A FEW MORE SUPER BOWL THOUGHTS PLUS MY TAKE ON TODAY'S QUARTERBACKS
The Super Bowl telecast reaped the biggest television audience of all-time with 106.5 million viewers, surpassing the 105.97 million who watched the final episode of M*A*S*H in 1983. Since then, the population has grown by almost 20 million, so the ratio is somewhat skewed. But the ratings were great by any standard, I'll bet Hawkeye, Hot Lips & Radar were even watching.
The Saints kickoff specialist, Thomas Morstead, executed the onside kick 'heard round the world' to start the second half, totally surprising the Colts. In fact, the play is called "Ambush" by the Saints staff & players. The fact that Morstead was able to strike the ball so perfectly while making it look like any other kickoff was simply amazing, this was an extremely difficult feat. You want to hear another reason it was so difficult for Morstead? Until January 26th, Morstead had never attempted an onside kick in a practice, much less during a live game. Here's a maneuver he hasn't ever attempted in his entire life & he's called upon to do it perfectly on the biggest stage in sports, the Super Bowl. Pretty amazing don't you think?
I told you Sunday night Nevada casinos would fare well with Super Bowl bettors. They won $6.86 million on an $82.7 million handle. And as I told you Saturday, the win on the game was just the tip of the iceberg, the table game drop could very well have been triple the handle of the game. Storms on the East Coast did limit some gamblers from making the annual trip to the desert to make their Super Bowl bets & attend the parties. This is a much needed shot in the arm for Las Vegas, the economy has been very hard on many resort destinations around the world, Vegas certainly at the top of the list.
So will the Indianapolis Colts be compared to the Atlanta Braves? The Colts have won 7 division titles since 1999, with only one Super Bowl Championship to show for it. They also have 3 Wildcard appearances during this period, that's 10 years they've qualified for the playoffs with one championship. The Braves won their division 14 times in 15 years from 1991 to 2005 & like the Colts, had only one World Series Championship('95) for their efforts. The Colts could win their division again next season, tho Houston could challenge, but can they win another Super Bowl before their 'Manning' window closes, he'll be 34 next month.
The 17 points the Colts scored Sunday tied their 2nd lowest output of the entire season. They scored 14 in an opening day win versus Jacksonville.
It was good to see Len Dawson walking the Lombardi Trophy up to the stage for the presentation ceremonies. One Purdue quarterback embracing another, now there's three ex-Boilermakers that have won Super Bowls, Dawson, Bob Griese & Drew Brees. Mizzou's Chase Daniel will get a Super Bowl ring too, don't think he deserved it too much, but can you name a 3rd string QB that does?
Cincinnati linebacker Rey Maualuga will enter the Betty Ford Clinic after he returns from American Samoa next week. He was arrested & plead guilty to DUI & reckless driving last month. It was the third alcohol related incident in the 23-year old Maualuga's life. Hope it helps get him on the path to sobriety.
I've been hearing & reading about Peyton Manning "losing the game for the Colts" on Sunday with the 4th quarter interception he threw to Tracey Porter. I commented two weeks ago about the Brett Favre interception & the misguided perception he cost the Vikings the game. Monday I wrote a post on the Kansas City Star's Upon Further Review about the media trashing Manning. I'll say this, the league is quarterback driven, it's the way it's marketed, QB's make the most money per position by a lot. It's also the most demanding position to play, the way a QB distributes the ball in the passing offense is a thing of beauty when done right. I don't want to hear that crap from Terry Bradshaw about the new rules putting the quarterbacks in a dress. They're over-protected he says, well maybe they are, but the league can't maintain it's huge ratings without Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Brett Favre & the other 5 or 6 great quarterbacks. I'll say this, if you think standing flat-footed & throwing a pass with a 300-pound lineman, who has a 10-yard head start to build up his momentum, attempting to flatten you is "wearing a dress", then you're an idiot. Try it out in your backyard with a couple of your neighbors. I promise you won't do it more than a couple of times. You'll flinch, duck, throw the ball before the receiver makes his break or just throw it away, no one likes being slammed to the ground repeatedly, no one. Having spent an afternoon on the sidelines at Arrowhead, courtesy of my