A Tale of Two QB's

Super Bowl L (I am sticking with Roman numerals even though Roger Goodell's NFL is not) has come and gone.

A competitive battle whose outcome was in doubt until the final three minutes, it was filled with everything that makes sports great -- except for dazzling offense.

But there is a reason we saw no dazzling offense, and that reason is that we were treated to dazzling defense.

The game put outstanding tackling, powerful hits, and forced turnovers on display from start to finish. Because I love strong defense and firmly believe the adages that "defense wins championships" and "football is won in the trenches," I found Super Bowl L to be one of my favorites.

The media did not ignore the role that good old-fashioned defense played in this game. Von Miller got the nod as MVP, and received a good bit of press for his dominant linebacking and the pair of decisive fumbles he forced. There has been a good bit of talk about how well Denver's top-ranked defense performed on the ultimate stage (though it would be nice if there was also a good bit of talk about how well Carolina's sixth-ranked defense performed on that stage).

However, most of the post-game media chatter has focused on the quarterbacks. This is somewhat understandable these days, especially given the dichotomy between the immobile white 39-year-old Petyon Manning and the mobile black 26-year-old Cam Newton, and I accept that even though I don't agree with it. What drives me to write this post is the uneven nature of that QB-focused coverage.

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Full disclosure #1:  I am an Auburn grad and therefore it would be fair for people to say I'm predisposed to defend Newton (even though I find it off-putting that he named his son Chosen).

Full disclosure #2:  I have a pronounced Peyton problem that I have written about before (even though it's really a problem with the media, not him).

With that said, the way the media has regarded the two quarterbacks since Super Bowl L ended strikes me as atrociously biased.

The media have praised Manning for deferring credit for the win to his teammates. They have praised him for his maturity and effused about the prospect of him ending his career as a reigning champion, which is something that in all of history has been accomplished by only one other QB.

They have acknowledged that Manning looked nothing like a Hall of Famer on Sunday night, but have converted that criticism into praise by saying it shows that he recognized the limitations of his age and opted to play within himself. Of course, "plays within himself" sounds a lot like a dog whistle for "plays smart."

Conversely, the media have butchered Newton for not performing as well as he did during the rest of the season, and torched him for cutting short his post-game interview with their holy selves... Never mind that logic dictates that every quarterback will perform poorer than usual when he faces the league's top-ranked defense for the only time... Never mind that not a one of the media members criticizing Newton has ever been in the situation he was in at that moment he cut them short; i.e., not a one of them has worked his entire life in pursuit of a damnably unobtainable goal, only to put himself within reach of that goal and then come up short... And more to the point, those in the media who have butchered Newton have done so gleefully and with a wholly unmerited air of moral superiority.

Something the media chooses not to mention (even though their own cameras captured it in real time) is that when Super Bowl L ended, Cam Newton approached Peyton Manning on the field and had a smile on his face. They also don't mention that Newton shook hands with members of the team that had just beaten his, and that he appeared to congratulate them on their success against his team and against himself.

Something else the media chooses not to mention is that six years ago, when Super Bowl XLIV ended with Manning as the losing quarterback, Manning walked off the field without shaking hands with a single member of the New Orleans Saints' team that had just beaten his -- and keep in mind that Manning was then seven years older than Newton is now, and thus logic dictates he should have acted more mature than Newton did on Sunday.

The disconnect between the way the media treat Peyton Manning and the way they treat Cam Newton (and in my opinion, between the way they treat Peyton Manning and the way they treat everybody else) is just plain outrageous.

Yes, Manning comes across as humble and ethical and I believe he really is humble and ethical, but didn't he just cap off a Super Bowl victory by saying he was about to "drink a lot of Budweiser," without a whiff of media or MADD criticism coming his way? Do you think the media would have remained silent if Cam Newton said that?

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I have no idea why it is that Peyton Manning receives so much adoration and so little criticism from the press.

I want to say it's because of his bloodline and I do believe that has something to do with it, but then again, Eli Manning gets more criticism than Peyton even though he has just as many rings and is the only QB ever to beat Tom Brady in a Super Bowl (which he has done twice!).

I can not prove than race is the reason for the disconnect between media treatment of Manning versus media treatment of Newton... after all, the media have long been soft on some black quarterbacks (e.g., Donovan McNabb) and brutal on some white quarterbacks (e.g., Jay Cutler)... but I have no doubt -- repeat, no doubt -- that race has something to do with the difference in treatment that has been on display for the last two days.

I have just said a lot, but it all boils down to this: Ignore the media, look at the facts, make up your own mind, and don't judge unless there is a verifiable reason to judge.

A lot of Auburn talk, and the top twenty

Auburn's win over LSU on Saturday was noteworthy for all the reasons the pundits are saying, and some the pundits are missing.

Of course it is impressive that Auburn ran for 440 yards against the SEC's top defense, but the more you look at the numbers, the more impressive they get. They ran for all those yards while throwing for fewer than 90, which means they did it without forcing LSU to choose between focusing on defending the run and focusing on defending the pass. And while no player this season had run for 100 or more yards against LSU, two Auburn players did it in the same game on Saturday.

