The Post Mortem

Peyton Manning is the best regular-season quarterback in NFL history. And that is no knock. (Well, maybe a little.) If there is any quarterback who is going to kill off the 1972 Dolphins, it is going to be Gomer. The dude is unstoppable in the regular season.

But the main reason Manning has so much success in the regular season is because how the games are called. The Colts were bailed out on numerous third downs by illegal contact penalties. Not using that as an excuse, but a reason why the Colts are so good in the regular season. Because those calls are never made in the playoffs. Games are called tighter, which favors the defense and that allows teams to beat up the Colts offensive skill people.

Just take a look at the Patriots first Super Bowl victory when the New England defensive backs were water-skiing the St. Louis receivers. It is just the way the games are called in the playoffs. The Patriots can be more physical in the playoffs (and having Rodney Harrison back, won't hurt either). So congratulations to Manning and another quest for a perfect season, but it just doesn�t seem like it will matter in the playoffs. The Colts ultimate goal should be a perfect season. The Super Bowl will not happen.

AFC PLAYOFFS
Nice game plan, Bill Belichick. He must have spent too much time picking out a new sweatshirt. Way to play the Colts only strength on defense. You would like to think that Belichick was just laying down a good hand to take advantage of the Colts in the playoffs. That is what Patriots fan is likely thinking today.

Looking at the current playoff teams, San Diego and Baltimore would have a pretty good shot against the Colts. How many yards would LaDainian Tomlinson gain against that defense? And Raven is flying under the radar right now, but they would be able to run against the Colts, too. The Chargers and Raven might just be the two best teams in the AFC.

• Anybody else think that Adam Vinatieri would have missed those field goals had he still played for the Patriots? It looks like Manning has fitted him with a new collar.

• Did it seem that John Madden was too conflicted with spreading the man love to both Manning and Tom Brady on Sunday night? He didn't know who to lavish his attention on. Kind of like being stuck choosing between Kelly Monaco and Angie Harmon. Because, that like totally happens all of the time.

• How do the guys at sixteeenstraight.com feel today? At least the site is still online. And shirts are still full-price.
  
  People will now bury the Bears and that will be a mistake. Good teams lose bad games. It happens. And it seemed to happen at the right time for the Bears who will play the Giants this week. How they play against Eli Messiah will determine how good this team is, not this loss against Miami.

• The Favre countdown is at 15.

• It is safe to say that Joe Gibbs has Bill Parcells number. And it is 54 Double D. Kidding. But the Redskins had that miracle 14-point comeback on Monday Night Football last year, but Sunday�s game seemed more improbable. Then again, Mike Vanderjagt is just an idiot kicker. And give some discredit to T.O. for dropping a sure-touchdown. The downside of this loss? No drunken rant from Lil' Hater.

• The Steelers are done. But only because Sergeant Slaughter won't bench Ben Roethlisberger. The Steelers would still be in the playoff hunt with Charlie Batch. As weird as that seems.
  
  The Bengals are completely frustrating. They are stuck at .500 with no hope. Maybe if this team hadn't spent most of its mini-camp in jail, they would be a playing a little bit better.

• (Expletive) the Panthers. They didn't play, but (expletive) them.

• Hand it to the CBS announcing duo of Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker who lambasted the Chargers and Tomlinson for not being able to move the football against the Browns. Of course, LT scored on a 41-yard touchdown run on the very next play.

• If doing a back flip will get Punch-and-Judy hitter Ozzie Smith into the Hall of Fame, should Marques Harris get ready for Canton? Although Harris deserves more credit for doing the flip in pads.

AND FINALLY
It is an absolute joke that Boise State is not in the Top 10 of the BCS. Two-loss LSU is ahead of them. Playing in that easy conference? There is more parity in college football than anybody wants to believe. Air Force played Tennessee close, and then lost to San Diego State, who lost to Division 1-AA Cal Poly. Does this mean that Cal Poly could beat Tennessee? No, but it shows that the talent is not that far apart.

Further, two-loss teams from any conference should not be given any love over an undefeated team from any conference. At least until the SEC decides to come out of its cocoon and play some tough teams on the road consistently. If USC�the best college football team over the last five years�can make trips to Arkansas, Nebraska (next year) and Notre Dame, then Georgia can play at Boise State. Etc. Having these teams playing big games on the road would make college football better.