NFL playoff thread

Could be, but even "key mistakes" can be overcome.

Everybody knows "Havlicek stole the ball!"

But what few know is what happened before that. Bill Russell, trying to inbound the ball, hit the wire holding up the backboard with his inbounds pass. That "key mistake" by the ultimate winner and playoff performer gave the ball to the 76ers with a chance to win the game.

The "key mistake" didn't matter, of course, because "Havlicek stole the ball!"

Jerome Bettis was doing a lot of celebrating after the Steelers' Super Bowl victory over the Seahawks.

Only because his "key mistake" was overcome by Roethlisberger's tackle and Vanderjagt's scud.

Can't argue with that. But here's the thing. Perhaps another Manning would have been one-and-done this year. We'll never know, however, because the NFC East favorites didn't even make the playoffs. Can't lose if you don't play. And it keeps that 8-3 playoff record mighty pretty.

 

Just ask what the playoff legacy is:

Brady: Winning 3 Lombardis and tapping Gisele.
Favre: Great wins early, a coach killer late.
Roethlisberger: Up/down in 3 SBs. Won one with his arm. Did just enough in his first one.
Warner: Never lost at home, won 1 SB, had team tied or ahead late when he left the field.
Marino: Lots of yards but lots of bitching at his receivers.
Eli: Tough as hell on the road in the cold. Came up big on biggest stage.
Aikman: The stable force on a talented circus.
Peyton: Compiler. Cut that meat. That one spot where he wore that mustache. His face after a killer pic.
Elway: Generally beat worse teams and lost to superior teams (save Jax in 96)
S. Young: The Peyton of the 90's. Couldn't eclipse Dallas and Green Bay consistently. Needed Barry Switzer and Stan Humphries for a SB title.
Moon: Compiler who defends the wrong read-option QBs in radio interviews.

 

I knew the "Eli doesn't always make the playoffs" argument would come in.

Eli plays in the SEC of the NFL. Four owners that give a rip with fan bases that demand wins. It's the only division out of 8 where they are no easy wins.

Peyton has spent 15 years in the NFL, winning the Big Ten and, this year, the Mountain West.

 

Eli made it count.

Game-winning drives in two Super Bowls.

How many late playoff-game winning drives does Peyton have?

 

Does mid-fourth quarter count? He did that this past weekend, then his defense pissed it away.

Eli's legacy is mostly built on two passes. One, last year's, was a great throw. The other was a prayer into coverage that got answered.

 

This isn't MLB. Owners demanding wins doesn't carry nearly as much weight as you seem to think it does.

 

The one that beat Tom Brady.

And that was a late playoff-game-winning TOUCHDOWN drive. Of which Brady has zero.

Cowboys are a .500 team for the past decade.

Before this season, Redskins hadn't been relevant in more than a decade.

Eagles have been tough, but this year . . . can't really say they were the reason the Giants fell short.

 

Off topic

Money coming in heavy on 49ers. Consensus is they're now -4.5 after opening at -3.5.

 

Except that Sorgi hasn't been on the Colts roster since 2009. I believe Curtis Painter is more likely the name you were looking for there.

 

Name a stronger NFL division than the NFC East.

Each of the other 7 feature:
Raiders
Chiefs
Jags
Panthers
Bills
Dolphins
Browns
Lions
Titans
Cardinals

Those are all franchises "along for the ride" as their resale value goes up with each contract.

No, the four teams of the NFC East don't all go 12-4 in the same season. But it remains a tough ass division. That's why I think the Giants performed well in the playoffs. They had tough roads in 2007 and 2011 before they even started the playoffs.

Far, far more than lining up against Norv, Romeo and the Raiders six times a year. Or, for ten previous years, the Colts racking up Ws over the Jags, Titans and the expansion Texans.

 

Sure it does. While they have a salary cap league, Jones, Snyder and Lurie take the actual steps to try and win a hell of a lot more than Bidwill, Spanos and Bud Adams.

 

Is that supposed to be a Sandusky reference?

I can't comment on what might or might not have taken place behind closed doors, but when he was on the sidelines, he did not suck.