You Can Have Him!

So the Superbowl is over and 31 teams are all saying ‘next year’. As we get around to all the offseason business one of the most significant names being mentioned is defensive end Julius Peppers. Peppers is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent. The idea of free agency, at least from a players perspective, is that one will get the best price the market will bare. So for a guy who has had 6 years with double digit sacks and has only missed 6 games in an 8 year career, one would think the market could bare a great deal, and indeed it probably will. In fact one might even say that Peppers could end up being the leagues highest paid defensive player, then again he may not accept that deal, just not good enough. Why do I say this? Because after Peppers worst seasonal performance of his career (2007, 2.5 sacks) the Panthers recognized that they still had an elite pass rusher on their hands and offered to make Peppers the highest paid defensive player, keep in mind this was after Dwight Freeney had received his deal, so Peppers would have been signing a deal worth at least 12 million a year, not good enough. Peppers did a radio interview earlier this month and said that the offer ‘didn‘t feel sincere’. What more sincerity does someone need?
So here it is people, a guy who has his head so far up his bum that he cannot see fit to sign a record deal even after a slump season is no player for me. If I am running an NFL scouting office, I give Peppers a grade ‘I’, as in IDIOT. I know some NFL players are brighter than others, but this guy (and his agent, quite likely) is dumber than a bag of hammers. He would not know a good deal if it smacked him in the face, and a good deal will come March 5th in spite of his ignorance.

By: Matthew Walden & Aaron Tull

Super Thoughts

Ok, so I know the few of your in the free world who wither away your lives by reading this blog are looking to make me eat some crow for saying that this game would be all offense, all day. Listen, the defenses played a part, but when the losing quarterback completed over 65% of his passes and only 1 turnover was created the whole game through, I have to be given some credit.
Furthermore, I contend that the big nail-in-the-coffin interception-return-for-touchdown by Tracy Porter was not nearly so much a great defensive play, more so a situational hazard. So, if you are still reading this it is probably only to punch a hole in my theory, but here goes it: Watch the play in slow motion: http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-cant-miss-plays/09000d5d81646e9e/SB-XLIV-Can-t-Miss-Play-Porter-seals-it .

The first thing one should notice is that the Saints are in man coverage with one safety over the top. Now focus on the slot receiver to the playside, Austin Collie, and observe how fast he makes his cut for the slant pattern. Then rewind and watch Reggie Wayne. Absolutely night and day, no comparison really. Wayne is supposed to do a slant pattern just like Collie, but instead does a little shake n bake to try to waver Tracy Porter’s man coverage. No dice Reggie. Manning throws the ball where Wayne should have been, but instead hits Tracy Porter in the gut. I played football for a few years and I got a couple interceptions in my day, but none came any easier than Tracy Porters game winner. Seriously, look at where Porter is standing when the ball is thrown, the ball literally would have given him a charlie-horse on the leg if he had not caught it. Not taking anything away from porter, he did his job, but let’s not create another Larry Brown episode OK people?

By: Matthew Walden & Aaron Tull

Wayne not Manning

I am a huge believer that football is a team sport. It takes everyone on the field to win or lose a game. Each effort on every play is equally important. One play can decide a game, a season or even a championship. No single triumph or mistake is the reason for success or failure. That being said, there are some actions whose consequences are greater than others.

Peyton Manning is getting a lot of flak for his late game interception during Sundays Super Bowl that all but sealed the victory for the New Orleans Saints. Many are saying that he lost them the game on one pass. Peyton has even taken the blame for the Mistake that was made, and that is the sign of a great leader. However, that play was not Peyton’s fault, nor was it the fault of the Indianapolis Colts team. The Colts were the better team in this game, and I thought out played the Saints even without their second best player (Dwight Freeney).

So who does the blame fall on? As much as I hate to say it, Reggie Wayne! He is one of the most underrated players of all time, and a staple of the Colts dynasty. His play is part of what has made the Colts so great for so long. All the same, he is the reason for the late game interception, not Manning. If you review the play, Wayne was on an option route. It was Wayne’s responsibility to recognize the coverage (Tracy Porter) playing off the receiver heads up. That reads as a slant route. Instead, Wayne ran a flag route. When a quarterback throws the ball, he does it before the receiver makes a move so the coverage can’t jump that pass (get in front of the receiver and intercept the ball). If Wayne had cut under the cornerback on a slant like he was supposed to, it would have been an easy pass and catch for 12 yards, instead the ball went straight into Porter hands.

