The Manning Who [didn't] Choked Away the Superbowl

Today, the discussion in the media regarding the Manning INT is all about how great a read Tracy Porter made, and how Peyton Manning has [in some cases "yet again] blown it in the clutch in the big game. Throwing the INT on a late 4th quarter, game-tying (saving?) drive, is certainly damning evidence.

The problem is, it's surface perspective only, and doesn't tell you the real story...that Manning isn't at fault for that INT, and didn't choke this Superbowl away with that throw.

Disclaimer - I'm not an NFL coach, so realize that I have no true experience breaking down game tape or telling anyone the precise technical nature of the game. All I can do is tell you what I saw, upon repeated viewings, and what I believe based on what I saw.

Porter is getting a lot of credit for making a great play. But I'm not sure he's getting enough credit for how great it truly was. Manning is getting much of the blame for throwing the INT. I don't think he deserves any of it. If anyone on the Colts deserves any blame for the pick, it's Reggie Wayne.

I saw a great angle on one of ESPN/NFLN (I was flipping between the two for about two hours post-game last night) which showed what looked almost like a coach's tape view of the play...virtually the entire field was shown. This was a terrific angle, and I wish I'd grabbed it on TiVo to keep to watch more than the couple times I flipped back through it last night.

The timing of the three players is what's critical. After the snap, as Manning drops, Wayne begins what looks like a go route, headed straight up-field. Manning appears to be reading the whole left/center side of the field on drop-back. It looks to me as though he begins his throwing motion prior to Wayne breaking off and cutting in. At this point, Porter isn't breaking on the ball. Porter in fact looks to be back-pedalling, probably ready to pivot and run, giving Wayne cushion to run the route with him as there didn't appear to be much help over the top if Wayne broke straight.

As Manning is in throwing motion, Wayne stutters his feet. His strides get noticably shorter, PRIOR to his breaking off and cutting in. This looked to me to be the key to the play, because the moment this stutter begins, Porter plants to stop the back-pedal, and breaks on the ball. By the time Wayne has begun his cut, Porter has begun his break, Manning is letting the ball go...and the game has been decided.

Many of the defensive backs and wide receivers converted to analysts - Deion Sanders, John Lynch, Michael Irvin, etc - seem to be giving Porter the credit he deserves. I heard a few mentions of how much preparation plays into making a play like that. Many others have paid lip-service to how Manning blew it by throwing the critical interception that sealed the game. I've heard at least as many uses of the term "choke" for Manning as I've heard "preparation" for Porter.

To me, it's a shame. While Manning's had his share of "choke" moments in playoff games in the past, he actually played a very good game last night. I don't think he deserves the heat he's taken for that INT. His receivers actually cost him badly last night. Not just in Wayne's telegraphing the throw, but his drop of the 4th down attempt that could have pulled them within 7 to lead to an onsides kick with 44 seconds left, and Garcon's 3rd down drop in the second quarter, after which Manning only got 5 more possessions in over 40 minutes of game-time and were outscored 28-7.

Manning, to me, doesn't deserve the criticism he's receiving from the pick.

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No news is good news?

This has to be one of the most quiet Superbowl weeks in recent memory. The hype is all there. But the circus that usually surrounds this event?

No one is soliciting prostitutes like Eugene Robinson.
No accused felons are playing in the game like Ray Lewis.
No one has gone missing like Barrett Robbins.
No one is engaging in massive smack-talk like Hines Ward and Jeremy Stevens.
No one is asking the starting QBs to marry them like Ines Gomez-Mont.

Both teams are being incredibly silent about things, and *gasp* acting like professionals. It begs the question of whether or not that makes this week a boring week, or is it nice and refreshing to see two teams that seemingly have a lot of respect for the game and for each other?

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Media Day

Well, it’s Media Day for the Superbowl participants. Many of the more serious sports – and football, really – journalists refer to this as something closer to Circus Day.

Last year’s media day featured nearly 4,800 media members which included such oddities as 57 people from one outlet (Arizona Republic), an eight year old reporter, a reporter asking questions through a monkey puppet, and two marriage proposals (both by the same person, wearing a wedding dress of course). It’s somewhat amusing to me that many media members go out of their way to become the stories rather than report on them.

Media Day has grown annually for a while now. The interesting question will be whether it grows again this year, vs. if the economy is holding some folks back from being able to take that trip.

Next year, maybe we should try to get credentials and head to Miami to be part of the circus. I could wear a wedding dress and ask [fill in your favorite QB’s name here] to marry me.

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The Stories of the Superbowl Contenders

With this weekend’s two match-ups staring us down, begging for sides to be chosen, smack to be talked, and eventually beer to be cried in; I think we have a unique opportunity to choose which side we’re rooting for not because of the love of the team, but rather the love of the story that the team will become.

Each of these four teams has an “amazing story” (as it will undoubtedly be called by media pundits) to be told. And should they win this weekend, their reward shall not only be a trip to a place where you want Florida, you want it all, and you only want to unpack once, it will be to have this story hung round their neck like an anvil for two weeks. For 14 days, the media will beat it into our heads as though it is the most amazing story in sports. They will drive it into our souls. And they will make us think that these stories are so unbelievable, that it’s not possible that any such amazing story has ever happened before. After all, what is the probability that two teams would have made it to the Superbowl???

