NFL playoff thread

Pain.

 

It's all interrelated. A great QB, a dome and bad defenses are the perfect storm for skill position players to put up HOF numbers. And HOF skill position players help the QB put up great numbers.

If anyone has a good way of assigning how the stats should be credited, they haven't shared it with me yet.

 

Whether it's correct here or not, "It can't be a coincidence" is pretty much the slogan for People Who Don't Understand Probability, Inc.

 

I predict I will get upset for no good reason at least a dozen times this Sunday.

 

Ah yes. No game actually happens and no result actually matters. They are all just data points to build a hypothetical scenario of what **should** happen. Peyton Manning did not throw an interception in overtime, he merely succumbed to the statistical inevitability that he would eventually throw an interception.

 

Peyton Manning threw an interception.

The Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos lost playoff games.

If you stick to criticizing Manning for the things he actually did, then you won't hear a complaint for me.

As far as Brady vs. Manning, it depends on what part of their careers you are talking about.

One game at their absolute peak? I'll probably take Brady, but I'd have to think about it.

Their peak five-year stretch? I'll probably take Manning.

 

Really, which five years? And why?

 

Tom Moore certainly didn't hurt Manning's cause either. I can think of few OC's who had a bigger influence on a quarterback than Moore did.

Whether that's an argument for or against Manning? Your mileage may vary. I'd say Moore tailored what he did to suit Manning and it was a mutually fruitful partnership.

 

2003-2007 for Manning. I don't think Brady ever had a five-year stretch quite as good, although the lost year dissecting his peak makes that tricky for him. Hell, Manning's teams even went 7-4 in the playoffs with a Super Bowl ring in that stretch, if you're into that sort of silliness.

Brady was overrated for awhile, but in his late 20s he started to match his reputation, then in 2007 he hit a whole other gear that I don't think I've ever seen a QB match.

 

You took those years for Manning? The years in which Brady went to three SBs, won two, directed the only 18-game winning streak in a single season and broke someone's single-season TD record. You are the best, R2.

 

I took Manning's five best years. What Brady's teams were doing in the meantime aren't really relevant to that.

 

There's one gift you overlooked*: A stellar defense . . . a Top-5 caliber defense, in particular, that the Patriots had for several seasons. No. 1 in 2003, No. 2 in 2004, No. 2 in 2006, No. 4 in 2007, No. 5 in 2009, etc. How else do you make Super Bowl runs in 3 of 4 years when your QB has three playoff games of fewer than 150 yards passing?

Colts had some offensive gifts, but they grossly overpaid for them (Harrison and James in particular). That meant little cash for the defense --- a defense that could not get Drew Brees off the field in the Super Bowl. They did manage to put some capable defenses out there --- just not consistent, elite ones. They even finished first in points allowed in 2007 --- and promptly gave up 28 to the Chargers in a playoff loss.

The Patriots --- better than any team --- were and are experts at finding value and not leaving themselves seriously compromised in any area because of the salary cap. They deserve all the credit in the world for that. I hear their coach is pretty good, too.


* Adam Vinatieri was a nice gift, too.