Super Bowl Deja Vu?

The buildup to this year’s Super Bowl surrounds two already Super Bowl winning quarterbacks and coaches. Both Eli Manning and Tom Brady have won at least one Super Bowl, while their current coaches have also won before. This got me thinking about how rare of a matchup this is. The chart at the bottom lists the starting QBs and coaches and there are some interesting results:

• This is the fifth time two SB winning QBs have faced off and also the fifth time two SB winning coaches have met.
• Surprisingly or not surprising at all, eight of those ten instances were the same games. The exceptions were when Warner (now on the Cardinals) faced Big Ben (now with Tomlin) and Don Shula was trying to win with Marino against Bill Walsh.
• Along similar correlating lines, there have been 27 QBs trying to win their second ring, and 29 coaches. Those QBs have won 17 or 63% of those attempts, while the coaches have gone 62%.
• It gets even weirder, three QBs have won their second ring with a different coach (Montana/Seifert, Aikman/Switzer, Big Ben/Tomlin) and three have lost trying with a new play caller (Warner/Martz, Warner/Whisenhunt, P Manning/Caldwell). Likewise, four coaches have won with a new QB (Gibbs/Williams, Parcells/Hostetler, Gibbs/Rypien, Seifert/Young) and four have lost with a new passer (Shula/Woodley, Shula/Marino, Parcells/Bledsoe, Holmgren/Hasselbeck).
• Since this is only the fourth matchup of two previously winning QBs and coaches in the same game, you would think it was the first rematch between the same two pairs in a Super Bowl. However, the Steelers of Bradshaw and Noll faced off against the Cowboys lead by Staubach and Landry twice after all four had already been champions.

What does this all mean for Super Bowl XLVI? Not a clue. However, I do have a new found respect for Joe Gibbs, Bill Parcells, Kurt Warner and Super Bowl XIII.

Eli-te Manning

In the preseason Eli Manning answered a radio host’s question by saying he was an elite quarterback, which was met by scoffs from the media and opposing fans. While the Giants QB has been a Pro Bowler and Super Bowl MVP, he was not considered in the same class as other signal callers like Brady, Brees, Rodgers, or Roethlisberger, or even the best QB in his own family. Despite upsetting Brady in the Super Bowl, Eli’s aw shucks demeanor and 53 turnovers in the past two seasons while missing the playoffs did not help him get out of Peyton’s shadow.

However, since the season started, the youngest Manning has risen to the occasion. Aided by the middle Manning’s neck surgery and New York’s meager running game, Eli has captured the spotlight this season. In his best season as a pro, the Giants QB broke multiple Giants records including completions, yards, and career playoff touchdowns. His 4,933 yards would have been third all time going into this season, and when paired with 29 TD’s, would easily win MVP in other years. He even set a record for most 4^th quarter touchdowns in a season, previously held by Peyton and Johnny Unitas.

More importantly, Eli won his last two playoff games advancing to the NFC championship game, one win away from a possible Super Bowl rematch with Brady and the Patriots. With the two victories, he has improved his postseason record to 6-3, which at 67% compares quite favorably to other QBs with as many starts. If you look at the chart below, he has had more postseason success than Hall of Famers Staubach, Young, Griese, Tarkenton, Kelly, Marino, and Moon, as well as future Hall of Famers Favre and older brother Peyton. The nine QBs above him on the list have won a combined 23 of the 44 Super Bowls played, so maybe Eli’s new found stardom and renewed team success and will make it 24.

Quarterback	Wins	Losses	Percent	Hall of Fame
Bart Starr	9	1	90%	Yes
Jim Plunkett	8	2	80%
Tom Brady	15	5	75%	Will Be
Terry Bradshaw	14	5	74%	Yes
Troy Aikman	11	4	73%	Yes
Ben Roethlisberger	10	4	71%
Joe Montana	16	7	70%	Yes
Kurt Warner	9	4	69%	May Be
John Elway	14	7	67%	Yes
Eli Manning	6	3	67%
Roger Staubach	11	6	65%	Yes
Phil Simms	6	4	60%
Ken Stabler	7	5	58%
Steve Young	8	6	57%	Yes
Donovan McNabb	9	7	56%
Drew Brees	5	4	56%	May Be
Bob Griese	6	5	55%	Yes
Fran Tarkenton	6	5	55%	Yes
Brett Favre	13	11	54%	Will Be
Jim Kelly	9	8	53%	Yes
Steve McNair	5	5	50%
Danny White	5	5	50%
Mark Brunell	5	5	50%
Craig Morton	5	5	50%
Peyton Manning	9	10	47%	Will Be
Matt Hasselbeck	5	6	46%
Dan Marino	8	10	44%	Yes
Daryle Lamonica	4	5	44%
Randall Cunningham	3	6	33%
Dave Krieg	3	6	33%
Warren Moon	3	7	30%	Yes

Hoo’s Battling Duke for 1st Place?

Don’t look now, but UVa men’s basketball team is 14-1 and ranked #16 in the country. The Cavaliers are the only one loss team left in in the ACC, putting them in first place as conference play starts up. This is the highest the team has been ranked since 2000, when they were #8 in the country. In the latest Bracketology forecast, ESPN predicts Virginia will be a 5 seed in the tournament which would be the team’s best seeding since they last made the tournament as a 4 seed in 2007.

UVa is led by fifth year senior Mike Scott, who is the leading scorer and has had five double doubles so far. He has already earned three ACC player of the week awards this season, only the fifth Cavalier to do so. The team also relies on one of the best defenses in the country, which is 2^nd out of 338 in scoring at 50.5 points a game, and 20^th in opponents’ field goal %. The fans at John Paul Jones Arena have embraced the defensive mindset by ramping up the decimal level whenever the opponents’ shot clock goes below 10 seconds.

However, the team’s biggest test to date is Thursday as they travel to Cameron Indoor Stadium to take on #6 Duke. ESPN has this matchup as the upset pick of the week. Unfortunately, the Wahoos have not beaten the Blue Devils since 2007 and have not won on Coach K court since 1995, when the members of the Hoo’s roster were still learning how to walk let alone dribble a basketball. Yikes!

Chick-Fil-A Bowl Adventures

After UVA surprisingly made the Peach Bowl (now Chick-Fil-A Bowl), Erryn and I decided to attend with some of my UVa buddies. The Atlanta hosted bowl is reserved for the second ranked ACC team, but Virginia Tech earned a BCS bid, leaving an opportunity for the Cavs to go to a top flight bowl after being predicted to finish in the basement of the division.

When we arrived in Atlanta, we were surprised to see plenty of fellow Cavs fans, but due to the proximity to Auburn, the Tiger fans showed up closer to gametime. Strangely enough, Auburn’s first football coach was a UVa alum and used our colors for their squad 100 years ago, hence tons of orange and blue in the streets of Atlanta. The highlight of the activities before the game was the parade, during 60 degree Georgia weather, and predictably tons of cows:

The game started off great with our marching band and early touchdowns and leads:

Unfortunately Auburn’s speed and our special teams errors took over the game leading to a 19 point loss. You are not going to win many games with two blocked punts, giving up an onside kick, a failed fake fg, and a 60 yard return. Despite the disappointment, I am optimistic about the young over achieving team and look forward to next year after sophomore QB Rocco’s improved play in the 2nd half of the season.