Silent Chad

If you were to tell me before April that the New England Patriots would trade for a loud mouth reciever who is know to be a "me first" guy in Chad Ochocinco, I would be somewhat surprised.  Then again the Patriots do have a reputation of taking chances on some controversial athletes.  The more surprising thing to me would be how silent Chad Ochocinco has been all season long.  He also is finishing up his worst season as an NFL wideout on Sunday. 

Chad Ochocinco has been one of the top wide recievers in the NFL over the past nine years.  He hasn't even come close to winning a Super Bowl however.  Ochocinco has had very little to do with the Patriots playoff run.  Even though Tom Brady is taking the high road by making it seem like he is a big part of the team, the truth is that he has zero catches and has only played one play in the playoffs so far.

It will be very interesting to me how Chad Ochocinco reacts if he does win a SuperBowl ring on Sunday.  Will he brag and be a loud mouth about it? Or will he do what seems to have worked for him this season and keep lowkey, thinking more about his team rather than himself.



Take a look at this blog by James Walker for more on his first Media Day

Who is better?

Now that Eli has established his elite class, here are some other quarterbacks who make strong cases. See if these players are guilty of being better than Eli, or not guilty with my 'verdict'.

Michael Vick- Case - Vick makes some of the most amazing plays you will ever see. He extends plays, and can string a big play at any time. He is still feared as a dynamic running quarterback too.

Michael's Verdict - NOT GULITY - Vick still has to prove that he can stay healthy.  With every extra hit that he seems to always take, Philadelphia fans cringe hoping for him to get up healthy.  

Matthew Stafford- Case - Stafford put up huge numbers this year with 41 touchdown passes, and also throwing for over 5,000 yards.  He led the Lions to their first playoff appearance in forever.

Michael's Verdict - NOT GUILTY - Just like Eli early in his career, Stafford still needs to work on being consistent with his accuracy and his decision making.  He also needs his first playoff win.

Philip Rivers- Case - Rivers was a Pro Bowler this year and put together another solid season for the Chargers.

Michael's Verdict - NOT GUILTY - I think Rivers had a less productive year this year compared with last year.  He threw a ton of interceptions too (20) which hurt his case.  Him missing the playoffs in that weak division really makes me wonder how with all the talent that surrounds him. Also needs to do something in the playoffs.

Tony Romo- Case - Romo threw for over 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns while throwing only 10 interceptions. He and Aaron Rodgers are the only quarterbacks that can say that.  He also had a very high completion percentage of 66%.

Michael's Verdict - NOT GUILTY - Romo is another guy who seems to not be able to stay healthy.  He is also the NFL version of Lebron James in the sense of him being a great player, but a guy who doesn't know how to make that one play to win a game when it matters.  And again some success in the playoffs is needed too.

Ben Roethlisberger- Case - Big Ben has something that Eli doesn't have and that's two Super Bowl rings.  He has an unorthodox style of extending plays, which makes him great.  He led the Steelers to the playoffs but got Tebow'd in the first round.

Michael's Verdict - NOT GUILTY - although he has the two rings this year wasn't that impressive.  He was 10th in QB Rating.  His style of extending plays gets him hurt very often.  I feel like Big Ben is playing every game with three sprained ankles and a broken foot. 

In my opinion this is what separates Eli from the rest of the quarterbacks in the NFL.  He is the 4th best quarterback in my opinion behind Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, and Drew Brees  If he wins his second Super Bowl we will have to start looking at all time quarterbacks, not just current.

ELIte Class

Prior to this NFL season, Eli Manning was asked if he was in the Elite class of Quarterbacks like Tom Brady.  Eli with his honest opinion said he thought he was in the same class as Tom Brady.  Gary Myers of the New York Daily News shares his thoughts here, along with some interesting polls asking who is the top 5 best Quarterbacks this year. ( http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/giants/experts-agree-eli-manning-nfl-elite-quarterbacks-article-1.1013577 )

Eli Manning has so many important qualities at his position that can't get over looked.  I played the position myself in high school and if I could pick the five most important qualities I would go with these in order; 1. Confident 2. Clutch 3. Durable 4. Accurate 5. Anticipation.

Confidence is huge when playing Quarterback and Eli displays so much confidence in himself clearly with his answer to Michael Kay, but also with his play in one of the toughest places to play in, New York (Just ask Mark Sanchez).  Does Eli breaking the record for touchdowns in the fourth quarter mean he is clutch? Of course it does, when the game is on the line there are not many others I would rather have throwing the ball than Eli.  Durability is next, something that Eli also has no problem with. He leads the NFL with the longest active streak of starts in a row at the position. Knock on wood, Eli never seems to be on the injury list during the practice week.  He may not look it, but he is a tough guy.  This year has been great for Eli because his accuracy is much improved.  His interceptions are down and his completion percentage is up.  Although the Giants lead the NFL in dropped passes, his percentage is still over 60%.  Anticipation is last but not least, and Eli shows a ton of it.  It amazes me how he can complete passes when there are defenders blanketing his receivers.  He reads defenses and anticipates where the ball needs to be to complete the pass. Considering these 5 key components, this puts Eli in the top 4 Quarterbacks in the NFL, the order of those four is up to you.

Gronk Is Not The Biggest Concern

Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez have combined for one of the most impressive seasons at the tight end position.  They both are so dynamic being able to do many different things for Tom Brady and the Patriots.  They can line up outside, inside, and now even sometimes in the backfield.  The two huge targets have done great this season, but I don't see them being the Giants biggest concern.

Matt Ehalt wrote today, for ESPN New York that you can't forget about the 5'9" 185 pound slot receiver.( http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/giants/post/_/id/11793/dont-forget-about-welker )

The Giants find their success defensively by getting pressure on the Quarterback.  This instant pressure that the Giants seem to get on every team might not affect the Brady to Welker duo.  Here are 5 key components to the Welker vs. Giants Defense matchup.

1. Welker himself. As Matt Ehalt said in his story, Welker had 11 catches for 103 yards in the Super Bowl in 07'.  He also had 136 yards in the matchup earlier this year.  The two previous games prove that the Giants do have a hard time stopping Welker, if he has a similar game Sunday the Giants will be in trouble.

2. The Giants pass rush.  Although this pass rush looks just as good as it did in 07' if not better, I'm not sure how much it will affect Brady and Welker.  Welker does his work mostly under 10 yards, he's quick and he gets open fast.  The Giants rush must be perfect to take away the quick throws that have made Welker the second leading receiver in the NFL.

3. Gronk.  Will he play? If Gronk isn't his normal self this will be huge.  It also will change who covers Wes Welker.  The Giants are very thin at the corner position having 5 players on injured reserve.  If Gronk isn't 100% they can play pro bowler Antrel Rolle over Welker to slow him down.  If Gronk is fine Welker might see the un-experienced rookie Prince Amukamara. Keep an eye on who is on Welker.

4. Patriots running game.  If the Patriots are not successful running the ball the Giants will look to have an extra safety in at all times.  The Patriots need to be able to run the ball so the Giants keep three linebackers on the field.  This will have Wes Welker running routes off of linebackers instead of an extra defensive back.

5. Deion Branch.  If Branch is not effective and can't get open, look for the Giants to put their number one corner over Welker.  Webster, or Ross might see him if this happens.