Too bad.

He could have discussed one of the most widely watched Super Bowls of all-time and a football game that will be remembered as legen….wait for it….dary!

MVP/MVC:

Drew Brees’ 32-for-39 passing performance, during which he tied a Super Bowl record for completions, was nice.  But for the first time in history the top individual hardware should have gone to someone who never left the sidelines. Player or not, no one was as instrumental to this outcome as Saints coach Sean Payton – who pushed all the right buttons.

His best decision – and the true turning point – was going for the touchdown on fourth-and-goal late in the first half facing a 10-3 deficit. Sure, the offense got stopped on that play but kicking a field goal would have required kicking off – which means giving Peyton Manning field position and a chance to execute the two-minute drill and get back the three points.

Turning the ball over on the 1-yard line only meant the Colts – who can be more conservative than Tom Selleck and more cautious than a first-time mom – would play for a first down and run out the clock.

Payton’s decision to go for it on offense really was a vote of confidence for his own defense, which forced a punt and the Saints ended up kicking their field goal anyway. It was delayed gratification – a sudden theme for the city of New Orleans.

Also considered:

Drew Brees – Think San Diego misses this guy?

Garrett Hartley – The Saints’ kicker’s season began with a four-game performance-enhancing drug suspension and ended with three 40-plus yard field goals in the Super Bowl. Hmmm…

Goat:

Has anyone with such a damaged track record ever inspired so much widespread confidence? Manning’s postseason resume includes a 9-9 record and a slew of disappointing losses, and yet NFL nation deemed it undeniable that Manning would drive down the field for the game-tying touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Instead the man who is credited for his unwavering trust in Average Joe receivers forced a pass to top target Reggie Wayne – when Austin Collie was open on a shorter pattern – and wound up with the most famous pick-6 in the Super Bowl since Neil O’Donnell threw two passes into the breadbasket of Larry Brown.

To compound matters, Manning also fouled up the next drive. After moving the Colts inside the 10-yard line, he called for a timeout – then unsuccessfully tried to take it back. This bonehead move is sure to get lost in the shuffle but if the Colts had scored a touchdown, they would have been forced to try an onside kick because of Manning’s timeout call. Otherwise, will all three timeouts left, they could have kicked off normally and played for field position. If you don’t think this is a big deal, ask Norv Turner.

As long as we’re talking about Joes, this Super Bowl proved that Peyton is no Joe Cool.

Also considered:

Reggie Wayne – The target of 11 passes had 5 catches for 46 yards. Those pedestrian numbers are fine against Jets’ cornerback Darrelle Revis but you can’t become a permanent decoy.

Robert Mathis – Everyone learned his name last week when Dwight Freeney’s injured ankle became a headline. Everyone will forget it this week after a no-tackle, nowhere-to-be-found performance by Freeney’s opposite defensive end.

Most Underrated Performance:

The Saints’ offensive line not only stifled Freeney and Mathis – Freeney’s one sack was the only serious hit Brees took all game – but excelled in the screen passing game. The most notable example is the downfield blocking on Pierre Thomas’ 16-yard touchdown catch, but running backs Thomas and Reggie Bush combined for 93 receiving yards – many of which came because of the athleticism of the offensive line. Besides, how cool was it seeing an offensive lineman in pre-snap motion a few times?

Also considered:

Marques Colston – He made up for his facemask blooper on the second series by finishing with seven catches for 83 yards

Joseph Addai – No running game for the Colts? Tell that to Addai who had 13 carries for 77 yards and a touchdown.

Gary Brackett – The former undrafted free agent turned Colts’ defense captain posted a game-high 13 tackles – 12 solo.

Best Play:

If you’re not a fan of The Who and not quick with a remote control, you probably missed the best play of the game. The onside kick to start the second half showed guts and an example of how much film the Saints’ coaches must have watched to notice such a tiny vulnerability in the Colts’ special teams. Of course, what did you expect from the man who fumbled away the kick? Hank Baskett could have come back to catch the game-winning touchdown pass (ala Plaxico Burress and Santonio Holmes) and his biggest score still would have been landing his wife, Kendra Wilkinson.

