Doomsday101
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By Phil Simms
Special to NFL.com
Nov. 14, 2006) -- As we look where we are in the NFL season, everybody is anxious to cut to the chase. They want to know the outcome. Who's going to win the Super Bowl? Well, the Colts are 9-0 … will they win it? The Bears are 8-1 … will they win it?
In these and all other cases, I have a simple three-word answer: I don't know.
I think if you go around the NFL this year, you can find a weakness with every team. Even among the best teams so far in 2006, you can spot some glaring weaknesses. Can the Colts defense do a better job of stopping the run on a consistent basis? Can Bears quarterback Rex Grossman not have an off-the-charts bad game once every three weeks?
Regardless of those circumstances, what always happens the last four or five weeks of the season is that we start to see some separation and some clarity. Certain teams will "find it" -- they will find their rhythm, their personality. Those are the teams that have success in the playoffs. The rest? They will talk about next year.
Take last season as an example. The New York Giants were rolling at this time last year, probably at the top of their game in the middle of the season. But then things started to unravel down the stretch -- partly due to injuries and partly because some key players took a step back. The Steelers, meanwhile, were the exact opposite. They were 7-5 and struggling, but then they started playing really well at end of the year. They found their personality, the quarterback caught fire and they went on to win Super Bowl XL.
I guess what I'm saying is that we can't judge teams too harshly from week to week. There are teams out there that are capable of making a run if they get healthy and start playing well.
What teams are candidates to fit this model? Look at the Dallas Cowboys. For starters, some of their losses already have come in unusual fashion. They've got a lot of high-end personnel. The move to Tony Romo quarterback has seemed to lift them a little emotionally, and Romo has played well physically. So the curiosity factor there is very high.
Seattle is another team worth watching. The Seahawks have struggled this season, yet they are in first place in that division. I understand the key offensive players for the Seahawks are hurt, but the defense has struggled despite very few personnel changes, and I don't know why that is. But the return of Shaun Alexander and Matt Hasselbeck will provide an emotional lift for this team. They could get hot. And they proved last year that they can have big-time success.
COLTS HAVE THE ULTIMATE WEAPON
The undefeated Colts face another big test this week in Dallas. Seven of Indianapolis' nine wins have come by a touchdown or less, including four wins by no more than three points. Some observers would call that a sign that it's just a matter of time before the Colts lose one of these close games.
Maybe that's true. And the team's weaknesses in stopping the run and running the ball themselves has been well documented. But what makes this team a little different is that they have something that can cover up those blemishes. His name is Peyton Manning.
All I can say is this: If a team wants to beat the Colts, they had better be up by 21 points with time running out in the fourth quarter. Under any circumstances -- but especially in desperate situations -- I'd go with Manning. When Denver kicked that field goal late in the game to tie it a few weeks ago, I had to suppress a laugh -- there is no way Manning wasn't getting this done, I thought.
Manning is playing at a level to where he is putting a great deal of mental pressure on opposing defenses. He's got them asking themselves, "How do we play this guy? What do we do? Should we be aggressive? Should we play back?"
And the fact of the matter is that it makes no difference. No matter what they do, Manning finds a way to get it done.
That's the difference -- the Colts have the magic gel. Rub it on and it heals their wounds, covers their blemishes. It's called Peyton Manning.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/9802763
Special to NFL.com
Nov. 14, 2006) -- As we look where we are in the NFL season, everybody is anxious to cut to the chase. They want to know the outcome. Who's going to win the Super Bowl? Well, the Colts are 9-0 … will they win it? The Bears are 8-1 … will they win it?
In these and all other cases, I have a simple three-word answer: I don't know.
I think if you go around the NFL this year, you can find a weakness with every team. Even among the best teams so far in 2006, you can spot some glaring weaknesses. Can the Colts defense do a better job of stopping the run on a consistent basis? Can Bears quarterback Rex Grossman not have an off-the-charts bad game once every three weeks?
Regardless of those circumstances, what always happens the last four or five weeks of the season is that we start to see some separation and some clarity. Certain teams will "find it" -- they will find their rhythm, their personality. Those are the teams that have success in the playoffs. The rest? They will talk about next year.
Take last season as an example. The New York Giants were rolling at this time last year, probably at the top of their game in the middle of the season. But then things started to unravel down the stretch -- partly due to injuries and partly because some key players took a step back. The Steelers, meanwhile, were the exact opposite. They were 7-5 and struggling, but then they started playing really well at end of the year. They found their personality, the quarterback caught fire and they went on to win Super Bowl XL.
I guess what I'm saying is that we can't judge teams too harshly from week to week. There are teams out there that are capable of making a run if they get healthy and start playing well.
What teams are candidates to fit this model? Look at the Dallas Cowboys. For starters, some of their losses already have come in unusual fashion. They've got a lot of high-end personnel. The move to Tony Romo quarterback has seemed to lift them a little emotionally, and Romo has played well physically. So the curiosity factor there is very high.
Seattle is another team worth watching. The Seahawks have struggled this season, yet they are in first place in that division. I understand the key offensive players for the Seahawks are hurt, but the defense has struggled despite very few personnel changes, and I don't know why that is. But the return of Shaun Alexander and Matt Hasselbeck will provide an emotional lift for this team. They could get hot. And they proved last year that they can have big-time success.
COLTS HAVE THE ULTIMATE WEAPON
The undefeated Colts face another big test this week in Dallas. Seven of Indianapolis' nine wins have come by a touchdown or less, including four wins by no more than three points. Some observers would call that a sign that it's just a matter of time before the Colts lose one of these close games.
Maybe that's true. And the team's weaknesses in stopping the run and running the ball themselves has been well documented. But what makes this team a little different is that they have something that can cover up those blemishes. His name is Peyton Manning.
All I can say is this: If a team wants to beat the Colts, they had better be up by 21 points with time running out in the fourth quarter. Under any circumstances -- but especially in desperate situations -- I'd go with Manning. When Denver kicked that field goal late in the game to tie it a few weeks ago, I had to suppress a laugh -- there is no way Manning wasn't getting this done, I thought.
Manning is playing at a level to where he is putting a great deal of mental pressure on opposing defenses. He's got them asking themselves, "How do we play this guy? What do we do? Should we be aggressive? Should we play back?"
And the fact of the matter is that it makes no difference. No matter what they do, Manning finds a way to get it done.
That's the difference -- the Colts have the magic gel. Rub it on and it heals their wounds, covers their blemishes. It's called Peyton Manning.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/9802763
Manning can not be beat. They should just crown their A$#. Manning is in his 9th year without even a whiff in the Super Bowl, yet he is the second coming. It took Aikman, Elway, Bradshaw, and Montana 4 yrs...Favre 6 yrs..