Should He Stay or Should He Go?

Will Peyton Manning wear No. 18 again next season? (Google Images)

Chiefs, Chargers and Raiders fans might have cause to celebrate. That's right, even Raiders fans. With recent news that John Fox has been canned as the Broncos head coach and that Jack Del Rio will move from his position as Denver's defensive coordinator to Oakland's head coach, many of the people that made the Denver Broncos team a perennial Super Bowl contender are no longer there.
The Broncos have won the AFC West for the last four seasons and, while Fox and Del Rio have been integral parts to Denver's success, the biggest reason they have won the last two division titles is because they won the Peyton Manning lottery before the 2012 season started. But in  recent years, after neck surgery forced the Indianapolis Colts to release him, the Super Bowl XLI MVP has been playing through a strained quad since his Dec. 14 start against the San Diego Chargers. This could very well be the reason Manning struggled against his former team this past weekend, missing out on a chance to topple Tom Brady in the AFC championship game two years in a row.

But whether his thigh injury was the reason for the Broncos' 24-13 loss to Andrew Luck and the Colts one week ago, football is over in the Mile High City; a city with "Mile High" hopes that Manning would be the savior who could deliver them their first Super Bowl title since John Elway won them back to back Lombardi Trophies in 1997 and 1998. Now, as the Broncos' General Manager and VP of Football Operations, Elway might have to think about something he probably wasn't considering.

What if Peyton Manning retires?

But before you say, "NO-Maha!" or "Say it ain't so-Maha!," the news about Manning retiring is only speculation at this point. The Broncos won't easily be able to replace a quarterback who knows as much about the game as Manning does. In 2010, Sporting News chose him as the 14th smartest athlete in sports. They also would have a rough time finding a guy who has had the same level of success and consistency that Manning has had. Just this past October, Manning connected with Demaryius Thomas against the 49ers for his record setting 509th career touchdown pass. This placed him as the all-time leader, ahead of another legendary quarterback, Brett Favre. And when it comes to being a fan favorite and a marketing machine, you'd be hard pressed to find a better one than Manning. He's done everything from hosting Saturday Night Live to getting paid in pizza franchises for doing Papa John's commercials. That coupled with commercials for Nationwide Insurance, Buick and other major companies, it's good to know he has a few dollars in the bank in case he retires.


Manning will have plenty of time for more commercials if he retires
(Google Images)

However, when you look at the fact that Manning played through a serious thigh injury that could make throwing much more difficult and that he had fairly serious neck surgery before he left Indy, how much longer does he really have to play? Manning is 38 and , while that isn't old by any stretch, that's old for a professional athlete in any sport. Elway retired from the Broncos in 1999 after two Super Bowl rings at age 39. Because of his age, Manning is also a creature of habit. You can't always teach an old dog new tricks and with a new head coach at the helm next year, and not that many years left to play, Manning could decide to hang up his helmet and not bother trying to learn another coach's offense.

Obviously, fans of the Chargers, the Chiefs and the Raiders all hope Manning decides to give it up. He's made life in the AFC West miserable since he got there two years ago, enabling the Broncos to win the division the last four years in a row. Kansas City has not been to the Super Bowl since their win over the Vikings in Super Bowl IV in 1970, San Diego only has a 1994 AFC championship  (as well as a pre-merger, 1963 AFL Championship Game win over the Boston Patriots), and Oakland would simply just like to have a winning season. "Commitment to Excellence"? Not so much. No more Manning, a quarterback who has been next to unstoppable against these three teams, might just make for more exciting, interesting competition in the AFC West next season. Throw in how good the Chargers and Chiefs have it could be a dogfight for the divisional crown in 2015.

While the hype around Peyton's retirement has died down in the wake of the many head coaching shakeups and "Deflate Gate" scandal that has made headlines since Sunday night, come the off season, any news or speculation should return to the forefront. While it would not be all that surprising to see the future hall of famer announce his retirement, it might be just as surprising to see Manning return for one last crack at a second Lombardi Trophy before he is enshrined in Canton.

It will be interesting to see if Mile High Stadium is still "Peyton's Place" in 2015.

Duel in the Desert: Seahawks Look to Defend Super Bowl Title Against Embattled Patriots

Super Bowl XLIX will feature the Patriots and the Seahawks (Google Images)

The matchup for Super Bowl XLIX is finally set. And the two teams duking it out really aren't that surprising. On February 1st in Glendale, Arizona, the defending champion Seattle Seahawks will take on the New England Patriots at University of Phoenix Stadium.

