Now that he’s written a column called “I Really Hate the Colts,” at least Bill Simmons can no longer claim objectivity when writing about Peyton Manning. I’ve never understood Simmons’ contempt for the guy. Manning works his ass off. He’s not a show-off. He makes self-deprecating commercials. He gives scads back to the community. Yet Simmons seems to hate Manning not in spite of all of that, but because of it.

I’m also not quite sure I understand the “I hate Manning because he chokes under pressure” line. Simmons team — the Patriots — have frequently been the beneficiaries of Manning’s playoff problems. That’s reason to hate the guy?

Seems that it all boils down to the fact that Manning gets more ink than Simmons man-crush Tom Brady, and that rankles Simmons. Yes, Brady has three Super Bowl rings. Fair enough. Perhaps he ought to get more love from the media (though I seem to see his name and mug pretty frequently, too). But it isn’t Manning’s fault that the press chooses to cover him. And it isn’t as if Manning is intentionally padding his stats to get more coverage. He sat out the second half of most games last year. And the year before, as he was approaching Dan Marino’s touchdown record, he audibled out of several passing plays at the goal line because he didn’t like the defense he was looking at.

I’m also not ready to concede that Brady is the better quarterback. Simmons hints at why with this sentence:

Of course, with the Colts undefeated through eight weeks, the same crap has started up again. Manning is the best quarterback ever. The Colts are unstoppable. On and on it goes. Nobody seems to care that their front seven can’t stop anyone, or that January football is completely different that regular-season football.

It’s that “front seven” comment we need to zero in on. Give Peyton Manning Bill Belichick’s defenses the years the Pats won the Super Bowl, and he’d have (at least) three rings, too. Manning has never had an adequate defense as a pro. That puts enormous strain on the offense, particularly come playoff time. Trent Dilfer as a Super Bowl ring, too. That mean he’s a better quarterback than Manning or Dan Marino?

Yes, Manning has played poorly in the playoffs (though not as bad as some think — his career playoff QB rating is a decent 82.1). I think that’s partially because the Colts don’t get much cold, outdoor practice time (though that admittedly wouldn’t explain last year).

All of that said, I’ll be pulling for my guys with my gut, but I wouldn’t wager any money on them this week. Manning will need to have a spectacular game. Because the Pats front line will likely shut down our running game, and Maroney and Dillon will probably combine for 200+ yards. Our run defense is that bad. And alas, “spectacular passing game” is rarely spoken in the same breath as “Foxboro in November.” If it’s a clear, calm night, and Peyton’s on, we might be able to pull out a 41-38 kind of game. But unless they uncharacteristically turn the ball over, I think the Pats are probably going to be in the 30s. Which means we’ll need a turnover-free, 350-yards-passing effort to beat them.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 3rd, 2006 at 5:29 pm by Radley Balko and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.