Tuesday Afternoon Hair of the Dog - Manning Monday

Monday Night Football, Week 2, was some of the most fun I have personally had watching a football game in my life. Perhaps the greatest game experience outside of watching Miami beat Peyton Manning and his Colts in Indianapolis (when they were still division rivals) as a child.

And Peyton and Eli Manning have everything to do with it.

The game itself was pretty pedestrian in the first half and became increasingly uninteresting as the Packers extended their lead to 18 on the back of Jared Goff mistakes.

Actually, the game was pretty ugly and disappointing by the end. I frankly got tired of gloating over shots of Dan Campbell looking dismayed and like he wanted nothing more than to run on the field and play QB himself. ...Pretty quickly, actually.

I went into this game talking to my girlfriend about how the Lions' coaching staff is maybe entirely composed of former players. Let me double check my knowledge on that. So there are seven on that staff, including Campbell, who are former players: Anthony Lynn (OC), Aaron Glenn (DC), Mark Brunell (QBs), Duce Staley (RBs), Hank Fraley (OL), Antwaan Randle El (WRs). As the game progressed, I began to wonder whether that mattered – either positively or negatively.

It really is strange that Goff is now surrounded by so many players, including a former Quarterback, who had so much individual success. I mean, his HC notwithstanding. Is it normal to be coached by a Super Bowl-winning quarterback? Is Goff thinking about that?

Peyton and Eli at a few points got to talking about changing Systems and learning new terminology. What I found most interesting was the conversation they had, just the two of them, about Goff's play speed. Peyton broke down the Lions' huddle, which I thought was remarkable. He's talking about how because he's still new to the System that Goff is just repeating the play to the guys in the huddle. That it might even be as simple as “#17” and he looks at the sheet on his wrist and calls the play from there.

But what really caught my eye and my ear was that Goff wouldn't be able to think about and start to visualize the effect the play is going to have on the defense until he steps up to the line of scrimmage and he's trying to get his guys into position. At the same time he's trying to read what the defense is planning to do. No wonder so many young QBs have trouble getting their teams lined up! Holy shit. Did you hear some of the verbiage they were talking last night? Some of the play names?

And then moving from one system to another could change your syntax but not your words? Eesh. I have enough trouble speaking English in a cogent syntax, thank you.

And little wonder the Lions fell apart at the end of the game, particularly Goff. He was thinking.

The Packers weren't perfect. The score might suggest they were the dominant team – and, I mean, they were – but it was almost entirely unforced errors by Detroit that tranquilized the Lions. They just couldn't stop stepping on thorns. And with no mice around to help, the clock dwindled and dwindled and ended not so much with a roar as a whimper.

Mixed metaphors and references. God, I'm pressing as hard to make my writing interesting as Jared Goff was to get a first down in the second half.

Anyway. I really enjoyed the Mannings. They were funny. The guests were great. I'd like to see some of Eli's friends and acquaintances come on so he has something to talk about in the second half of the game. And I hope Peyton didn't actually hurt his feelings for telling a long story at the end of the game and us missing Pat call a second punt. ...I liked Eli's story.

I almost didn't mention the absolutely insane back-to-back throws Aaron Rodgers had to Adams and Tunyen to close out the opening drive of the Third Quarter! Ho-lee shit. Talk about a tight window throw, on that TD. “Right by the linebacker's earhole,” indeed.

And that is all that I have to say about that.

This is a short one, today. I've been all over the place, as far as where my attention has been able to stick. I haven't gotten through all of Sunday's games yet, to have impressions about what happened in them, so....

I'll be back with more ...later!

But, really, thanks for stopping by. It's good to talk at you like this.