 

For the Seahawks, this is their second consecutive Super Bowl appearance, making the trip to the desert after an overtime win against the Green Bay Packers last Sunday. Russell Wilson and his team will look to defend last year's Lombardi Trophy against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, fresh off a home field hammering on the Indianapolis Colts. But while the NFC title game was a close battle and the AFC game was simply a blowout, both of these games left us with some storylines heading into the biggest game of the year.

 

Obviously, the biggest story out of the NFC is Seattle's return to the big dance after beating a Packers team that appeared to be on the fast track to the 49th Super Bowl. That would've made headlines too because, despite the dominance of Aaron Rodgers, his making it all the way with a torn calf muscle would've been a very big surprise.

Mr. Rodgers' Packers held Mr. Wiiilllson's Seahawks scoreless through the entire first half, maintaining a 16-0 lead going into halftime. Rodgers' completed 19 of 34 passes for a total of 178 yards and one touchdown, while Wilson completed threw for 209 yards and 14 completions in 29 attempts. He also connected for one of those 29 passes for a touchdown.



A very clever Krispy Kreme doughnuts ad inspired by the Pariots
(Google Images)

But Seattle was plagued by turnovers and, despite Rodgers' injury, Wilson's inaccuracy made it hard to score any kind of points. But once halftime was over, it was like a switch flipped and Seattle returned and played like the team that scored an improbable Super Bowl win last season. The Seahawks mounted a charge and with just over a minute left in the game, Wilson handed the ball off to Marshawn Lynch. Known as Beast Mode, Lynch exploded from Green Bay's 24 and ran it in for a touchdown. After a two-point conversion, Seattle grabbed it's first lead of the game, 22-19. However, their lead was short lived, as Green Bay rallied to score a field goal and tie the game at 22.

The game proceeded into overtime and, just three minutes into it, Wilson connected wit wide receiver Jermaine Kearse for the improbable game winning score. This was a very impressive, come from behind victory for a Seattle team that was outplayed for most of the game. Speaking of being outplayed, there was another game Sunday; one that has generated much more controversy.

"Deflate-Gate" has been the topic of conversation over the last week. Did the New England Patriots under inflating 11 of their 12 game balls really give Tom Brady an advantage? Should the NFL penalize the team, especially given their history of stepping out of bounds? (Pun intended). But Colts cornerback Darius Butler when he tweeted the NFL, "So we get to play the game again or nah?" ESPN, among other media outlets have been debating this issue for days now and, because of this, the Seahawks-Patriots matchup has been put on the back burner while we delve deeper into what Tom Brady and Bill Belichick knew during Sunday's game.

After the "Spy-Gate" incident a few years back, nobody on the Patriots team is going to be given the benefit of the doubt. They waived that right a long time ago. Hearing Brady and Belichick talk to the media, both have vehemently denied any knowledge of any type of wrongdoing, both saying that they hadn't heard about any under inflated balls until Monday after their 45-7 blowout of the Indianapolis Colts. Belichick "told us everything he knew" and "had no explanation for what happened," said Thursday that he "honestly never touched a game ball." Coming from a man who is almost as high on the New England totem pole as owner Robert Kraft and who is as meticulous as they come when it comes to everything about his team, nobody in their right mind will believe for one second that Bill Belichick had no knowledge of who was handling the team's footballs before the AFC title game. He also proceeded to pitch his star quarterback directly under the bus, saying Brady's preferences are his own and he would be much more knowledgeable about this issue. However, Brady's speech was no better than his head coaches.



Fans have also been having fun at the Pats' expense
by creating different memes (Google Images)

The Patriots' signal caller stood at the same podium as Belichick at 4pm Eastern on Thursday afternoon and flat out lied to football fans everywhere, with a fake grin on his face like the cat who ate the canary. Brady has said that he likes his footballs inflated to 12.5 psi, towards the lower end of the spectrum as far as mandated air pressure. There is no way we can be expected to believe that he told the Patriots' equipment managers to inflate the balls to anything other than that and it's even harder to believe that the equipment managers would inflate the balls to any less than that of their own volition.

Brady said after he picks the perfect footballs, they are not to be touched. Why would a rouge equipment manager take it upon himself to let air out of a football and risk the wrath of Tom Brady? There is no way that people as high on the food chain as Brady and Belichick are clueless as to what happened, especially Brady.

