Time to update my link on I’m Just Sayin…
The Super Bowl is over and a lot has been said about
individual players more so than each of the teams. Peyton Manning and Richard
Sherman, for instance, have gotten a lot of the press lately. For the record, I
like both of these players. I was watching the interview after the NFC
Championship game when Sherman went off on Michael Crabtree live as it
happened. My initial response was that is completely unnecessary. Incidentally,
Sherman after the fact, agreed. However, when you stick a microphone in the
face of an intense player after a game clinching (and Super Bowl berth) play,
what happened should not have been surprising. We ask these players to play
with a ferocious intensity between the lines, and then ask them to turn it off
when the game is over. That is exactly what Sherman does. Anyone who can
graduate from Stanford (in three years, I believe) ain’t no dope. His demeanor
off the field is very professional. Those who took to Twitter and other Social
Media to criticize him in a brutal fashion only show their own ignorance, that
same ignorance that they accuse Sherman of having. It is not unlike sticking a
microphone in the face of a Tony Stewart or other emotional driver right after
someone put them into the wall at 200 MPH.
“How do feel about almost losing your life?” Are we really surprised when
those drivers start dropping the F-Bomb? Well you shouldn’t be. What happened
with Sherman is EXACTLY what FOX, NBC, CBS, ESPN, etc. all want to happen. When
you wait to interview players and coaches in the pressroom after they have had
a moment to decompress, it takes some more prodding by headline seeking
reporters to get most of them to spout off at the competition or maybe the
refs. Get them in the heat of the moment and somebody better have their hand on
the 8-second delay dump button. Ratings, whatever it takes.
Now let’s talk about Peyton. When you try to decide who is
the greatest _______ of all time, you have to take into account many, many
factors. There are very few athletes in any sport who can without debate, be considered
the greatest of all time. Michael Jordan as the greatest NBA star of all time
is about as close as you can get. Maybe another day we will debate those other
sports, but right now I want to focus on football. I heard the analogy of the
greatest quarterbacks sitting at the table and trying to decide who should be
at the head of the table. If you don’t think that Manning deserves to be at
that table and at least in the discussion, you can stop reading now because
logic doesn’t apply to you. Championship rings do matter. But they are not the
only criteria to being a great quarterback. Dan Marino is widely considered one
of the greatest QB’s of all time; in fact he is often considered the greatest
without a championship. That was Manning’s tag until he won a Super Bowl. Now
it’s, one isn’t enough. I contend that Manning, like Marino before him, and Tom
Brady now, make their teams achieve more than they would have otherwise. Miami
hasn’t done squat since Marino retired. They can’t find the next Marino.
Manning not only set the season record for TD’s this year, but he did it by
having 5 different players catch 10 or more TD passes. Tom Brady wins with guys
we’ve never heard of. I still try and go by what I heard Joe Morgan say one
time about trying to say who was the greatest of all time. You really can’t
compare players from different eras. What you can do though is compare their
numbers to those who they played with and against. By that standard, what
Marino accomplished statistically, if not with championships, puts him in the
conversation. He put up numbers in a time when defense ruled the game, all but
his Miami defenses. Hence, no Super Bowl victories. And Peyton, only Tom Brady
is really in the same category as him. Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, Eli
Manning, Aaron Rogers are all great QB’s and you could make an argument for
them, but what Peyton has done at this point of his career puts him right at
the top if not on top. Greatest of all time? Maybe, maybe not. But the abuse he
is taking for his playoff record and Super Bowl record is to me, a little
ridiculous.
So rock on Richard Sherman and Peyton Manning. Both of you,
and your teams, had great seasons.
By the way, my wife loves Peyton Manning. I think if he were
to walk into the room…wait a minute that gives me an idea. Does anyone have a Peyton
Manning jersey I can borrow?