To top it all off, Wayne had a relatively easy pass to tie the game with a couple of minutes left to tie the game. This would have at least given the Colts a chance to get an onside kick and the ball back. And we all know that if Peyton has the ball in his hands, there is a good chance he is going to score, especially since the saints had not stopped him all day.

I love ya Reggie, and I would still want you on my team any day. I feel for you, but to those of you blaming Manning, it wasn’t his fault. That was ALL on Wayne.

By: Matthew Walden

Best Worst Call in Super Bowl History

I just want to start by congratulating the New Orleans Saints on their first Super Bowl victory. They had a great season, and brought much needed celebration to a city so deserving. I think they are a hell of a team. I think Swan Peyton is an great coach, Drew Breeze is one of the top three quarterbacks in the league (no longer a two man race of Peyton and Tom), and their Defense was nothing short of stellar all season.

But not that I got that out of the way and can’t be called a Who Dat hatter, let me just say that I am already sick of hearing about Sean Peyton and his gutsy calls. I am disturbed at the fact that he is being applauded for his coaching triumphs. I cannot believe that there are so many sports announcers, columnist, bloggers and analysts out there singing his praises. Are you all stupid? Sorry for the word usage there, I know it’s a little elementary and strong, but no less appropriate.

I like Sean Peyton. I think he is a great coach, but that was the worst called Super Bowl I have ever seen. Yeah, ok I know it is easy to sit here after the win and it looks genius, we all know without a doubt that those fair weather fans in New Orleans would have had his head if they had lost the game.

Those calls were ridiculous. You are down 10 – 3 (1 Touch Down) and you go for it on fourth and short in the 2nd quarter? That is the hardest four yards in football. Then, not only do you go for it, but you take your bruiser running back to the outside against possibly the fastest defense in football. Then you don’t learn your lesson and try it again. That is plain and simply idiotic, not heroic. I though Drew said after the game that Peyton trust them, then why did he feel as though he had to score right then.

Second worst call of the game was the end around in the second quarter. One, the Colts Defense is too fast if you hadn’t noticed. Second, the defense has to be cheating for that to work. I mean even Madden players know that, how come an NFL coach doesn’t?

And for the “Best Worst Call in Super Bowl History”, the onside kick. You were only down four points! And that is after you managed to get three before the half ended after your last mistake! Don’t get me wrong, it was beautifully executed and obviously practiced. If it weren’t for the other awful calls that Sean Peyton had already made, I probably would have just called it gutsy, but he was making every rookie coach mistake he could.

The saints won that game, and even deservingly so, but NO THANKS TO SEAN PEYTON.

By: Matthew Walden

Peyton v.s. Tom and Super Bowl, and Super Bowl XLIV

One of the more famous debates among football circles is that over the best Quarterback in the league, or of all time. It is a timeless event for fans and professionals alike. Nothing gets our fan blooded hearts beating like arguing for our favorite players. We take pride in living vicariously through these discussion as if we were a tangible part of those players and teams that we have so invested yourself. This is one of my favorite things to do with friends, and one of the most famous debates over the last decade has been “Who is the best, Peyton Manning or Tom Brady?”

The arguments have been fierce and competitive, but Brady fans have always had one trump card that has been able to hush the Manning fans, and that is the three Super Bowl rings. My question is, does that all change if Peyton takes home his second on Sunday?
Peyton obviously has the statistical advantage. He has 50,000 passing yards to Brady’s 30,000. Peyton has 366 touchdown passes to Tom’s 219. Manning’s career passer rating wins by a margin of 95.2 to 93.3 (I do not believe passer rating is a good indication of quarterback quality; see my article Best Quarter Back Ever at http://fortruefootballfans.webs.com/.

However, Tom has three Super Bowl Victories and four appearances to Peyton’s one victory and one appearance. We all know that is the key stat for most of these conversations. It is the only reason Terry Bradshaw is even mentioned, and what keeps Dan Marino out of the argument.
So, does this close the discussion and serve to solidify Peyton as the winner? The answer is no… Peyton was already the winner.

We all respect Brady, but the truth is, it only took Brett Favre incredible numbers and one Super Bowl victory with a second appearance to be mentioned. Even though Tom has good numbers (including some amazing single season records), he just doesn’t touch Manning.

