The NFL got its wish: Formality has morphed into parity.
The divisional round weekend of the NFL playoffs was usually a time to say good-bye to the wild-card teams, but that has given way to the feel of a wide-open race. Even with the Patriots and Broncos playing at home this weekend, the potential for a Tom Brady-Peyton Manning showdown for a spot in the Super Bowl is far from a certainty.
“I think with the rule changes [giving receivers more freedom and quarterbacks more safety], and I hate to say it, but so much is on the quarterback right now,” said CBS analyst and two-time Super Bowl champ Phil Simms, who will be calling the Broncos-Chargers game on Sunday.
“A hot quarterback really can, almost like a goalie in hockey, drive you through the playoffs. … It’s just hard to build a roster where you know you are one of the best two teams in the league, which we saw all the time back in the 80’s and early 90’s. Now No. 8 can beat No. 1 probably 40 percent of the time.”
This season might not be any different. Serious doubts surround the top two seeds in the AFC. Manning’s arm strength in the cold will be tested again with the Chargers in Denver, a year after the Ravens stunned the Broncos on their way to a title. Though Brady and Patriots coach Bill Belichick have received kudos for propping a New England team bereft by injuries, this is the time of year that lack of depth can be most exposed.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen Bill Belichick do a better job of coaching,” said Dan Dierdorf, who will be calling his final game for CBS on Saturday night from Foxborough. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player put his teammates on his back through strength of will, the way Tom Brady has.
“Sometimes you look at the Patriots, and I mean this as a compliment, but it looks like they are being held together with duct tape.”
Standing in Brady’s way is the man who replaced Manning in Indianapolis. Andrew Luck has emerged as one of the top quarterbacks in the league, though he looked far from it in the first 35 minutes of the Colts’ wild-card game against the Chiefs last Saturday. Luck shook off three interceptions to throw four touchdowns, and score on a recovered fumble, to lead the Colts to a 45-44 win after trailing by 28 early in the second half.
“I can’t imagine if you polled all 32 teams and you said, ‘You have to start your franchise with a quarterback. Who would it be?’ I’m hard pressed even one of those 32 teams choosing anyone besides Andrew Luck,” Dierdorf said. “That’s taking Brady and Manning’s age into account. But I don’t think there’s any question this is where the quarterback position is headed for the next decade or so.”
There’s no question the networks are pleased with the move, even if it puts the league’s top two stars at risk of elimination. Last week’s 49ers-Packers wild-card game was the most viewed telecast (47.1 million) since last year’s Super Bowl. The three other games were between 27.6 million and 34.4 million viewers.
“The days with us seeing the super teams of the 49ers of the 90’s or Cowboys of the 80’s, Steelers of the 70’s, you just can’t keep all that talent on the roster,” Dierdorf said. “Those days are gone. I think that every team in the playoffs having a legitimate chance to go all the way has heightened the interest in the NFL, not in any way retarded it.”