TheFunPolice

Jordan and Brady are both survivors who know how to get to the final few minutes with a shot to win. I think Allen is starting to learn this, and I'm pretty confident that he will get even better at it. Allen has talked a lot about studying Brady's game. Oddly, I think what we call "killer instinct" is more a survival instinct. Biding your time. Pick your spots. Whichever cliché you prefer. Playing Jordan or Brady is often death by a thousand cuts. Other super talented guys like Manning and Rogers (and Matt Ryan when he was having MVP type seasons) had/have an overt "killer instinct" and it does them in very often. I'll explain. I think what sets guys like Jordan and Brady apart is that both are masters of the physiological aspects of the game, which are almost as important as any other aspect. They keep the game alive, or the season alive. They play for the big moment. It's why both are so hard to put away when it really matters. These games, with very few exceptions, are won and lost in the final minutes. So get there with a shot. Both know when to turn it on at the right moments. Neither is going to make the big mistake that takes them out of the game. Obviously, that's more applicable in football than basketball (the big mistake) due to the way points are scored. But they put the pressure on you. You had better put them away and not leave them a chance at the end. Because if you do... This difference in mindset dawned on me while listening to Brady do those Westwood One interviews Monday nights before MNF on my drive home from work. He talked often of surviving. Keep the game alive. Get to the end with a shot. That dictates his entire game. Get to the 4th quarter with a chance to win. Something else he said really stuck with me: if you're losing at that point, there is zero pressure. Worst case scenario, you lose, but you're already losing anyway. It's house money. The other team is the one with the pressure, trying to protect its lead. I think that mindset is one key to why Brady is always around. Yes, he was standing there looking confused thinking it was 4th down still... in October or whenever vs. the Bears in a game nobody cares about now and certainly won't remember in 5 years. Not in January, though. He's playing the supposed MVP who always seems to choke in big moments. If he loses at Lambeau field to the consensus MVP, well, everyone expected that. All the pressure is on Rogers this weekend. Brady's just an old guy on an underdog team playing the MVP in his house. House money, again. On the other hand, certain guys, no matter how talented they are, don't seem unbeatable in big spots. In football this is Aaron Rogers, Drew Brees and Peyton Manning. Those guys could throw for 80 TDs, look totally unstoppable and win 15 games and I would almost expect a first round playoff loss. At a minimum they didn't have the mystique that comes with somehow always ending up on the winning side, regardless of how. If anything, it was/is the opposite. Mr. "MVP" Rogers disappears too many times in big games. Same with Brees especially. So many great Saints teams the past several years and once they get to the playoffs the offense stinks. Why? They are in their own heads, playing against themselves. If you're Peyton Manning, the "sheriff," you are supposed to go out there and drop dimes all over the field for the entire game and score 30+. In the wind and cold, against tope defenses. To his credit, he did that quite often, even in the playoffs. But obviously not often enough. That also opens you up to making mistakes, especially when it doesn't go right early on. You hold the ball a bit too long and take the big hit. You force a throw out of frustration. Meanwhile, the other guy (Brady) is checking down to RBs all half, waiting for you to make a mistake. It's not that he's not trying to make plays, but he's not forcing anything. If it's not there he'll take the check down and punt. If you play a perfect game, you probably win. But more than likely someone on your team will muff a punt, miss a block, tip a pass to a DB, etc. This is where the overt "killer instinct" does guys in. Matt Ryan was known for (and this is a quote from one of his coaches) going for the kill, and the kill after the kill, during that MVP year that culminated in the Super Bowl collapse. NE tied that Super Bowl with a handful of seconds on the clock. Imagine Ryan doesn't fumble in his own end in the 4th quarter, giving NE an easy set up for a TD. Let's say instead he eats the sack and keeps the clock running. They run the ball the next play and punt it deep, making NE drive the field for that score. Very likely a different outcome. If you can score at will, sure, do it! But teams who do that often run into trouble when the stakes are highest, because it's harder to do. So the pressure builds. WHY AREN"T WE SCORING? Then the mistakes come. A lot of times the "killer instinct" is your worst enemy. Incidentally, Brady got away from this during the Patriots 18-0 run with an unstoppable offense that set NFL records. And lost in the Super Bowl by scoring 14 points. Then again, to the same team a couple of years later by scoring 17 points.

Excellent career, guy just played in a conference with Brady, Manning and Big Ben, who pretty much between the 3 went to the Super bowl for 20 years. After hearing the story about how Rivers played the AFC title Game with a torn ACL, it's sort of good they lost. Guy FINALLY makes a Super Bowl and can't play?