Anyway, I’m going to beat the media to the punch. I’m going to tell their stories up front, before the media gets a chance to sink their teeth into them like a leech. Get ready…you’re going to half get a preview of your next two weeks, and half get a preview of what would have been, but never will become…..

Arizona Cardinals
There are actually two stories to this team’s improbable run to the Superbowl, and they both bleed nicely together. First, you have the lowly Cardinals, the definition of dismal, the lovable losers. It’s a franchise almost 90 years old, and they’ve had seven (7) playoff appearances. This Superbowl will be their eleventh (11) playoff game in franchise history. For perspective, this is close to the number of prefixes their franchise has held (Chicago, St Louis, Phoenix, Arizona). For some additional perspective, Tom Brady has been playing this game one tenth the number of seasons the Cardinals have, and has played 17 playoff games.

I mean, really, what’s happening here? This is a franchise that hasn’t simply made a job of losing, they’ve perfected it. Prior to this year, only once in the last 20 years have the Cardinals finished with a winning record. Combine the regular season records of their two winning seasons, they were 18-14…four games over .500! And it took two seasons to do it! You know how many times they were four games (or more) under .500 in those 20 years? Thirteen. And now here they are in the Superbowl!

The second story is that really, this franchise really should have continued their losing ways this season. The “reality” is that this is a crappy team that was just lucky to be in a division that makes “crappy” look like the 2007 New England Patriots. The Cardinals were 6-0 in a division that featured three teams with a combined 13 wins. They were 3-7 against the rest of the NFL. It’s the team Don Banks called the worst NFL playoff team in recent history.

Yeah, well, what does Don Banks know, anyway?

Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles Superbowl appearance is virtually the opposite of the Cardinals. This is a perennial winner. This team has had one losing season under the Reid/McNabb watch. But that’s not the story. No, the story is that just two months ago, Reid and McNabb, arguably the two guys most important to this franchise on the field on game days, were a stone’s throw away from being tarred, feathered, driven up to New York, and dropped off at the Meadowlands in the hopes of ruining a divisional rival.

That’s right, the same Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb that have shown up in the playoffs seven of the last nine years. Note please that’s the same as the Cards all-time playoff appearances. Not once in those seven appearances have they gone one-and-done. They’re 11-6 in the playoffs coming into this Superbowl. McNabb has played in five Conference Championship games, and is about to play in his second Superbowl.

To say the city of Philadelphia suffers from multiple-personality disorder might be the understatement of the century. I wonder how it is that McNabb’s jersey isn’t by a country mile the top selling jersey in the NFL. Every year, it seems Eagles fans must buy his jersey, proudly display it until his first poor game, burn it, then go buy another one as he begins to play well again, repeat cycle ad infinitum.

You can be certain that anything less than a Superbowl win will once again bring the mutterings calling for a change.

Baltimore Ravens
Joe Cooooooool. The city is Wacko for Flacco! Three months ago, Baltimoreans had to pinch themselves to be sure they weren’t just dreaming. Could it be? Could the QB carousel the Ravens have ridden for so long finally be over?

This is a story of a rookie quarterback. Quite possibly the best rookie quarterback ever. Not because of what he did in the regular season, although his regular season is maybe the fourth best in the last 25 years or so for rookie QBs (behind Marino, Roethlisberger, and Matt Ryan, in that order).

But because he’s doing something that no other rookie quarterback has ever done: He’s led his team to the Superbowl, and he’s done it by winning three games on the road.

This game is too complex for rookie QBs to grasp. This game moves too much faster than the college level for rookie QBs to handle. The playoffs are simply too big for a rookie QB. Certainly a D1-AA QB wouldn’t be the one to buck the trend…would he?

Hey, he’s not a rookie anymore.

Pittsburgh Steelers
With their second Superbowl appearance this decade, it makes one wonder if we have somehow flashed back into the ‘70s. I, for one, certainly hope not, since the only truly great thing that the decade gave us was the Steel Curtain. Has there ever been a picture that more clearly defines the dynasty than Jack Lambert's scowl?

Here are the defensive ranks from the ’72-’79 Steelers, and the ’01-’08 Steelers. They may not be in that particular order. You see if you can guess which is which…
8, 4, 1, 4, 1, 7, 3, 2 (average = 3.75)
1, 7, 9, 1, 4, 9, 1, 1 (average = 4.13)

Does it even matter which was which? One was never worse than 8th, and averaged better than 4th overall. One was 1st half the years in that stretch. The difference is that from ’72 to ’79, the Steelers never missed the playoffs and won four Superbowls; while the ’01 to ’08 Steelers missed the playoffs twice and only won one (maybe now two?) Superbowls.

But then again, back in the ‘70s, you didn’t have free agency to deal with. Their roster didn’t suffer anything close to the turnover that this version of the Steel Curtain has suffered. So which accomplishment is more impressive? Asserting defensive dominance to the tune of four Superbowl wins in eight seasons? Or one/two Superbowl wins in that span in an era where nearly the entire roster has turned over?

Have there been better defenses to play in any given year? Sure, a few. Have there been other teams known for a strong span of defensive dominance? Baltimore recently and Chicago in the mid-80s come immediately to mind.

But Pittsburgh has truly built a new dynasty out of the same foundation they laid three decades ago. Many franchises in the major sports are synonymous with winning tradition. A very precious few have their greatness that so clearly defines an aspect of the game. When someone thinks of defining defense in the NFL, there can be no other franchise they think of first than the Pittsburgh Steelers.

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