Peyton Under Fire

After losing to the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Divisional Playoffs, I said that the Peyton Manning haters & detractors would come out full force from their holes. As it turns out, I was right because he was blasted by Disn-ESPN the Monday after the loss. On SportsCenter, OTL (Outside The Lines), and fanboys over the Internet aimed their guns, zeroed in and fired the blame at Peyton without looking at the entire picture. However, other more objective analysts, such as Dan Patrick, etc put everything in the proper perspective, instead of using foolish hyperbole, calling him a "Choker". Yes, Peyton does have a 9-11 Career Playoff Record, with 8 losses starting a playoff run. However, we have to look at the game itself against the Ravens in perspective. During the game, the officiating was downright horrible, with pass interference & holding penalties that were not called against Baltimore. The Broncos secondary did a horrendous job during the game, with Champ Bailey getting burned numerous times by receivers, such as Torrey Smith. Rahim Moore blew a key interception, and did not fully keep up with his assignment. Von Miller, their best pass rusher, was assigned to the run, which made no sense either. Yes, Peyton threw a crucial interception, but that does not even tell a fraction of the story. I am NOT a Peyton Manning homer, but I give the man his due. He is without question, the best player of this current generation. The man is an Icon in our sport. True, his 1 Super Bowl win, and record do not give him the best case as the greatest QB of all time, whether fair or unfair. Dan Patrick addressed that issue as well with his legacy. However, he is still a Top 3 QB in NFL History.

Peyton Manning's Case:
12-Time Pro Bowler
6-Time 1st Team All-Pro
Over 50,000 Career Passing Yards
Over 400 Career Touchdown Passes
Super Bowl MVP Trophy
4-time NFL MVP
49 Career Game Winning Drives
38 Career 4th Quarter Comebacks
Led the NFL in Passing Yards Twice
Two Seasons over 3,000 Yards
Twelve Seasons over 4,000 Yards
Led the NFL in Touchdown Passes 3 Times
Led the League in Passer Rating 3 Times
Career QB Rating: 95.7
Career QB Record of 154-70-0


It irritates me every time people bring up rings when talking about Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Outside of rings, Peyton has been the more consistent and prolific passer.

vs. Tom Brady:
8-Time Pro Bowler
2-Time 1st Team All-Pro
Over 40,000 career passing yards
Over 300 career touchdown passes
3-time Super Bowl MVP
2-time NFL MVP
37 Career Game Winning Drives
26 Career 4th Quarter Comebacks
Led the NFL in Passing Yards twice
One Season over 5,000 Yards
Four Seasons over 4,000 Yards
Five Seasons over 3,000 Yards
Led the NFL in Touchdown Passes 3 Times
Career QB Rating: 96.6
Career QB Record: 136-39-0

With the exception of his rookie season, the 2005 season, and his inactive 2011 season, Peyton Manning has been a perennial 4,000 yard passer for his career. He has had one streak of 6 consecutive 4,000+ yard seasons, and another streak of 5 straight 4,000+ yard seasons. (1999-2004, 2006-2010, 2012) Manning's overall body of work is greater than that of his rival.

The media refuses to point to the times where Tom Brady has played poorly in the playoffs, but his team bails him out. No one mentions how poorly he played in the "Tuck Rule Game" vs Oakland (32-52, 312 yards, 0 TD's, 1 INT), or how minimal he was in the AFC Championship game vs Pittsburgh (12-18, 115 yards, 0 TD's, 0 INT's), leading to the Patriots' first Super Bowl victory (SB XXXVI). He was sub par in that game as well (16-27, 145 yards, 1 TD). Also, no one brings up how Peyton outplayed Tom in the 2004 AFC Divisional Playoffs, in spite of how Manning's team let him down. (Manning- 27/42, 238 yards, 1 INT, Brady- 18/27, 144 yards, 1 TD)The year before, in the same round, they played evenly. (Manning- 23/47, 237 yards, 1 TD, 4 INT's, Brady- 22/37, 237 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) The media, fan boys, and ring counters also refuse to mention how Peyton Manning led his Colts to defeat Brady's Patriots in the 2006 AFC Championship game, to advance to win the Super Bowl. (Manning- 27/47, 349 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, Brady- 21/34, 232 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT)

It makes me cringe even more when people compare him to his brother Eli, because his brother has two rings to his one. When the media props up Eli, they always use the narrative "Little Brother has one more ring than Big Brother". People confuse Eli as a more "clutch QB" with having a better supporting cast. Eli's Defensive line carried him to those "two Super Bowl wins". Ironically, in the same season that Peyton became the all-time leader in 4th Quarter Comebacks, Eli has had numerous games where he blew the lead for his team. Another funny thing about this, is the fact that Peyton led his team to the playoffs in his return, while The Giants missed the postseason, right after winning the Super Bowl. So, who is the REAL choker? Comparing Eli to his megastar brother is an insult to Peyton Manning's brilliant legacy. This is like comparing Lil' Wayne (Eli) to Tupac Shakur (Peyton), or Dwyane Wade to Michael Jordan. Since they are brothers, with all due respect, Eli is like Owen and Peyton is like Bret. The older brother is not only the predecessor, but an extremely high standard that is out of reach for his younger sibling, or successor.

Should I really have to do this comparison? Should I really have to embarrass little Eli, to show how much he pales in comparison to his brother, when you take away the rings? (Rings are a TEAM ACHIEVEMENT) Fine, I will.

vs. Eli Manning:
2-Time Pro Bowler
Over 30,000 Career Passing Yards
Over 200 Career Touchdown Passes
2-Time Super Bowl MVP
28 Career Game Winning Drives
24 Career 4th Quarter Comebacks
5 Seasons over 3,000 Yards
3 Seasons over 4,000 Yards
Career QB Rating: 82.7
QB Record: 78-57-0

After 9 seasons, Eli Manning already has 57 losses? So much for being "clutch". Meanwhile, his awesome older brother has 70 losses to go along with his 154 wins, after 15 seasons. Eli also has 211 Touchdowns, but 144 Interceptions. (He has 70 more TD's than INT's) However, Peyton has 436 Touchdowns, along with 209 Interceptions. (He has 227 more TD's than INT's) Along with that, little brother Eli has only made TWO Pro Bowls for his career, without a SINGLE All-Pro Selection. So much for being "Elite". Eli Manning's numbers are pedestrian at best. For the record, I am not "hating" on Eli Manning. I am simply responding to the massive media hype, by putting things in perspective. Even though his career is not over yet, those are enormous shoes to fill. Eli cannot even shine Peyton's shoes or his helmet, let alone be mentioned in the same sentence as him.

Even during his return this season to a new team (Denver Broncos), Peyton Manning was still highly effective, and showed everyone why he is still to be considered the best QB in the game. Manning still put up MVP level numbers, after four neck surgeries which could have ended his career. Technically, he is out of his prime from a physical standpoint, but he put the entire NFL on notice, as every other QB took a step back this season. Tom Brady is a Hall of Fame Quarterback as well, but Peyton Manning is the cream of the crop for Quarterbacks of this era. His game speaks for itself. The facts speak for themselves as well. We are witnessing a Living Legend & Icon of our time, Mr. Peyton Manning.