Good Evening, Broncos fans! Obviously, this comes a whole lot later than I would ever hope or plan for it to, but let's just say that this control freak no longer controls his own schedule.
Although I haven't had much opportunity to write today, I have had some time to think about Sunday's game and the Broncos' seventh trip to the Super Bowl.
Naturally, everything comes back to Peyton Manning, as it has for the entirety of the past two seasons.
It's often said that a great athlete helps make anything possible for a team.
But for Peyton, such a label doesn't even do him justice. Rather, Peyton takes the improbable or impossible and makes it probable.
Perhaps it seems like I'm diving into trivial semantics here, but bear with me.
The Broncos faced some daunting tasks this season, some unfortunate, and some self-inflicted:
Q: Will Denver's offense function without Ryan Clady, J.D. Walton, and Dan Koppen, and with Manny Ramirez starting at center?
A: How about the lowest sack rate in the league? Who would you suppose deserves the credit for that?
Q: Can the Broncos survive the six-game suspension of Von Miller?
A: Most of us (aside from TJ) weren't sure. Of course, Peyton went off, and Denver started 6-0.
Q: Will the Broncos stand a chance in the playoffs without Miller, Derek Wolfe, Rahim Moore, Kevin Vickerson, and Chris Harris?
A: So far, so good.
Q: Can Peyton break the single-season TD record? Can he beat Belichick and Brady?
A: Yes, and YES.
Q: Will Manning be able to tear up a historically great Seattle pass defense like he has every other team's unit?
A: Of course, hindsight tells us just how emphatically the Broncos answered the prior questions in the affirmative.
With this last one, for which we don't yet have an answer, the cliched answer would be, Anything is possible with Player X at quarterback.
But see, that just doesn't apply to PMFM.
Instead - and it's taken me this long to figure this out (for others, say TJ and Ted, it's been a quicker process) - we should be thinking, Anything is probable with Peyton Manning at quarterback.
Will the Broncos be Super Bowl champions in two weeks' time?
Probably, because they have Peyton Manning.
Broncos News
Videos: BTV looks ahead and provides a time lapse from Sunday; John Fox, Danny Trevathan, and Julius Thomas speak on Monday.
Denver will wear orange at SB 48.
As Terrance Knighton saw it, Wes Welker went into Sunday with a chip on his shoulder as he faced his old team.
Danny Trevathan says Denver's defense took note of outside suggestions that Sunday's game would be a shootout.
Considering that he's only punted once in two playoff games, Britton Colquitt had to work off some of his energy, so why not snow angels in the confetti?
Broncos Analysis
Paul Klee marvels at how quickly Elway, Manning & Co. turned things around at Dove Valley and thinks the Broncos are glad the spotlight is on Richard Sherman.
Andrew Mason charts how the Broncos changed throughout the season and discusses how poorly acquainted these two former AFCW rivals are.
Jeffri Chadiha says it's the Broncos who are the team of destiny.
Mark Kiszla thinks Pat Bowlen deserves enshrinement in Canton.
Peyton Manning
Chase Stuart thinks a win in New Jersey would anoint Manning's season as the greatest ever by an NFL quarterback.
Bill Barnwell appropriately reminds us that whatever happens in New Jersey should not alter how we view what Manning accomplished on Sunday.
Dan Wetzel, Judy Battista, and Dave Krieger remind us just how far Peyton has come over the past three years.
Jarrett Bell says everything broke Peyton's way on Sunday.
Richard Sherman
According to Sherman's older brother, last night's rant was inspired by Michael Crabtree wanting to fight Richard at a charity event last summer.
Sherman backpedaled a bit today, apologizing for taking the attention away from his NFC champion teammates.
Why did Sherman's postgame interview elicit such a strong reaction? We'll give you one guess.
Obviously, you already know PFT Commenter's take on the situation.
Will Leitch can't wait for Sherman to retire and become a commentator, and neither can we. The sooner he replaces Deion Sanders, Ray Lewis, and/or Warren Sapp, all the better.
Dan Wetzel says Sherman was just being himself last night and explains why he had every right (and reason) to do so.
Patriots
Regarding Sherman, Tom Brady says that he and the Patriots win and lose with grace, which is pretty f#$%ing ironic, given that his head coach is a sore loser of the highest order.
Mike Tanier says the Broncos beat the Patriots because (John Elway + Josh McDaniels + Peyton Manning) > (Bill Belichick + Tom Brady).
Ron Borges thinks it's past time for Massholes to rewrite their Manning/Belichick/Brady narrative.
LOLZ @ Modell's.
SB 48
The Ginger Hammer will sit outside at the Meadowlands, along with the unwashed masses who will have spent thousands to attend.
Chris Chase, Judy Battista, Don Banks, Eric Edholm, Jeff Legwold, and John Clayton look ahead to the matchup.
News
Whenever the playoff field$ are expanded, there may be game$ played on Friday$ and Monday$, and the NFL is thankfully considering getting rid of extra points.
Niners LB Navorro Bowman tore both an ACL and MCL on Sunday night with that gruesome injury.
The Giants are running Hakeem Nicks's name through the mud prior to cutting ties with him.
President Obama says he wouldn't allow his son to play football, if he had a son.