Jim Rogash/Getty Images Keep playing, Peyton.
This is it! Two more games, and then the Super Bowl, then a gigantic void in our sporting lives until the Masters.
Before, I make this week's picks, I'd like to tackle some things people have been talking about this week in football.
Peyton Manning was thoroughly demolished last weekend, making anyone who declared him the best quarterback of his generation look like an idiot. His throws were off, and his team had no fight.
As a result, a lot of people are suggesting that it's time for him to hang it up. That suggestion is insane.
Manning is still a fantastic player. He was still one of the best quarterbacks in the league. He got worse at the end of the season because he was playing through a serious injury.
If Manning no longer has the desire to play football, then sure, hang it up, go play golf, or do TV, or become a VC, or whatever ex-athletes do nowadays. But if he wants to play, he should. He still has more talent than 95% of the quarterbacks in the league.
The other thing people have been talking about is Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones. He was the third string QB, then became the starter due to injury, and won three big games in a row, including the national championship.
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images Cardale Jones
On Thursday, he held a press conference to share his decision on going to the NFL. Jones announced that he would be staying at OSU one more year because his education was important to him.
There was some debate as to whether he should turn pro. If he were to go pro now, he might be a later round draft pick. If came back, he could play better, and move up in the draft, earning himself more money. But, there's a risk he's injured, or he might not even play — he was the third string QB, after all.
If I was Cardale Jones, I would turn pro. When you're a rookie you get a 4-year contract that will still pay over $2 million. Going back to school next year, he's gets $0, and he has to take classes instead of focusing 100% on football. As a pro he'll get paid and he can really zero in on his game. He won't get worse. The NFL is starved for good quarterbacks, so he's likely to get a chance to play in his first two years. If he's good, he will make plenty of money. If he's bad, then it doesn't matter one way or the other.
Let's do picks!
Last week I went 2-2 picking games, making me 3-5 picking playoff games. If I get both of these games right, then I could be .500 heading into the big game.
Let's look at this week's games. The lines come from Vegas Insider:
The Seattle Seahawks are 7.5-point favorites at home against the Green Bay Packers. (Game time 3:05 eastern, on Fox.)