The 2011 season was God Awful for me. The Colts went 2-14. More importantly, Peyton Manning's career might be over, and his career with the Colts is almost certainly over. The Raiders blew a division title and Hue Jackson 15 minutes of fame came with a huge cost: one 1st round pick, and another 2nd. Of course, that pick could become another 1st if Palmer leads the Raiders to the AFC Title Game in 2012, which if that is the case, I guess I don't hate the trade (btw, I like getting Palmer. I think the Raiders will be a playoff team in 2012 - and if not for a ridiculous amounts of injuries to skill position guys, this was a playoff team in 2011 and a dangerous one), but I hate what it has led to. Then, the Pats got the 1st seed in the AFC again. Of course, I also had to see offense just turn the tables on defense, mainly because QBs are being protected to silly degrees. I'm sorry, but no matter how good Rodgers, Brees, Brady and Stafford are, they never should have ALL had the years they had in the same year. It was basically the steroid era of football in one season. Let's see if it continues in 2011. I'll say it now: No QB is throwing for 5,000 yards next year.
Anyway, I wrote before the playoffs started that this was a pivotal playoffs for the NFL if they didn't want to lose the defensive-fan base. Fans of defense were hanging on a thread all year. Fans of the idea that teams can be constructed in more than one way were hanging on a thread. Of course, in the end the Super Bowl pitted two teams with 4,900+ yd QBs and horrific pass defenses (at least in the regular season) but they fact that they were basically even with the defensive-oriented 49ers and Ravens? That made me smile. I mean, the Super Bowl could have easily, with changing just one play in each game (Evans holds onto the ball, and Bradshaw's forward progress was not deemed to have been stopped before fumbling), been a match up of Joe Flacco and Alex Smith at QB. In fact, I kind of wish this was the Super Bowl because that would have created some internal tension between all the people that have spent the year orgasming at Brady, Brees & Rodgers. Of course, we got a different matchup, but a very good game, and thankfully for me, Brady losing.
Here are my random thoughts on Super Bowl XLVI and the 2011 Playoffs in general:
- This might have been the best combination of title games and Super Bowl I have ever seen. Firstly, for the first time that I can remember we had two great Title Games. 2009 had a classic in Minnesota-New Orleans, and a fun game in Jets-Colts. 2008 had two close games. But this was two great games. That day of football was incredible. I do think the Ravens-Pats game would be remembered more fondly five years from now if it goes to OT (or Evans makes the catch). The fact that it ended with that field goal miss really hurt. The NFC Title Game was just perfect. Old-school football, in one of the few remaining cathedrals of football in Candlestick. That was an epic, and I can't wait to set aside three hours and watch it again.
- That said, the fact that the first two rounds of the playoffs gave us just two memorable games (Steelers-Broncos, Saints-49ers), and a few other interesting but ultimately forgettable games (CIN-HOU, HOU-BAL) and then a bunch of blowouts, does make the 2011 postseason a little less memorable. I am not sure if collectively it was as great a postseason as 2006. In fact, let's do a breakdown:
- Wild Card Round (worth 3/4ths of the other rounds): 2006 {Chiefs 8 @ Colts 23; Cowboys 20 @ Seahawks 21; Jets 16 @ Patriots 37; Giants 20 @ Eagles 23} vs. 2011 {Bengals 10 @ Texans 31, Lions 28 @ Saints 45, Falcons 2 @ Giants 24, Steelers 23 @ Broncos 29}
- I give 2006 a 8/10 (there's a curve for Wild Card weekend which almost always features some bad games). The only forgettable game was the first one. The Romo Fumble game is probably one of the 10 most famous playoff games in the past 10 years. The Jets-Pats game was closer than the score, and had the Mangini/Belichick handshake feud factor (remember, the handshake stuff started before Spygate). The Giants-Eagles game was a forgotten great game. I give 2011 a 6.5/10. It did have one classic game in the Tebow Redemption. The Bengals @ Texans game was exiting just because it was the first playoff game in Houston. The Saints game and Giants games were both extremely boring in the 2nd half.
- Divisional Round: 2006 {Colts 15 @ Ravens 6; Eagles 24 @ Saints 27; Seahawks 24 @ Bears 27; Patriots 27 @ Chargers 24} vs. 2011 {Saints 32 @ 49ers 36; Broncos 10 @ Patriots 45; Texans 13 @ Ravens 20; Giants 37 @ Packers 20}
- I give 2006 a 9.5. It is almost impossible to get a 10/10, and I probably give this the dinstinction of the best playoff weekend I have ever seen. My God, does it get better than that. The Colts @ Ravens game was the only one decided by more than 3 points, and it was a real slugfest of a game, a great chess match between Manning and the best defense of the past 5 years. The Saints game is still the loudest playoff atmosphere I have seen. It was the first playoff game in the Superdome since Katrina. The Bears/Seahawks game is probably the most underrated overtime playoff game of the past 10 years. The Chargers/Patriots game was an instant-classic, with Marty's final act, the "clutch" 3-int performance of Brady, and the whole LT vs. Belichick classy debate after. Man, what a weekend. I give 2011 a 6/10. There was one awful game at the most fun timeslot. There was another boring slugfest (Texans @ Ravens). Giants @ Packers was fun in a way, but the only game I would watch again is the Saints @ 49ers, which was admittedly an awesome game and probably on its own better than any of the 2006 games.