Former Steelers great Jerome Bettis  put it best on ESPN's NFL Live when he said that this is not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. The only reason this has incident has been blown out of proportion so badly is because Brady and Belichick insist on playing dumb and not acknowledging that they ran afoul of the rules. While it was a competitive advantage for New England, it was not the deciding factor in their game against Indy. Again, they won 45-7. The Colts just did not show up to play. Brady could've been throwing basketballs and it wouldn't have made tackling Rob Gronkowski any easier. The best thing the Patriots organization can do is stop assuming we're stupid, admit to this misdemeanor, take their fine and move on to the Super Bowl.

So now, as this "Deflate-Gate" controversy comes to a head and we try to determine who in Foxborough ordered the Code Red, we move onto the biggest game of the year. Well, we actually move onto the Pro Bowl. Then we get into Super Bowl XLIX, a matchup of two teams with a lot to prove.

The Seahawks are looking to prove that last season's Lombardi Trophy was not a fluke and that they can contend for years to come. Meanwhile, the New England Patriots are simply looking to prove that they can win a game with balls that are inflated to the proper level.

Lone Star Letdown: Controversial Touchdown Call Sends Packers to NFC Title Game

Pump YOU up!: Arron Rodgers' (middle) training  sessions with Hans and
Franz appeared to help his injured calf Sunday (Google Images)

After a game against the Lions that saw one blatant penalty call reversed and another unflagged, the Dallas Cowboys scored the winning touchdown to punch their ticket to Lambeau Field and the next round of the NFL Playoffs. However, at the end of Sunday's game against a stout Packers team, there was another controversial call that didn't go Dallas' way and sent them "Pack"-ing.

Unlike their game against Detroit last weekend, the Cowboys actually led this one 14-10 at half time, looking like the dominant team they were at the start of the regular season. Quarterback Tony Romo, who oddly enough is from Wisconsin, threw for 191 yards and completed 15 of 19 passes for two touchdowns. But while those numbers are stout, Aaron Rodgers looked just as impressive playing with a torn calf.

Rodgers hobbled, but still connected with tight end Andrew Quarless on a crucial 3rd and 4 from Dallas' 4 to draw first blood. But on their next drive, the Cowboys answered right back as fullback Tyler Clutts caught a pass from Romo on 1st and goal from the Green Bay's 1 to tie the game at 7-all. After that, it looked as if Rodgers' earlier scoring drive might have been a fluke.

In the second quarter, the Cowboy's defense managed to get to Rodgers, sack him and force a fumble that was recovered by defensive end Jeremey Mincey. Romo and his offense promptly went to work and made the most of this little gift on the ensuing possession and in just five plays, Terrance Williams caught a pass from Romo that put Dallas up 14-7. The Packers could only muster a field goal at the end of the quarter, making the halftime score 14-10.

But once the second half started, it appeared Rodgers got a pep talk from his buddies Hans and Franz because, while we know they want to "pump YOU up!", it looked like Rodgers wanted to pump up the Lambeau crowd as well.

On the Cowboys first position of the half, Packers defensive end Julius Peppers forced a fumble from Romo that was recovered by another Green Bay defensive end, Datone Jones. On the following drive, the Pack scored a field goal to pull within one point of Dallas' lead. But Dallas answered right back when star running back DeMarco Murray ran in a touchdown that put his team up by two scores.

Down 21-13, wouldn't you know that scoring twice is exactly what the Packers did? Their first score saw Rodgers connect with wideout Davante Adams, once again bringing his team within one point of Dallas. Clay Matthews and the Packers' defense then managed to keep Romo from scoring, something that was beginning to seem a Herculean task. This allowed the Packers' offense to take the field again and, at the end of the drive, Rodgers threw a pass to Rodgers (Richard, that is) and Green Bay was back on top 26-21.



Dez Bryant (88) hits the ground in what appeared to be the game winning
catch for Dallas (Google Images)

That's where the score would stay because, after Romo aired a pass to Dez Bryant, what appeared to be the potential game winning score was reversed because the officials deemed Bryant didn't maintain control of the ball on his way to the ground. As the Dallas Cowboys have found out the last two weeks, the refs giveth and the refs taketh away.

After the game, Dallas' head coach Jason Garrett told reporters he "thought Tony made a great throw, Dez made a great catch on the ball," Garrett said. "Obviously it was ruled a catch at the outset. It looked like to me he had three feet down. What they describe to us all the time is 'a move common to the game,' and Dez reached out for the goal line like he's done so many times. It's a signature play for him. He maintained possession of it throughout, in my opinion.

