KETCHMAN CRUSHES MANNING

As more and more members of the media are pointing out the fact that Colts quarterback Peyton Manning has developed a nasty habit of presiding over one-game postseasons, Vic Ketchman of Jaguars.com has gotten a head start on giving Manning some bulletin-board material for next season by destroying the 2008 NFL MVP for his performance in Saturday night’s overtime loss. In Ketchman’s latest (and always-compelling) Q&A, a fairly innocuous remark from Mark in Boise pushed Ketchman’s “overrated” button. Said Mark: “Manning did his job. Defense not only wins championships, it loses them.” Said Ketchman in response: “Manning did his job? What is it with you Peyton Manning apologists? He was nearly intercepted four times and three of those should’ve been intercepted and returned for touchdowns. “The only play he made in the second half was catching the Chargers off guard and lobbing a touchdown pass to an uncovered receiver. In his last four possessions, with the game on the line and the Colts only needing one more score to clinch the win, Manning managed a total of 20 plays for 38 net yards. Hey, that’s crunch time, baby. “A day after he wins the league MVP, he gags with the game on the line and does his usual one-and-done routine. When are you people gonna get off your knees? The guy is 7-8 in career postseason games and six times he’s lost in the first playoff game of that year’s postseason; three times in the last four years. Manning did not do his job. His job is to win. His job is to get it done at crunch time.” (Vic, quit being so damn coy. You really need to come out of that shell and assert yourself.) Frankly, we’re stunned. But we approve that message. We think we’ll read it again. And again. Meanwhile, it ended up being a very bad weekend to be a postseason award winner. In two days, we lost the MVP (Manning), the coach of the year (Mike Smith), the guy who almost won it (Tony Sparano), the offensive rookie of the year (Matt Ryan), the comeback player of the year (Chad Pennington), and the Maxwell Club’s Bert Bell Award winner (Adrian Peterson). The only award winner whose team didn’t lose in wild-card weekend was the defensive rookie of the year, Jerod Mayo. But only because the Patriots didn’t make it to the playoffs.