Since we have so
much time before the Super Bowl to preview and analyze all aspects of the game,
I will be breaking down many storylines. Right now, I want to analyze the
impact this game can have on Peyton Manning. And while doing so, I will be firmly objective as I have always been, regardless of what people may think.
By now, unless
you have been living under a rock, you have heard that Manning just two years
ago was under the needle and had FOUR neck surgeries. Now, he is playing in the
biggest game in all of sports. And he is the reason.
Manning has been
marvelous throughout his career, doing things that very few quarterbacks can
ever dream of doing. He sometimes knows the opposing defense better than maybe
the players playing on that defense. His work ethic and drive for greatness in
through the roof. As I have always said to be the case with the “legacies" of
guys like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, as long as they keep playing, their
legacies will keep changing depending on what they do. Nothing is set in stone.
Brady has gone home. Manning is still standing.
Manning is now
playing in his third Super Bowl. His legacy through the years has been that he
is “the greatest regular season quarterback” in NFL history. For a guy like
Manning, that is an insult. He wants to be the greatest. Period, no questions
asked. However, his January play has kept most people from saying that. This
game can change so much. Let’s take a look.
Coming into this
years playoffs, Manning had a 9-11 postseason record. Manningpologist just say
that it is a team game. True, but the quarterback is probably the guy who has the
most influence in a game. Manning came into the playoffs and the first game he
played was against his former offensive coordinator who was now the head coach
of the team that has become his kryptonite: The San Diego Chargers. Manning
wasn’t spectacular (by his standards) but he was very efficient and made all
the plays down the stretch to secure the win. I said that was his best game of
the season. Then came the two guys who have doomed Manning so much in the past:
Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. Manning was spectacular in this game, picking
apart a depleted Patriots team and throwing for 400 yards in the win. That game
was huge, but as a sports fan, I can’t put too much into that because that
Patriots team really should not have been there had it not been for Brady. They were also badly hurt, especially after losing Aqib Talib. This leaves Manning
with a 11-11 record in the playoffs. Win the Super Bowl and he is 12-11.
Winning record in the playoffs and two rings. Lose, and he is 1-2 in the big
game and has the most playoff losses by a starting quarterback in history. Regardless, he would still be top three.
I have always
said that my top 3 quarterbacks have been Joe Montana, Tom Brady and Peyton
Manning. If I was to put them on a scale of 1-10 right now, Montana would be a
10, because to me, he is the golden standard right now. Brady a 9.9 because of
how he does more with less around him and is a constant winner who can put up
gaudy stats when given the arsenal. And Manning a 9.85 because he is
consistently great but does have a few postseason struggles. If Manning can win
this game, no matter how he does it, he really would leapfrog Brady to a 9.95
and be within striking distance of Joe Montana. If he falls short, then we can
just wait till next year to start these talks again. Because if we have learned
one thing about Manning over the past couple of decades it is: He will always
have his team ready to make a run at a Super Bowl championship.
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