Pianow's Championship Game Thoughts
Off the top of my head, in no particular order . . .
One so-so game, one unreal game. Congrats to the Bears, the Colts, and their fans.
If I ran the New Orleans secondary, and I don't, I would have had Mike McKenzie on Bernard Berrian and I'd take my chances with Fred Thomas on Muhsin Muhammad. When will teams realize that Berrian is the guy who's more likely to hurt you?
Okay, I'll just say it: I'm glad we don't have to look at Reche Caldwell's eyes anymore.
Joe Theisman was trying to make the point today that a Super Bowl ring means more than a Hall of Fame ring. Sounds nice, but I don't buy it. C'mon, would you rather have Dan Marino's career, or Trent Dilfer's? Warren Moon's or Brad Johnson's? Dan Fouts's, or Doug Williams's? Jim Kelly's, or Jim Plunkett's? Most won't say it publicly, but when the career is over, the HOF spot would be more satisfying. (Moon, incidentally, never made it to a Championship Game in the NFL.)
Very underrated special-teams guy Sunday: Hunter Smith. He had some clutch holds that for the most part were ignored.
A play that will get forgotten in the Indy game is the Brady TD throw to Gaffney. When you see it again, watch Brady's unreal pocket awareness. At one point he actually slides the ball behind his back to avoid a rusher, and it's not for style, it's the right play to make.
You're probably sick of the Peyton Manning gush-fest but I have to get in two things. One, his ability to buy extra time and make ad-lib plays in and out of the pocket has improved significantly. Two, Manning understood the importance of scoring AND running clock on the final Indy possession, which underscores even more how he gets it.
I was shocked Drew Brees lost his mind for a second on that end-zone throwaway. That's not who he is.
Who choreographs for Reggie Bush? He's fun to watch, not that I'd punctuate my scores that way. Okay, I can't, never could. Still, tone it down a bit, son?
Ticky-tack calls at critical points always annoy me, and that New England personal foul on the last Indy drive was ticky-tack. Let the players decide the game.
Devin Hester, meet Indy's kick return coverage. Hmm.
I've yet to meet anyone who likes Sean Salisbury's work. I'm not asking for much. One person.
As much as my New England heart misses Adam Vinatieri, there can be no doubt that letting him walk was the right move. Later, the Pats find Gostkowski in the draft, and he's been fantastic (both on kickoffs and on field goals). And while I don't agree with how the Patriots chose to replace Deion Branch, letting him go (and getting a No. 1 pick) was clearly the right move, too.
Of course, you can't fault the Colts for trading in Vanderjagt for Vinatieri, either.
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One so-so game, one unreal game. Congrats to the Bears, the Colts, and their fans.
If I ran the New Orleans secondary, and I don't, I would have had Mike McKenzie on Bernard Berrian and I'd take my chances with Fred Thomas on Muhsin Muhammad. When will teams realize that Berrian is the guy who's more likely to hurt you?
Okay, I'll just say it: I'm glad we don't have to look at Reche Caldwell's eyes anymore.
Joe Theisman was trying to make the point today that a Super Bowl ring means more than a Hall of Fame ring. Sounds nice, but I don't buy it. C'mon, would you rather have Dan Marino's career, or Trent Dilfer's? Warren Moon's or Brad Johnson's? Dan Fouts's, or Doug Williams's? Jim Kelly's, or Jim Plunkett's? Most won't say it publicly, but when the career is over, the HOF spot would be more satisfying. (Moon, incidentally, never made it to a Championship Game in the NFL.)
Very underrated special-teams guy Sunday: Hunter Smith. He had some clutch holds that for the most part were ignored.
A play that will get forgotten in the Indy game is the Brady TD throw to Gaffney. When you see it again, watch Brady's unreal pocket awareness. At one point he actually slides the ball behind his back to avoid a rusher, and it's not for style, it's the right play to make.
You're probably sick of the Peyton Manning gush-fest but I have to get in two things. One, his ability to buy extra time and make ad-lib plays in and out of the pocket has improved significantly. Two, Manning understood the importance of scoring AND running clock on the final Indy possession, which underscores even more how he gets it.
I was shocked Drew Brees lost his mind for a second on that end-zone throwaway. That's not who he is.
Who choreographs for Reggie Bush? He's fun to watch, not that I'd punctuate my scores that way. Okay, I can't, never could. Still, tone it down a bit, son?
Ticky-tack calls at critical points always annoy me, and that New England personal foul on the last Indy drive was ticky-tack. Let the players decide the game.
Devin Hester, meet Indy's kick return coverage. Hmm.
I've yet to meet anyone who likes Sean Salisbury's work. I'm not asking for much. One person.
As much as my New England heart misses Adam Vinatieri, there can be no doubt that letting him walk was the right move. Later, the Pats find Gostkowski in the draft, and he's been fantastic (both on kickoffs and on field goals). And while I don't agree with how the Patriots chose to replace Deion Branch, letting him go (and getting a No. 1 pick) was clearly the right move, too.
Of course, you can't fault the Colts for trading in Vanderjagt for Vinatieri, either.
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Entry #116948699195430238 posted by Catherine Salfino at 12:28 PM
