Saints/Bears and Colts/Patriots with spreads (your picks)

Indeed, last year he did great to get them in position after it looked like they were out of it.

But because of his history, it's almost expected that he'll lose the biggest games. Not to Schottenheimer levels yet, and he certainly has a lot of career ahead of him. He just hasn't yet broken through for that big career-defining win, and a lot of players with the talent and work ethic he has picked up that win by this point in their careers.

(NOTE: didn't Manning and the Vols lead Florida by a sizeable margin as a senior before losing? Or was that Florida which led and he engineered a massive comeback? I honestly don't remember).

Maybe he does it Sunday. Maybe this is his year. But he has had chances to prove it before, and has been found wanting. Yes, not always his fault, though he didn't exactly show up in the AFC title game against the Patriots three years ago, and of course hasn't really set the world on fire so far these playoffs. But yes, those losses could often be pinned on his teammates as well. Fair or not, he happens to have been the QB for a lot of losses in playoff and rivalry games.

He is a wonderful quarterback - though I cannot stand that idiocy he does with the dancing and fake audibles on EVERY SINGLE PLAY - and if he can pull it out Sunday, then more power to him.

 

1995: Led UF 30-14 with 2 minutes left in the first half. UF touchdown, UT fumble, UF touchdown, UT fumble, UF touchdown, UT missed FG, UF touchdown . . . 62-37.

1996: Trailed 35-0 after the first 20 minutes. Spurrier called off the dogs, and UT made it look closer (35-29) than it actually was.

1997: In one of the most boneheaded coaching moves of all time, Phil Fulmer starts Mark Levine at tailback because this freshman named Jamal Lewis "doesn't know all the blocking assignments." Well, nobody blocked UF all day, the Gators led 14-0 early, gave Manning about 1 nanosecond to find his receivers, kept a 2-touchdown lead for most of the game and won 33-20. Of course, Lewis starts the NEXT week against Ole Miss (170 yards) and the following week against Georgia (200+ yards).

 

This SEC fanboy shit is compelling. It's also useless. Peyton Manning needed a trial lawyer today.

 

He asked a question.

I answered it.

What do you want to discuss next, my favorite color?

Pssssst, the "A Few Good Men" thread is a few blocks down the street.

 

I don't know. Got any more tales of the epic SEC battles of 1995 to share?

 

Not unless someone asks.

 

I agree with DP, Grossman played well last week. His stat line wasn't the greatest, but he managed the game very well and made great passes when he needed to.
I think he will have to play even better this Sunday to win again, though, because Brees is better than Hasselbeck and the Saints have more weapons on offense.
Also, there was a comment about the Saints having an old and slow secondary, but at least it doesn't have two players who were out of the NFL two weeks ago playing in it.

In the other game, I picked the Patriots, but I have this weird feeling this is the year for Manning.
Colts and Yankees in '07, led by Manning and ARod!

 

Bears 27-20
Patriots 31- 21

 

Much appreciated. The 1996 game, my obviously faulty memory had it as a large Vols lead.

 

DyePack appreciated it, too. ;D

 

If I remember correctly, those epic SEC battles didn't air in these parts. I'm sure we're all the worse for it.

Anyway, back to the NFL: The Tribune actually had a decent but short article about how the Bears wanted to draft Deuce McAllister but wouldn't pull the trigger on a trade. The other RB on the radar? LaDainian Tomlinson.

They ended up with Anthony Thomas.

 

Someone e-mailed me this blog entry. I have no idea where it came from, but the guy has a point.