Choking really has nothing to do with the which team is the favorite or not. Although I will agree with your disputation that Eli choked in the playoffs last year, for the simple reason that he never played all that well in the regular season. He was awful against Carolina for sure, but hadn't been playing well for weeks(53 comp % 4 tds and 7 ints the last 5 weeks of the reg season). Similarly, Peyton is not a choker because he loses games his team is clear favorites in but rather that he comes up small in the postseason. typically with his worst games of the year, after record setting regular seasons. Maybe in a few years Eli will be at the point where he can choke in the playoffs but not yet.
Most national publications did not pick the Jets to make the playoffs in 2005. Also, the Giants were the favorite against Carolina, I think.
HAH! WEEEEEEE! :lol: C'mon, CrazyCarl - we got into some fair and fun banter last year; but you have to remember this is a JETS board. One thing that makes the veins bulge out in my neck is when I hear Jets fans say stuff like, "Well, if the Jets aren't in it, I guess I'll go for the Giants." Holy Jesus God, that makes me nuts. When I turn it around and say, "Well, the Mets aren't in it, I guess I'll go for the Yankees (or vice-versa)", or, "Well, the Rangers aren't in it, I guess I'll go for the Islanders (or vice-versa)", a freakin' lightbulb goes off. "Ohhhh. Now that you put it that way..." Rrrrrrr! Hate, hate, hate! - but it's all good.
I don't think anyone is necessarily calling Eli a choke artist. It's just when your big brother has a god-awful record in the playoffs, and then you show up in your first playoff appearance and do nothing, people are going to make a connection. Is that not reasonable?
I dont think you can logically make that particullar connection between Eli and Peyton just because they are brothers. Peyton lost several big games throughout his career that he should have won, or at least played competitively. I dont dispute anyone who calls Peyton a "choker" for that reason. He's kind of like my favorite choke artist, Mrs. Rodney Harrison (AKA Donovan McChoke) or yours Dan "No Rings" Marino. But I would hold off on Eli for another couple years before you throw him in the Hall Of Shame with those other guys.
Personally i think peyton is one of the most overrated players in history. That offense is so finely tuned and has great players.
I dont think he's that over-rated. I think the Colts offense and Peytons audibles are very predictable and a well coached, highly diciplined, and smart defense can shut it down.
Honestly, some of the bad throws he made looked worse than bad mike vick throws. Especially if you watch him against the pats a year or 2 ago. And the steelers game just this year. I know that doesn't mean everything but i hear people saying that alot of those players are a product of manning, i think it's the other way around.
It doesnt mean Mannings throws were off. The defense jammed the recievers, bumped them and got in there way every chance they got. The QB can only do so much if the recievers arent open, and the passrush is right in his face. The only way Peyton wins a big game is for the coaching staff to change up the scheme. In football its almost impossible for an offense to beat an elite defense when they throw the ball 40 to 50 times a game, no matter how good the offense is. As proven by Marino. Look at Elway, when they handed the game to the RB they won 2 straight superbowls. You have to keep the defense off ballance. The only reason the Rams won it was because their defense played Tennesee, who would have had trouble scoring against a division 2 college.
I disagree about tennesee, IMO mcnair played brilliantly. He pretty much ran all over that defense, but when it came down to it, eddie george was stopped and it was all on his shoulders. They had a stable running game during the season. But believe me, unless you have a team with hof'ers on both sides, the superbowl is won with the QB.
I couldnt disagree more. If you look throughout history, the superbowl is almost allways won by the team with the better defense.
Let's not forget that Peyton Manning contemplates the bust of Homer and THEN recites the Odyssey at the line of scrimmage. Hurry it up, damn it. I could bake a cake and frost it in the amount of time it takes for him to call a play.
Meh. I sure as hell can't wait for all three announcers to be up both their asses all night. "Well this sure has been a Manningly game." "You mean manly game." "No Manning." "Ha Ha Ha."
I agree that you need the better defense, and the patriots over the rams is the perfect example. If you don't have hof'ers on both sides you need our QB to come up big atleast once to win the game. Obviously this only applies when the superbowls are evenly matched. Having your qb run an offense that can put enough points on the board is just as important as having a defense that can keep the game close. It's hard to explain.