Following the divisional round of play off matches over the weekend where only one road team won but nevertheless every game was tight and entertaining. We are two games away from the Superbowl, the mecca of American Football, fittingly taking place in a desert.
For all four teams left - Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts - are just one game away from the game of immortals. I'd like to take this moment to size up the possible games we could have at Glendale, Arizona on Sunday 1st February. What possible storylines could we envisage and forsee occuring?
Seattle Seahawks v New England Patriots
The team that is on the cusp of greatness goes up against the current dynasty of the NFL. The defending champion Seahawks go up against the last team to repeat as Super Bowl champions when the Patriots did it in 2004 for their third Lombardi trophy in three years. Russell Wilson v Tom Brady is not so much the storyline as others but more that defence against an offence that can adapt and offer variations. The last time these two played was two seasons ago when a Richard Sherman interception stopped a possible Brady game winning drive. The handshake and exchange of pleasantries cemented Sherman's reputation as someone who can back it up off the pitch as well as on it, Brady would be wanting to put the record straight. And winning his fourth ring might just do it. And to think of West Coast muscle versus East coast brain power in the guise of Carroll v Belichick; the tan versus the hoodie.
Seattle Seahawks v Indianapolis Colts
Two of the three top quarterbacks taken in the 2013 draft, Russell Wilson v Andrew Luck. The champion v the blueprint. Luck was supposed to win a Super Bowl first but Wilson got to it first. This would be Luck's legacy on the line, it would not be his last appearance and to spare the continual comparison to Peyton Manning he might want to win his first Super Bowl appearance. Yet in terms of match up, with no running game to speak of, can you imagine Luck having to throw against this secondary and try to win the game.
Green Bay Packers v Indianapolis Colts
A gimpy Aaron Rodgers against a fast improving Colts offensive line with Jonathon Newsome off the edge and Cory Redding. The only drawback of the Colts win in Denver was the tackling or failure to of CJ Anderson who gained yards when he should have been stopped, imagine a better runner like Eddie Lacy whose workload will be elevated based upon Rodgers fitness. Luck would prefer to throw on this secondary and if it is a shootout would you not rather have a gunman with two legs.
Green Bay Packers v New England Patriots
The two best quarterbacks of the season going head to head for all the marbles. Rodgers going for his second Super Bowl, Brady going for his fourth to join his idol Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw in immortality. Should Brady get that elusive fourth ring, remember he has lost the last two Super Bowl appearances, it should put to bed the arguments over the GOAT debate. Brady with a compotent offence may appear to be overly reliant on Rob Gronkowski but that is the beauty of having a beast, try and match up with him which secondaries may do and that leaves options open in the form of Julian Edelman, Brandon LaFell and Danny Amendola. Never mind Shane Vereen and LaGarrette Blount in the backfield. And the defensive line of New England led by Vince Wilfork will match up well against Lacy and welcome the chance to reverse the scoreline 26-21 at Lambeau back in Week 13.
With it taking place in the desert not far from the Old West, what finer sight than to see Brady and Belichick head into the sunset with a fourth trophy on their back.
Showing posts with label Super Bowl preview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Super Bowl preview. Show all posts
Monday, 12 January 2015
Monday, 30 January 2012
Is Eli Elite?
Okay this may be an old question to ask. But lets go back to the start of this season, when Eli Manning out of the blue asked the media to consider him as an elite quarterback - in the same breath as Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Big Ben and his older brother Peyton.
Go back to mid-November and many people would have laughed in his face if he asked the question again. The Giants were on a six game losing skid with the Cowboys in pole position to win the NFC East and head to the playoffs. Then the Cowboys self-destructed twice away at Arizona then at home to the Giants when from two winning positions they were the makers of their own downfall, admittedly that was a problem for the entire Cowboys season. The Giants beat Dallas in the last game of the season to win the NFC East and give the Giants a home game to the Falcons.
Whilst the Giants blew out the Falcons 24-2, that was a more a help of the formidable Giants defense with a full personnel present for the first time all season and some horrible playcalling from the Falcons offense who chose to manage the clock with short gains instead of stretching the field over a Giants secondary that is not as good as their front four.
