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Big Blue, Big Blue
WOW
I didn’t think they could do it. When Big Blue went 3 and out with 8 minutes left in the 4th, all I could think was too much time. Too much time left for Tom Brady.
As it turned out, it was just enough time for Tom Brady and Eli Manning. The Patriots got their 7 up on the board, but left enough time for Big Blue to respond with 7 of their own. Leaving 29 long seconds up on the board for Tom Brady to work some magic.
Not to be. The Big Blue D stood tall and the New York Giants are the new World Champions.
G-Men!
The Giants win! The Giants win!.
Sam Stevens was a big Giants fan. I’ll just have to root in his place.
So Long Jake
Conventional Wisdom says that Jake Plummer’s great failing was not being John Elway. I’m sure that there is a lot of truth to that. But Jake didn’t make his life any easier with 3 playoff blowouts:
2003: Colts 41 – Broncos 10
2004: Colts 49 – Broncos 24
2005: Steelers 34 – Broncos 17
The writing was on the wall after the Mastermind gave the reins to rookie Jay Cutler for the last five games of last season. So long Jake and good luck with your next team.
Where were the Clydesdales?
All in all, a fairly nondescript Super Bowl.
The Colts owned the 2nd and 3rd quarters on the field, even if the score didn’t show it. So even though the game really was in doubt until Kelvin Hayden’s interception return for a TD, it didn’t seem like it was in doubt.
And the ads didn’t wow me either. They were ok, but nothing really grabbed me. And the Clydesdales never made their appearance.
Where where the Clydesdales?
Colts 23 - Bears 16
Time for another Super Bowl prediction. I know that defense wins championships. I know that my personal tendency is to over value offense over defense. But I think that this is the year that Peyton Manning breaks through.
I hope that I’m wrong. I have a feeling that a Colts win today will take the Colts to the next level. And that it will be tough for anyone in the AFC to get past both the Colts and the Patriots to the Super Bowl.
The Good Jake
The good Jake was 15 of 30 for 256 yards in yesterday’s 17-7 victory over the New England Patriots. He had two touchdown passes to Javon Walker and most importantly no turnovers. This was a good win for the Broncos – the Patriots aren’t the same team that won 3 Super Bowls in a 4 year span, but they’re still in the NFL’s upper echelon.
In spite of their poor showing against the Rams and the Chiefs to start the season, the Broncos find themselves at 2-1. The defense finally gave up its first TD of the season with just over nine minutes left in the fourth quarter. The offense is starting to jell. And Shanahan has the bye week to make it all stick.
I’ll take it.
Draft Day Second Guessing.
I was okay when the Broncos traded their first round pick to Washington. I bought into the weak draft story. But as Aaron Rodgers' day went into free fall, I started warming up my second guesses. And you'd be reading them if he fell just one more spot. Because I think that the Mastermind could have done good things with Rodgers.
The Mastermind ended up with 3 corners, Clarett, an offensive guard and a kicker. His track record with defensive backs doesn't give me a good feeling about this draft. And while I like Clarett's talent, I worry about the baggage he comes with. I hope that I'm wrong, but I'm afraid that I'm right – I'm not expecting much from this draft.