By: Matthew Walden

Measuring the Loss of Freeney

For anyone who is paying attention to the Super Bowls coming up on Sunday, I am sure that you have heard the news that the Indianapolis Colst’s star defensive pass rusher Dwight Freeney is out (or at bests way less than 100 percent) for the big game. Some of you care already know, but for those of you who don’t, let me measure for you how big of difference this makes in the game.
The National Football League has now become a passing league for those of you who have not been watching for the last decade. Passes account for around 60 percent of the plays run in an average NFL season. And for some teams, like the Colts and Saints, it can be much more. That means that a pass rush is essential to defending against teams like these. So how much impact can a one guy, like Freeney, have on a team’s defense? Tremendous!

Example: Take a look at the Kansas City Chiefs. In 2007 Jared Allen was still a Chief. There defense, although not stellar, was ranked between 10th and 15th in the league (depending on what stats you include). Every other player on defense consistent, they fell to last or second to last (depending).

Not probative enough, then take a look at this year’s Pro Bowl which did not allow defensive pass rushing. The score was 34 to 41 and the net passing yards were 417 and 418 respectively. Those are pretty ridiculous numbers. And keep in mind that they were able to do this with players they are not use to playing with (no chemistry), out of a limited playbook (few plays and formations), and against the best defensive players in the league.

That is the kind of difference a player and a pass rush can have. So how big is the loss of Freeney to the Colts chances at a Super Bowl? Monumental!

By: Matthew Walden

So, for Storylines we have...What?

Ok, it is confession time. I am bi-polar, I must be because I love football but hate ESPN (sort of). Those things simply cannot go together can they? Well my reason is simply this: ESPN takes a storyline of their choosing the week before the Super-bowl and beats it to death like Holly Homemaker who found a mouse in her kitchen. I love the Kurt Warner story, or at least I did before Super-bowl XLIII when that was the only story ESPN told for 2 weeks. 2 Weeks people!! I wanted to hear about X’s and O’s, see commentary on some key matchups, maybe some interviews with players. But no, I was beaten incessantly with stories of a man bagging groceries. Just for clarities sake, I do appreciate the Kurt Warner story, but I do believe everyone heard it loud and clear during his first 2 Super-bowl appearances. What is it that these massive media companies are thinking when they harp on one thing for weeks or even months (thank you Brett Favre). Is it really what sells? Should I be thankful that their was only two weeks separating the Super-bowl from the previous games, lest the story continue to be told 12 hours a day until it was the only story on earth? I know that a vast majority of sports fans whom I hear from and talk to were more irritated by the Favre storyline this summer than entranced by it. Is the sports world devoid of quality storylines? Or is America so easy to reel in and capture that more is better not better is better? I feel thankful that Super bowl XLIV’s players are just good and relatively young; of course this lack of continuity of storyline could put mundane sports writers out of a job. I just do not get why a little quality original writing is so difficult, then again, maybe I should ask my other half maybe he knows.

By: Matthew Walden & Aaron Tull

Pro Bowl Proclaimed

Ok, like many of you, I can’t get enough football. I love free agency. I love the Combine. I love the draft. I love training camp. I love the regular season. I love the post season. I love playing Madden. I love fantasy football. (Please note that I did not say I love the pre season. An article to follow on the subject.) But as much as I love the game, as much as I love everything about it and can’t get enough, I can’t ever seem to bring myself to watch a Pro Bowl. I am sure most of you know what I am talking about. And I hate that! I want to like the Pro Bowl! However, the NFL has done its best to make it a meaningless game. And I’m not talking about the critics that say fan votes shouldn’t count because too many times deserving players get left out because of pure volume of Dallas and New York fans. Fans are what make this game great. I am talking about the venue and the rules.

First off, Hawaii? What about the rest of the fans that would love to see all of their favorite players in person. We might be able to afford a ticket, but a plane trip to Hawaii too? Don’t think so! So hats off to the Commissioner this year for bringing the game back to American soil (yes I know Hawaii is a State, but come on, it’s funny and we were all thinking it.

Next, the rules. Can’t hit quarterbacks. Can’t blitz. Can’t use trick plays. Can’t run any type of Defense or offense you want. ??? Make it a real game or make it a fund game. The NFL has taken both those away, and with it any reason for watching.

Then there is the problem of the game having no meaning. Look at what Baseball has done giving home field to in the World Series to the winning league. That is meaning. And who doesn’t like seeing Kobe and LaBron going at it in the NBA All Star Game. It’s just more fun this way.

But, once again, congrats to the commish for correcting the venue and getting it into a time slot when you average fan still cares about the game. Great job!

