Did Choker Manning Return? and More Thoughts on Super Bowl 44
I will never forget it.
An underdog team playing a heavily favored team in Super Bowl. The favorite had a quarterback in his prime that everyone was saying he had the opportunity to be the best ever. The quarterback had already won one Super Bowl and a 2nd Super Bowl would put him in the Montana discussion.
As the game played out it was very competitive, but the underdog pulled ahead late by seven points. Everyone thought the “Prime” quarterback would lead his team to a tying touchdown, but a funny thing happened, he didn’t and the underdog won a Super Bowl that they seemed “destine” to win.
The date January 25th 1998.
The “Prime” Quarterback was Brett Favre and the underdog team was the Denver Broncos.
Favre ended up breaking a lot of records, but he never have been back to the Super Bowl and honestly it is the only reason that many don’t consider him the greatest of all time.
Fast forward twelve years and Peyton Manning had his chance.
His chance to be on that Montana level, to do what his main rival Tom Brady has done time and time again in the Super Bowls.
It was right in front of him and he failed.
For full disclosure Reggie Wayne could have ran his route better, but no excuses Manning threw a ball he shouldn’t.
Many years ago I coined a phrased:
“Choker Manning”
Because up to 2006 he had never won a championship on any level. In the biggest games of his career up to that point he played his worst games.
The Quarterback position is about not just producing in the regular season, but performing in the playoffs. Manning finally won his ring, but as we chronicled in the “5 Reasons Super Bowl Prediction” he didn’t have that defining moment.
He had that moment staring at him in the face and he blinked. Legendary quarterbacks simply can not blink and throughout his career Manning has blinked a lot.
He is now 9-9 in the playoffs and 1-1 in Super Bowls.
Brett Favre the man who Peyton Manning will one day pass in the record books is 12-10 in the playoffs and 1-1 in Super Bowls.
Peyton Manning is a first ballot Hall of Famer just like Favre, but right now he isn’t on the Mount Rushmore of Greatest Quarterbacks of all time.
Peyton Manning is one of the best of all time, but will never be considered “THE BEST” until he has that defining moment and wins multiple Super Bowls. He has every skill you would in a quarterback except that skill you can’t define.
Montana had it.
Brady had it.
Bradshaw had it.
When the lights were the brightest they played their best.
The good news for Manning is he has many years to redeem himself, it is hard to make it to the Super Bowl just ask Favre.
Someone should ask Brett if he would trade some yards, some games played, some TDs to have a chance to repeat that final drive against the Broncos twelve years ago.
I know he would.
Hopefully twelve years from now when Manning is nearing the end of his career he isn’t wondering the same thing.
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More Super Bowl Thoughts:
1- The Football Gods always favor the Bold.
It has been my overwhelming theme for the entire NFL Season and today was the perfect example of how that philosophy works.
The Saints have 4th and goal from the 2 down 10-3. It would be easy to kick a FG here, but Sean Payton leaves his team out and:
FAILS!!!!
But sometimes it isn’t about succeeding, it is about instilling confidence in your team and the Saints D responded to that with a quick three and out that allowed them to get an end of the half field goal. That field goal gave the Saints momentum.
Sean Payton then proceeds with the call of the year in my opinion. Knowing that it was likely that Peyton Manning would kill that momentum by getting the ball back to start 2nd half calls for the onside kick.
*Side Note*
{All you commentators acting like Sean Payton onside kick was so great, you are hypocrites if you didn’t have that same philosophy all year. From day 1 of the season I preached playing “bold”, don’t jump on bandwagon now.}
From that point on the Saints were the aggressor and the Colts were on their heels. In the biggest game of the year Sean Payton played to win and not to lose.
The Football Gods are pleased.
2- Live by the Cover 2 die by the Cover 2
The Saints ran over eighty offensive plays in the Super Bowl and the Colts never adjusted defensively. They ran the base Cover 2 the entire game. Even when it became obvious the Saints were willing to dink and dunk there way down the field they did nothing to change up.
