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 Peyton Manning
On Wednesday's wonderful Revisiting Super Bowl III piece, Xtra Point Football's founder Mike Cardano spoke about the changes in the game of football between then and now. (Btw- If you've never seen the entire game we've you are in for a treat as you can see the entire thing in the article above on our site.) One of the things Mike mentioned was that the quarterbacks called all their own plays.
If you've really paid attention to what Peyton Manning does at the line of scrimmage you are witnessing something that you might never see again. Sure the game plan is in. Yes he has earphones in his helmet and the coach can talk to him up until the play clock hits :15 seconds. But when Peyton gets up to the line of scrimmage, he sees what he sees and calls a play based on down, distance, time, and how the defense is aligned.
It's truly a thing of beauty to watch. The defensive line shifts, he audibles; an outside linebacker shades the wide side, he audibles again; a cornerback presses, another audible; the safety rotates toward the middle, again he makes a change.
And he throws the ball with such confidence. He expects every ball to end up exactly where he wants it and do what it's supposed to along the way. He puts the ball in the tightest spots imaginable dropping the ball over linebackers and under safety's, under lineman's arms, through narrow throwing lanes created by line blocking, to back shoulders and to the sidelines where only his player can get it.
If you try to substitute defensive player packages, he quick snaps you. If there is a potential challenge that might go against him, he quick snaps again. If there is a long play and you try to get your nickel defense off the field and first down package on, he rushes his players down the field and quick snaps again.
If he needs a quick score, he does that. If he needs to run clock, he does that. He probably hands out the damn oranges to the players at half time.
The entire game is a two minute drill with Peyton. In fact if you ask him about it, that's what he will tell you.
"The way I look at it is it's a 60 minute drill. The game needs to be managed all the time from the kick-off to the final gun" (Peyton...... they don't shoot the gun anymore when time runs out, it sends the wrong message.....)
It will be interesting to see how Peyton Manning operates against the ravens on Saturday. When the Colts met the Ravens in Baltimore in week 11 they beat the Ravens 17-15, certainly a low scoring game for the Colts.
The Colts, despite committing three turnovers and being held to three second-half points, forced two late turnovers of their own. Combined with a few clutch plays, that was enough for a 17-15, come-from-behind victory.
The Colts defense not Peyton Manning and the offense was the story that day. The Ravens, who finished with 354 total yards, drove inside the Colts 30 on seven of nine possessions, but the first six such possessions ended in field goal attempts.
The Ravens' seventh trip inside the Colts' 30 ended when Gary Brackett intercepted a short 3rd-and-7 pass from Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco on the Indianapolis 13 with 2:42 remaining.
But when it mattered most, Peyton and the Colts offense came through. The Colts converted a key third down on the ensuing possession when a pass from Manning to Wayne converted 3rd-and-1 with 2:19 remaining.
"We scored touchdowns, they scored field goals," Manning said. "That was kind of the difference."
Ray Rice
 The Baltimore Ravens offense is two words. Ray Rice. Rice outdone only by the titans Chris Johnson had a Monster year in 2009. In the regular season he had 2,041 yards from scrimmage (1,339 rushing and 702 receiving).
In last week's Wild Card game against the Patriots he had 159 yard rushing (he didn't catch any balls because Joe Flacco only threw the ball 10 times, completing 4, because they were up by so much.)
In week 11 Rice had 71 yards rushing and 64 yards receiving against the Colts. If the Ravens have any chance in winning this game, the ravens have to get Rice 30 touches. Short of special teams play and turnovers, if it's a clean game the Ravens need 40 minutes of possession and Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and the Ravens defense need to make the Colts drive the field each time and not give up quick scores.
The Colts are a 7.5 point favorite as of the writing of this article (although I have seen 7 and even 6.5 in some houses). I have absolutely no idea who is going to win this one. I think this one comes down to a last possession game. My gut says the Colts but it's only a 55% thing in my mind. The way I'm going to play this one s the following.
- $100 Ravens +7.5 (-110)
- $100 Over 44.5 (-110)
Enjoy the games; it should be a fun weekend of football. - Robert Fairchild
Robert is a professional sports gaming professional. He legally wages on professional and collegiate sporting events for a living. Robert is NOT suggesting that you quit your day job and try to wager on sports for a living. He is contributing his thoughts and experience to assist you in a recreational activity that you as an informed adult may choose to take part in.
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