More on Peyton Manning
 

So NFL Network is re-running the 2004 Pro Bowl. It's fun watching Peyton Manning throw 2 picks within about a minute, 1 returned for a TD, the other setting up the go-ahead NFC TD All with the rules favoring the offense.

what is this 'Pro Bowl' you speak of?

who even watches the current pro bowl? let alone previous pro bowls?

Somebody is jonesing for some football.

Peyton who?

They showed this in the breakroom at work today. I still can't believe the NFC came back from down 25 to win that game. I mean, I know nobody "really" tackles (and I saw a couple plays where the defender just quit chasing), but to go from 38-13 to 55-52 is still a hell of a 2nd half comeback.

i heard an interesting theory about him the other day, that the reason he can't hack it against top flight competition is that he won't throw junk balls down the field, that he'll always make the "right" decision and dump it off (so well coached teams will let him to that and make the tackle), rather than letting his reciever make a play down the field. i havent seen manning play enough to know, but chris simms had that problem, except he would just normally get sacked. seems plausible

Yep. He is one awful quarterback. I expect he will be out of the league in no time at all. That Sorgi kid is going to take his job next season.

You sound more like a jealous fan who just wants to trash Manning because deep down you know that he is one of the best QB's in the league today. I'm sure if he was on your favourite team, you'd be praising him to no end.

Also, the 2004 Pro Bowl used the 2004 rules...and there were NO rules changes anyway so it doesn't matter. Changing rules and actually using rules are two different things.

Isn't it going to be balcked out in Hawaii this year?

Wouldn't it be funny to find out that the espn ratings went up due to blacking out the pro bowl?

Just fueling the fire of the ongoing debate about Peyton Manning. He's in the Pro Bowl for goodness sakes, not being blitzed at all, and he hands 2 TDs over to the NFC.


Well, you're not allowed to blitz at all in the Pro Bowl for one thing. The Pro Bowl rules differ from the regular season every year, and they generally favor the offense.

Most Passes Had Intercepted, Game
5 Jim Hart, St. Louis, 1977
4 Ken Stabler, Oakland, 1974
3 Dan Fouts, San Diego, 1986
Mark Rypien, Washington, 1990
Steve Young, San Francisco, 1993
Jim Harbaugh, Indianapolis, 1996
Vinny Testaverde, N.Y. Jets, 1999

So, let's see here...

Dan Fouts, Hall of Famer, threw three in one Pro Bowl game.
Steve Young, another Hall of Famer, threw three in one Pro Bowl game.

What was your point about throwing two interceptions in one Pro Bowl game again?

http://ww2.nfl.com/probowl/2002/alltimestats.html

That it was funny watching Manning blow a 25-point lead...

While I agree that there were no actual rules changes, I think it's pretty clear that the game changed significantly because they started interpreting the rule in a different way (from ignoring it to actually calling it). I think it's safe to assume that when someone says 'the rules changed' they simply mean the game changed. Correcting the semantics is fun, however :)

The real question is.. how does he feel about global warming?

Um, let me say this again since it seems to keep getting missed:

THE PRO BOWL USES DIFFERENT RULES THAN THE REGULAR SEASON. FOR EXAMPLE, THE TEAMS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO BLITZ. MY COMMENT ABOUT RULES FAVORING THE OFFENSE WAS TARGETED AT THE PRO BOWL RULE SET, NOT THE REGULAR SEASON RULE SET NOR AT THE CHANGES MADE FOR THIS YEAR.

Carry on.

2 interceptions equal a 25 point change? Did they get the rare 12.5 point touchdowns on the interceptions?

All right, looked up the play-by-play (http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/playby...040208_AFC@NFC), and it looks like more of the AFC was responsible for the 25-point lead. The AFC was up 25 early in the 3rd quarter after a Jamal Lewis TD run (38-13), with Trent Green QB'ing.

Green is sacked and fumbles, leading to a short field for the NFC, 38-20. Derrick Mason fumbles, another short field, 38-27. Green leads a TD drive that scores early in the 4th quarter, 45-27. J. Azumah has a great kick return, and Bulger hits Crumpler on a 33-yard score, 45-34.

Manning returns to the game, fumbles, and Wilkins misses a 38-yard FG for the NFC. Marvin Harrison then throws an INT, Bulger pushes it in, misses 2-pointer, 45-40.

Manning throws the pick returned for a TD, 2-pointer good, 48-45.

Manning throws another pick, returned to the 2, TD on the next play, 55-45.

Manning gets a TD to Hines Ward, 55-52.

Bulger does nothing, Manning drives to the 33 (actually the 21, but he gets sacked for a 12-yard loss), and Vanderjagt misses the 51-yarder as time expires.

21 points scored by the NFC off 1 INT by Harrison (although that was deep in NFC territory, the TD came on a long NFC drive the other way) and 2 INT by Manning (1 returned for a TD, the other to the 2). A fumble by Manning deep in AFC territory leads to a missed FG. Horrible kick coverage by the AFC is responsible for another TD (and possibly one other earlier). Manning takes a sack to turn the winning FG attempt into a long one.

Manning comes in with an 11-point lead, and between him and Marvin Harrison turn it into a 10-point deficit in the span of 9 minutes that starts with the Manning fumble. He gets a TD to get within 3, but that's it. The AFC is outscored 21-7 with Manning as QB from the 12:46 mark of the fourth quarter. And 14 of those 21 are directly attributable to Manning.

For the record, I wouldn't mind if Peyton Manning was the QB for the Lions.

ANd the New England inferiority complex has officially shifted from baseball to football.

It was fun watching Peyton Manning in the Pro Bowl. What a performance from such a scrub. Who would've thought he was capable of such a thing?

i love haters

The Pro Bowl is the perfect game for him.

And that other scrub, that Vick guy, had a decent game too. Who woulda thunk it?

Got to admit, he shook off last year's demons. Nice performance this year. I didn't get to watch much, but saw the second TD where he hit Hines Ward in stride. Nice throw.

Arguably one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history.