So I was watching the Patriots game this weekend and I realized that every other commercial was Peyton Manning trying to sell something.  Now, being a Patriots fan I have about as much love for Manning as I do for Derek Jeter - that is, less than zero, so this is not an unbiased opinion.  However, does this guy really need to sell this much crap?  I might be mistaken, but I think he is one of, if not the, highest paid player in the NFL.  I think he does ok.  And every good player does commercials for something.  But I saw this guy selling cell phones, gatorade and even DirecTV I think.  The funniest was the Gatorade commerical - the rebirth of cool?  When was Manning ever cool?  I’m convinced if someone would cut him a check, he’d sell dog crap - “it’s steaming poo, buy it, I need another car!”

Now, besides the fact that he is the leader of our current rivals, I think what really gets me is he is the single most overrated player in sports.  Not only do I feel he is not the best quarterback in the league - how many rings does he have again? - but, I think he has a major character flaw for the leader of a team.  He never takes responsibility for anything.  I think that’s what sets Brady apart from him - not the rings.  A few years ago when the Pats beat him what did he do?  First, they complained about the field before the game - ok, that was brilliant by Belichick and maybe they got us on that one.  But, most importantly, was it his fault his team didn’t win and he threw those picks?  No, our cornerbacks were harassing his wide receivers.  So the league changed the rules for him.  The league changed the rules for one player.

Fine, we laid off his receivers and still beat him after that.  Then last year they almost go undefeated.  They get home field advantage.  Everyone is healthy.  This is the year of the Colts.  No snowy, cold loss to the Pats or anyone else.  And they choke in the playoffs, again.  I would have given him all the credit if he’d stood up and said - I sucked, end of story.  What’d he do?  “We had some breakdowns on the offensive line.”  Right.  If I was his offensive line I would have “missed a block” first preseason game and let some 300 lb defensive lineman knock the snot out of him.

I just wonder when someone will realize he’s not worth the money, he’s never going to win when it counts and stop giving him big checks.  I doubt it will ever happen.  If he ever does, I’ll eat some crow.  Somehow, I’m not worried.  Go Pats.

Random Tidbit: The total hits for my blog for the last 3 days have been higher then in the entire existence of my blog - which isn’t saying much, I know.  I wish I could say it was because of my stellar literary ability, stunning good lucks and immense web design capabilities - stop laughing, I said I wish I could say that.  In actuality, it is because of a site I’ve never heard about called StumbleUpon.  It’s rather interesting, sort of similar to the random del.icio.us button I guess.  So I figured, since they exposed me to so many new readers I would give them a plug.  Now buy my crap, I need a new car.