At first, Peyton Manning had a massive role in the biggest interception in Super Bowl history.

Then, he basically excused himself from the action.

 Tracy Porter’s 74-yard interception return put a severe crimp in the crusade to crown Manning as the greatest quarterback of all time.

It also revealed Manning’s shortcomings as a football player.

Manning is pure quarterback. He has almost no use for running. (He’s gained a total of eight yards in the past two seasons.) And he has almost no use for tackling.

After  Porter intercepted the pass, Manning kind of wandered into the scene. He never lowered his shoulder. He never tried to stand his ground. He was  completely out of his element. He’s purely a passer and that’s it.

John Elway would have made that tackle. Joe Kapp would have made that tackle. Jim Kelly would have made that tackle. Joe Theismann would have made that tackle.  Jake Plummer would have made that tackle. (Jay Cutler wouldn’t.) I could go on. A real football player would have fought his way into the middle of the action, risked being maimed and given everything possible to save the game.

Manning did, basically, nothing.

Precision is great when you’re throwing a football, but sometimes a player needs more than mere precision.

He needs emotion. He needs to put his body on the line to rescue his teammates and, maybe, keep his team alive in the Biggest  Game in the World.

Here’s Bob Kravitz’s look at the game from the Indy Star: (Kravitz is an alum of the late Rocky Mountain News.)

http://www.indystar.com/article/20100209/SPORTS15/2090334

And here’s a story about the loyal fans who greeted the Colts upon their return to Indy: (There were 11 fans.)

http://www.indystar.com/article/20100209/SPORTS03/2090352

On Sunday night, AFA coach Jeff Reynolds talked to his team.

“You know,” Reynolds said, “you guys can’t feel sorry for yourself.”

That’s good advice, Jeff.

Feeling sorry for yourself and making excuses never accomplished anything.

Tomorrow: Was I the only who thought Peyton Manning looked uninterested in making a game-saving tackle?

One thing you can expect from a team running the Princeton offense is increased effectiveness as the shot clock runs down.

In other words, the fewer seconds left on the shot clock, the more dangerous the offense becomes.

During better days at Air Force, the Falcons consistently burned opposing defenses just before the shot clock buzzer.

Why?

Defenses get more aggressive in the waning seconds of the shot clock, and the Princeton offense works best when it attacks aggression.

When I watched AFA’s prep school late last month, the Huskies (that’s the prep school’s nickname) consistently burned defenders with the shot clock below five seconds.

At the academy, it’s a different story. The team almost never gets a quality shot with the shot clock below five seconds. Many things went wrong in Saturday’s loss/disaster against TCU, but one consistent problem was chaos in the AFA offense as the shot clock dwindled.

The Gazette’s Jake Schaller counted five different times when the Falcons launched a desperation shot with the clock under five seconds.

I’m interested in your views of the state of AFA’s basketball program, and let me make one thing perfectly clear:

I want to hear all views.

Here’s today’s column on AFA basketball:

http://www.gazette.com/sports/ramsey-93812-reynolds-watches.html

I’ll be blogging later today with more from AFA coach Jeff Reynolds, who has his weekly press conference later this morning.

A great quarterback does not make a great team.

I believed Peyton Manning would be all the Colts needed to beat the Saints.

Obviously, I was wrong.

The more balanced team won the Super Bowl.

The Saints fought back from  a 10-0 deficit, made Manning look average and earned a workman-like victory.

This one didn’t deliver the thrills of last season’s game, which featured what might have been the best fourth quarter in football history.

This one did deliver one of the best things about sport:

A genuine surprise.

Also, I must give credit to BlogDog, who picked the Saints to win the Super Bowl in today’s Gazette.

Let’s face it:

BlogDog is a prophet.

The Saints are a great story.

Peyton Manning is a great quarterback.

The Colts over the Saints, 35-21.

Please, let me know your  prediction.

I’ll be blogging after the game tonight.

Here’s an interesting piece by Yahoo’s Charles Robinson about where Manning should be placed on the list of the NFL’s all-time best players, regardless of position:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AqaZUfBJzTtGvJf_2QZc34hDubYF?slug=cr-peytonvsgreats020510&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Just returned home from a great college hockey game at AFA.

