Peyton Manning's best

With the Peyton Manning era officially coming to an end in Indy today, we at Just South of North thought what better way to honor him then with a tribute of his best commercials.

So please enjoy!

"That Peyton Manning guy is pretty good. If you're into 6' 5" 230 pound quarterbacks with laser-rocket arms."

Mark Brunell finally wins Super Bowl

It took 16 seasons, but Mark Brunell finally has a Super Bowl ring.

And no, he didn't just sit on the bench to earn it, he was the New Orleans Saints holder for this entire season.

I'm a Colts fan. So obviously I was rooting for them today. But in the end, while I'm sad to see the Colts lose, I'm happy to see Brunell get a much deserved ring.

I grew up rooting for the guy. He is one of my dad's favorite quarterbacks so naturally, being a son, I started rooting for him too. Oh, and he's a former Dawg.

Brunell went to the University of Washington and was a key part in developing the dominant team that UW had through the early 1990s.

Following college he was drafted in the 5th round by the Green Bay Packers in 1993. Unfortunately all he saw was the bench as some guy named Brett Favre also played there.

Then as luck would have it, in 1995 the city of Jacksonville was awarded a new expansion NFL franchise. Shortly after Brunell was traded to the Jaguars and given the starting job. The team was less than impressive in their first season finishing 4-12, but the four years after that they made the play-offs each year.

During his time in Jacksonville Brunell lead the Jags to AFC Championship appearances in 1996 and 1999. However, each time they lost.

On the upside though, he did make the Pro Bowl three times and was the MVP of the game in 1999.

But then the Jaguars started stumbling and soon it was time for the franchise to rebuild. They didn't want to rebuild with an aging quarterback who was just coming off a hamstring injury. So in 2003 he was traded to the Washington Redskins.

While with the Redskins Brunell traded starting duties with Jason Campbell and Patrick Ramsey. Yet, the turnstile of quarterbacks at Washington would continue and following the 2006 season the Redskins released him.

Not long after that he signed with New Orleans and became the back-up quarterback there. And a veteran leader on a team that had just lost in the NFC Championship game.

This season he played in every game as the holder for extra points and field goals for kicker Garrett Hartley.

The Saints won tonight, and I'm sad for the Colts, but deep inside, I'm ok with it. I'm happy to see a quarterback that I grew up rooting for finally get his ring. I'm happy that finally Mark Brunell is a World Champion.

I did indeed put money on the Colts

Okay so it was like five cents, on CentSports.com, but I put money on the Indianapolis Colts - which pains me greatly. Why? Because...

(1) It's Casey's favorite team and I'm sure he'd get some sort of weird sense of entitlement that I bet on his favorite team.

(2) Peyton Manning looks like Sloth from "The Goonies"

(3) I'm betting against the Who Dat! New Orleans Saints, who are the better story in this Super Bowl. Katrina, Drew Brees, Reggie Bush, they're just 100 percent more interesting. Problem is, Peyton Manning is 100 percent the best QB in the league.

You seriously have no idea how tough it was to pick the Colts, picking against the long-suffering New Orleans franchise that plays in a city that was nearly wiped off the face of the planet thanks to Katrina, is essentially like rooting for global warming, the bubonic plague and the New York Yankees.

(4) It's Casey's favorite team. Even if they win and I get my nickle of winnings, I have to hear him for the next year brag about his Colts.

(5) If they win, there's going to be hordes of new "Colts fans" that walk the earth. Ugh. NFL Fans! Got to love them!

Video Bites: NFL Championship Picks

The January 22nd edition of the JustSON Video Bites. That's right, bite-sized videos!!!!

Peyton Manning, the best NFL quarterback ever

Casey's favorite quarterback Peyton Manning is the most valued player in the NFL again, much to the chagrin of Brett Favre. Since this is his fourth MVP award, he breaks a tie with Mr. Frozen Tundra and becomes the greatest quarterback that ever lived.

He's also won just one Super Bowl like Favre, but at least he doesn't appear in Wrangler Jeans commercials. Do those actually makes guys think "You know what I need? A freakin' pair of WRANGLER jeans!" Epic Fail, Mr. Favre.

Come to think of it, Manning's commercials are much better. He's pretty much superior in every way except his coach doesn't look like a bowling league champion. Darnit.

The Battle of JustSON

Tonights NFL game features the Titans and the Colts. Two of our favorite teams around here at JustSON.

Brandon will be wearing his Eddie George jersey tonight while trying to will Titans to their first win of the season.

I will be wearing my Peyton Manning jersey while hoping the Colts can stay perfect.

And then there is the guy in the picture to the right. Umm....

It's Sunday Night Football.

It's a battle of AFC South teams.

It's the battle of JustSON.

Colts fans are nothing but class

During today's game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Indianapolis Colts, it was a homecoming for Edgerrin James. James spent seven years with the Colts and was a pillar of the rebuilding of the team.

He is the Colts all time rushing leader and is the NFL active rusher at 9226 yards before the game.

His first carry came during the 2nd quarter of the game and in fact, that was his 3,000 career carry.

And what do the sell-out crowd in Lucas Oil Stadium do? The Colt faithful give him a standing ovation. The camera cut to James, and he was sporting his usual grin. It had to feel good to know that these people, where you worked in front of them to build your legacy, still support you. No matter what uniform you wear.

Nice work Colt fans. Very classy.

The Wildcat works, the 2-minute drill doesn't

There's been a lot of hype around the Wildcat offense that the Dolphins use and there's also been a lot of detractors. Even though Miami lost last night 27-23 to Indianapolis, NFL coaches should look at the following...

