Now I hate Manning as much as the next guy. (Well actually I hate his sycophants in the media more) . But the facts are the facts. He's been in Denver for 3 seasons and the team was the #1 seed twice, and the #2 seed once, along with a superbowl appearance. Don't forget Manning wasn't on the field when that S misjudged the game winning pass. He wasn't on the field when his VERY expensive defense failed to show up.
As much as we often look at it, the QB doesn't win or lose games on his own. Football is the great game that it is, specifically BECAUSE it is the game that LEAST relies on just one or 3 players. Some time about 2 decades ago, the media started to frame the game as battles between players. (Romo vs Rodgers, Brady vs Luck) It never made sense even then because those players never face each other on the field, yet over the years we've essentially bought it, hook line, and sinker.
Now we routinely frame the game in terms of INDIVIDUALS rather than the team. One of the great beauties of the game is that so often the SUM can be greater than individual parts. If that wasn't the case you wouldn't see a defense like the Colts who are devoid of a single "brand name player", virtually shut down the most prolific offense in the league over a 3 year period. Remember this is a defense that includes Sterling Moore and Darius Butler.
CLEARLY in this case the sum was greater than the individual parts. THAT's what makes the game so great. It's NOT about the individuals. Hell, the greatest example of this fact is our own 2001 team.
One of the reasons Brady is so good is because he gets this critical aspect of the game. He understands that no matter how much the mediots try and frame the game into battles of INDIVIDUALS, Brady's success or failure relies on the Josh Klines and DA's of the team,
just as much as the Gronks and Revis's. THAT's one of the reasons, he's thrived (relatively speaking) without having a Dez Bryant or Julio Jones,.
The fact that WE have to face is that the Colts are now a team that is operating at a level that EXCEEDS the their abilities as individuals. So simply trying to go down the roster and saying , well he's better than him, and he's better than him, isn't going to work. THAT's the challenge the Pats face this week, and its a real one.
......and once again I'v gone on a rant that had little to do with OP.
