Against The Grain -- Week 13's Sunday games

2009-09-09T16:11:19-04:00

2008-11-30T21:19:06-05:00

130

2008-11-30T21:19:06-05:00

2008-12-01T19:02:37-05:00

Displacedsoxfan

Orlando 622481

119 you guys CRACK me up! in the "bad weather" superbowl, manning was not a factor, the running game and rex grossman's decision to make all sorts of bad decisions in the 4th quarter won the game, although manning won the MVP, of course he could've been 5-16 with 4 picks in that game and won the MVP if the colts won 28-14 whilst scoring 4 defensive touchdowns. the colts keep escaping, you can't escape in the playoffs, you have to win 3501639

2008-12-02T13:11:50-05:00

Ravnwyng

Brooklyn 622049

you guys CRACK me up!in the "bad weather" superbowl, manning was not a factor, the running game and rex grossman's decision to make all sorts of bad decisions in the 4th quarter won the game, although manning won the MVP, of course he could've been 5-16 with 4 picks in that game and won the MVP if the colts won 28-14 whilst scoring 4 defensive touchdowns.the colts keep escaping, you can't escape in the playoffs, you have to win

136 What a statement.... so, if you can't escape in the playoffs....and they won the Superbowl after beating three teams, including your beloved Patriots, in the Playoffs...YOU have proven, given your logic, that the Colts are a good team and above your contradictory criticism. 3509926

2008-12-02T00:08:21-05:00

DeadSerious

Arlington 607325

135 Actually, I think the Colts are just starting to peak. If you look at them, the line and the RBs are starting to play better... while Manning has been fairly below his norm all season.... That being said, I don't see them in the SB right now... The AFC feels so wide open at the moment... 3504549

2008-12-02T00:06:24-05:00

DeadSerious

Arlington 607325

134 The Colts are actually starting to Peak... if you look at them closer, you actually see that the backs and the line are starting to play better. That being said... I don't see them in the SB just yet. the AFC this year feels so wide open. 3504477

2008-12-01T23:53:27-05:00

cute and stinky

Beverly Hills 622822

133 The talent from the "Martz era" slowly went away? No, no, no. That would be the talent from the Vermeil era. Martz was the benefactor of shrewd personnel decisions of Vermeil and Charlie Armey. Together with Jay Zygmunt, Martz depleted what talent the Rams had up front on offense. 3504437

2008-12-01T23:18:53-05:00

Hyperafro

Lewiston 613983

131 The hit on Welker was an illegal hit because he didn't have the ball and Ryan Clark left his feet to hit him. By leaving is feet, he had no control of his body. This is the same type of hit the Jet's safety had on Bolden that broken part of the bone in his cheek. He was fined big and suspended for a couple of games. I would exspect the same for Clark. If he didn't leave his feet, he wouldn't have hit him as hard and still may have drawn a flag but Welker wouldn't have bounced his head off of the turf either. 3504212

2008-12-01T23:14:10-05:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/189/684/thumb/miami_dolphins_bg.jpg 199 CA

DolphinsFanForLife

189984

130 Seriously... i both respect tom brady (yes even as a dolphins fan) and peyton manning. manning is better because he actually calls his own plays, and is the only QB in the league to do so. he understands the game far better than anyone, and both he and brady are HOF locks. all of u who say that manning had all the weapons and brady had no-namers.. lets see. hm... 1)the colts picked manning with the 1st overall pick. im pretty sure the league's worst team did not have many standout players on it. 2) if there were any standouts, how many of them were good before manning came? that's what i thought. manning is so good he makes other players look good, via marvin harrison and reggie wayne being in consecutive pro bowls. its not that manning is surrounded by talent. he develops a chemistry and makes his team look better. 3) the patriots were pretty successful before tom brady came. peyton manning built his team from scratch, from worst and now to first. and lets not forget that brady's team actually had a good defense that didnt give up a million rushing yards per game. 4) u say peyton manning does bad in cold weather? sure he does, but doesnt every other quarterback does as well? he's still highly proficient. basically, i have more respect for peyton manning because he actually calls his own plays, makes the right adjustments, built his team from scratch, and made everyone around him better. you actually think an opposing team would stack 8 men in the box against manning? no. thats what made joseph addai have a breakout year. how about mannings 49 TD year.. the only qb in history to throw at least 10TD to 3 different receivers. do you actually think reggie wayne, joseph addai, marvin harrison, anthony gonzalez would be that good if it wasnt for manning? he has made them better. tom brady is good, but he was brought into an already successful system. peyton manning is his own system. 3504183

2008-12-01T23:12:21-05:00

andifferous

red wing 128225

129 How can a 5-foot-9, 185-pound receiver constantly out-jump defensive backs for air balls? Aren't most d-backs only 5'9" as well... 3504144

2008-12-01T22:49:11-05:00

PATS Suck!

