What is it with us sports fans?
We don’t like to admit how great a player is until they
retire. Great players seemingly become better, sometimes nearly immortal, once they
step off the field for the final time. The further removed they are from their playing
days the better we believe they were…even if only in our minds. For whatever
reason, we just can’t enjoy greatness until greatness is gone.
Look no further than Peyton Manning and the endless
discussion this week of how this Super Bowl is going to affect, maybe even
define, his legacy. Never mind the amazing 16 year career he has strung
together compiling video game numbers in real life football. It all boils down
to this one game…or so the nauseating Super Bowl coverage would lead you to
believe. Many talking heads seem to believe that with a win, Manning will
finally be allowed into the discussion of the “Best Quarter Back of All-Time.” IF he wins. Should he lose, those same talking heads would lead you to believe
that Manning is simply a good quarter back that couldn’t win the “Big One.”
No other position in sports has their legacy so closely tied
to championships as an NFL quarterback. We conveniently look past the fact that
a quarter backs is completely reliant on his line to protect him, his receivers
to run the right routes and catch the ball, his defense to stop someone and his
special teams to do their job - not blow the game. Apparently those aspects of
the game don’t affect the Super Bowl, just the quarterback. And, until the
quarterback hoist the Lombardi high into the confetti littered sky, he isn’t permitted
in the conversation of best quarter back.
Win one Super Bowl and we will let your name enter the conversation.
Win just one and those that hold the “Best Quarter Back Conversation” keys will
hold it against you – because one title just isn’t enough. That’s where we are
with Manning. Despite what our eyes (and common sense) told us, for years
Manning wasn’t allowed to be in the “Best Quarter Back” discussion - until he
won a Super Bowl. Then he won one, and the carrot moved. Sure, he won one, but so did Trent Dilfer, Brad
Johnson, etc. Manning needed more than one to justify his place in history. Then he gets to another Super Bowl
and loses, and now we question his ability to play in big games again. If he
wins Sunday, he may be the best of all time. If he loses, he is overrated.
Stop it.
Our obsession with tying championships to how good a player is/was
(especially quarter backs) is and always has been a ridiculous notion. If you
don’t think Manning is the best quarter back ever, fine. It is subjective and
to each their own. However, if you think a loss by the Broncos on Sunday should
preclude Manning from that discussion, you are crazy. Straight crazy. No due
respect on this one.
To his detractors, I would say: “Here are the facts. Don’t
let them get in the way of your argument”:
When it comes to quarterbacks, we like to measure them on
the following 7 categories: yards, touchdowns, passing rating, yards per game,
completion percentage, game winning drives and 4th quarter comebacks.
As sports fans, we have determined these to be the categories that make a great
quarter back. Well, when it comes to career leaders in these categories,
Manning ranks 1st or 2nd in all but 2 categories. The two
where he doesn’t rank in the top two? Yards per game and completion percentage.
In those two categories, he ranks 3rd and 4th
respectively.
How about from a single season standpoint? For single
season, we add in QBR for an 8th category. Manning again ranks 1st
or 2nd in all but two categories (completion percentage and game
winning drives). He ranks 12th and 3rd respectively. In
other words, Manning is in the top 4 in 14 of the 15 categories, the leader in
7, and 2nd in 4 others.
Still not convinced he belongs in the discussion if he loses
Sunday? Take a look at how Manning stacks up to the all-time greats (Montana,
Marino, Favre) and the greats of his era (Brady and Brees):
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Career Leaders
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|||||||||||||||||||||
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Leader
|
Manning (16 yrs)
|
Marino (17 yrs)
|
Favre (20 yrs)
|
Montana (15 yrs)
|
Brady (14 yrs)
|
Brees (13 yrs)
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
Rank
|
|
Rank
|
|
Rank
|
|
Rank
|
|
Rank
|
|
Rank
