Ahh, football

Just finished watching the Indianapolis at San Diego game. One question: how is it that Peyton Manning loses every playoff game he's supposed to win, yet every announcer is convinced that he'll come through in the end? Did that one Super Bowl win against an plucky but outmanned Chicago team really fool everyone this much? He's won three MVP's, which is an amazing accomplishment, don't get me wrong, and lead each of those teams to 12-4 records. His record in the playoffs during those years? 3-3. And he's never sniffed the Super Bowl in those seasons, the closest call being making the AFC Championship Game in 2003 and getting pasted by the Patriots in the snow at Foxborough, a game in which Manning threw 4 picks.

Yet, all we hear about in the playoffs is "Oh boy, you don't want Peyton Manning to have the ball at the end of the game!" I wonder if the evidence in this game will change that: playing with a three point lead, Manning was miserable in the 4th, including two drives where he first couldn't get the Colts out of their own endzone, nearly taking a safety in the process, and the drive to finish the quarter where he struggled to move downfield for a potential Adam Vinatieri game-winner, eventually kneeling down with one second left instead of taking one last no-lose shot at the endzone. (Admittedly, though, a lot of this was caused by San Diego's defence, who played their hearts out in this game.) That was basically Manning saying to his team "Let's just start pray really hard we get the coin toss," which, as we know, he didn't, and the Colts ended up never touching the ball again.

Which moves to the next topic: How far can the Chargers go? They looked great in this game, especially on the defensive side of the ball. And that was without question the best offence they'll see in the playoffs, at least in the AFC. Unfortunately, it was also the worst defence they'll see, and even then the Chargers struggled to score points and made too many dumb turnovers. Sure, maybe they can hold the Steelers and Titans offenses under 20, but would anyone bet that they can put up 20 on those D's? Seeing LaDanian Tomlinson play more than two quarter would be nice, because I'm guessing that Darren Sproles doesn't have too many 300+ all-purpose-yards games in him.