***OFFICIAL SUPERBOWL XLVIII Thread***

[IndyColtsFan]

lol nobody considers Elway the greatest QB of all time except for crazy Denver homers.

You would be wrong -- two examples with just 2 minutes of Googling:

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/lists/top-10-qbs-all-time#photo-title=John+Elway&photo=10893561

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ycn-9159433

Elway has always been in the conversation.

 

[glenn1]

lol nobody considers Elway the greatest QB of all time except for crazy Denver homers.

He may have the best "cannon arm" of any QB in consideration for the best QB of all time, but agree that it would be hard to rank him #1 outright.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

He may have the best "cannon arm" of any QB in consideration for the best QB of all time, but agree that it would be hard to rank him #1 outright.

I don't agree he is the best ever (that honor belongs to Joe Montana), but many do and that's mainly because of his physical talents.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Last year, I agree 100%. But their schedule was much, much tougher this year and most picked them to regress and possibly finish as bad as 7-9. I think my own preseason schedule review had them at 9-7. 11-5 was a great record given their schedule and if not for their maddening inconsistency, 13-3 was attainable.

Indy was kind of a mystery to me. They felt like a mediocre team for most of the year, yet they recorded Ws against a lot of the very toughest teams in the league. We found out that Luck can be everything we hoped he could be, but he can also be pressured into making horrendous decisions. A little more maturity and time for the team to coalesce around him might remedy that. I look for them to suddenly snap into form as everything comes together one season and start dominating.

 

[smackababy]

Elway was a great QB, he could run and throw, both exceptionally well. However, number 1 material? Not even close. He'd be top 10, somewhere in there, but there are so many great talents before and after him.


Indy definitely played strange this year. They had some very poor performances, and then had some extremely good ones. I don't know if this is due to possibly Luck just not having the experience, the loss of Wayne, the poor running game, or what. I think they got a bit lucky with Houston's collapse though, not that I expected Houston to win the division with Indy playing well.

 

[Perknose]

I don't think anyone can deny that Manning was the most dominant QB in the league this year.

I don't think anyone can deny that Seattle's defense completely shut him down.

So maybe I'm riding the chicken wagon to Peyton's sack, but I don't think either of those assessments are wrong.

Make room on that chicken wagon. Peyton's sack is big enough to hold us all.

 

[gorcorps]

Elway was a great QB, he could run and throw, both exceptionally well. However, number 1 material? Not even close. He'd be top 10, somewhere in there, but there are so many great talents before and after him.

That's why it's hard to pick a #1 QB. There's so many facets to the position that they all come into play. Elway in his day was known as the "comeback kid" and had records for come from behind wins IIRC. He got a lot of SBs and finally won two when it mattered (the end of his career).

Manning is the smartest QB I've seen. His ability to read (most) defenses and adjust the play as necessary is truly a sight to behold. His leadership demands perfection from his offense, and the discipline they have with him as a QB is damn impressive. A lot of offensive players jump at their own QBs hard count, but Denver knows the count and very rarely gets a false start. It's something that Manning demands and a lot of others don't do that.

Those are just the two best Denver QBs, each great QB has their own strengths but I can't think of a single one that has them all. Arguing over "the best" just seems silly to me for those reasons.

 

[zinfamous]

Two things.

First, I'm amazed at zinfamous' comments in this thread. Never seen him post with so much anger.

Second, agree with much of what IndyColtsFan said. People need to appreciate what a masterful defensive performance that was. One of the best in SB history. You can say Denver didn't play their best but you give credit to the team that got it done.

I was rooting for Seattle only because I don't enjoy Peyton/Brady style football - pass, pass, pass all the time. I liked seeing a precision timing passing offense get smacked down by a suffocating defense. I didn't find the game boring at all even after it got really lopsided. You knew the Denver O had the potential to put up points in a hurry, so there was still that possibility. But the Seattle D was just stifling. I loved it.

I also expected to see something different from Denver in the second half. Maybe they actually did make adjustments but the Seattle defense neutralized that also.

I was still a bit boozed up and angry over the death of PSH, and further angered by that boring ass game!

and you're right--we've all seen Manning and the Broncos put up points in a hurry, so we're all expecting it to start, even near the end of the 3rd quarter, but it just never materialized. Denver's D did look pretty good most of the game--they basically shut down Marshawn Lynch as best as one could hope, and they were also going into the game with no tape on Percy Harvin and what Seattle would do with him on the field.

The D didn't look bad until that throw up the middle where 5 Broncos missed obvious tackles that lead to a TD. I forget the player--a #2 TE, maybe?

 

[SP33Demon]

Oh shit. I made a parody post about how the Seahawks were gonna dominate and you'd be an idiot to think otherwise. Let me go dig it up

edit: Here it is

Yeah I remember that thread, lol. I saw one of my posts also referenced:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=35889527&postcount=14

Where I mentioned that Seattle didn't have a chance without Browner and Harvin and Rice and an OLine. Turned out to be partly true, Harvin was a big x-factor as well as Russell's legs like I mentioned earlier in this thread. If Browner had been in the game, it would have most likely been a shutout.

Seattle also proved that offensive lines are optional when you have a smart scrambling QB like Wilson and enough talent at RB like Beast Mode.

 

[zinfamous]

Seattle's defense literally beat the Broncos, 9-8. The offensive scores and special teams were just extra.

(actually it should be a tie: 8-8--the extra point after the pick-6 goes to special teams/offense )

 

[smackababy]

It's crazy how much contact Lynch gets and still manages to get yards most of the time. It seems like 90% of his runs, he is hit in the backfield and still gets at least a short gain.