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||||||||
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Yards
|
Favre
|
71,838
|
64,964
|
2
|
61,361
|
3
|
71,838
|
1
|
40,551
|
13
|
49,149
|
7
|
51,081
|
5
|
|||||||
|
TDs
|
Favre
|
508
|
491
|
2
|
420
|
3
|
508
|
1
|
273
|
11
|
359
|
5
|
363
|
4
|
|||||||
|
Passer Rating
|
Rodgers
|
104.9
|
97.2
|
2
|
86.4
|
17
|
86.0
|
19
|
92.3
|
10
|
95.2
|
6
|
95.3
|
7
|
|||||||
|
Ints
|
Favre
|
336
|
219
|
19
|
252
|
8
|
336
|
1
|
139
|
64
|
134
|
70
|
177
|
38
|
|||||||
|
YPG
|
Stafford
|
286.2
|
270.7
|
3
|
253.6
|
8
|
237.9
|
13
|
211.2
|
34
|
254.7
|
7
|
274.6
|
2
|
|||||||
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Comp%
|
Pennington
|
66.0%
|
65.5%
|
4
|
59.4%
|
49
|
62.0%
|
18
|
63.2%
|
13
|
63.4%
|
11
|
65.9%
|
2
|
|||||||
|
GW Drives
|
Manning / Marino
|
45
|
51
|
1
|
51
|
1
|
45
|
4
|
33
|
9
|
42
|
5
|
34
|
7
|
|||||||
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4th Qtr C-Backs
|
Manning
|
30
|
40
|
1
|
36
|
2
|
30
|
6
|
31
|
4
|
31
|
4
|
23
|
15
|
|||||||
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Single Season Leaders
|
||||||||||||||||||||
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Leader
|
Manning (16 yrs)
|
Marino (17 yrs)
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Favre (20 yrs)
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Montana (15 yrs)
|
Brady (14 yrs)
|
Brees (13 yrs)
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
Rank
|
|
Rank
|
|
Rank
|
|
Rank
|
|
Rank
|
|
Rank
|
|||||||
|
Yards
|
Manning
|
5477
|
5,477
|
1
|
5,084
|
6
|
4,413
|
48
|
3,944
|
134
|
5,235
|
3
|
5,476
|
2
|
||||||
|
TDs
|
Manning
|
55
|
55
|
1*
|
44
|
7
|
39
|
11
|
31
|
59
|
50
|
2
|
46
|
5
|
||||||
|
Passer Rating
|
Rodgers
|
122.5
|
121.1
|
2**
|
108.9
|
16
|
107.2
|
19
|
112.4
|
7
|
117.2
|
4
|
110.6
|
10
|
||||||
|
YPG
|
Manning / Brees
|
342.3
|
342.3
|
1
|
317.8
|
7
|
275.8
|
71
|
290.3
|
34
|
327.2
|
2
|
342.3
|
1
|
||||||
|
Comp%
|
Brees
|
71.2%
|
68.8%
|
12
|
64.2%
|
110
|
68.4%
|
18
|
70.2%
|
5
|
68.9%
|
10
|
71.2%
|
1
|
||||||
|
QBR
|
Manning
|
87.2%
|
87.2%
|
1***
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
67.0%
|
51
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
87.1%
|
2
|
84.0%
|
6
|
||||||
|
GW Drives
|
E. Manning
|
8
|
7 (2x)
|
3
|
6
|
13
|
4
|
81
|
5
|
29
|
7
|
3
|
6
|
13
|
||||||
|
4th Qtr C-backs
|
E. Manning / P. Manning
|
7
|
7
|
1
|
6
|
3
|
4
|
34
|
4
|
34
|
5
|
10
|
4
|
34
|
||||||
*Manning has 2 of the top 3 TD seasons
**Manning has 2 of the top 5 season ratings
***Manning has 6 of the top 11 single season QBRs (only
Brees has more than 1 (2))
“So what? He still only has 1 Super Bowl” say his
detractors. They are correct. And by their standards then, Terry Bradshaw is
tied for the best quarterback ever with Joe Montana. The same Terry Bradshaw
that has 212 career touchdowns, 201 career Interceptions, a career 51.9%
completion percentage and 6 seasons of more Interceptions than touchdowns.
Heck, even Montana’s numbers aren’t overwhelming. If not for his 4 Super Bowl
rings, where would we put Montana? Of the 15 categories above, Montana ranks in
the top 10 in 5 (career and single season passer rating, career GW drives and 4th
Quarter comebacks and single season completion %) and doesn’t have a single
ranking above 4. Manning ranks 4 or better in 14 of the 15! This is not to
knock Bradshaw and Montana, but let’s be fair about this, both played prior to
free agency and the salary cap and Bradshaw’s teams won because of their
defense and Montana’s teams were so loaded on all sides of the football it
wasn’t even a fair fight. No salary cap era team could ever be constructed like
Montana’s 49er teams were.
Come Sunday, win or lose, the talk of this game defining
Manning’s legacy is absurd and buying into the talk will only preclude you from
appreciating greatness before greatness walks away. Regardless of where you
feel Manning ranks all-time, one thing is for sure, you won’t see many more
like him and at 37 years old, you like won’t see much more of him either. Whether
Manning wins or loses on Sunday, whether you want him to win or lose on Sunday,
as a sports fan, allow yourself to enjoy watching one of the all-time greats. Far
too often we wait until greatness has left before we appreciate what we were
given the opportunity to witness. On Sunday, for once, appreciate it before it
walks away. Chances are you won’t be sorry that you did.