"But let me make it really clear: This game wasn't about the officiating. We had 60 minutes. We had an opportunity to come up here and win a football game, and at the end of the day we didn't get that job done. That play was big in the game, but there were other plays in the game and unfortunately we didn't do the things necessary to win the ballgame."

Signature play or not, the NFL's head of officials, Dean Blandino took to the Twitterverse to explain why the officials reversed the call tweeting "Bryant going to the ground. By rule he must hold onto it throughout the entire process of contacting the ground. He didn't, so it is incomplete." Bryant also took to social media, tweeting, "as I went to the ground I rolled over and tipped the ball to gain better control. We lost and I accept it but please change that rule."

For those who missed this crucial call, you can watch it here on NFL.com. Unlike the cut and dry pass interference call from last weekend's Lions-Cowboys game, this one is very much debatable and, at first it does appear Bryant makes the catch. But because of how he held the ball, one side of it does hit the ground when he lands inside the Green Bay 1 yard line. The call gave Rodgers the ball at the Packers 33 and allowed Green Bay to run the clock out the rest of the way, ensuring a trip to the NFC Championship game in Seattle and a shot at Russell Wilson and the Seahawks on Sunday at 3 pm. Cheeseheads rejoice!

With just two games left before the Superbowl (the other being the AFC Title game where the Colts will take on the Patriots in New England at 6:30 Sunday night), this Rodgers-Wilson matchup will definitely be the one to keep a close eye on. Sorry Colts fans... he's Tom Brady.

Ravens Rout Roethlisberger, Cowboys Controversial Comeback on Wild Card Weekend

The NFL playoffs are officially here! (Google Images)

 

Christmas is over, the new year is upon us and its time for the gift you give yourself each weekend till the Super Bowl: playoff football!

The four wild card games were played this weekend to see which teams would move on to play the Broncos, the Patriots, the Packers and the Seahawks next weekend. The first kickoff was Saturday afternoon in Charlotte where the Carolina Panthers hosted the Arizona Cardinals. This was the most painful game of the weekend, as it looked more like a high school varsity matchup than an NFL playoff game.

In his defense, the Cardinals third string quarterback Ryan Lindley hasn't seen much action this year. But only completing 16 of 28 pass attempts for 82 yards (one for a touchdown) is rough, especially considering Arizona was one of the last undefeated teams earlier in the year. But on the other side of the football, the Panthers were the only team to make the postseason with a losing record. The mounted a four game winning streak to end the regular season and edge out New Orleans to clinch the pitiful NFC South at 7-8-1. Cam Newton made more headlines in recent weeks for his near fatal car accident than he has for his football prowess. Saturday against Arizona, Newton was a little better than Lindley, completing 18 of 32 passes for 198 yards, two of which were for touchdowns. Newton was picked off once, while Lindley was intercepted twice.

The majority of the game was like watching the Keystone Kops play football. Each team had three fumbles on the day and Lindley missed a couple snaps. Arizona even managed a safety in the fourth quarter to make this comedy of errors even stranger. But despite these two teams lack of playoff poise, the Panthers managed to pull away in the second half, scoring 14 points in the third quarter to best Arizona 27-16. Now Carolina will travel to Seattle to play the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks. Anything can happen in the NFL and the Panthers could win in Seattle, but a Nikon would be a more accurate "Cam" than Carolina's quarterback against Russell Wilson and the "Legion of Boom."

The second Saturday game was a more evenly matched contest with two teams who have a realistic chance of getting hot and making it to the Super Bowl. The Baltimore Ravens visited Heinz Field to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers. The strangest sight in this game was new University of Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh on the sideline with his brother John's football team. After three years of wearing red and gold in San Francisco, he looked a little odd in a purple Ravens hat and jacket.



Ben Roethlisberger walks to the sideline after his big hit (Google Images)

On the field, Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers scored early, but not as often as Baltimore. "Big Ben" completed 31of 45 passes for 334 yards. He also threw for one touchdown, but was picked off twice. Meanwhile Joe Flacco threw 29 passes and completed 18 of them for 259 yards. The Baltimore quarterback also threw two touchdown passes and no interceptions. Just like the Arizona-Carolina game, the Ravens had a one point lead at the half, but after halftime, the Steelers just couldn't keep up with the Ravens. Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil made Roethlisberger's life miserable, with Dumervil sacking the Steelers' play caller twice.