I understand that the Colts aren’t the most creative on the defensive side of the ball, but Drew Brees isn’t Joe Flacco or Mark Sanchez. You give Brees the same look on every down he is going to destroy your defense and that is what he did.
That is a coaching fail on the Colts part.
3- Greg Williams threw the kitchen sink at Peyton Manning and Manning flinched
4-3, Cover 2, 5-2, 4-4, Press Man to Man, 8 man zones, 3 man rush, 10 men at line of scrimmage, overload blitzes, zone blitzes, safety blitzes and that aforementioned kitchen sink.
If there was a defensive coverage available Williams and the Saints D used it and they held the Colts to seven points in the last three quarters and made the play the won the Super Bowl.
Must respect to Williams who coached the game of his life.
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Great Super Bowl and the best team won without question. Congratulations to the Saints and the whole “Who Dat” nation.
didnt you pick the Colts to win? given your horrendous record this playoff, i'll now pick against whomever you pick.
Did I also pick the Saints/Colts Super Bowl before the season? Riddle me that
Manning did not choke. That was a great read by Porter. Manning has thrown that type of pass hundreds of times for a completion. Yes, you'd rather not do it in the Super Bowl, but it is what it is. If I am a Colts fan, I'm disappointed but encouraged by the talent they have and the fact they will be a major favorite next season. They had 2 young WRs developed and gain major experience in big games. They were able to utilize young defenders in place of those such as S Bob Sanders who was injured. They have a nice RB tandem in Addai and Donald Brown. A year of experience gained by Jim Caldwell. The Colts lost a football game. It is not a franchise-damaging loss for Indy. They will be back and ready for 2010.
ummmmm as you stated before you read Gregg Easterbrook but do you have use his phrases too?
Unlike some I give the proper credit as oppose to passing it off as my own
he didnt choke at the end i think he just gave up.
i just want to know what kind of fall out is gonna happen for manning walking off and not shaking hands. when the king did it it was like the end of the world. that was just confrence finals this was the biggest show on earth
Manning went out like Jim Kelly….
Look, I think people sometimes make too much out of one players particularly a quarterbacks successes and failures when sometimes a defensive player just makes a great play. I think Manning played a pretty good game, the Saints just played better especially when you consider that Manning doesn't play defense. FYI of the Superbowls that Brady has played in the one that he had an opportunity to have a real defining moment was the one he lost.
You last sentence is totally false. Brady lead his team on an 80 yard drive to give his team the lead with less than 2 mins left it was the Patriots D that couldn't hold that lead
i think people give brady too much credit… dont forget that the patriots were involved in spygate during those superbowls… its not that easy to win a superbowl.. brady never had a defense that got abused like the colts did. and he had coaches around him that were BOLD… the colts played conservative all game..
Peyton failed.
Before the drive started where he threw that INT I said "Peyton it's time to be great"
Well You saw what happened.
In essence the Saints played with more heart than the Colts….In many aspects it was like a college football game where a couple of emotional turns wins the game
I like Peyton I really do because I respect how hard he works to be as good as he is…..
Sad…
Even if he does win another Super Bowl I cant put him as on the list as Montana, Brady, Bradshaw…
Those 3 would have won that game against the Saints
… You meant to say, "Reggie Wayne could have RUN his route better. Not RAN. Did you take grammar? And I speak for everyone who resides outside of the "Who Dat Nation" when I say ENOUGH already…. with the "Who Dat." Seriously. Please. We're begging.
If Payton is a choker, than what is McNabb????
McNabb gave the game away last year versus the Cardinals – I define a choker as someone who "chokes" in the 4th quarter – McNabb was horrible in the 4th quarter of that game making 8 or more very poor passes when he had real good protection and wide open receivers — the number one choker in football is McNabb and the Eagles even has a dog choker on there team to boot,,,,,,,,,,,, wow