Time of Possession

COLTS
14:53

DOLPHINS
45:07

If Peyton Manning is not involved in this game, the Dolphins win it. The Wildcat works, Tony Sparano's two minute offense doesn't. But everyone tomorrow is going to say "See! The Dolphins' offense doesn't work," which is completely wrong.

Peyton Manning was on the field in the third quarter for THREE PLAYS. That essentially takes him out of the game. This is what Bill Parcells (who's not coaching, but watching from a high perch in Land Shark Stadium) use to do with his Giants teams - eat up the clock and not let the other offense out on the field (hence, they can't score).

The genius of the Dolphins offense is that they don't use the Wildcat every play, they mix in mostly traditional plays and then occasionally have somebody other than Chad Pennington take the snap. They have the right personnel for the system (a stable of good running backs and West Virginia's former QB Pat White to also take snaps) and they implement it right. It's a very efficient system and had Manning not connecting on some long passes, we're looking at a different outcome.

Since this is a copy-cat league I'd like to see other teams implement it as well and have the right people in place. Jim Mora Jr. from Seattle should be taking notes right now since it seems Seneca Wallace may have to take more snaps for the Seahawks this season.

Casey's team is a royal flaming mess

My better half on this blog, Casey Knopik, is a self-pronounced Colts fan. He's also a Royals fan.

Apparently he likes blue and white.

One thing I've never understood is how he can support such a lame franchise. Not only did they move from one of the loudest NFL stadiums to the quietest (thanks to some great engineering) and not only did they go from one of the best human beings on Earth as their coach to ... the venerable assistant coach who's sure to completely run the thing into the ground, but they also have Peyton Manning at quarterback.

I don't have an axe to grind with Manning, but even though he does have a Super Bowl ring - he's kind of a tard. Sure his commercials are funny, but he seems like a doofus. Can you imagine him trying to yuck it up with teammates int he locker room? I can't.

And lets not forgot the time he threw his entire offensive line under the bus during a post game interview.

I'd say more but I don't want Marvin Harrison to put a hit out on me, so I'll just leave it at this:

You heard it here first, the Indianapolis Colts will be a disaster this year.

One of the best

Thanks Coach!

The NFL said to goodbye to Tony Dungy as he decided to step down today as the Head Coach of the Indianapolis Coach.

Here was a great article on him. CLICK HERE.

Party like it's 1947

I used to hate Kurt Warner with a passion.

Used to.

Mainly because the Rams were the toast of the NFL and he led them over my Titans for a Super Bowl Championship.

Then after a few years, he sucked and tumbled off the face of the football world and right into the lap of the Arizona Cardinals.

And now I find myself rooting for the guy. After reading this piece about just what kind of guy Warner is, I couldn't root against him. And if you really think about it, Warner has never put himself in front of the team and has been extremely gracious during the downturn of his career.

That being said, with the Cardinals going into the playoffs, I figured that they had no chance whatsoever. Much like no one gave Warner a chance - he was bagging groceries and had to work his way up through the AFL to the NFL (beginning as the third stringer). However, Arizona, which was hosting its first playoff game since 1947 when they were the Chicago Cardinals, beat the upstart Atlanta Falcons 30-24 today.

It's kind of strange how sports can change your mind.

Powder Blues rule the night again

So fellow blogger Casey tells me. After various texts back and forth about how terrible Madden is at commentating a game, he called the game with that bold prediction about the jerseys.

Badass jerseys + winners of the previous four must win games = upset over the Colts and ... yep, it's back... THE MANNING FACE!

For the second straight year, Eli Manning will be in the hunt for the Lombardi trophy longer than his brother. How ironic is that? Who saw that coming? Will Eli turn out to have a better career than his brother?

Epic Photo: Now if they could have done this to Lucas Oil Stadium

We talked about stadiums that shouldn't have been replaced yesterday, and in a perfect stroke of timing, they imploded the RCA Dome - former home of the Indianapolis Colts - at about 9:30 a.m. today.

Here's a photo of the 24-year old stadium biting the dust. While it was relatively small by NFL standards, the dome gave the Colts excellent home field advantage due to the loud noise that fans were able to create. It was so loud that other teams accused the Colts of piping in noise through the stadium's sound system.

Indianapolis moved to Lucas Oil Stadium, which was subsequently been as loud as a tomb thanks to the new stadium's fieldhouse-esque features that basically let the sound escape through the top. One look at the place and you can see why, the retractable roof (which isn't waterproof GOOD CALL!) and a movable window wall opens up the stadium considerably.

And then factor in the "regular fans getting priced out by rich folk" effect and you have a pathetic home field advantage.

Now it's a little too late to go back to the RCA Dome.

Kind of like the Colts postseason hopes...

Not to get too mean here since Casey is a Colts fan but they deflated the roof of the RCA Dome, the former home of the Indianapolis Colts in preparation for its implosion. Now I'm not one to really judge (yes I am), but the dome was built in 1984 and apparently it's already outdated.

Which means (since I was born in 1985) I'm about one year from implosion myself.

At 1-2, the Indianapolis Colts have shown they can't win in their new stadium, Lucas Oil Stadium, so perhaps they should just ask the city to reinflate the roof and move back into their old stadium.

Then Lucas Oil Stadium could host tractor pulls, swap meets, gun shows and whatever else people do in Indiana.

I mean there new stadium looks like a gymnasium at the local YMCA, not a cold, heartless NFL stadium with no distinct features whatsoever intended to strike fear in foes and fans alike. And it doesn't have a pirate ship. What the hell?