By: Matthew Walden

Imperfect Saints

Let me start by saying congratulations to the New Orleans Saints for their advancement to the 2010 National Football League World Championship. Their efforts all season have been nothing short of amazing. The transition they made from the less than inspiring performance of the last couple years into a true juggernaut was testament to the incredible players and coaches there. Lead by maybe the rightful Most Valuable Player Drew Breeze, and a next generation Dick Vermeil in Shaun Peyton, I felt honored to watch you all season. But with that being said, allow me to also say that the best team is not advancing to the Super Bowl in Miami. I know a lot of people would argue with me about the two points that I am going to make, but I think it gives justification to a point I made in an earlier blog I wrote “Super Bust”.

The first point I will make is that it took five turn overs by the Minnesota Viking, including two fumbles they manage to recover, and overtime to win a playoff game at home. I know most of you are screaming that “that’s part of football, not turning the ball over”, and I agree. But if you have a plus four turnover margin at home in the playoffs, you should crush the other team. Not narrowly win in overtime. But I see your point.

Next, I will cite the atrocious calls in during the last drive. It took a questionable spot and a phantom pass interference call, to name two, just to get the Saints into scoring position. How is that possible considering the above mentioned turnover ratio. That’s two merciless in one game.
And my last point. As mentioned above (“Super Bust”), my article addresses the issue of the NFL being the only major group sport in which there is a single game played to decide the champion, not a series. If the same game was played ten more times, the Viking win. It took all the saints had, and some help, to beat the worst the Vikings had to offer.

By: Matthew Walden

Less than Expected

I started this blog as an assignment for a class. I didn’t really think it was going to be that much work. I love football. All me and my boys do is talk football. I just have to write some of these pearls of wisdom down right? Get on the old HP a few times a week and spew out a plethora of football knowledge. And really that is all it takes. I have been openly critical of almost every major sports analyst and network. I have bastardized their work as elementary and un insightful. Save Carucci, Jaws, Sporting New, and a few select others, I still believe that to be true. However, I more than underestimated the amount of work that it takes, not only to compose a sports article or blog, but to create an insightful piece of writing. Something that goes a little deeper than scores and big plays. Something that goes further than simple analysis. I figured a few minutes a day, and two or three hundred words later, I would have a master piece of fact and figures to woo all, and put those professionals to shame. The sad truth is that I do already rival most of them. But that’s like saying my garbage is better than your garbage. It takes real dedication, insight, knowledge, understanding, time, hard work, research and much more to write a truly good blog. I wish that wasn’t the case. I have to write one of there about every day. I could spend the next month just researching and talking about the sham MVP award. But instead I have to write mediocre article to fulfill a requirement for class. No I am not blaming the professor, I just shouldn’t have taken on such an overwhelming task of becoming the next great sport analyst. So, in short, I apologize for less that inspiring work, but I hope you can take my ideas and expand them.

By: Matthew Walden

Biggest Keys to the AFC NFC Champ Games

I have worked through the numbers, listened to the talking heads and made myself aware of all the information about this weekend’s games. With so many variable, factors and opinions, I found myself asking the question. If I had to pin these two games down to one of those elements, what would it be? Now I know it is going to take more than one ingredient to achieve success, and make it to the big one, but if I had to narrow its importance to one, this is what it would be it.

New York Jets vs. Indianapolis Colts

Let’s not kid our self. The Jets are the underdog her. I love them too. I know they beat the Colts once this year already. They have already upset one good team and one great team in this post season, both on the road. However, they are still the underdog here and deservingly so. So key one. Forget that you played once this year. So often in this league you see a team beat another and forget to make adjustments for the next meeting. Thank you Baltimore and New England. New England though they were going to go out, through another half dozen passes to the rock (Wes Welker), holding off the pressure, and focus on cutting down Flaco’s big arm with a lot of deep coverage. It worked before didn’t it? What happened? Adjustments for Baltimore and non for New England! Flaco didn’t even need to play they run the ball so much and effectively against that deep cover. And without Welker, Tom Brady looked like a seventh round pick against the pressure…Ooops. The best thing either of these teams can do, and the key to winning this game is forgetting they even played this season. So much changes from week to week with injuries, venue, officiating crews and so on. Play your game!!!