Fort Leavenworth 622735

128 I seem to remember a 2006 playoff game in Baltimore in January against the league's best defense in which Peyton led the Colts on 5 scoring drives. Then there's the Super Bowl in which it was pouring down rain. Oh, and the Broncos games back in '02 or '03 in the driving snow storm. Don't forget the 2004 playoffs in Kansas City in January where the Colts offense went off. I could go on and on. Please, find something new to trash Peyton on. 3503929

2008-12-01T21:59:34-05:00

jhoffman319

Indianapolis 417917

127 Perloff, you say Peyton Manning can't play in the cold, but I ask you, who won Sunday in the cold Cleveland climate? The Colts. End of story. It's a team game, not individual. 3503465

2008-12-01T21:20:35-05:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/373/21/thumb/scotland_football.jpg 39 MO

Saint Louis 37451

126 Well way to cut through the BS and tell us that you didn't watch a game you make a comment on. Regardless if it's the two worst teams, most good writers like to have some basis for their entries, even if it is just a blog. You're depriving a perfectly good hobo a chance at a steady paycheck. 3503084

130

<div class="photo_container image_right"> <div class="photo"><img src="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/don_banks/11/30/week13.snaps/T1_1030_brees.jpg" alt="Double Click to select a Photo" width="298" height="486" /></div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align:right;">Drew Brees and the 6-6 Saints will likely miss the playoffs. AP</div> </div> A weekly NFL breakdown that heads in the opposite direction of your average pro football analysis. 1. Since no one trusts the Titans yet, the Colts are about to become everyone's Super Bowl sleeper. Don't buy it. At some point, they're going to have to play outdoors in January. Even in a win against Cleveland, Peyton Manning reminded us once again that he can't play in bad weather. (Make that cold weather, as readers have pointed out.) 2. Drew Brees' three-interception performance in the Saints' loss to the Bucs should end his MVP candidacy. Can't we just all agree not to give the award to a quarterback this year? So what if Brees and Kurt Warner could break the single-season passing record? Four more guys will probably break it next year. 3. What an ugly week of football. After three blowouts on Thanksgiving, Sunday was just as bad. Here are some of the notable lowlights: A) The Bengals had 155 yards of total offense in a loss to the Ravens. B) I don't care if J.P. Losman or J.P. Ricciardi was playing QB for the Bills, how can they only muster a field goal at home against the 49ers? C) Patriots receiver Randy Moss' two drops may have cost the Patriots a chance to reach the playoffs. D) The Saints dropped everything. E) Rams and Dolphins -- seven field goals, one touchdown. The Dolphins have to stop messing around with these non-Wildcat formations. F) Someone tell the Jets the rain is supposed to affect the offense, not the defense. G) Chiefs-Raiders ... didn't see one highlight, but I'm going to assume this was rough. Heard a rumor about some sort of Sebastian Janikowski running play gone awry, but that sounded too bizarre to be true. 4. The Giants can definitely win the Super Bowl without Plaxico Burress. The offensive and defensive lines are so dominant, their skill players have become virtually interchangeable. 5. Carolina's Steve Smith is the best athlete in the NFL. How can a 5-foot-9, 185-pound receiver constantly out-jump defensive backs for air balls? 6. If ever a personal foul was worth the 15 yards, it was Steelers safety Ryan Clark's "unnecessary hit on a defenseless receiver" against New England. Clark laid out Wes Welker, taking the Patriots' talented receiver out of the game. Welker and his fellow receivers have been torturing defenses, running for yards after the catch all season. Lots of safeties around the league have probably dreamt the hit Clark put on Welker. Hopefully the talented Welker will be just fine. While I understand the emphasis on player safety, as a fan I'd miss bone-crunching hits on receivers over the middle if they completely disappeared. 7. Looks like the Patriots aren't trading Tom Brady after all. If anyone still thinks Matt Cassel is anything more than an average quarterback who benefits from a great system, please let me know what you see. 8. Speaking of system quarterbacks, the Rams' Marc Bulger was terrible against Miami's No. 28-ranked defense, throwing three picks in a 16-12 loss. Bulger has fallen apart since the talent from the Mike Martz-era slowly went away. The Rams made a mistake giving Bulger a six-year, $60 million-plus contract before the 2007 season, especially since they didn't have an offensive line that could protect their investment. GMs better think about Bulger when they make Cassel offers this offseason. 9. Think the Jets might have read a few too many headlines about how they were going to face the Giants in the Super Bowl? 10. The Steelers are playing great football. It's a shame they won't get the chance to compete for the title, since the Giants and Titans are playing in the Super Bowl. Oh wait, sorry, I was thinking about college football. The NFL actually runs on common sense and has a playoff. 27781 http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/397/2/thumb/Perloff.jpg 546 NY

Andrew Perloff

New York 3992