Maybe a bit of a stretch, but not much. They certainly didn’t put forth their best effort to win.
Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if, in some interview 10 years from now, Manning will say that his biggest regret from his career is not playing for 16-0.
I’d be shocked if this wasn’t the case. Hell, I bet Caldwell and Polian say the same things. Heck, I bet Manning fires a couple barbs this offseason.
Peyton lost me after that playoff loss to the Patriots several years back, when he whined about PI so much that the league made PI beyond 5 yards a “point of emphasis,” effectively legislating shutdown corners out of the game*. Such a whiny little pussy.
Then my favorite team acquired his little brother, so karma is a bitch. I still hate Peyton, though. I’m surprised to see people hating on the Colts because of last Sunday. They’ve been doing this for years, and SenorBeef’s description of what they did in 2007 is both accurate (to my memory) and far more offensive. Like, a million times more offensive. What they did this past Sunday was honorable by comparison.
*I’ve been thrilled to see Darrell Revis actually become a shutdown corner in this post-Peyton era where you aren’t allowed to breathe on receivers.
Sigh. Brian McCray got arrested for DUI and several traffic offenses early this morning.
I’ve bled Black & Gold for 40 years. Love my Saints. But damn if they’re not doing everything they can to screw up the best season they’ve ever had.
Let the record reflect Oak is displeased.
Eh, that doesn’t worry me so much. It’s like in the NBA where they cracked down on hand checking and hard fouls. It was creating an un-entertaining style of play, Manning wasn’t the first to criticize it but he was the most visible. All in all I think the rule was an improvement and makes guys like Revis all the more important. Frankly I don’t think the rules were changed, I think they simply were put back to where they were in the 80s. The contact heavy style was the anomaly, not the current one.
I didn’t really remember 2007, but that sucks pretty bad too. I’m not ready to say that teams should never rest starters but I think screwing over your own players and your own fans is a bigger crime than screwing over another team in the playoff race. I’m cool with self-interest, but you have an obligation to the fans to achieve something like 16-0.
Bobby McCray. And he’s not exactly going to be missed - he wasn’t good enough for the pass-rush-needy Jaguars to keep him.
Bah. I knew that. Brain fart.
Disagree about him being missed, though. Saints are getting thin on defense, and can’t afford to lose anybody to stupidity. That said, if the team suspends him or cuts him, I won’t complain. He sure didn’t have anything to celebrate after Sunday’s disaster, and if he was going to drink, he should have called a cab.
If I lost to the Buccaneers I’d want to get wasted too.
Go Bucs! 