Minnesota Vikings vs. New Orleans Saints

I truly believe these two team are superior to the Colts and Jets, and that neither has a real advantage on the field. They are like two run away locomotives heading towards each other on a track. Sure their offensive and defensive systems differ, but show me an “exploitable weakness” on either team. Some would argue the right side of the Vikings offensive line. But that is often negated with a great running back and aware quarterback. Does AP and Favre fit that description? And some would say constancy in the secondary by New Orleans. That is often negated if you can stop the run and drop more back in coverage. Do the Saints who were 5th against the run fit that? I know you want to argue, but its AP. And Favre and Rice are too good to be stopped no matter how many they drop back. Or maybe you want tell me about how poorly Minnesota has run the ball lately. Look, the sun isn’t perfectly round and is full of blemishes in the form of sun spots and solar flare, but would you want to get in its way? Didn’t think so. So what is this games key? I say this, being the last of these two Juggernauts to through a punch, offensively or defensively. It will come down to the last big play of the game. That is the key.

By: Matthew Walden

Peyton Mannning is Good? Who knew

I have marginalized ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and other main stream football media outlets who cater to the ordinary “fan”. They spew out a plethora of irrelevant football news and superficial information in order to entertain the masses. Now I understand that large businesses and organizations like these mentioned cant market to you and me. They can’t build their magazines, shows and commentary around the 2% of National Football League fans that actually understand the game. They can’t give the depth of analysis that goes beyond Peyton Manning is good. The masses are too happy to be Sunday morning fans from September through January. And I am not even knocking those fans. But for those of us that are looking beyond the first round of the draft. For those of us that want to understand how a change of offensive scheme in our division affects our team or league. For those of us who want to know who is really the “best” and not just the most publicized, thank God for good bloggers. No, I am not claiming to be one of these true fan treasure chest, I am just taking a moment to point out a couple of well keep secretes to those of you like me. I currently found a collection of fantastic blogs that I have linked in My Blog List. It is an individual blog for each NFL team provides some great detail about all aspects of your team and others. I encourage you to take a look if you are a True Football Fan.

P.S. No offense intended to the fine institution of Sporting New, your dedication to insightful football knowledge should serve as an example to the rest of mainstream sports media. Thank you!
By: Matthew Walden

Super Bust

Let me start by saying that I love the Super Bowl as much as the next guy. There is nothing like seeing nothing but football on ESPN for two weeks. Granted, I get tired of hearing about things like Tony Romo’s girl friend or Janet Jacksons nipple, but at least it isn’t irrelevant January baseball news or a story about Tiger Woods troubles. I love sitting around with the boys with too much beer and not enough chips. I enjoy talking crap about the teams and playing it out on the latest Madden. I have a great talking about the commercial during breaks, and telling stories about how my team is going to be there next year. However, as far as the game is concerned, I have to say that I think it is the most over rated sporting event in the world. I know this sounds blasphemous to my fellow football fanatics, but here is why.

First, it is a one game series. This is the only major sport (non individual), besides soccer that does have a multiple games series to decide the championship (no offense NASCAR fans). Now I know that is part of why we all love the game. The whole any given Sunday cliché. And yes, I know, it doesn’t seem feasible to have a multiple game championship. But let’s be honest. There is no way the New Your Giants win that game (Super Bowl 42) 2 times out 20, let alone 3. Any given Sunday is great during a 16 game season to see who gets into the playoffs. That is more than enough time to prove your worthiness, but to decide a champion that way is a discredit to the game. We have all seen it before, one bad call or just a single bad performance and that’s it. I know that’s part of the game, but tell me you wouldn’t have love to see Arizona last year or Tennessee in 2000 get another shot at it? My argument is not that this is a possible scenario or that the NFL should even consider it, but just that a champions can even have a bad day or unbelievable circumstances. Look at this year’s NCAA Football National championship. Who wouldn’t want to see what Texas could have done with Colt McCoy in there?

Second, is the two week break between the AFC NFC Champ games and the Super Bowl. Two weeks is unnecessary, and simply a marketing strategy for the National Football League to make more money. Fine, I know it is a huge event, and that accommodations and preparations has to be done, but they have been preparing all year for this. You give teams two weeks off. Distract them from the task at hand with; travel, media conferences, hype, public relations responsibilities, and the list goes on, and then ask them to be ready to play the most important game of their careers. This is an enormous disservice to the fans, coaches and the players.

