Beyond the Hype - Week 7

@TheFUSTexan on Twitter
I know I haven’t exactly been regular with my BtH updates, but this edition will cover what I’ve seen overhyped the past few weeks. You see, I have been analyzing and analyzing and analyzing the past few weeks, and I’ve come to the conclusion that the best team in the NFL may in fact be the worst team from last year. But first, I need to unload this:

For weeks and weeks and weeks I have been talking about Denver being the best in the league, but there has always been this doubt in the back of my mind. Ask anyone I regularly talk to, and they will agree that this is what I normally say: “Peyton Manning is the best quarterback to have ever played, BUT if the other team starts hitting him, then he had better have a solid defense to help out or he will lose.” Look at his season thus far: He has put up 40+ points in 4 out of 7 games now. What happened in those other 3 games? Oh, Manning was pressured and hit if not sacked at least a few times. I know it’s pretty self-explanatory, but even all-time greats can’t get the job done if they keep getting hit.


Sunday night, I saw Peyton do something I’ve rarely seen by him: he held on to the ball for too long. Major props go to the Colts defense who covered well and put a ton of pressure on Manning. In this situation, the defense HAS to make-up for the offensive struggles. Allowing 39 points does NOT count as helping out.
The Broncos defense has been lackluster all year. They are last place in the entire league on pass yards allowed. I mean, think of the teams that are beating them in that department: the Bucs, the Giants, the Vikings, the Browns, even the Jags, who look like complete and utter garbage this year. In fact, the Broncos allowed Chad “can’t-hold-a-starting-job-with-the-freakin-Jags” Henne to out throw Manning. This is NOT a defense that can win a Super Bowl. On one side, I get it, a lot of teams play from behind the Broncos, so they have to pass more and therefore will get more passing yards.  They also will run less, thus helping them establish statistically the best defense against the run. What happens, though, when they find a good team that turns passing yards into passing touchdowns? Wait, what’s that? Look at Indy? Well, ok… OH! They lose. That’s what happens.

Elsewhere in the AFC West, what on earth happened to the Chiefs? I mean, I know Andy Reid is a good coach, and I know Alex Smith is a good quarterback, but seriously? 7-0? This is the 2-14 team from last year, but two key changes and all of a sudden they are the last undefeated team in the league? That HAS to be the first time that’s ever happened. This isn’t beyond the hype - this is why isn’t there MORE hype?!
Seriously, everyone should look at the Chiefs. They have a good offense and a really good defense. See, THIS is what it takes to make a good team. You can’t have a mediocre offense or defense. You HAVE to have good both sides. Alex Smith is not a Top 10 quarterback, but he is a good distributor and game manager. His defense, however, is a Top 10 defense, maybe even a Top 5. They are exceedingly underrated, but the most points they have allowed is 17 by the Titans and 16 by the Cowboys, Eagles, and Texans. This could end up being the best defense in the league, and this team was the laughingstock of the NFL last year.
Here’s the other thing - looking at their schedule, I see only 3 challenges left: Broncos, Broncos, and Colts. Like I said, they are winning in large part because of their defense; their passing defense is 3rd in the NFL. If they can keep it together against the Broncos twice and the Colts, then they will lose only in the last couple of weeks when they are resting up for the playoffs.

Now, I need to talk about the Colts. Let me make it perfectly clear, I am very impressed with them for their win Sunday night. I’m just not happy about it. Now, Jim Irsay is gonna go off on how he always new Luck was a better choice and how Peyton is past his prime, and I am sick of Irsay. I now understand the sentiment among older people in Dallas who can’t root for the Cowboys because of Jerry Jones. I was 2 when Jerry Jones took over and unceremoniously fired Tom Landry. Historically, I can be appalled, but I cannot ever truly feel that impact.

Now I understand because there is not a single person in the Colts organization that I find offensive except for their owner. It bothers me because I grew up loving the Colts because I thought Peyton Manning was so amazingly fun to watch. Now, I find it difficult to support the Colts because of Irsay, a man who has never had the honor of stepping onto an NFL football field as a player or as a coach. In fact, he didn’t even earn his way into his position. He was given his position by Daddy. This is a man that has been given EVERYTHING to him in life, and he acts like he himself won the game. From his Twitter he says “As OWNER,Buck stops with U;In 1997 n January 2012,alone n the room,plotting the vision 4 Greatness! Strategically decades of success follows.”

That, right there, is why nobody can stand him. That right there is why EVERYONE is hoping for a playoff rematch where Peyton has his revenge.   On a final note, I don’t want anyone getting on the Cowboys bandwagon. Keep in mind that this is the team that breaks your (my) heart at the end of every year. All this win against the Eagles told me is that the Cowboys MIGHT achieve 9-7 this year. Yes, that absolutely could win the division this year, but just keep in mind that the Cowboys are so up and down this year that Six Flags in Dallas is suing them for copyright infringement and corporate sabatoge.