someone make the ridiculous claim that he is one of the best 11 QBs in the game? I am completely dumbfounded by the lack of reason that was on display. Oh, and regardless of his performance yesterday I still think he stinks.

Saints fans, and the rest of America, rejoice at not having to listen to anymore Favre knobbing. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

5. Saints save us from Favre-fest. I don’t know how you feel, but in my opinion the Saints did all of us a tremendous favor yesterday by knocking off the Vikings and allowing all of us to be free of the Favre love-fest that has persisted throughout this entire season. Can you imagine what the two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl would have been like had the Vikings won? Every reporter in the country would have been slobbering him, making me sick to my stomach. It’s sad really. I understand that he is an all-time great and I respect everything that he has accomplished in his career. But what has transpired since he left Green Bay has not only alienated my admiration for him, but has made him look silly and self-serving. Benedict Arnold wasn’t lauded as a great soldier and leader when he turned him back on the Continental Army even though he was extremely accomplished before he decided to turncoat so why is Favre still considered a man of integrity and honor? A lot of people like to say Packer fans are just being childish and ungrateful for what he has done but put yourself in their place and tell me you wouldn’t feel the same way. I couldn’t be happier that I don’t have to deal with one more second of the Brett stroke-off.

6. Peterson rubs off on teammates… and not in a good way. Adrian Peterson was stellar yesterday running the ball and ran with conviction all day. His performance was extremely impressive as he racked up 125 yards and scored three touchdowns and was like a man possessed after weeks of virtual inactivity. But what do we remember most about his performance? Yup, the two fumbles he had, even though he didn’t lose either of them (which reminded me about this well-written piece by a certain prolific football sage). Even worse, apparently he has been influencing his teammates as well as Bernard Berrian, Percy Harvin and Favre all lost critical fumbles, ultimately leading to the Vikings demise. In my opinion, the biggest moment of the game came when Reggie Bush fumbled a punt inside his own 10-yard line at the end of the second half and then the Vikings fumbled it back immediately on a botched snap between Favre and Peterson. We don’t know who is at fault there, but that’s not the point. Ultimately I’ll blame it on AP for having a negative influence on his teammates because fumbling is contagious. Without those fumbles, and especially the aforementioned, it is likely the Vikings would have won a game that eventually went into overtime or would have at least been in position to advance to the Super Bowl.

Favre played a stellar game, but ultimately couldn't save himself from, well, himself. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

7. Favre’s valiant effort ends impaled on own sword. As much as I dislike him now, it’s hard to take anything away from him and his incredibly brave performance last night. He was repeatedly crushed in the pocket but kept bouncing back and delivering bullets to his receivers, keeping the Vikings in it until that fateful field goal by Garrett Hartley. The Vikings turned the ball over four times, including two interceptions by Brett, but Favre continually led them back and tied the game multiple times after falling behind. But eventually a person becomes who they truly are and it was no different for Brett. After performing valiantly all night long, he finally impaled himself on his own sword by choking away the game and tossing a game-changing interception with the Vikings within smelling distance of the winning points. He could have ran, he could have thrown it away, he could have done basically anything besides what he actually did and things might have been different, but his gunslinger mentality wouldn’t let him and he committed another interception to end a championship game for the second time in his last two appearances. So as much as things change, sometimes they simply remain the same.

8. Random Pro Bowl hate. I know this has nothing to do with the games yesterday but in a way it does. With the Pro Bowl already being the game that everyone wants to be elected but nobody actually wanting to play in, moving it to the week before the Super Bowl has made it even more meaningless than it already was. The only good thing I’ll say about the Pro Bowl is that out of the four major sports it has the best system of electing players in, as there are no requirements for whom gets the honor and fans, coaches and players all have equal say. But since it has been moved it now excludes players from the teams vying for the title and will also probably exclude players from each conference’s championship game as well. So not only does no one care about it already (I can’t remember the last time I actually watched the game) but now the players from the league’s best teams won’t even be involved. The ridiculousness of the game has hit new levels this year and is only likely to get worse. The perfect example? Due to injuries and players pulling out because of the Super Bowl, the three AFC quarterbacks will be Matt Schaub (who deserves to be there but not as the starter), Vince Young and, gulp, David Garrard. Garrard? Seriously? Football fans have to on the edge of their seats and biting their nails in anticipation of what is truly shaping up to a classic all-star game featuring the best of the league’s middling players. Give it a break Roger and come up with a way to actually make the game meaningful and fun for the fans because it could never be further from its objective than it is now.