Brady Manning Matchup and the Playoff Picture

By Eeeeeeeeegs

I cringe a little when the "Brady vs. Manning" topic gets sensationalized by the media.  Although I completely understand why it gets tossed around.  In reality, they don't compete against each other.  They are never on the field at the same time.

What intrigues me more about the matchup is Bill Belichick's legacy.  I will admit, Tom Brady is a massive part of Belichick's legacy...but it's Belichick's mind that drives it all.  I have always felt that Bill Belichick has been almost as instrumental in the Giants first two Super Bowl victories as Bill Parcells was.  For example, in the 1986-1987 season, our defensive front 7 was a dominating force.  Guys like L.T., Banks, George Martin were blowing up offenses in their backfield.  We got a ton of sacks, turnovers and tackles for loss.  In the 1990-1991 season, just four years later, we didn't have that kind of ferocity on defense.  Belichick, as defensive coordinator, made adjustments based on our personnel.  We became a "bend-don't-break" type of defense and managed to keep ourselves in every game, going 13-3 and squeaking our way to a championship despite being underdogs in the NFC Championship & Super Bowl.

The Patriots have ALWAYS been so objective with their scheme, catering the game plan to fit the personnel on their own team and their opponents' team.  Some coaches approach the game by saying, "this is what we do."  Not Belichick.  First he says, "this is what YOU do, and we're going to take it away from you."  Then he says, "this is what you do poorly, and we're going to exploit it."  Finally, he worries about what the Patriots do well.  So well-rounded.  So objective.  Case in point: their hall of fame QB completed only 13 passes for 198 yards and 0 TD in last week's divisional round against the Colts.  The Patriots scored 43 points, rushing 46 times for 234 yards and 6 TD.  Who saw that coming?  Not the Colts.  And when a defense spends all week getting mentally prepared for a certain thing, and they don't see it...they get lost.  Belichick is so good at shedding tenancies.  It's so ballsy and so brilliant.  He's the greatest of all time.  This will be the Patriots 8th AFC Championship berth in 13 years.  Final TWO of a 16-team conference 61.5% of the time!  Random chance puts a team in the conference championship only 12.5% (1/8) of the time.  They have made the playoffs 11 out of the last 13 years.  They missed in 2002 (9-7) and 2008 (snubbed, with Brady out for the year, 11-5).  If they make it to the Super Bowl this will be their 6th SB appearance in 13 years.  In today's age of salary cap parity?  Masterful.  ALWAYS relevant.  And, I don't know what to expect.

Whomever wins the AFC Championship I want them to win the Super Bowl.  The only NFL team I dislike more than San Francisco is Seattle.  Seattle's stadium (not fans) create an unfair noise advantage that make NFL games virtually unwatchable.  It' impossible for an opposing offense to communicate with his players at the line of scrimmage.  Delay of game penalties, false starts, wasted timeouts, can't switch the play at the line...why play a (modern day) football game under those conditions?  

Over the past 2 seasons here is Seattle's Home/Away record:

Home:  15-1 with an average margin of victory of 30-13 (17 points)

Away: 9-7 with an average margin of victory of 22-17 (5 points)

After all of that, their players (and coach at times) behave like a bunch of thugs.  I can't stand Seattle.

So, I expect to see Seattle win (in that building), breaking the 49ers hearts again.  Then, hopefully the Patriots out-scheme Pete Carroll on a neutral site, cementing Belichick in stone as the greatest head coach of all time and exposing the Seahawks as a team who cannot be dominant without that 17-point home field advantage.

I'll be watching.  Every snap.