Also considered:

Tracy Porter’s interception return for a touchdown

Too bad we didn’t see…

Overtime. Maybe if the Super Bowl ended on a coin flip, the NFL finally would understand its overtime rules are outdated. Remember, Manning’s gripes got the pass interference rules changed a few years back. If the Saints had won the toss and scored without Manning touching the ball, then you can bet that Roger Goodell’s first phone call Monday morning would have been to the NCAA. It would have begun something like this: “So both teams get the ball no matter what?”

Best Commercial:

Not a great overall selection relative to years past – how can it be without Pepsi participating? – but the winner is the Snickers’ commercial featuring Betty White. Who knew the former Golden Girl could take a huge hit and talk smack? And the new slogan – “you’re not you when you’re hungry” practically convinced me to heat up more wings.

Also considered:

Doritos’ man wearing the dog collar

E-Trade’s cheating babies

Google’s progression of a relationship

Tomlinson is due a $2 million bonus in March, but I doubt at this point he’ll make it that far.  He went on to make mention of how he didn’t feel the team was as unified this season and making the comment that “I’m not really sure (if he thinks he’ll be in San Diego next year). I can see a lot of things happening. I just kind of leave it open. I spent a lot of years here and enjoy football a lot and enjoy being around the guys in the locker room.”

Although he has had a tough year this year in only rushing for 730 yards, his first under 1,000 yard season, he mentioned that he still feels he can rush for 1.400-1.500 yards.

Nothing else has surfaced at the moment regarding LT, but I can imagine that many teams would be able to move some personnel around to bring him on board.

Peyton Manning will be attempting to grab his second title and in the process put him one step closer to having his name thrown around with Dan Marino, Walter Payton, Emmitt Smith, and Jerry Rice.  Just think for a moment that the 33 year old still probably has a couple years left if not maybe even 6 or 7, but he already has 10 Pro Bowl selections, 4 MVP Awards, a Pro Bowl MVP, a Super Bowl MVP, and 1 Super Bowl Title.  All that and I haven’t even mentioned his stats yet…

Manning holds the records for consecutive seasons with over 4,000 yards passing and the most seasons with 4,000 or more yards passing in a career.  Those are just 2 of the 31 regular season records he holds.  Wait, he also holds 7 playoff records, 7 rookie records, 5 QB-WR tandem records, 7 Pro Bowl records, oh and just 54 team records. Did I mention that since he was drafted in 1998, the Colts have the highest conversion rate on 3rd down (44.6%)?

This obviously doesn’t count all the major records that he’ll most likely steal from Brett Favre as Manning closes out his career.

If the colts win on Sunday, he’ll have his second title, most likely his second Super Bowl MVP and I can’t see why he might have contention to be called the greatest after that game.  He won 115 games in the 00’s, he puts the team on his shoulders (in 2009 he had 7 4th quarter comeback wins), and at times looks like he is unbeatable (completed 82% of his passes in December 2008).

I didn’t get to see some of the other great players our parents claim were unstoppable, but every time Peyton is on the field I see something amazing and outside of a couple games, there is nothing that can stop him.  He trains and studies like no other and he has never been the center of controversy.

To me, he is 1 win away.

He is the quarterback who threw an interception on his team’s final offensive play in a NFC championship game loss – and maybe on the final pass of his Hall of Fame career.

There is a lot of irony in the symmetrical stories but the next 24 hours could serve as the point of divergence. It is the period that will serve as the litmus test for how far the once-beloved Favre has fallen from grace.

Two years ago, after his overtime interception cost the Green Bay Packers against the New York Giants, every football-watching American understood that the mere idea of Favre’s final pass being an interception was unjust.

Tears were shed for the hero who was dealt a villain’s ending.

Will anyone share that opinion this year? Will anyone still pity Favre after a two-year journey in which he has looked spoiled, selfish and greedy?

Or will his tarnished image lead to calls that the potential send-off served Favre right for being too much of a gambler in a big spot?

The only things we know for sure are not to expect a quick decision on whether or not the 40-year-old gunslinger will be back again next season and not to believe that decision.

Call it karma.

Call it bad luck.

Call it whatever you like.

But Favre again has been cast in a villain’s ending, and this time the role fits him much better.

