FloridaPatsFan

There is another sport not mentioned here that is definately the epitomy of what Pony is talking about. Golf. Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Tiger Woods all had an ablility to perform a very difficult task under extreme pressure. Its what seperates the Greats from the mere mortals. Tom Brady is going to win more NFL championships before he retires because of his ability to handle pressure and still perform. As the athletes mentioned started their pro careers at an unusually high level of tolerance to pressure and only got better at it over time. This could happen with Tom Brady.

onegameatatime

In an interview, Montana said that when the game was on the line, time seemed to slow down. I think for most people, it psychologically speeds up and people get jittery.

In the 2002 SB, as if we did not need more evidence, 2 things told me TB was special: (1) he took a nap between practice and game time, and (2) if you watch the final spike before the FG, he calmly waits for the ball to come down, catches it with one hand, and hands it to the ref as if it was no big deal. Amazing!

RayClay

Actually top clutch players don't play equally well under pressure, they play better.

Those physiological effects have to do with blood chemistry, nervous system etc.

It is absolutely no accident the same players always come through in the clutch.

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PatsFan-NH

Actually this statement may also explain Peyton's inability to win in the post-season.

The other night one of the preview shows was talking about Eli VS Peyton.

One of the guys was a Peyton fan and he said that Peyton was such a preparation freak that he set up cameras aimed at him from the Corner Back position and then broke down the film to analyze what they saw when they looked at him.

Now on first hearing that sounds very good, very thorough and very prepared. But that may be the key to him. He is such a control freak, that he has to see and think out every option before-hand. He can't compose well on the fly. When the game moves into areas that he hasn't planed for, he can't function well, or sometimes at all. His preparedness has become a crutch because you can't anticipate everything.

Even though he may call 'unexpected' or changed plays at the line, they are probably all thought out and planed for specific situations. When it comes to a real change he chokes, unlike Brady who though he plans and prepares can also improvise. Because Brady is used to working without a net from time to time his stress level is lower and he has less physical problems.

Peyton will never achieve that because his very approach dooms him to failure. The more stress, the more he plans, and the less able to improvise he is, the more likely he is to choke. A vicious cycle.

dante828

This was a great analysis of Peyton Manning. I had never quite thought of it that way before but your exactly right. Peyton gets in trouble when he starts to think too much about what he is doing. In regular season games, against bad, predictable teams, this is not a problem, because Peyton pretty much knows what he is going to see, and nothing really shakes him up. However, against teams like the Patriots (and the Steelers) he is faced with innovative, unpredictable defenses, which cause him to start thinking about everything he is doing. He starts to outthink himself, gets happy feet, starts throwing the ball all over the place, gets frustrated, and starts blaming everyone else.

This flaw is going to keep him from ever winning anything, unless he gets lucky and catches a year where most of the good teams just aren't that good and he never runs into a good, unpredictable defense. However, I find this unlikely.

MDPATSFAN

Happy feet is right!....The more he becomes unglued, the higher those knees go...almost as if he's running in place.

mikey

I thought Mr Brady's most "acute emotional stress" occurred not on the football field, but at his home back during the 2000 NFL draft.

I read he was so emotional distraught that he took a baseball bat and thought about smashing all the cars parked on the street.

True, it wasn't a "life or death" situation, but he was that close to being out of of the league before his career started.

But instead of "flight", he decided to "fight" and repay the team which gave him the opportunity to be who he is today.

.

BJ_McWild

LOL!!! Awesome!!!