More Colts-Pats

"I'm trying to be a good teammate here. Let's just say we had some problems with protection."


So did I mention that Peyton Manning sucks?

OK, so he's a pretty good quarterback. Watching him steamroll over defenses is impressive, and I'd be lying if I didn't say I was nervous every time he takes the field against the Patriots defense. But as far as sports personalities go...he just doesn't cut it.

First off, I find it admirable that he tries to own up to his bad play, but his statement last year was telling. I have no problem with the "we had some problems with protection" statement, because that was true. But to preface it with "I'm trying to be a good teammate," DOES mean that he feels his lineman let him down. Nice move.

Second, his incessant commercials irritate the hell out of me. Is there any reason why he has to be in 4 commercials this year and have all of them run all day Sunday? And the worst one isn't the nonsensical one where he busts out of a football. It's the one where he's telling you to get NFL Sunday ticket so that you can watch an exciting game instead of the blowout that he's in. Then he throws for a TD to make the score 35-3. Awesome.

Lastly, he's a choker. There's no clearer way to say it. When the stakes are high, he fails to rise to the occasion more often than not. Back in 2002, I thought that this point of view was a little silly. After all, could you really have blamed all the playoff losses on him? It wasn't his fault that Vanderjagt (who also sucks) missed that game-tying field goal against Miami in the 2000 playoffs, right? Not his fault that the Colts' defense was so terrible, right? While it's true that Manning didn't lose those playoff games singlehandedly, his play was a large factor. I'll give him all the credit for the playoff games he won against Kansas City and Denver (twice). He was awesome in those games, and he carried his team to victory. But in the 41-0 loss to the '02 Jets, the 24-14 loss to the '03 Pats, the 20-3 loss to the '04 Pats and the 21-18 loss to the '05 Steelers, a big reason for losing was his inability to put points on the board. 4 playoff losses, 35 total points from the guy who may end up setting all the NFL passing records. And it's not like he had a fantastic performance in those losses and his defense let him down; anyone who saw those games knows that Peyton Manning played terribly in all of them.

And despite all of this, he's probably one of the greatest quarterbacks ever. I won't argue with that. But can you really be a compelling sports figure when you shy away from the moment and fail to rise in the biggest moments? Don't we watch sports to see athletes come through in the clutch, overcome the opposition when the stakes are high, and celebrate the triumph of victory?

I can't say that I despise Peyton Manning, even though he sucks. But to me he's like Alex Rodriguez in that the bar is set so high, his failures are magnified. I feel somewhat sorry for him...as much as I can feel sorry for someone who makes millions of dollars a year.

As for the Indianapolis Colts...I DO despise them. Bill Simmons summed up my feelings pretty well in his column today. How can I hate the Colts so much? More on this in the next post...but let's say that having Bill Polian as the GM makes it a lot easier.

Dinner at Manresa

Tonight, I put the low-fat diet on hold and took my wife to Manresa, a restaurant in Los Gatos that is listed on Gayot's Top 50 Best Restaurants in America. Although the service was a little spotty, the food was quite good.

Manresa offers a 4-course fixed price meal, so we went for that. My first course was a sweet onion-brioche soup with manchego, a sheep's milk cheese from Spain. They put the manchego and a soft-cooked egg in the bowl, then poured the soup over it. Unlike French onion soup, this one was very creamy and the onion flavor was very subtle. The egg yolk also added to the thick, rich texture. Delicious.

My second course was a risotto, cooked with dandelion and seafood. I'm not so big on dandelion, which I think I've had before in some Asian dishes, but I went with it anyway, hoping for the best. Fortunately, it mixed well with the seafood: octopus, prawns, mussels, clams, and sea urchin. Oooohh...the sea urchin. Tasted VERY fresh. Have I ever gone wrong with risotto? So tasty...

The main course was veal cheeks braised in cider. I do feel somewhat bad about eating veal, so I don't eat it very often. But my principles are easily bent when the promise of excellent food exists. In this case, I didn't think it was worth it. The veal was good, yes, but nothing special. Seems like they could have picked another less cruel piece of beef, and it would have been just as good. To be honest, I enjoyed the wild mushrooms and vegetables that came with it more than anything else.

As an aside, my wife had a strange sausage-shaped piece of meat with her main course. I took a taste and though I couldn't figure out what it was, it tasted a LOT like Cincinnati-style chili. For those who don't know how good Cincinnati-style chili is, I suggest you have a sample next time you're in the Queen city (or its airport). It's greasy stuff, and you have to keep in mind that it's not really chili, but it's pretty good.

And for dessert, I had a quince souffle with lemon curd on top. It was pretty good, but it didn't stack up to the Grand Marnier souffle I once had at Au Jour d'Hui in Boston. That place knew their souffles.

All in all, an excellent meal, though it didn't demonstrate to me why it would be one of the top 50 restaurants in America. Supposedly, the tasting menu is out of this world, so maybe next time...