Should all the talk of Peyton Manning being the best ever, end?

michael89156 · 2014-02-10T08:39:25Z

Thoughts Of Manning As Best Ever Ludicrous After Super Bowl Crushing By Jeff Sperber February 09, 2014 3:36 pm In late 2011, it seemed like Peyton Manning might never throw another pass in the NFL ever again.After surgery on his neck in May 2011, Manning underwent a second neck surgery in September before being officially ruled out for the season. His streak of consecutive starts as the Indianapolis Colts signal caller topped off at 208 regular season games, 227 games if you include the playoffs.And ultimately, after 13 seasons as the pride of Indy, after nine consecutive seasons of 10 or more wins, the Colts released Manning on March 7, 2012. NFL fans were left to wonder if Peyton would ever be back and whether or not he’d be able to return to an elite level of play if he did return.Well, Manning did come back, now a Denver Bronco, and he looked to be better than ever. Since his improbable return, Manning has won Comeback Player of the Year (2012), NFL MVP (2013), and been named to two Pro Bowls. Oh yeah, he also statistically had the best regular season in NFL history in 2013—throwing a record 55 touchdown passes, passing for a record 5,477 yards, and leading a unit that scored 606 points, the most in the history of the league.Manning led the Broncos to two 13-3 seasons. He helped them achieve back-to-back No. 1 seeds. But, despite all of that, despite all of the accolades and all of the records, Peyton Manning should have just retired. He should have retired as an Indianapolis Colt after his two surgeries. No one would have blamed him. Because now, after this Super Bowl, Peyton Manning hasn’t helped cement his legacy as one of the greats; he’s hurt it.If you want to be great, win the Super Bowl. At the end of the day, records are fun, but being an NFL champion is what you want. Pete Carroll didn’t win Coach of the Year. No member of the Seahawks ridiculously dominant defense won Defensive Player of the Year. Russell Wilson didn’t break all of the passing records in the book. Do you think they care? It’s fun to hold a record, to be the answer to a trivia question, but winning the Lombardi Trophy determines your legacy.Eleven quarterbacks have won two Super Bowls or more. Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw won four apiece. Troy Aikman and Tom Brady each won three. Brady plays now. He’s been Manning’s main rival. Brady has three Super Bowl wins; Manning has one. Brady is better. Period.Not only has Brady outdueled Manning more times than not (Peyton that is, Eli might be another story), but he has done more with less. Peyton Manning has thrown to some of the top receiving corps in league history—from his days passing to Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne to this year’s group. Manning as the best ever? He’s not even the best of his generation. Two other current QBs also have more Super Bowl rings: Peyton’s little brother and Ben Roethlisberger. I don’t think anyone’s ever going to argue that Big Ben is superior to Peyton, but I bet you Peyton would trade all of this season’s records for one of Roethlisberger’s rings.To be great you have to win in the playoffs, and the poster boy for Papa John’s is 11-12. Eight times he’s made the postseason and failed to win a game. He’s 1-2 in Super Bowls. (The Rex Grossman-led Bears team the Colts beat in Super Bowl XLI wasn’t particularly impressive either.)If you’re the best quarterback of all time, you don’t start 15 seasons at your position, as the leader of one of the NFL's best teams the far majority of those years, and come away with one championship. You come away with three or four. Or you make a dramatic comeback from an awful neck injury, break every NFL record in the books, and then become Super Bowl MVP picking apart one of the best pass defenses of all time. Yeah, that would at least put you in the discussion.But Peyton didn’t do that. He did not beat the Seattle Seahawks. Football is, of course, a team sport, but the Denver Broncos were Peyton Manning. If you’re ready to be the face of the Super Bowl champs, you have to be ready to also be the face of the Super Bowl losers. Plus, I have a feeling it wasn’t coach John Fox in that Broncos’ locker room at halftime breaking things down for the offense.This was Peyton’s last chance. He is not going to win another Super Bowl. He blew it. His Denver Broncos could not beat the clearly better NFC champions. What’s worse is that they didn’t even compete. At 37, how many years does Peyton really have left? Two? I sure don’t see a Super Bowl ring coming over one of those seasons. Years from now, when Alex Trebek reads, This NFL quarterback threw for a record-high 55 touchdowns in 2013, I will know the answer is Peyton Manning. Unfortunately for Peyton, if Trebek reads, This NFL quarterback holds the record for the most playoff losses, he’ll also be the answer

Page 2 / 2 Prev

The Red Board

Last Post by Anonymous 11 years ago

19 Posts

13 Users

0 Reactions

286 Views

RSS

Anonymous

(@Anonymous)

Posts: 0

Cabin Boy Guest

Posted : Feb. 11, 2014 3:11 pm

Anonymous

(@Anonymous)

Posts: 0

Cabin Boy Guest

Brady has done more with less than any i've ever seen

Stout OL, good staff, welker, gronk, and some adequate fa's. Heck, they broke the passing record with moss, and at one time had a very strong interior defense when they had teddy.He's had help. More than manning I would imagine, but I haven't bothered to add it all up.

Posted : Feb. 11, 2014 3:16 pm

Anonymous (@Anonymous) Posts: 0 Cabin Boy Guest Brady has done more with less than any i've ever seen Stout OL, good staff, welker, gronk, and some adequate fa's. Heck, they broke the passing record with moss, and at one time had a very strong interior defense when they had teddy.He's had help. More than manning I would imagine, but I haven't bothered to add it all up. He didn't win with any of those guys Posted : Feb. 11, 2014 6:40 pm Anonymous (@Anonymous) Posts: 0 Cabin Boy Guest I don't know what he has to prove at this point. He is rolling in dough, he has made a name for himself in the NFL, regardless of the argument, is he the best ever. He should call it quits before he ends up Erick LeGrand. Posted : Feb. 11, 2014 11:10 pm

Page 2 / 2 Prev Forum Jump: Previous Topic Next Topic

Share: Forum Information Recent Posts Unread Posts Tags 8 Forums 37.4 K Topics 205.8 K Posts 1 Online 25.8 K Members Our newest member: Major Buc Latest Post: Mike Evans Over/Under Receiving Yards 2025 Forum Icons: Forum contains no unread posts Forum contains unread posts Topic Icons: Not Replied Replied Active Hot Sticky Unapproved Solved Private Closed

Should all the talk of Peyton Manning being the best ever, end?

Follow Pewter Report