Why the Madness goes beyond March

Well, it does in my world.

No disrespect to my wife of four years, but the Duke Blue Devils have been the most loyal thing in my life. For 25 years I’ve faithfully relied on them to lift my sports spirits from the complacency, anxiety, depression, anger and frustration provided by my favorite baseball, college and NFL football teams.

Duke has been my Jerry Maguire. My precious. My everything. I could write ballad.

It’s been a simple relationship. No strings attached. No games. They win; I cheer. They overcome; I brag. They drive hate; I defend. They lose; I exhale. Most importantly, they’re always there.

No filthy scandals that lead to probation. No decade-long stretch of ineptitude. No quarterback controversies … or lack there of. No overpaid free agents or draft busts. No weak bullpen. No post trade deadline let downs. Just simple, authentic winning – 13 conference titles and four national championships.

I remember the first as if it was yesterday, the unexpected peak to a shocking Final Four in Indianapolis that gave me bragging rights for years in school. Anybody root for UNLV anymore?

But the last may be the most special.

It was the first championship my young family has been able to share together – nine months before my wife’s Super Bowl celebration and technically five months before my little girl was born.

They way she yells and screams in fun I’d like to think she picked that up in the womb during that stretch of March and early April. She’s very observant and sharp. A talented young little Crazy she is.  

At 19 months old her latest development – and most popular with the wife – is the emphatic slap of the couch cushion, the ottoman, the coffee table … anything within arms reach. Where would she pick that up?

I confidently take the stand and testify that her most recent outburst of rage has no direct relation to Duke’s end-of-the-season embarrassment against North Carolina. It’s the Madness I claim The Madness.

- Jaime North 

Where Will Peyton Go?

Peyton Manning is a free agent.  Words that you never thought you would hear.  But it’s true.  So now the big question is: where will he be playing next season?   I decided to look over the entire NFL to help me form an opinion. 

I understand that money and the salary cap may put several teams out of the running.  But in most of professional sports leagues, teams somehow seem to find a way to make it magically occur.   See David Stern versus the LA Lakers for the other side of that story.

First of all you can quickly eliminate the five teams that have elite quarterbacks who have won a Super Bowl:  New York Giants (Eli), New England Patriots (Brady), New Orleans Saints (Brees), Green Bay Packers (Rodgers) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (Big Ben).  These teams have no need for Manning.  Let’s also remember that Peyton is getting older and doesn’t have too many years left, so he does not want to go to a bad team.  He wants another Super Bowl and soon.  With that in mind, we can also eliminate the Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars, St. Louis Rams and of course the Colts.

As for the rest of the league, we’ll go team by team.

AFC East

Buffalo Bills:  Not likely.  The weather is too cold.  Peyton doesn’t want to go from playing in a dome to playing in the snow and below freezing temperature.

Miami Dolphins:  A good possibility.  The Dolphins have a good core of offensive players.  They developed a running game in the second half of the season.  There are a few good wide receivers on the team.  Most importantly, the Dolphins have a good defense.  The weather doesn’t hurt either.  There won’t be too many home games where long sleeves are needed.

New York Jets:  I just don’t see this happening.  Rex Ryan has too big of an ego.  If Peyton goes to the Jets and they win the Super Bowl, Ryan will not be able to handle not being able to take full credit for the victory.  The Jets will make a play, just because they are New York and they need to keep their fans happy.  They also have some good selling points, which include a top-notch defense, decent receivers and an above-average running game.

AFC North

Baltimore Ravens:  It’s not going to happen, but I’m not sure it’s too far-fetched.  Joe Flacco has been fairly consistent, but he tends to take a majority of the heat for the Ravens not making it to the next level.  Flacco can be amazing one game and awful the next. 

Cincinnati Bengals:  Not going to happen.  This is a young team looking towards the future.  I doubt that they even make an offer.

AFC South

Houston Texans:  The Texans say that they’re happy with Matt Schaub.  But could you imagine Manning on this team, with that defense, and arguably the best running back (Arian Foster) and wide receiver (Andre Johnson) in the NFL.  That would be a scary team

Tennessee Titans:  Doubtful.  I almost put this team on the bad team list, but they always seem to linger near the middle to top of the division.  Put Manning on that team and who knows.  We all know what happened to the Colts when they didn’t have Peyton.