Now I am not saying that Norv Turner is some god of coaching or he would be the person I would want to coach my team, but look at the stats for a moment.

Under his direction the Chargers are 32-16 in the regular season, winning their division, albeit an easier one, 3 times. So before we go any further, let’s put this in our minds – Averaging 10.6 wins and hasn’t lost his division yet or not made the playoffs.

Playoffs?!?! (sorry I had to).  Turner has made the playoffs all 3 years being head coach of the Chargers and has an overall record of 3-3. His first loss was to the Patriots in 07-08.  The Patriots team that came an All-Madden helmet catch play away from becoming the 2nd team ever to go undefeated. The 08-09 loss was to the eventual Superbowl champion Steelers and this years loss to the Cinderella Jets.

People want rings, I get it, but give the guy a chance.  He hasn’t steered you wrong, he’s made the playoffs, he’s won some playoff games, he turned around this years team and not to mention his (then) best player, LaDainian Tomlinson, has become just another running back.

It took Tony Dungy (Colts) and Mike Holmgren (Packers) 5 years to make the Superbowl (both won it that year), it took Bill Parcells and Tom Coughlin (Giants) both 4 years to get there, and it took Bill Cowher 14 seasons to Win a Superbowl, Tom Landry (Cowboys) needed 12 years to win it, Chuck Noll coached in steel town for 6 years before he got his shot at the big one, and poor Marv Levy.

If you look at the top 20 coaches of all time by number of wins, obviously coaches that won a ton, only 2 other coaches have won their division 3 times in their first 3 years (Paul Brown with the Browns and Chuck Knox with the LA Rams).

Give the man a break Charger fans, he might just be due.

Sports work in mysterious ways with a bounce or missed call causing your season to be a disaster. In the Jets case they have pretty much relied on their defense, a defense no one can argue against, to keep them in games and put them in positions to win. You have to believe Rex Ryan has planned this for Mark Sanchez, who is now tied for the Jets all time leader in playoff victories (2), to not have to win any games under any circumstance.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. The Jets blew a 3-0 start and put themselves in a position where they were 4-6. 4-6 is pretty much done. Then miracles happened. They won 5 of their next 6 and got every team that they needed to lose to lose. Many people will say they got a “gift wrapped” playoff spot, but the bottom line is, they beat the teams on the field. You can’t fault the Jets for beating the backup Colts. They didn’t tell them to pull their starters, they didn’t pay the other teams to lose. The bottom line is, they won the games they needed to win and other teams lost. Give them that respect.

They came into the playoffs did the same thing they did in the final 6 games: Let the defense put you in a position to try to break a big play or catch some bounces.

Against the Bengals they got a very timely fumble early in the game when the Bengals had the ball on the Jets 30, they got Shane Graham to miss 2 FG’s, and scored on 2 plays of 39 or more yards. In San Diego, they looked like they were done. Sanchez couldn’t move the ball, the chargers couldn’t be stopped, and then it all happened. Nate Kaeding, who I think even Jets fans would say is a top if not THE top kicker in the league missed FG’s of 36, 57 (we’ll give him that one), and 40 yards. They got a turnover which put them in the Chargers redzone and cashed in later on a 53 yard run.

By no means am I suggesting the Jets got to this point by luck, maybe a little, but they deserve the respect of everyone in the league. They play hard and put themselves in positions to catch breaks. Yes, Kickers are 0-5 against then in the playoffs with the average kick being 39 yards, which is probably made 80% of the time, but they didn’t allow touchdowns.

Either way, they have deserve more respect than what they have been given up to this point. They are the best defense in the league and they are the best rushing team in the league. Every team that wins has a great defense (for the most part) and this team does. In the past 8 games they have let up an average of 9 points a game. 9 Points.

Maybe it’s Rex Ryan, maybe it’s the defense, maybe it’s sports fate. Either way the way the Jets squeaking out wins at this point in the season, maybe they have a shot in Indy, maybe they have a shot at the Superbowl as their coach proclaimed a couple weeks back, maybe just maybe there is one more Joe Namath like miracle left in the Jets.

