NFL Moment Of The Week – Playoffs Week 2

Another week of being torn between 2 different items to feature, both of them concerning legends of the game throwing the ball…

First there’s Peyton Manning.
A few players are deemed to be legends of the game while they are still playing, and Manning is one of them. He holds many of the statistical records for regular season play, but that’s the key – regular season play.

In the playoffs, he has a reputation of not delivering. Whether that’s him folding under the pressure, or team mates underperforming, the results have not been good. One Superbowl ring for someone as good as he is supposed to be? Well, that’s just not enough.

I did see one commentator say “how can you call someone the best of all time when they’re not even the best in their *own* time?”

He has competition for the title of the best, and that’s Tom Brady. As for Peyton, well this week his team went out of the playoffs, and he had a bad game. A really bad game, with some throws that were just way off.

The media pretty much think that’s it all over for him, but he has a multi million dollar contract, so multi million reasons to carry on.

Speaking of Tom Brady, he has *3* Superbowl wins! His regular season stats may not be as good as Manning’s, but the NFL is not geared around the regular season, it’s geared around the Superbowl, and that’s why I’ve been in the Brady camp in the debate of who is better. Whereas Manning’s record seems to suggest he folds, Brady’s record seems to suggest he steps up and rises to the occasion.

This week his team the New England Patriots marched on, with a play that has to be my moment of the week…

Whereas Manning’s throws were way off, Brady was on song, and it was one pass in particular that caught the eye.

"Julian Edelman pass"
He threw the ball to Julian Edelman, who is a wide receiver, so nothing odd there. The thing is, Edelman played quarterback at college, and after catching the ball, he took a throwing stance and launched the ball downfield, resulting in a 51 yard touchdown!

Ha! Some people might say a trick play like that in a playoff game is a great idea, and fun to watch. Others might say it’s disrespectful to the opposition to use a type of play normally left behind at the college stage.

I’m in the ‘fun to use, fun to watch’ camp. Professional sport is about winning, and in a sport like the NFL which is a combination of tactics and execution, why would a move like this *not* be applauded?

So that’s my moment for this week – next week it’s the ‘semi finals’ – ;et’s see what the games bring!

‘Til next Time,
Health & happiness,
Gordon

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4 Comments

  • I do like watching football – but – college is my fav over pro – and I don’t know any of the stats and fun stuff that you and my hubby would know! πŸ™‚ What a great post tho!

    • It’s amazing to me to see the size of the stadia and crowds for the college game. Unbelievable – we only have a few in the whole country that match up to what the colleges seem to have everywhere! I watch so much sport that I have to ration myself – so it’s the pros only for me, and even then only limited games! πŸ˜‰
      He’d know about college plays working, or not working, in the NFL though.

  • Hey Gordon,

    My top 3 current NFL quarterback picks are Tom Brady, Payton Manning, and Aaron Rodgers. Two of them are continuing on to their respective championship games. Payton Manning is showing signs of wear and tear with ball accuracy of late (one reason they are not moving on).

    However, I also mention Andrew Luck (Colts) as an unusual quarterback because he can start out with all sorts of issues but then return on the next possession and forget about what he did beforehand (most other quarterbacks find it hard to shake it when they are having a bad day, they keep it going – but not Luck)

    I am hopeful that this year’s Superbowl will be Green Bay vs the Patriots.

    • You can see why The Colts let Manning go in order to bring Luck in – he should be with them for many years, and has a lot of the Manning positives plus mobility!
      I think with the 4 teams left, the final will be a good game either way. (mind you, we thought that last year…) πŸ˜‰