Eli then helped his elite question marks by going into Lambeau Field against the 15-1 Green Bay Packers who had a two week rest. Like he did five years previously, Eli marched into the cold Lambeau and walked away with the win, thanks in part to some awful defending by the Packers secondary. A telegraphed hail mary at the end of the first half was picked easily by Hakeem Nicks, with no pressure on the grab.
That performance was Eli's best in the playoffs. The Conference championship match up against the San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park, was an old-fashioned defensive slugfest settled by two error by punt returner Kyle Williams who fumbled twice, the second time led to the game-winning field goal by Lawrence Tynes. Manning was somewhat absent from the victory, although tellingly he did not throw an interception.
This goes in stark contrast to Tom Brady, who in the previous playoff match agains the Denver Broncos he threw 6 TDs, against the Baltimore Ravens he went for no TDs but 2 picks. Unusual Brady numbers, but still Brady is at the Superbowl for the 5th time.
For me Brady is assured of a place in the Hall of Fame due to him winning 3 rings already, the most TDs thrown in one season. For Eli Manning, his legacy is in real question come Sunday in the Superbowl at Indianapolis.
If Manning wins, he would have twice taken a 9-7 team to win the Superbowl. Manning won the Superbowl the first time in Arizona, his drive to win the game at the end when he hooked up with Plaxico Burress for the go ahead and winning TD was down to him. People will remember the catch by David Tyree where he somehow kept held of the catch under double coverage, my memory is of Tedy Bruschi being unable to sack/tackle Manning who evaded the pocket pressure and was able to get the ball away as he had to because it was 3rd down. You must remember Tyree made the catch look good, the throw was god awful.
Now five years since, he has improved most significantly since the defeat at home to Seattle Seahawks when he threw a pick 6 in the last two minutes when they were seeking to go ahead, it led to a 97 yard interception return which lost the game. However, no other QB has led more fourth quarter comebacks and victories than Manning. Manning is the go to QB on third down. Manning is getting results with a limited field of targets - apart from Nicks, Mario Manningham and breakout star, Victor Cruz; he has maybe Jacobs and Bradshaw running underneath or catching for the short yardage gains. One big play at Green Bay was a short four yard catch by Ahmad Bradshaw that became a 18 yard gain that led to the hail mary and the lead at halftime, and a huge momentum shift.
Plus with Manning he is playing hard. He dropped back 56 times in San Francisco, meaning he wants either more time in the pocket or wants to release the ball quickly - yet he got hit 20 odd times, sacked six times yet he keeps getting up and delivering. So New England can try and hit him, if he can avoid the collision but he will play hurt and remain the leader.
To be elite, you have to be the focal point of the team. You have to lead by example. When they went under .500 for the season, there was no sense of alarm by Manning who had to endure a period without many targets, hence why Cruz has come to the fore and without much of a running game.
Personally, for Eli to be elite he has to beat Brady again. Then he can be considered one of the top 5 QBs in the league along with Brady, Rodgers, Brees and Big Ben (all have won a ring), and join Brady and Big Ben as the only active QB with two rings. He will also be considered better, even greater, than Peyton because Eli will still have another five to seven years to add to his own legacy with the Giants who will remain a threat in a competitive division. Whereas, Peyton may not play again for the Colts and will certainly not enjoy the freedom he enjoyed in Indy anywhere else. Peyton will have to follow a playbook, and not run the show. At the moment, it looks like Eli is calling the shots and happily Tom Coughlin is letting him do it, so long as it pays dividends.
So is Eli elite? At this moment, he is a SuperBowl winning quarterback who is achieving great things without too many weapons. Whereas Brady, is the man with a great slot receiver in Wes Welker and two freaks in the form of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez - two men who will have a big say in the outcome of Sunday's result.
Unfortunately, for Eli whatever the result come Sunday he will still be seeking an answer to this question. It seems to be a shame that he is alive in a time of great quarterbacks and peers; yet he will certainly go down fighting for the cause - so if you judge eliteness by competitiveness and hunger, Eli would certainly be high on the list.
Go back to mid-November and many people would have laughed in his face if he asked the question again. The Giants were on a six game losing skid with the Cowboys in pole position to win the NFC East and head to the playoffs. Then the Cowboys self-destructed twice away at Arizona then at home to the Giants when from two winning positions they were the makers of their own downfall, admittedly that was a problem for the entire Cowboys season. The Giants beat Dallas in the last game of the season to win the NFC East and give the Giants a home game to the Falcons.