The twitter link sent me to Cribbs responding to something my roommate wrote to him via twitter. Cribbs had posted something earlier in the day and my roommate correct what he had meant (he wrote “census” instead of “consensus”). So you might be asking, “what is the big deal, your roommate corrected Josh Cribbs and he wrote back thanks for correcting me on his twitter account”…

What’s the big deal?!!?!

When was the last time you interacted with a professional athlete? Like actually interacted with him? Not just cheering at a game or reading about them on a blog like ours, but said something to them and they responded? I know this is just via the internet, but still.

Thanks to social media (mainly twitter), now I know what TV show Chad Ochocinco is watching, that olympic gold medalist Apolo Ohno is watching his friend making a Wii character, and Larry Fitzgerald is relaxing after having a day of meetings and studying film. Just take a moment to realize how crazy it is that you can have an insight into a players day to day life, when just a couple years ago the closest you got to seeing a player outside of his uniform was if he was on an episode of MTV cribs.

Twitter, Facebook, and Blogging has all but allowed us as fans, to have access to these players in a fashion that was never thought to be possible. My roommate can write something of what I can only assume is hundreds of messages Josh Cribbs gets in a day and can get a response in minutes. Not a automated message, not a form letter, but Cribbs actually writing back to someone. We no longer need to rely on common press conference questions and next day news. We can get inside information into players lives, watch them interact with each other, and have a better (hopefully) appreciation for the people that we pour our fanhood into every day.

Now I know this is a time rich with sports stories. You have the NFL playoffs, NBA players waiving guns around, the end of the college bowl season, college basketball in full swing, and a possible fight between the two best boxers in the world that seems to be on and off more than 7th grader deciding if he should call his middle school crush. But all this aside, where are the stories about Chris Johnson? I see the Kentucky freshman sensation John Wall everywhere claiming he is the greek god’s gift to basketball. Is he amazing, sure, is he going to be an all-star and break records, unknown. Chris Johnson has done all of that.

Maybe he would get more coverage if he took PED’s or if he was taunting someone every time he got a first down. What happened to appreciating the athlete that went out every day and performed at a high level? Where is the talk of how Johnson is in his 2nd season and only 24 years old giving him a very good shot of rushing for over 2,000 yards again. Johnson has more yards than Emmitt Smith, Walter Payton, Barry Sanders, and Adrian Peterson in their first two seasons.

I don’t know why there hasn’t been more coverage on this subject. One thing is for sure, I hope we can look back on this when Chris Johnson rushes for 2,000 yards again and ultimately flirts with the all time rushing record. All I’ll say is, I told ya so.

That being said, it is rare for me to watch the Patriots play on Sunday- especially when they scheduled up against Eli Manning. But, let’s face it- I wasn’t really interested in watching Brett Favre put the final nail in the Giant’s coffin.  So, I tuned in to watch the Pats take on the Texans.

I was watching for only a few minutes when I saw Wes Welker pull in his NFL-leading 123rd reception.  Then, I saw Welker lying on the field.  I saw Brady, Moss, and Belichick huddled over him. Then, I saw Welker hobble off the field clearly in pain.  Finally, I saw him alone on the sideline, his head covered with a towel, and tears rolling down his face.

I posted earlier about how much watching professional athletes cry makes me angry- how their displays of emotion over the loss of a game drive me crazy.  But, in this case, I actually felt bad for Welker.  For me, these tears were legitimate.  Wes Welker was having the season of a lifetime.  He was leading the NFL in receptions and the Patriots were playoff bound.  What could go wrong? On New England’s fourth offensive play, all it took was one wrong step.  Welker and almost everyone watching knew instantly that his season was over.

Watching Welker alone on the sidelines, inconsolable, made me rethink my thesis about grown men crying because of a game.  Maybe there are moments when it’s okay for professional athletes to cry.  I wanted to reach through the television to give him a hug and tell him that it would be okay and that he’d heal and that the team wouldn’t be the same without him.

Then, I remembered that he was a Patriot.

And that cocky Coach Belichick should have known better than to play his starters during a meaningless week 17 game.  And that I hated the Patriots.  And that Randy Moss will be terrible without his wing man.  And that I hated the Patriots.  And that Tom Brady will not be as awesome without Wes Welker.  And that I hated the Patriots.  And then, I didn’t feel quite as badly anymore.