Falcons lost, 2-1, in overtime to University of Denver, but if there’s such a thing as an encouraging loss, this was it. Air Force played its best game of the season and showed it can play with one of the nation’s elite teams.

The goaltending was superb by Andrew Volkening and DU’s Marc Cheverie.

AFA coach Frank Serratore said Cheverie displayed amazing west-to-east movement in front of the net.

On some shots, Serratore said, Cheverie moved from “Los Angeles to New York.”

I’ve been following Air Force’s basketball team for seven seasons.

Saturday’s loss to TCU is the worst I’ve ever seen the team play.

Let me say that again:

The worst.

Here’s Jake Schaller’s look at the game. This includes an interesting look at one of the greatest moments from Michael Jordan’s career.

http://gazetteafasports.freedomblogging.com/

To understand Floyd Little’s greatness, you had to watch Floyd Little run with a football. He was one of the most exciting runners in football history. He excelled in taking crazed routes to the end zone, often reversing his route two or three times on the journey.

He rescued the Broncos franchise, helping to turn an endangered team into Colorado’s secular religion.

In my mind, and I confess that I might be biased, Little is No. 2 on the list of all-time great Broncos. In his prime, Little was every bit the runner that Terrell Davis was in his prime. And, remember, Little ran behind an offensive line that never will be described as mighty.

Today, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced Little will be inducted with the hall’s Class of 2010.

All I can say is this:

It’s about time.

Frank Schwab asks why Shannon Sharpe didn’t join Little. Check it out:

http://gazettebroncos.freedomblogging.com/

Please stop by later today for posts on Floyd Little’s (and Shannon Sharpe’s) induction (or lack of induction) into Pro Football Hall of Fame. Little and Sharpe - and us - will find out the news at 3 p.m.

Also, will be posting this afternoon from Air Force vs. TCU basketball and tonight from AFA vs. DU.

Have to comment on Nuggets massive Friday night win over Lakers, one of the biggest regular-season wins in team history.

The Nuggets have a chance - a strong chance - to rule the NBA this season. I know, the Cavs and the Lakers are the NBA’s elite.

The Nuggets are right behind them.

Here’s the Denver Post’s game story from the Lakers-Nuggets:

http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_14346679

Few subjects I’ve written about have inspired as much passion and disagreement as the issue of  who ranks among the all-time greatest quarterbacks.

I go with Joe Montana, followed by Johnny Unitas, John Elway, Manning and Sam Baugh.

My list - and this goes for any all-time QB list - ignites the pilot light in the sports souls of others.

Received an e-mail this week from Scott,  a  local NFL fan, who insists that Unitas and Elway are the greatest ever. He also - and this is what I love about sports - insists that anyone  who disagrees with his selections is utterly misguided. It’s not even close, Scott says. Johnny and John are the undisputed kings.

The Greatest QB discussion is one of those great sports discussions. There’s no way to settle the argument, which only adds to the fun. And there’s nothing really important at stake in the argument. It’s not as if we’re all discussing nuclear policy.

I’m sticking with Montana at the top of my list and I will not move Manning past Elway even if No. 18 wins another Super Bowl on Sunday.

Your thoughts?

Here’s a previous  look at the all-time list, with some great video of Unitas and Baugh in their primes:

http://daveramseysez.freedomblogging.com/2009/12/12/heres-my-top-five-nfl-quarterbacks/1689/

AFA coach Troy Calhoun makes his case for Manning as the GOAT:

http://www.gazette.com/sports/manning-90548-john-peyton.html

Here’s a look from The Sporting News on the big question:

http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/article/2010-02-03/best-nfl-qb-ever-another-super-bowl-title-and-its-peyton-manning

And here’s Gary Myers of the New York Daily News look at the greatest-ever discussion: (Warning: Myers’ list closely resembles my list.)

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/2010/01/28/2010-01-28_peytons_manning_place_still_behind_joe_montana_others_as_best_quarterback_of_all.html