Baker is just a guy who hands off and makes a few throws here and there. Nothing special or dynamic. Burrow is already better, IMO. Lamar is much more dynamic. Browns have the 3rd best QB in that division, now that Big Ben looks like his arm retired.

Yup. He wants to collect some hardware, so he's got some championship rings to display in his trophy room. Plus I'll bet it's a lot of fun being a winning college coach.

Are they waiting to announce a new stadium along with the naming deal? A couple years ago, based on an insider tip from a guy named Dunkirk Don I bought a huge field in Newstead by the thruway, thinking the Pegulas would be dialing me up looking to build the stadium there. Now I'm stuck with an overgrown grassy field next to the expressway. At least I can sit in a plastic Adirondack chair and watch the cars go by...

I have no idea. I thought it was his neck being twisted cutting off blood flow. If the Browns player HAD been trying to rip his head off I have no idea what he would have done differently.

is there a gigantic, 360+ pound DT who can bench press a car in the draft? That would be my pick, but then again, I was a huge fan of the Ted Washington/Sam Adams duo of Bills DT's!

Reading the chiefs board at lunch today it sounds more and more like the neck/nerve issue could be what happened. He also jogged down a set of stairs and into the locker room without assistance right after, which made me think about the following response on that board: "Interestingly had Mahomes just laid on the ground for a few minutes and caught his breath and balance he likely would have been able to go back in the game." If you're seen wobbling like that you're done, no matter what. Optics are too bad if you come back, because nobody will believe you didn't have a concussion. The wobble puts you in the protocol. Terrible PR for the league and a risk, too, in terms of the neck, without further tests to be sure nothing was damaged. I would not be surprised at all if what was suggested above has happened before, especially in a playoff game: a player staying down for a minute to collect himself in an effort to stay clear of concussion protocol. That hit didn't look like a concussion inducing hit, so if he was down for a minute then was able to get up there probably wouldn't have been any suspicion. I think some former Cowboys talked about it on the 4 Falls of Buffalo show... Basically Aikman couldn't even remember the plays and they figured the Bills were going to beat them and finally get the SB win, but the Bills seemed tight and timid, when they were kicking their butts (not on the scoreboard, though).

I didn't realize Manning had suffered that type of neck injury. I always thought it was a degenerative condition. That sucks, because I bet he would either still be playing or would have just retired had that not happened.

I'm fine with it, because it's something unique and has a funny backstory. I'm not in love with the tables thing being such a big part of our newfound publicity, though.

What about the Rams? Donald and a first, with another lower pick added in.

Athletics can bring out the best in people, and here is more evidence of it.

This is awesome! I can see a friendly rivalry developing between the Bills and Ravens in the years to come.

McDaniels going to Philly tells me Belichick isn't retiring any time soon. Which is good, so McDermott and other young coaches/QBs can bank some wins against him!

I think Andy Reid was shaken because he knows how bad that almost was. Memo to OCs around the league: don't run your star QB into a pile of defenders to gain a yard. Risk/reward is not worth it. Guys are going to hit extra hard in the playoffs, and if your QB appears dazed at all he's done for the game. That's added incentive. If they ran the RB up the middle on that and end up punting they still have several drives with Mahomes later on and ice the game later. "Take what the defense gives you" isn't always exciting, but it works most of the time. If it's 4th quarter of the Super Bowl, then OK. 3rd quarter of a divisional game that you're going to win anyway is dumb play calling.

Yup. He's lucky not to have a broken neck the way the Browns defender grabbed his helmet with both hands and wrenched his head. Totally filthy play.

It makes sense that he would go through the protocols to make sure he is ok. He's already had some pretty significant injuries in his young career. I hope Daboll is paying attention. Protect the franchise! Better to punt on that play and have your QB for the rest of the game. IMO Mahomes came very close to a broken neck on that play. Watch the replay. It's scary the way the Browns player is twisting his neck with two hands on his helmet. We almost had something very, very bad happen to the NFL's biggest young star.

I thought it was a neck injury when I saw it. The Browns player almost tore his head off. With that twist of the neck and all the weight falling down it very well could have cut the blood off to his brain, almost like a choke or strike to the neck.

Per NFL Network

What sucks is that we've been denied seeing Brady look like this

Brees would need 15 minutes and 35 plays to lead a TD drive

Brees is so old and sad

Good play but doesn't look good... He pointed to his knee and told his teammate not to pick him up

What a catch!

Not even close to in bounds