- Conference Title Sunday: 2006 {Saints 14 @ Bears 39; Patriots 34 @ Colts 38} vs. 2011 {Ravens 20 @ Patriots 23; Giants 20 @ 49ers 17}
- This is incredibly difficult. I'll give 2006 a 8/10. The Pats/Colts game arguably the best non-Super Bowl in at least 20 years. The Bears Saints game was a 2 point game late in the 3rd quarter. It was by no means a great game, and was really sloppy, but it was definitely more entertaining than that scoreline would indicate. The 2011 pair gets a 9.5/10 though. That was incredible. I don't either game individually was as good as the Pats/Colts game, but the Giants/49ers was damn close. That was truly an epic. Books could be written about that game.
- Super Bowl: 2006 {Colts 29 vs. Bears 17} vs. 2011 {Giants 21 vs. Patriots 17}
- This isn't close. I will say that 2006 featured the best 1st quarter in Super Bowl history. There were three 50+ yard plays, Hester's KO Ret TD, Wayne's long TD, Three turnovers, and a bobbled hold. All in the 1st quarter. Also it gets some bonus points for being in the rain. The 2006 game gets a 7/10. This past week gets a 9/10. Great game between two totally even teams. That was the best part about it.
- Final Tally 2006 (8/10 * .75 + 9.5/10 + 8/10 + 7/10) = .7625 vs. 2011 (6.5/10 *.75 + 6/10 + 9.5/10 + 9/10) = .7344. 2006 wins, by a hair.
- Anyway, now that that extremely long, pointless tangent is over, let's get back to the Super bowl.
- Eli Manning is not better than Peyton Manning. I love Eli. He's given me two great fan moments in Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLVI. He's slayed my most hated dragon. He's also been a key member of two epic NFC Title Games. He's also the younger brother of my favorite QB, and what Peyton loves, we love. That said, please. He is not better than Eli. After the Super Bowl every show asked the same question about Eli, which was "Is he a Hall of Famer?". If there even needs to be a debate about that, then how the hell is "Is Eli better than Peyton?" even up for debate? Peyton Manning was recently ranked by a panel of old players, coaches, executives and journalists as the #8 NFL Player of all time (this was before the 2010 season). Peyton has more MVP's than Eli has pro-bowl appearances. This was by far Eli's best statistical season of his career (regular season), and it would be behind Peyton's 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009 seasons. Basically, at this juncture, Eli's best season was comaprable to Peyton's 7th best season.
- That said, Eli is going to be a HOFer. So is Tom Coughlin. The media I feel like only puts more importance on Super Bowls now than they used to, even though people generally are smarter when analyzing sports. People who are smart when analyzing sports realize that teams win games and players don't. Also, a QB can perform well and lose. Peyton has perfected this. Anyway, Congratulations to Eli Manning, Tom Coughlin and the rest of the Giants. Incredible Job.
- For the fifth time in seven years, a team that did not have a first-round bye won the Super Bowl. I think the days of the bye teams dominating is long past. That said, I wouldn't try to make this into something more important than it is. This doesn't mean teams should not aim for the bye, or be afraid of resting their starters (didn't seem to hurt anyone in 2009 apart from San Diego and Cincinnati). But people should no longer get angry that weaker and weaker teams are winning Super Bowls.
- The Giants should be good next year. I actually think they are going to follow the same formula from 2007 just a little but further. In 2008, the Giants started out 11-1 and were the best team in the NFL at that point. Around that time, Plax decided to shoot himself in the leg, and then Eli discovered that he couldn't throw in the wind in the Divisional Round against the Eagles. In 2012, I think something similar will happen. It would not surprise me to see the Giants go 13-3. Also, if I had to pick who to play the role of Plax, I'll go with Victor Cruz. He already seems to love dancing, so a night club with a gun is just two steps away.
- That said, it would not surprise me to see the Giants not win a playoff game next year. The NFC is just loaded right now. The Packers, 49ers and Saints are due for some regression, but the Lions are still on the upswing, and the Eagles should definitely be better. The Bears get Cutler back, and when he got hurt, the Bears were a top-5 team. Also, when Peyton Manning's laces it up for the Cardinals, you have them in the mix as well.
- As for the AFC. It looks like a done deal for the Pats to get back right now, but I think the Ravens and Steelers will be right there. People seem to think that the Ravens are old on defense, but that age is primarily Lewis and Reed, who are both nowhere near as essential to the Ravens as they were three years ago (especially Lewis). The Texans should also be great assuming they don't have horrific injury luck again. That said, the AFC is not deep at all. Sleeper team: San Diego. I can't wait to get screwed over by them again.
- To finish this up, Congratulations again to the Giants. They showed again how hard work and team play, as well as supreme confidence, can make any team great. Of course, it helps when that team is also talented and capable of playing great. The Giants have now saved me from two more Patriots titles and I can't thank them enough. Thanks, Big Blue.