This leads me to my third point. GET RID OF THE HALF HOUR HALF TIME SHOW!!! I mean who watches it any way. This may not be the most scientific study ever done, but I have asked everyone I have talk to in the last couple days who watches the half time show, and two people out of at least 50 said yes? Don’t get me wrong, I don’t turn the TV because I want to see the commercial, but I would be happier with 30 minutes of hilarious advertisement. That is one way for the NFL to recoup some of the losses from shortening the time between the AFC NFC champ games and the Super Bowl to one week. The ads were down to a mere 3 million dollars for 30 seconds this year. That is 180 million dollars total for half time. Not to mention the savings from hiring some old white guys to sing songs no one knows? Not to mention the physical problems for the players. 15 minute half times were adopted because it was determined to be the peak amount of cooling between periods by physicians for extreme physical activity. And article on the peak performance website addresses this particular issue. (http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/half-time-sport-should-you-warm-or-cool-down-41287)

My fourth point speaks to the way in which teams are assembled in the National Football League. Due to the extreme shortness of the season (16 games) compared to other sports; baseball, basketball and hockey, each game has significantly more impact on a season outcome proportionate to the number of games played. What does this matter you ask? The NFL schedule is set up so that you play each team in your division twice a season. You also play at least one team from each other division (North, South, East, West) in your conference (AFC or NFC). This limits you to play only 4 teams (one entire division) in the other conference. So what does this all mean? 38% of your games are inter-divisional and 75% of your games are played in your Conference. Franchises are forces to draft and acquire (Free agents and trading) players who fit the dynamic of their division first and their conference second. You can’t win a championship without winning your conference, and you can’t win your conference without making the playoffs, and you can’t make the playoffs without being very successful in your division (2-4 Philadelphia Eagles of 2008). In fact, only 4 teams I the last 20 seasons have had less than a .500 record in their division and made the playoffs (http://www.nfl.com/standings). That is 4 out of 120 or about 3%. You just can’t develop a team to compete on a league wide scale. You have to focus on your division to even have a shot to make the playoffs. And making the playoffs is usually the difference between a good and bad seasons, a job or unemployment. You see teams do this all the time. The AFC West is a good example of this trend. Since San Diego had so much success running the 3-4 defense and getting better at quarterback pressure, each team (Kansas City, Oakland, and Denver) have all fallen in line. You can see the how it has the effected their draft over the last few years with KC drafting big meaty 3-4 D linemen and Oakland getting a more mobile quarterback. Maybe these seem unrelated, but go check out your team for yourself. You will see the connection between division, style of play, and player and coach pick ups. How does this relate to the Super Bowl? Teams across conference divides just aren’t built to play each other.

These are just a few reasons why I can’t put much weight on the Super Bowl. Yeah, its fun. I love it as much as the next guy, but to me, it doesn’t tell me who the best team is or who is deserving of the championship. Sorry to burst your bubble.

By: Matthew S. Walden

Its Just the Jets

As the playoffs continue, I find myself reminiscing about great games and improbable champions of past. I don’t have to thank too hard. I remember the Arizona Cardinals transformation of last year from an undeserving playoff team who won an embarrassing division, to a juggernaut one play away from a Super Bowl victory (James Harrison’s TD run back before half time). I think of the New York Giants killing the immortal New England Patriots in 08 with an historical catch by an infamous David Tyree. And of course there were the forgotten legends like Peyton Manning, He and his Indianapolis Colts solidifying Peyton’s place in history with an unexpected title run in 07 after much doubt he could get it done in the post season. There were the great players and remarkable stories like Jerome Bettis finally getting his in his home town of Detroit (06), and Steve Young removing the stigma of Joe Montanan’s legacy (95). There were amazing performances such as Larry Fitzgerald during the entirety of last year’s playoffs, and Frank Reich for the bills in 92. All of these great memories make me look to this year’s class to find heroic efforts, great teams, amazing plays and more amazing players…But as I ponder, I find myself at a loss for those things. I can’t see to find any of that here in the 2009 NFL playoffs. Wait, you say who? The Jets?...Maybe the least memorable ever, I agree. The New York Jet!. But do you know why? It is how they have done it that is so important. It is not flashy play, or new found team ability. It isn’t players who have emerged or new schemes. It’s not the great old vets or new blood rookies. It isn’t even great defense or offense. They are not even in the top 5 of any major post season stats (http://www.nfl.com/stats/team for details). No, it’s is because of the the most underrated factor for successful teams. Constancy! The Jets have the highest turnover margin at a +3, they have an amazing 90 percent 3rd down conversation rate, they lead the post season in time of possession, and haven’t let a play go over 32 yards (not a TD). That’s right. No 200 yard rushers, 4 touchdown passing, 12 reception games to show on ESPN.com (http://espn.go.com/), just disciplined football. I just though since Sports Illustrated (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/) wasn’t going to talk about it, someone should. Consstancy can win chanmpionships too.

By: Matthew Walden, Jan 19, 2010