Brees and Brady
Once in a while a blogger from these parts likes to climb up on his soapbox (do they even make soapboxes anymore?) and defame, demean and debase the Big 10 Conference.
These attempts to elevate his feelings of superiority for his conference by knocking down another are sad, sad examples of a misguided sense of loyalty and honor.
As some famous person somewhere once said, ‘you could look it up.’ Meaning in the most recently concluded National Football League game, the one played on Sunday, February 7th, a Big 10 quarterback led his team to what some might call a stunning upset. I wouldn’t but some might.
More to the point, the Saints QB, Drew Brees, he of the Purdue Boilermaker ilk completed 32 passes in the game. Those 32 completions are a remarkable number considering all the things that can go wrong when you throw the ball. But throw it he did. While two of those passes resulted in touchdowns, they weren’t really very long, one a screen pass that traveled in the air about 6-8 yards. The running back did the rest, and the other a minuscule 2 yarder to Jeremy Shockey, the Jeremy the Seahawks wished they could have had.
The fact is Brees didn’t throw the ball around the yard with laser like precision at the velocity of a cannon, though he is capable of that. He threw it to make the pass defense play deeper than usual, not wanting to let anyone behind them. This helps negate the pass rush and gave him time to find his receiver. Brees was sacked only once and in the interest of fair journalism, Manning never was put on the seat of his pants involuntarily. So both passers had time and protection when they were on the field.
But the Big 10 quarterback from the conference of ‘3 yards and a cloud of dust’ out performed his counterpart. This despite the fact statistically Indianapolis had the edge. In total net yards, yards passing, 3rd and 4th down efficiency, the Colts were superior. In average gain per rush, average gain per pass and kickoff returns Indianapolis led the category.
The final result? A victory over the Colts, who because of their QB often appear to be cast as Goliath. On this day, Drew Brees the oh so accurate slinger in the role of David, beat the mighty behemoth.
And in doing so, tied a Super Bowl record for most completions held by another quarterback from the Big 10 conference, the University of Michigan’s Tom Brady.
I don’t know about you, but from where I sit, it’s a good day to be a Big 10 fan!
Now get out there and take one for the team!
These attempts to elevate his feelings of superiority for his conference by knocking down another are sad, sad examples of a misguided sense of loyalty and honor.
As some famous person somewhere once said, ‘you could look it up.’ Meaning in the most recently concluded National Football League game, the one played on Sunday, February 7th, a Big 10 quarterback led his team to what some might call a stunning upset. I wouldn’t but some might.
More to the point, the Saints QB, Drew Brees, he of the Purdue Boilermaker ilk completed 32 passes in the game. Those 32 completions are a remarkable number considering all the things that can go wrong when you throw the ball. But throw it he did. While two of those passes resulted in touchdowns, they weren’t really very long, one a screen pass that traveled in the air about 6-8 yards. The running back did the rest, and the other a minuscule 2 yarder to Jeremy Shockey, the Jeremy the Seahawks wished they could have had.
The fact is Brees didn’t throw the ball around the yard with laser like precision at the velocity of a cannon, though he is capable of that. He threw it to make the pass defense play deeper than usual, not wanting to let anyone behind them. This helps negate the pass rush and gave him time to find his receiver. Brees was sacked only once and in the interest of fair journalism, Manning never was put on the seat of his pants involuntarily. So both passers had time and protection when they were on the field.
But the Big 10 quarterback from the conference of ‘3 yards and a cloud of dust’ out performed his counterpart. This despite the fact statistically Indianapolis had the edge. In total net yards, yards passing, 3rd and 4th down efficiency, the Colts were superior. In average gain per rush, average gain per pass and kickoff returns Indianapolis led the category.
The final result? A victory over the Colts, who because of their QB often appear to be cast as Goliath. On this day, Drew Brees the oh so accurate slinger in the role of David, beat the mighty behemoth.
And in doing so, tied a Super Bowl record for most completions held by another quarterback from the Big 10 conference, the University of Michigan’s Tom Brady.
I don’t know about you, but from where I sit, it’s a good day to be a Big 10 fan!
Now get out there and take one for the team!
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