Game Day Thoughts

Super Bowl Sunday. Some say that it's a holiday. I still think that it's just another Sunday with a big football game. Just a big football game. The biggest football game.

It's the Denver Broncos vs the Seattle Seahawks in that big football game. It's an interesting matchup from an historical perspective. From 1977-2001, it was a Super Bowl matchup that couldn't happen. Both teams were in the AFC. The biggest game in which they could face each other would have been the AFC Championship game.

The Seahawks started in the NFC Western division in 1976. Stayed a year. Moved to the AFC Western division. Stayed there for 24 years. When the NFL realigned in 2002, the Seattle Seahawks found their current NFC West home.

Seattle's #1 defense vs Denver's #1 offense. The defense usually prevails in these matchups. I think that Peyton Manning tilts those odds a bit toward the offense in this case.

46 players in this Super Bowl were unranked or 2 stars coming out of high school. I saw some responding to that statistic as an indication to the work that those 46 players put in since high school. There may be some of that but I think that it has a lot more to do with the ridiculous inaccuracy of the high school rankings. Either way, football dreams don't have to end in high school.

Last night was the 3rd Annual NFL Honors show. Last year, Adrian Peterson was the star of the show. This year, it was Peyton Manning.

MVP: Peyton Manning
Offensive Player of the Year: Peyton Manning
Defensive Player of the Year: Luke Kuechly
Offensive Rookie of the Year: Eddie Lacy
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Sheldon Richardson
Comeback Player of the Year: Philip Rivers
Coach of the Year: Ron Rivera

If there was a surprise of the bunch, it was likely Rivers taking home Comeback Player of the Year. It usually goes to a player that returned from a serious injury. Adrian Peterson and Peyton Manning battled for the award last year. Rivers' career was thought to be sliding to an end. This year, he was back among the best throwers in the league. It was like 2008 again.

Chicago Bears cornerback Charles Tillman was awarded the Walter Payton Man of the Year award. Carolina Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis and Arizona Cardinals kicker Jay Feely were finalists. This award honors players for the tremendous work that they do off the football field. I have no idea how the voters pick one player over the rest. All three finalists have done some amazing things, changed so many lives. There are so many players, throughout the league, that have don great things.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2014 was announced last night as well. Cris Carter got in last year so I was much more relaxed with this announcement. Without having a personal bias, I nearly predicted the class perfectly. Here's the next class:

Derrick Brooks
Walter Jones
Michael Strahan
Andre Reed
Aeneas Williams
Ray Guy
Claude Humphrey

A punter is now in the Hall of Fame! Guy has been deserving for a long time. It's good to see but I don't think that we'll see a run on punters. Brooks and Jones deservedly made it in their first year of eligibility. I'd kinda forgotten how great Brooks played the linebacker the position. He was so fun to watch. This is a really good Hall of Fame Class. That should always go without saying but sometimes the voters can get a little squirrelly.

In the class that I predicted, I had Charles Haley instead of Aeneas Williams. I was little surprised with Williams making it but he was the best corner in the game for most of the late 1990s.

Next year, Kurt Warner, Orlando Pace, Isaac Bruce, Tory Holt, and Edgerrin James are eligible for the first time. That St. Louis Rams representation is crazy. Warner's vote will be interesting. His career started so late that his body of work might come up a little short. My hunch is that he makes it in the first year. If I had a vote, and I should, Warner would have a short wait. Pace should make it that first year. Bruce and Holt have to get in the receiver line. All four of those Rams players should make it at some point.

It was cool to see the Hall of Frame class presented during the NFL Honors program. The league can keep that but I miss the sit down with the new Hall of Famers that they've had in the past. I always liked that Hall of Fame president Steve Perry made the announcements. There was suspense to those announcements. By the time that they were announced on the NFL Honors there was no suspense. I always liked the discussions with the inductees. If it were up to me, I'd keep the Hall of Fame announcements and NFL Honors separate.

Enjoy the game today! May it be a great one.