Paul
Simon wrote that “every generation throws a hero up the pop charts.” There’s
been plenty of attention paid to the NFL’s young guns over the first month of
the 2012 campaign. Washington may be first in war, first in peace and last in
the NFC East but RG III is #1 in fantasy football. Some Pigskin Pundits and
Bobbleheads think Ryan Tannehill actually outplayed Mark Sanchez (albeit in a
losing effort) last Sunday. If it’s better to be lucky than to be good, you’ve
got to like Russell Wilson. Christian Ponder just faced down the Legion
of Doom-level defense of the San Francisco 49ers and came away with the
win. Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan look like they’ve made the leap to elite. I woke
up this morning wondering, “What ever happened to that Necky McManning
feel-good comeback triumph against all odds Oscar favorite biopic? Did the
studio put that production in turnaround?”
Even
I left the Oakland-Denver game off my list this week. Peyton Manning ranks
20th in passer rating, trailing Blaine Gabbert and Russell
Wilson; he finds himself in a 15th place tie with Mark Sanchez. Did
you ever think you’d see Manning’s name in the same sentence with Sanchez? I mean,
unless it was a discussion of best and worst quarterbacks, of course.
Quick Aside to
Patriots Nation: For those of you who worry that Brady – linked throughout his
career to Manning – is also skewing toward pigskin irrelevance, TB12 is ranked
in the Top 10 in both rating and YPA.
Yes,
it’s early. Even if Necky and the Broncos drop a home game to the Raiders
(Darren McFadden will need to have a monster day for this to happen, of
course), it will still be early. A 1-3-0 record in the AFC West should hardly
be cause for panic but panic should be expected, particularly if Manning
struggles, throws a Pick-6 on a pass outside the right hash mark or takes a
beating in the pocket.
Imagine
the lamentations of the women if Tim Tebow leads the Jets to a comeback win in
their 1:00pm game and Necky ends his Sunday alone and disconsolate on the bench.
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