Yup, but the great ones ironically suffer with savvy fans who know their best years are due in no small part to excellent lines.

It may keep Terrell Davis out of the Hall of Fame: Even though his rushing average and totals consistently improved as Denver went DEEPER in the playoffs, many dismiss him as mere product of the infamous Zone Blocking System. It is true the ZBS made Davis' mediocre successors Olandis Gary and Mike Anderson quite productive, but it is also true NONE of them, not even Clinton Portis, came anywhere near the numbers Davis put up every season after he became the Broncos starter. And, of course, NO ONE has 3 rushing TDs in a Super Bowl—except Terrell Davis; his playoff numbers make even John Riggins and Emmitt Smith look pedestrian, and no one questions whether THEY belong in the Hall.

So, yeah, I hear what you are saying about the critical importance of good blocking; there is no way Emmitt would have the career rushing record with out the brutal offensive line Dallas had in the early '90s. On the other hand, the Lions' offensive line was Swiss cheese throughout the same decade yet Barry Sanders was always unstoppable (his 1998 season still ranks with OJs 1973 season as the only time anyone has run for 2000 yards in just 14 games.) Pass blocking is not the same as run blocking, of course, but if he were being candid I wager Christian Ponder would dispute how good his blockers are.


What frustrates me most is that, again, we could see it coming: Even in a home dome with a kicker as good as the Vikings', putting the season on a 56 yard field goal attempt would have been risky business, and Peterson has carried them all year. So it was not just likely but inevitable they would feed him one more time, and probable he would run a long way against a Packers D that had nothing left and is pretty bad even when fresh. Thus it was Peterson dashed 27 yards before being tackled in range of an easy field goal, then the Vikings let the clock run down to 0:03, called time out and kicked a field goal to reach the playoffs.

Had Peterson gained a few yards less the back who averaged 6 yards per attempt this year would probably have had one or two more chances, but no: He effectively cost himself the record for most rushing yards in a season BY RUSHING FOR TOO MANY YARDS! I do not know how that is even possible.


It is not that the Pack is so good (they are not; their D is not as dreadful as last year, but last year set the bar pretty low, and theirs is still not a championship D.) The problem is the Vikings are just a great back with a good D, and lost two of their starting defensive backs plus one of their best starting receivers in the second half Sunday. It is no coincidence the Pack was down 20-10 at the half but rallied to tie the game before the Vikings final drive: Without Antoine Winfield and Harrison Smith in their secondary, Minnesota was suddenly very vulnerable to deep passes from one of the best quarterbacks in the game to some of the fastest receivers. They still are; ask the Houston Texans how far a team can get with a good back and front seven: They have had both for their entire history, but are 1-1 all time in playoff games.

About the only good news for the Vikings next week is that when the ball freezes it compresses until it feels like catching a brick, making running much easier than passing. On the other hand, Packers quarterbacks have always done so well on "the Frozen Tundra" that Arnie Herber was winning passing titles 80 years ago: Green Bay has never had any difficulty throwing at home in the cold.


Much as I admire Tebows play (he is a passer in the mode of Herber: He is lucky to complete half his passes, but when he DOES complete one it is likely to be for 50+ yards and a TD,) he is not comparable to RGIII. Griffin is FAR more accurate, makes better coverage reads and is, in general, an all around better PASSER, if not necessarily QUARTERBACK, than Tebow is (or was last year; the Jets should fire every last one of their executives for not even TRYING to counteract Sanchezs uselessness with Tebows clutch play.) Griffin can and has consistently win games with his legs OR arm; Tebow has not yet consistently done so with the latter. Like it or not, most people today consider "passer" and "quarterback" synonymous.

All that said, Russell Wilson is a better ORotY candidate than Griffin. As a PASSER, his year has been statistically and otherwise much better than Griffins, and (for perhaps the first time EVER,) the NFCW was a tougher division than the NFCE. After all, the Redskins did not have to do anything more challenging than stand back and wait for Dallas and NY to implode so they won the division by default.