AFC West

Denver Broncos:  The Broncos were the first team to state that they want Manning.  The negatives are an okay defense, cold weather and a young receiving core.  The positives are the strong running game and the weak division.  I guess the plan would be to use Tim Tebow in certain situations, but I don’t see Manning buying into that idea.

Kansas City Chiefs:  I can’t think of any reason anyone would want to play for the Chiefs, but they are consistently mentioned as a possibility.  They have a good defense.  The running game is not good, but could improve depending on how Jamaal Charles returns from injury.  The receiving core is okay.  They would probably have to get another receiver to make Manning happy.

Oakland Raiders:  My wish.  Unfortunately, the Raiders have spent too much for the three quarterbacks on the roster (Carson Palmer, Jason Campbell and Terrelle Pryor).  There are a lot of positives though: a good defense, very strong running game, and young fast receivers.

San Diego Chargers:  Not a chance.  The Chargers are committed to Philip Rivers, who is a borderline elite quarterback.  He just has his moments when he is terrible.

NFC East

Dallas Cowboys:  You never know when it comes to Jerry Jones.  Tony Romo is overrated and does not have the ability to win the big games.  Jones wants to win at whatever the cost. 

Philadelphia Eagles:  Not a chance.  Michael Vick is the quarterback in Philly and the offense is built around his ability to make plays.  Peyton is far from a mobile quarterback.

Washington Redskins:  Supposedly one of the front runners.  Though I think this is based on the fact that Daniel Snyder is always willing to open his checkbook for any player (see: Albert Haynesworth).  I just don’t think they have the assets that Peyton is looking for.  They have an average defense, average running game and below average receivers.  Plus the Pro Bowl quality tight end likes to smoke marijuana, a lot.

NFC South

Atlanta Falcons:  Not going to happen.  Matt Ryan has been successful in the regular season.  He has not been good in the playoffs, but he is still very young. 

Carolina Panthers:  Not going to happen.  Cam Newton had a great year at quarterback as a rookie.  There is no reason to mess with that.  The Panthers need to look to add other positions to better their team. 

Tampa Bay Bucs:  Not likely.  This is another borderline bad team, but they were decent two years ago.  The weather is good, defense is decent and a good running game.  The receivers are terrible.

NFC North

Chicago Bears:  Not going to happen.  Too cold in Chicago, plus the Bears seem to like Jay Cutler right now. 

Detroit Lions:  Not going to happen.  The Lions are another young team looking towards the future, with their young quarterback, Matthew Stafford.  Stafford had a very strong year for the Lions.  The Lions need to mature and improve their secondary.

Minnesota Vikings:  Doubtful.  The Vikings already tried bringing in the veteran quarterback to lead them to the Promised Land.  It didn’t work.  I think they are missing too many parts to lure Manning away from any of the front runners.

NFC West

Arizona Cardinals:  Another team that is supposedly a front runner, but I don’t really understand why.  The team was bad last year.  Larry Fitzgerald is an amazing wide receiver, but there are other great receivers out there too.  The weather is good.  The Cardinals were in a Super Bowl 3 years ago, but they also went 9-7 in the regular season that same year.

San Francisco 49ers:  Like the Texans, adding Manning to this team would make them an instant favorite to win the Super Bowl.  The main questions revolve around Alex Smith.  He was good at times, but he was terrible in the NFC Championship.  Are the 49ers willing to take the chance of messing with Smith’s confidence by putting their name in the hat?  From Manning’s point of view, the 49ers have a lot going for them.  They were a couple of bad punt returns from going to the Super Bowl. They have a strong defense, a very likeable coach, a strong running game and a good receiving tight end.  The wide receivers could be upgraded though.

Seattle Seahawks:  A possibility.  The Seahawks have a great running back and a good young receiving core.  Their defense is scary and can score as much as the offense.  The players seem to like playing for Pete Carroll, who can run a pretty dynamic offense. 

The next couple of weeks are going to be very interesting.  I personally believe that Manning will go to Miami.  I am usually wrong at these decisions (I thought Lebron was staying in Cleveland and Favre was truly retiring).  Regardless of where Peyton Manning plays next year, one thing is for certain, he will play hard and always put his team in a position to win the game.

~Brad