The Steelers night was officially over when Roethlisberger was sacked by Courtney Upshaw at the Baltimore 36 and hit his head hard on the turf. He was forced to come out of the game to go through the NFL's concussion protocol and make sure he was uninjured.  This meant that Bruce Gradkowski filled in under center and, in three plays, completed two passes for 22 yards and got Pittsburgh's offense to the Ravens'14 yard line. But after an incomplete pass to Martavis Bryant, Roethlisberger returned to the game. His first pass was intended for Antonio Brown, but was picked off by Baltimore's Darian Stewart in the endzone, giving the Ravens' possession with three minutes left and sealing the Steelers' fate.

Now, after beating Pittsburgh 30-17, the Ravens will head north to face Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough. This should be a good matchup because, while New England has been lights out at points this year, they were routed by the Chiefs in Kansas City back in week four of the regular season. On top of that, we also saw the Ravens' offense come to life against the Steelers, so this divisional matchup should work out to be a really good game.

What's better than two games on Saturday? Two more games the following Sunday! The first contest on tap was the Cincinnati  Bengals matchup against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium (otherwise known as "The Drum"). Much like the Cardinals, the Bengals began 2014 as an undefeated, competitive team. But they too have fallen on harder times, one lowlight being their week 6 game against Carolina that ended in a 37-37 tie because Cincy's kicker Mike Nugent missed a 36 yard chip shot that could've won them the game.

Sunday, their game against Indy was just as disappointing, maybe even more so than that Carolina debacle. Bengals QB Andy Dalton completed just 18 of 35 passes for 151 yards en route to a 26-10 victory by Andrew Luck and the Colts. While Luck is now 3 -0 in first round post season games, the Bengals have now become the first team in NFL history to lose four consecutive first round playoff games. In their defense, the Bengals were forced to play without the services of star wide receiver because of a concussion. Also on the sideline with back problems was Bengals' tight end Jermaine Gresham. They combined for 1,051 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns in the regular season so clearly both of these men were missed.

Yes the Colts won their wild card game last season when the Kansas City Chiefs decided to hand them a 21 point lead after halftime. Yes they just beat a down and out Bengals team. Yes we are all in for more than our fair share of headlines and puns involving Luck's last name and how hot the Colts are. But now Indy travels to Mile High Stadium to take on ex- Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. Manning is known as one of the greatest play callers in NFL history, making Luck's job very difficult. However, Manning is also known as someone who chokes in post season games (the safety on the first play of the Super Bowl last season?) so the Colts might stand a chance. This matchup will definitely be one to watch.


Apparently running through a receiver isn't pass interference (Google Images)

The final game of the weekend between the Lions and the Cowboys was the easily the most controversial. The league is still coming out with apologies to the players in Detroit for calls that it should or shouldn't have made. Dallas trailed the entire game on the heels of Lions QB Matthew Stafford's 28 completions for 323 yards, but Detroit's 20-14 lead would soon be erased with a blown call that this game will be known for. With 8 minutes left, Dallas linebacker Anthony Hitchens was flagged for a fairly blatant pass interference call on Lions tight end Brandon Pettigrew (see video and Pettigrew's thoughts on this "ridiculous" play here. h/t nfl.com). However, the flag was picked up very late by the refs  and no explanation was given as to why there was no foul. The pass was ruled an incompletion and forced Detroit to punt two plays later, enabling Dallas to mount the drive that won them the game.  Stafford was mic'd for sound during Sunday's game and is heard to yell "home cookin'!" after Dallas took the lead. You can watch Stafford's rant here (h/t Deadspin.com).

Then, as if just to add insult to injury, the league announced Tuesday that the refs missed a hold committed by Dallas offensive guard Ronald Leary against Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, which came on a critical fourth down that could have kept the Lions' hopes alive. This game was shades of the 2012 referee lockout that resulted in replacement officials blowing multiple big calls on an almost weekly basis.

So with all of this controversy, we head into the divisional playoff games this weekend. The Ravens kick things off in New England at 4:35pm Saturday on NBC, followed by the Panthers playing in Seattle at 8:15pm on FOX. Then on Sunday the Cowboys play the Packers in Green Bay at 1:05pm on FOX, followed by the Colts taking on the Broncos in Denver at 4:40pm on CBS.

Unlike in the Cowboys game on Sunday, let's all hope that the best team's come out on top in these crucial matchups.