For the first time all year, Auburn's defense looked like the kind of confident, take-no-prisoners unit you can depend on in the clutch. The front seven was ferocious, especially DT Nick Fairley, but even the previously soft secondary looked strong. In the second half, several of Auburn's sacks and QB pressures came after the QB had time to survey the field, which means they can be credited to the secondary preventing LSU's receivers from getting open.

That Auburn won a game like this despite starting most of their possessions deep in their own territory, including twice at their own one in the second half -- and despite giving up a momentum-killing turnover in the third quarter -- and despite failing to convert a 4th-and-6 with the game tied in the fourth quarter -- and despite giving up a tying TD right before halftime, then another one early in the fourth quarter -- and despite being flagged for costly penalties at several crucial moments -- and despite missing a field goal -- speaks to their resolve and resiliency.

From week to week, the whole team is improving and becoming more and more of a team; i.e., this is not just the Cam Newton show, it is a football team to be taken seriously. There are certainly reasons to doubt they can finish undefeated, and I must admit it is not entirely clear that they are even the best team in their own state, but they are "for real" and Auburn fans should be excited.

Now it is time to turn my football mind away from its focus on my alma matter, and objectively consider the entire college football scene. Having done that, here is the Stanton's Space Top Twenty.

1. Oregon

2. Michigan State

3. Auburn

4. Boise State

5. TCU

6. Utah

7. Missouri

8. Wisconsin

9. Alabama

10. Ohio State

11. Stanford

12. Oklahoma

13. LSU

14. Iowa

15. Arkansas

16. Florida State

17. Nebraska

18. South Carolina

19. Virginia Tech

20. Mississippi State

Seven Weeks In

My last three posts have either been about college football, or mentioned college football in them. Well, make that my last four. I haven't posted in two weeks, partly because of a business trip to Chicago, and now that I am doing it again it just feels right to write about this topic.

It also feels wrong in the sense that after writing in September about Sarah missing what would have been her first two official cheerleading appearances, I have not written about the three appearances she has since made. However, we have not yet downloaded the pictures and videos from them, so I decided to hold off on until I can include the visuals.

Anyway, back to my thoughts on college football:

I am surprised that Michigan State (8th in the AP and 7th in the BCS) is not ranked higher.

I am also surprised that everyone has stopped talking about Stanford; and while I'm at it, I might as well say I'm surprised that everyone has also stopped talking about USC.

From a rival's perspective, I am thrilled that Alabama has been knocked from the ranks of the unbeaten and that Florida has been knocked from those ranks three times over. I have some good friends who are Florida fans, and I do not count some of them in what I am about to say, but -- generally speaking, Florida fans are the most obnoxious blowhards in America, have absolutely no sense of perspective, and constantly say things that show their relationship with reality to be superficial. In short, since I live in an area where I am surrounded by them and am usually forced to hear their high-decibel crowing from one end of autumn to the other, it is a fabulous feeling to have them silenced by mid-October.

Speaking about lack of perspective, allow me to look in the mirror and admit that I am sometimes guilty of that when it comes to Auburn, since I stew after each loss and tend to be overly critical of my alma matter's team. So I mean it when I say that Cam Newton is the real deal and probably the best quarterback in America. He is second in the nation in passing efficiency; fourth in rushing yards, including running backs; has 13 TD passes versus just 5 INT's; has 12 rushing TD's; and has led his team to an unbeaten record more than halfway through the season despite playing in the toughest conference in America. I am damn near ecstatic with the way he plays.

Also speaking as an Auburn man, I have to say (because nobody else will) that the poor officiating in Saturday's game went both ways. Looking at the write-ups in the national media, a lot is being said about two of Auburn's touchdowns being assisted by controversial calls...but nothing is being said about the bad call that led to an Arkansas touchdown. With Auburn ahead 30-21 in the third quarter, Arkansas went for it on 4th-and-6 and was stopped well short of the first-down marker, but a generous spot by the refs granted them a first down and they scored on the next play. In other words, that troika of calls netted the Tigers only 7 points in a game they won by 22, so for the media to focus on the two flags that benefited Auburn while completely ignoring the one that harmed them represents one more example of the anti-Auburn bias that has been evident for years. And I am not even including the pair of iffy pass interference calls that went against us, or the phantom holding call that wiped out a long reception by Darvin Adams. All I am saying is that Saturday's win was legit, not gift-wrapped, and media statements that disparage it should be ignored.

Finally, here is the Stanton's Space Top Twenty.

1. Oregon

2. Michigan State

3. Boise State

4. TCU

5. Oklahoma

6. Auburn

7. Utah

8. LSU

9. Wisconsin

10. Alabama

11. Ohio State

12. Stanford

13. Missouri

14. Iowa

15. Arkansas

16. Florida State

17. Oklahoma State

18. South Carolina

19. Mississippi State

20. Nebraska

Update, 10/21/10: Speaking of Cam Newton, as if his play wasn't enough, this article gives even more reasons to like him.