 

[smackababy]

(actually it should be a tie: 8-8--the extra point after the pick-6 goes to special teams/offense )

I'd give it to the special teams before the offense. So, the special teams tied Denver in points.

 

[rudeguy]

Make room on that chicken wagon. Peyton's sack is big enough to hold us all.

I just don't get the debate.

Manning owned this year. Flat out. I have never saw anything like it.

Seattle treated his offense like a practice squad. I have never saw anything like it.

Immovable force met immovable object.

 

[rudeguy]

It's crazy how much contact Lynch gets and still manages to get yards most of the time. It seems like 90% of his runs, he is hit in the backfield and still gets at least a short gain.

Once again...

Best running back of the decade. AD and him are very close but now Lynch has the jewelry to break the tie.

 

[SlowSpyder]

Another big post season game, another Peyton Manning 'meh' performance and loss.

 

[zinfamous]

Indy was kind of a mystery to me. They felt like a mediocre team for most of the year, yet they recorded Ws against a lot of the very toughest teams in the league. We found out that Luck can be everything we hoped he could be, but he can also be pressured into making horrendous decisions. A little more maturity and time for the team to coalesce around him might remedy that. I look for them to suddenly snap into form as everything comes together one season and start dominating.

Early on, they were playing as one of the best teams in the league. But around the time of the Richardson trade, and I think because of a few injuries--Reggie Wayne, obviously, they got tripped up hard. ICF has the details, I'm sure, but they hit that weird hump where they were bumbling around blindly.

But those huge wins against SF on the road and Seattle at home were very legit at the time--The Colts were that good. The amazing win against KC in the wild card round shows that the team has the tools to be great.

 

[SlitheryDee]

It's crazy how much contact Lynch gets and still manages to get yards most of the time. It seems like 90% of his runs, he is hit in the backfield and still gets at least a short gain.

That seems to be Seattle's whole offensive mindset. Make slow, steady progress down the field. Pick up lots of third downs. Never lose yardage. Never give up sacks. Never turn the ball over.

It can be so maddening to watch your high powered offense go 3-and-out in a minute, and then watch Russell Wilson & Co. ease slowly down the field for 6 minutes and come away with at least a few points every drive. Defenses are pretty beaten down near the end of games against Seattle because of how they like to play. Couple that with the defensive and special teams scoring and you've basically got Seattle's recipe for success.

Edit: I also think the Saints stymied that offensive plan a little bit in the their playoff game because Cam Jordan and Junior Gallette were fast enough to contain Wilson and force him to dump the ball instead of running for first downs. Wilson's running ability is really a huge part of why Seattle is so hard to get off the field. I also remember the production the Saints started getting offensively when they were forced to go up-tempo near the end of the game. It made me wonder how an offense like the Eagles were running this season would have fared against them.

 

[smackababy]

Early on, they were playing as one of the best teams in the league. But around the time of the Richardson trade, and I think because of a few injuries--Reggie Wayne, obviously, they got tripped up hard. ICF has the details, I'm sure, but they hit that weird hump where they were bumbling around blindly.

But those huge wins against SF on the road and Seattle at home were very legit at the time--The Colts were that good. The amazing win against KC in the wild card round shows that the team has the tools to be great.

That is what is so weird. They started off playing great and then stalled. They were playing so mediocre, even ICF was staying they were a one and done team in the playoffs. That wildcard game though, really showed just how much they wanted that to not be true.

I want to like Luck, he just looks like such a goober though. =(

 

[BUTCH1]

Meh.. you can't argue with his regular season domination over his career. I'd definitely say he's overrated in the post season though.

Well yes, you can argue, the QB with the highest winning % of all time is... Brady@.775
Staubach@.746
Montana@.713
P. Manning@.696
Unitas@.645
Bradshaw@.677
Roethlisberger@.669
Stabler@.661
Young@.657
Elway@.643
Kelly@.631
Theismann@.621
Griese@.619
Starr@.618
Rivers@.617
Marino@.613
McNabb@.612
Cunningham@.611

So there you go, Brady=#1

 

[preslove]

Only idiots will blame Manning. It's not like he snapped the ball himself for that safety, or that his o-line was worth a crap, or he didn't break the superbowl record for completed passes... The QB gets way too much attention from idiots.

If denver played in the NFC West, they'd have been 9-7 or 8-8.

 

[Poulsonator]

it's a joke. Eli is a terrible QB. ....but he still has more championships, and Heismans....

Neither won a Heisman, but Peyton finished 2nd behind Charles Woodson in 1997, while Eli finished 3rd in 2003. So yay Peyton?

 

[preslove]

Well yes, you can argue, the QB with the highest winning % of all time is...

Only an ignorant asshole who knows absolutely nothing about football would use that metric. Seriously, it's funny how Football is by far the most complicated big american sport while simultaneously having the stupidest fucking fans in the world.

 

[smackababy]

Only an ignorant asshole who knows absolutely nothing about football would use that metric. Seriously, it's funny how Football is by far the most complicated big american sport while simultaneously having the stupidest fucking fans in the world.

Exactly how many NASCAR fans have you met? And, let's not forget those soccer fans who riot if their team loses and riot if their team wins.

 

[lupi]

Funny thing is, except for some very fortuitous 3rd down conversions and harvin trick plays, the seattle offense for the most part was negligible.

 

[satyajitmenon]

I just don't get the debate.

Manning owned this year. Flat out. I have never saw anything like it.

Seattle treated his offense like a practice squad. I have never saw anything like it.

Immovable force met immovable object.

Irresistible force met immovable object.

And in this case, I guess Manning isn't really irresistible. Otherwise, according to All-Star Superman, what happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object is that they both surrender.

#everyoneknowthis