Whilst the Giants blew out the Falcons 24-2, that was a more a help of the formidable Giants defense with a full personnel present for the first time all season and some horrible playcalling from the Falcons offense who chose to manage the clock with short gains instead of stretching the field over a Giants secondary that is not as good as their front four.
Eli then helped his elite question marks by going into Lambeau Field against the 15-1 Green Bay Packers who had a two week rest. Like he did five years previously, Eli marched into the cold Lambeau and walked away with the win, thanks in part to some awful defending by the Packers secondary. A telegraphed hail mary at the end of the first half was picked easily by Hakeem Nicks, with no pressure on the grab.
That performance was Eli's best in the playoffs. The Conference championship match up against the San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park, was an old-fashioned defensive slugfest settled by two error by punt returner Kyle Williams who fumbled twice, the second time led to the game-winning field goal by Lawrence Tynes. Manning was somewhat absent from the victory, although tellingly he did not throw an interception.
This goes in stark contrast to Tom Brady, who in the previous playoff match agains the Denver Broncos he threw 6 TDs, against the Baltimore Ravens he went for no TDs but 2 picks. Unusual Brady numbers, but still Brady is at the Superbowl for the 5th time.
For me Brady is assured of a place in the Hall of Fame due to him winning 3 rings already, the most TDs thrown in one season. For Eli Manning, his legacy is in real question come Sunday in the Superbowl at Indianapolis.
If Manning wins, he would have twice taken a 9-7 team to win the Superbowl. Manning won the Superbowl the first time in Arizona, his drive to win the game at the end when he hooked up with Plaxico Burress for the go ahead and winning TD was down to him. People will remember the catch by David Tyree where he somehow kept held of the catch under double coverage, my memory is of Tedy Bruschi being unable to sack/tackle Manning who evaded the pocket pressure and was able to get the ball away as he had to because it was 3rd down. You must remember Tyree made the catch look good, the throw was god awful.
Now five years since, he has improved most significantly since the defeat at home to Seattle Seahawks when he threw a pick 6 in the last two minutes when they were seeking to go ahead, it led to a 97 yard interception return which lost the game. However, no other QB has led more fourth quarter comebacks and victories than Manning. Manning is the go to QB on third down. Manning is getting results with a limited field of targets - apart from Nicks, Mario Manningham and breakout star, Victor Cruz; he has maybe Jacobs and Bradshaw running underneath or catching for the short yardage gains. One big play at Green Bay was a short four yard catch by Ahmad Bradshaw that became a 18 yard gain that led to the hail mary and the lead at halftime, and a huge momentum shift.
Plus with Manning he is playing hard. He dropped back 56 times in San Francisco, meaning he wants either more time in the pocket or wants to release the ball quickly - yet he got hit 20 odd times, sacked six times yet he keeps getting up and delivering. So New England can try and hit him, if he can avoid the collision but he will play hurt and remain the leader.
To be elite, you have to be the focal point of the team. You have to lead by example. When they went under .500 for the season, there was no sense of alarm by Manning who had to endure a period without many targets, hence why Cruz has come to the fore and without much of a running game.
Personally, for Eli to be elite he has to beat Brady again. Then he can be considered one of the top 5 QBs in the league along with Brady, Rodgers, Brees and Big Ben (all have won a ring), and join Brady and Big Ben as the only active QB with two rings. He will also be considered better, even greater, than Peyton because Eli will still have another five to seven years to add to his own legacy with the Giants who will remain a threat in a competitive division. Whereas, Peyton may not play again for the Colts and will certainly not enjoy the freedom he enjoyed in Indy anywhere else. Peyton will have to follow a playbook, and not run the show. At the moment, it looks like Eli is calling the shots and happily Tom Coughlin is letting him do it, so long as it pays dividends.
So is Eli elite? At this moment, he is a SuperBowl winning quarterback who is achieving great things without too many weapons. Whereas Brady, is the man with a great slot receiver in Wes Welker and two freaks in the form of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez - two men who will have a big say in the outcome of Sunday's result.
Unfortunately, for Eli whatever the result come Sunday he will still be seeking an answer to this question. It seems to be a shame that he is alive in a time of great quarterbacks and peers; yet he will certainly go down fighting for the cause - so if you judge eliteness by competitiveness and hunger, Eli would certainly be high on the list.
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