Are you ready for some Football?!? (NFL)

[John Crichton]

No, it's to not buy the myths of sports that have no foundation.

You call it myth, I call it the human condition or simply emotions.

Coaches, fans, writers, and players desperately want to believe that there are 'clutch players' (mostly to favor people that they like, as opposed to people with better regular season stats). But there's simply no evidence that there is such at thing, at least in the highest levels of profestional sports.

I'm going to ask for proof of this statement here. There are most certainly players who perform at a higher level with the spotlight on. They need it and thrive on it. Others wilt. They are called chokers. The ones that excell are typically labelled as clutch if they do it enough times.

Did John Elway go from being a non-clutch player to a clutch player in his final two seasons, or did the Broncos just have a better team? I'd say it's the latter.

Elway was a very good QB known for his 4th quarter comebacks. In his later years he finally got a star running back and elevated his game. Football is not the best sport to measure individual efforts as there are more players on the field that in any of the other major sports. Kickers are a big exception because of the individual plays and limited opportunities they get. Elway was a player who made clutch plays over the course of his career but he needed the right system and a running back to win the big one. That is usually the case with football. The bottom line in this situation was that Denver needed someone to make the big plays when it counted and Elway was there to do it.

Did Ameile Mauresmo suddenly figure out how to not choke in big matches this year (where she won two grand slams, after losing in lots of semifinals and finals throughout her career before this year), or was she just playing better this year? I'd bet it's the latter.

It could be that the competition wasn't as good. I don't follow the sport.

 

[jonathan swift]

Today's game so far is a perfect example of how panicky Peyton Manning gets when things aren't going his way. Half his passes in the second half haven't been anywhere close to catchable.

 

[Crothian]

Bengals looking good. Indy is getting spanked hard. Giants are looking like they may get that all important win. New England also losing. KC losing which is good. Lots of interesting things happeneing today!!

 

[jonathan swift]

Bengals looking good. Indy is getting spanked hard. Giants are looking like they may get that all important win. New England also losing. KC losing which is good. Lots of interesting things happeneing today!!

Definately a big day in the AFC. Things will really start shaking out in the AFC once today is over.

 

[Crothian]

Chargers are just looking amazing. If they can avoid the Ravens they might just make it to a Superbowl win.

 

[DaveMage]

Jaguars 44
Colts 17

Doesn't get any better than that....



...ok, yes it does...

Jaguars with 375 yards rushing.

Woohoo!

 

[John Crichton]

Cowboys go down hard. Excellent.

G-men and Philly still in the hunt for the NFC East Title and certainly the playoffs. Big battle next week in the Meadowlands.

I'm looking forward to Indy's return to normal next week when their receivers don't drop every pass throw to them and maybe get into an entertaining shootout. It's been a while since Peyton had 5 TDs...

 

[kenobi65]

Cowboys go down hard. Excellent.

Bwah-ha-ha-ha! Who dat tink dey gonna beat dem Saints?

And, the Pack didn't lay an egg for once!

 

[Gunslinger]

I'm looking forward to Indy's return to normal next week when their receivers don't drop every pass throw to them and maybe get into an entertaining shootout. It's been a while since Peyton had 5 TDs...

What's the over/under for next Monday night? 70? 80?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Colts...not looking good in the late season for some reason...Oh wait- they have no run defense!

Again, someone annoyed the Chargers and paid the price. I'm thinking that to beat them, you have to shoot LT with a tranq dart. The man is going to finish the season with more TDs than some teams will have dropped passes.

Oh yeah- GO SAINTS!

Funny thing- thanks to the vagaries of chance, the 2 teams that were playing tonight as foes will be cheering each other next week, when the Cowboys play the Falcons and the Saints play the Redskins.