Peyton Manning's Legacy

First, if Smith catches the ball, the score is tied.... I have no idea what the fuck you are talking about there. Math wizards? For chrissakes.

Second, I'll put the 1984 Dolphins, inferior defense and all, against the 1978 Cowboys, and you have a hell of a game.

 

So who gets FRAUD! status next year if Peyton wins, Carson Palmer or Vince Young?

 

Unfortunately, it will likely be McNabb.

 

That's true, because so many in this profession cannot see anything beyond a "stat line."

They can't see that an incomplete pass is GOOD if it avoids a sack and the ball is thrown away instead of into triple coverage.

All they see is "0 for 1, 0 yards"

They can't see that it's all about MAKING PLAYS. For all the Colts' offensive woes against the Ravens, they had an excellent third-down conversion percentage (42%). They MADE PLAYS eight times on the crucial downs. Against the best defense in the league.

They can't see that quarterbacking on the highest level is about GAME MANAGEMENT. It's about not getting greedy or stupid. It's about getting your team out of its own 2-yard line when the other team is about to seize momentum. It's about running the ball on 8 of 10 plays on a game-clinching, 6-minute drive if that is what the defense is giving you.

All of the above happened in the Ravens game . . . obvious to anyone intelligent who watched it.

 

I meant everybody looks at a four-point game and assumes the catch would have gotten it done for Dallas.

The Steelers went on to score the next 14 points after Smith's drop and led by three scores. Dallas had to score, get an on-sides kick and score again to even be close at the end.

 

The score was indicative of the game.

 

Heard a great point about that game -- even though Manning didn't have good numbers (15-of-30, 170 yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs), he still dominated the game. The Ravens played their safeties extra deep the entire game out of fear Manning would kill them with the deep ball. So the Colts ran the ball more than they passed, and when they did throw they kept it short and quick, underneath the safeties. The result was four scoring drives of more than four minutes and two of six minutes or more, including the clock-killing drive of 7:16 (inclding a big Manning-to-Clark third-down conversion) for the field goal that put it away.

 

And you back that up with...oh, just the word of Columbo...never mind...

 

And now has won the same number of Super Bowls, with plenty of years ahead of him. Not sure what his legacy will be, but if he were forced to retire today, I would remember his career more fondly than Favre's.

EDIT -- I'll remove the hyperbole. Favre might still have a slight edge in legacy right now -- the dramatic run for a touchdown against the Falcons to get the Packers into the playoffs to start their run, the four-touchdown game at Oakland the day after his father died, the unorthodox plays that shouldn't have worked but did. But Manning is the better quarterback in the traditional sense and is less prone to kill his team by himself, compared to Favre.

When Manning's career is done, he might be remembered better than Favre. But he's still got a lot of football left to play.

 

Funny, me neither.

Although I can imagine that some would call it blind if you really think Manning's Hall of Fame 9-year career, with one Super Bowl and one single-season touchdowns record, is somehow a greater legacy than Favre's 16-year Hall of Fame career, with one Super Bowl and soon-to-be career passing records in every major category and the most consecutive games played by a quarterback in NFL history.

But you know, I'm just blinded by my Cheesehead loyalties. So forgive me.

 

Which will be broken by Manning later on in his career.

 

I'm more Cheesehead than anyone here, dammit!

But even I'd have to say Manning has pulled even in the legacy department with Favre. I've covered them both extensively, it boils down to a matter of taste as to whether you prefer the clinically precisive, but sometimes maddening computer-with-tennis shoes Manning or the fly-by-the-seat-of-his pants improvisation -- equally maddening -- of Favre.

If the game were on the line, I'd rather have Favre. If it was a matter of consistency over 60 minutes, give me Manning.