NFL Divisional Playoffs

What is a legacy as it pertains to sports?  Who decides what your legacy is?  And how long do you get before your legacy is already written?

After yesterday's game between the Broncos and the Ravens I started thinking about these questions.  I was watching SportsCenter last night and in their first segment analyzing why the Ravens won the game, ESPN showed Peyton Manning's post game press conference and broke down the interception he threw right before the end of the first overtime period.  After breaking that play down, they spent about half as much time talking about the blown coverage in Denver's secondary at the end of regulation that sent the game to overtime.

As I talked about last week, ESPN has way too much power over what we think about sports, and I think this is a perfect example.  What ESPN would have you believe is that Peyton Manning was the primary reason that Denver lost the game in overtime.  Why? Well because that is just a more intriguing story.

Herein lies the problem.  Because every game is on TV now, shows like SportsCenter can show you what happened, but the reason that people tune in is to hear why it happened and what it means.  So ESPN is forced to then draw a conclusion about yesterday's game that goes well beyond the game yesterday.

They give you the statistic that Peyton Manning has now tied Bret Farve for the most losses in playoff history.  The implication is that Manning is less of a quarterback because of his playoff losses, but you skip over the fact that he has been in the playoffs so many times in his career.  The NFL is built for parity  they want every team to go 8-8.  With the worst team getting the first pick and the best team getting the last pick in the draft, sustained excellence is not the norm in the NFL.

So what is more indicative of Manning as a quarterback the fact that he has lost a lot in the playoffs or the fact that in his career Manning has only missed the playoffs twice and one of those times was his rookie season?

The conclusion we are supposed to draw from yesterday's game is that Manning, who threw 3 touchdowns and almost threw for 300 yards would be a better quarterback if Broncos safety Rahim Moore would have done his job on the last drive of regulation?

Here is another example.  Aaron Murray, who has thrown more touchdowns than any other quarterback in UGA history, is a loser.  Murray started as a freshman behind an offensive line that could be described as simply offensive.  Murray spent most of his year running for his life and trying to keep up in the fast paced action of the SEC.  The team went 6-7 that season.  A year later, Murray lead the Dawgs to a 10-2 regular season and Murray played well enough in the first half of the SEC Championship Game to give Georgia a real chance to win against the number one LSU Tigers.

Last season, Georgia was spectacular and Murray was their leader.  Georgia played a fantastic game against eventual National Champion, Alabama.  Murray led the Dawgs on a dramatic, last-minute drive in search of victory but came up 5 yards short on a tipped pass that was caught by Chris Connelly in bounds when Georgia was out of timeouts.  With the way Alabama handled Notre Dame in the title game, I don't think there is much doubt that Georgia would have beaten the Irish if they had made it to that game.  So, because a ball got tipped at the line of scrimmage, Aaron Murray is a loser who can't win the big one.  These are the types of conclusions that we draw because we have to, but most of the time they are inaccurate.

All of that leads me to today.  Matt Ryan and Mike Smith have been at the helm of an amazing turnaround for the Falcons over the last five seasons.  Before Ryan and Smith's first year, in 2008, the Falcons had only 9 winning seasons in team history and had never had two winning seasons in a row.  Since 2008 the Falcons have had five consecutive winning seasons, four playoff appearances, and two division titles.  However, in their three previous playoff appearances they lost their first game to teams that have gone to the Super Bowl.  In 2010 and 2011 the Falcons lost to the eventual Super Bowl Champions.

The narrative in the media this week has been all about the Seahawks and their rookie quarterback Russel Wilson.  Wilson led the Seahawks to an amazing season this year and they had a great win last week on the road over RGIII and the Redskins.  You could point out that Wilson now has one more playoff win than Ryan does.  But to blame Ryan for the Falcons losses is ridiculous.

In his five seasons, Ryan has averaged winning 11 games per season and this year, he has been the reason the Falcons have won.  Wilson on the other hand has thrown less passes than any other starting quarterback in the league this season.  Wilson has been asked to not lose games, but he has rarely been the reason that the Seahawks have won games.

You never know what could happen in the playoffs, but I think the Falcons are ready to get their first playoff win.  I know that the Seahawks defense is really good, but I think their physical cornerbacks might actually be a detriment today.  If you try to get your hands on Julio and Roddy at the line you sure as heck better get the job done, because they can burn you down field if you don't.

But if for some reason the Falcons don't win the game today, please don't write the book on Matt Ryan and Mike Smith tonight.  Winning a Super Bowl has to be the ultimate goal, but only one team a year gets to do that.  Falcon fans should take a minute to remember how terrible it was to be a Falcon fan for so much of their history.  The fans want to win the Super Bowl, but isn't it nice to shoot for that goal each year, rather than just hoping that the Falcons will be good enough to sell out home games so you can watch them on TV?

A legacy is something made over the course of a career, not something won on a Sunday afternoon.  Matt Ryan is the best quarterback that the Falcons have ever have and Mike Smith is quickly becoming the best coach in the franchise's history.

The Falcons are one win away from hosting the NFC Championship Game for the first time in their history, time to rise up and get it done!