[GTripp0012]

I don't think he had to necessilary beat NE. I think that a lot of people were just waiting for Peyton to get a ring before they crowned him as one of the greatest to ever play. But why? Is Peyton any better at QB now then he was three weeks ago? Probably a bit because of the way he won that Patriot game with the comeback, but anyone with a brain knew that he was capable of beating NE (because anyone who follows the NFL knew that the last two times the teams played in NE, the Colts were victorious), and that there were many logical reasons that it had never happened in the past for him. Throughout his career he had won high pressure games, and lost others. Who was some idiot sportswriter (or a group of them) to determine whether or not Peyton Manning was fit to ever win a superbowl?

I just think that saying that Player "X" is a really great player but can't win the big one is an ignorant position. Obviously these great quarterbacks got that reputations for being great because they won games down the stretch for their teams.

I think can't win the big one is too general of a statement to be taken seriously. If the "Big One" refers only to the super bowl, then all players who have never played in the super bowl are exempt from this tag. If it's just the Conference Championships and the Super Bowl that qualify as big games, then you have to have played and failed in multiple Conference Championships to don the tag. If it's all playoff games, then by definition, a win in a playoff game relieves you of the cant win the big one tag.

A guy who plays well and leads an otherwise inferior team to many key victories is uncomparibly better to a guy who "wins big games" while being along for the ride with a great team. Guys in the media who lable ANY player as being "unable to win the big game" are ignorant enough to disagree with this point.

Technically, the Colts got very fortunate on the road to SB XLI. They got to play a Chiefs team with a struggling offense that had eeked into the playoffs, and the next week they went into Baltimore. I didnt think the Colts would beat the Ravens, but when they did, they were very lucky that the Patriots won and they got to play the Championship game at home, instead of in SD where I doubt they could have won. Getting to the SB was a tough road, and then they got fortunate enough to get the Bears in a situation where they turned the ball over 5 times.

What sportswriters need to take from this is the lesson learned that even the team that gets boned time and time again in the playoffs is capable of winning it all if things break right.