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Monday, January 16, 2006
Look in the mirror, Manning
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
The quarterback isn’t the only man out there. A great quarterback never made a bad team a champion and, contrary to popular belief, championships aren’t the only measure of greatness. Was Dan Marino a failure because he wasn’t blessed with Joe Montana’s supporting cast? Did John Elway achieve greatness only in those final two seasons?
That said, the quarterback is the most important man out there, and sometimes a great quarterback has to win a game for his team. Peyton Manning had two chances to steer his Colts to the winning touchdown Sunday and couldn’t even get them into overtime.
Before Sunday, it was possible to resist the notion that Manning couldn’t win a big game. Given the right circumstances and a good enough team, surely he’d win one soon enough. But he had the right circumstances — climate-controlled conditions throughout the playoffs, nemesis New England already eliminated — and a good enough team this time, and he couldn’t handle the No. 6 seed.
And he got every break imaginable. The game should have been over when Troy Polamalu intercepted Manning’s pass with 5 1/2 minutes left and the Steelers 11 points ahead, but a protracted review persuaded ref Pete Morelli that having possession for 30 or so seconds didn’t constitute an interception. (Just when did the NFL decide replay should override not just on-the-field calls but common sense?) Manning made the most of that mulligan, throwing two lovely passes to Reggie Wayne, and then the Colts got the ball back with 2:31 left, destiny fully in their hands.
And the man considered football’s smartest quarterback couldn’t bleed out a first down. Manning got sacked twice — later he would cite “protection problems” — and committed a rookie mistake. In doing his pointing-and-yelling-and-gesticulating thing at the line, Manning failed to get a play off before the two-minute warning, squandering a de facto timeout. And while we’re at it, mightn’t a purportedly clever quarterback have alerted his linemen to potential “protection problems” in the course of all that pointing and yelling and gesticulating?
The game should have been decided when Manning was dumped on fourth down, but somehow it wasn’t. Jerome Bettis fumbled and the Colts had the ball at their 42, still with 1:01 and three timeouts remaining, by now convinced that Dame Fortune, to say nothing of Pete Morelli, was fully in their corner. This time Manning managed one first down and didn’t seem to know whether to pursue a touchdown against a reeling opponent or to tee it up for Mike Vanderjagt, whom Manning once decried as an “idiot.” Instead, he did neither thing well, taking only one shot at the end zone while nudging no closer than the Pittsburgh 28.
Just as we now know that Vanderjagt is no Adam Vinatieri, we have further evidence that Manning, for all his awards and numbers, is no Tom Brady. The Patriots know Brady will keep his wits when time is short and the game is tight. The Colts don’t know whether Manning will lead them to victory or shake his head in disgust at their rank incompetence. When last did you hear Brady — or any top-shelf quarterback — blame his linemen after a loss? When last did you hear Perfect Peyton say, “Pin this on me, folks — I’m the one with the ball in my hands on every down”?
Peyton Manning leaves the unpalatable impression that feckless teammates keep letting him down. (Witness the near-smirk on his face after Vanderjagt’s shank.) He might, however, recall what happened the last time he exited a scene. Without the great Manning to shriek and scowl and remind them of their failings, the Tennessee Volunteers went out and won themselves a national championship.
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