man Chuck, I can tell you the speed of the game can't be accurately replicated on television, neither can the violence. You can experience it up close, not as much watching it on your flat screen. A football field is 53.3 yards wide & a quarterback has to scan the entire field in a split second, looking thru onrushing defensive linemen & his own blockers trying to keep them out. In the case of Drew Brees, nearly all of these people are taller than he is, making this process even more difficult. Now you have to sort out the 7 defensive players roaming around trying to stop your 3 or 4 receivers from catching your throw. The game is very demanding physically, few can even make all the throws required to play at this level. I'd say there are fewer than 40 human beings between the age of 22 & 35 who can make all the throws on time & with accuracy, that's how difficult this position is. Then there's the 'getting slammed to the turf' issue, many QB's get injured by pass rushers or when they scramble. The fact Brett Favre has played in 289 consecutive games is nothing short of miraculous. The truly great ones make it look easy, much easier than it really is while the less-than-great ones make it look every bit as difficult as it really is. That part's not a mirage. The other element that makes the great ones truly great is having a supporting cast to work with. How many Hall of Famers were on Terry Bradshaw's offense? Answer: 4 others, center Mike Webster, both WR's, Swann & Stallworth plus RB Franco Harris. Johnny Unitas? Well he had TE John Mackey, RB Lenny Moore, WR Raymond Berry & OT Jim Parker, Hall of Famers all. Didn't Joe Montana play with the greatest WR of all-time, Jerry Rice? Roger Craig, who just missed the Hall this week, was a great running back in Montana's backfield. Other than Shannon Sharpe, how many HOF worthy players did John Elway go to battle with every Sunday? How about Peyton Manning or Brett Favre or Dan Marino? Those are the greatest quaterbacks of the modern era. Did you know John Elway threw 21 playoff interceptions including 8 in Super Bowl games? I don't recall Elway as being the "reason for 3 Bronco losses in Super Bowl games." As great as he was, he didn't win a Super Bowl until Terrell Davis had 1,750 & 2,000 yard rushing years for Denver. Elway absorbed the most sacks in NFL history, 516. Think he wasn't tough? The bottom line on the NFL quarterback is this; they receive too much credit when their team wins & are criticized too harshly when they lose. That's what happens in a league that's based around the quarterback position, they stand out, regardless if it's right or wrong.
The Saints kickoff specialist, Thomas Morstead, executed the onside kick 'heard round the world' to start the second half, totally surprising the Colts. In fact, the play is called "Ambush" by the Saints staff & players. The fact that Morstead was able to strike the ball so perfectly while making it look like any other kickoff was simply amazing, this was an extremely difficult feat. You want to hear another reason it was so difficult for Morstead? Until January 26th, Morstead had never attempted an onside kick in a practice, much less during a live game. Here's a maneuver he hasn't ever attempted in his entire life & he's called upon to do it perfectly on the biggest stage in sports, the Super Bowl. Pretty amazing don't you think?
I told you Sunday night Nevada casinos would fare well with Super Bowl bettors. They won $6.86 million on an $82.7 million handle. And as I told you Saturday, the win on the game was just the tip of the iceberg, the table game drop could very well have been triple the handle of the game. Storms on the East Coast did limit some gamblers from making the annual trip to the desert to make their Super Bowl bets & attend the parties. This is a much needed shot in the arm for Las Vegas, the economy has been very hard on many resort destinations around the world, Vegas certainly at the top of the list.
So will the Indianapolis Colts be compared to the Atlanta Braves? The Colts have won 7 division titles since 1999, with only one Super Bowl Championship to show for it. They also have 3 Wildcard appearances during this period, that's 10 years they've qualified for the playoffs with one championship. The Braves won their division 14 times in 15 years from 1991 to 2005 & like the Colts, had only one World Series Championship('95) for their efforts. The Colts could win their division again next season, tho Houston could challenge, but can they win another Super Bowl before their 'Manning' window closes, he'll be 34 next month.
The 17 points the Colts scored Sunday tied their 2nd lowest output of the entire season. They scored 14 in an opening day win versus Jacksonville.
It was good to see Len Dawson walking the Lombardi Trophy up to the stage for the presentation ceremonies. One Purdue quarterback embracing another, now there's three ex-Boilermakers that have won Super Bowls, Dawson, Bob Griese & Drew Brees. Mizzou's Chase Daniel will get a Super Bowl ring too, don't think he deserved it too much, but can you name a 3rd string QB that does?
Cincinnati linebacker Rey Maualuga will enter the Betty Ford Clinic after he returns from American Samoa next week. He was arrested & plead guilty to DUI & reckless driving last month. It was the third alcohol related incident in the 23-year old Maualuga's life. Hope it helps get him on the path to sobriety.
I've been hearing & reading about Peyton Manning "losing the game for the Colts" on Sunday with the 4th quarter interception he threw to Tracey Porter. I commented two weeks ago about the Brett Favre interception & the misguided perception he cost the Vikings the game. Monday I wrote a post on the Kansas City Star's Upon Further Review about the media trashing Manning. I'll say this, the league is quarterback driven, it's the way it's marketed, QB's make the most money per position by a lot. It's also the most demanding position to play, the way a QB distributes the ball in the passing offense is a thing of beauty when done right. I don't want to hear that crap from Terry Bradshaw about the new rules putting the quarterbacks in a dress. They're over-protected he says, well maybe they are, but the league can't maintain it's huge ratings without Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Brett Favre & the other 5 or 6 great quarterbacks. I'll say this, if you think standing flat-footed & throwing a pass with a 300-pound lineman, who has a 10-yard head start to build up his momentum, attempting to flatten you is "wearing a dress", then you're an idiot. Try it out in your backyard with a couple of your neighbors. I promise you won't do it more than a couple of times. You'll flinch, duck, throw the ball before the receiver makes his break or just throw it away, no one likes being slammed to the ground repeatedly, no one. Having spent an afternoon on the sidelines at Arrowhead, courtesy of my man Chuck, I can tell you the speed of the game can't be accurately replicated on television, neither can the violence. You can experience it up close, not as much watching it on your flat screen. A football field is 53.3 yards wide & a quarterback has to scan the entire field in a split second, looking thru onrushing defensive linemen & his own blockers trying to keep them out. In the case of Drew Brees, nearly all of these people are taller than he is, making this process even more difficult. Now you have to sort out the 7 defensive players roaming around trying to stop your 3 or 4 receivers from catching your throw. The game is very demanding physically, few can even make all the throws required to play at this level. I'd say there are fewer than 40 human beings between the age of 22 & 35 who can make all the throws on time & with accuracy, that's how difficult this position is. Then there's the 'getting slammed to the turf' issue, many QB's get injured by pass rushers or when they scramble. The fact Brett Favre has played in 289 consecutive games is nothing short of miraculous. The truly great ones make it look easy, much easier than it really is while the less-than-great ones make it look every bit as difficult as it really is. That part's not a mirage. The other element that makes the great ones truly great is having a supporting cast to work with. How many Hall of Famers were on Terry Bradshaw's offense? Answer: 4 others, center Mike Webster, both WR's, Swann & Stallworth plus RB Franco Harris. Johnny Unitas? Well he had TE John Mackey, RB Lenny Moore, WR Raymond Berry & OT Jim Parker, Hall of Famers all. Didn't Joe Montana play with the greatest WR of all-time, Jerry Rice? Roger Craig, who just missed the Hall this week, was a great running back in Montana's backfield. Other than Shannon Sharpe, how many HOF worthy players did John Elway go to battle with every Sunday? How about Peyton Manning or Brett Favre or Dan Marino? Those are the greatest quaterbacks of the modern era. Did you know John Elway threw 21 playoff interceptions including 8 in Super Bowl games? I don't recall Elway as being the "reason for 3 Bronco losses in Super Bowl games." As great as he was, he didn't win a Super Bowl until Terrell Davis had 1,750 & 2,000 yard rushing years for Denver. Elway absorbed the most sacks in NFL history, 516. Think he wasn't tough? The bottom line on the NFL quarterback is this; they receive too much credit when their team wins & are criticized too harshly when they lose. That's what happens in a league that's based around the quarterback position, they stand out, regardless if it's right or wrong.
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