*FAN SUBMISSION by Harley Young of Flemington, NJ.*
Some players become great; others are born great and for Peyton Manning it’s a little of both. Peyton, being the son of Hall of Fame QB Archie Manning, had greatness already in his blood. So did brother, Eli Manning, however what sets apart Peyton from Eli or any other QB is that being born great isn’t good enough.
Courtesy: CBS Local New York
This brings me back to the statement that some players become great; not every great NFL QB has a former great NFL QB as their father. Most players love the game and work day after day to become the best they can be just; look at Tom Brady and Joe Montana, arguably two of the best to ever play (well make that second and third best to ever play). Peyton had greatness in his blood, but that’s not good enough to grant you the title of best ever.
So what am I saying? Am I saying that Peyton is better than Brady and Montana because of who his father is? Of course not, but what I am saying is that it doesn’t hurt to have greatness already inside you and well why is he better than the rest? Well that’s where it gets interesting
First let’s look at simple numbers, although when you compare numbers like these your head starts to hurt so try to stay with me. Naturally I compared Manning’s numbers to Brady’s and Montana’s, because I personally think that’s the two quarterbacks that are Manning’s competition for the title “Best ever.” Beginning with records; now obviously records don’t show that much considering football is a team sport and there are other reasons why a team loses, other than a quarterback, but Manning has more regular season wins with 167 then Brady(148) and Montana(117). However, he does have more losses with 73 which is 20 more than Brady and 24 more than Montana, but I’m sure Manning’s 3-13 rookie year didn’t help that.
Now we look at stats; hold on folks this is going be fun! Manning has a better completion percentage and quarterback rating then Brady and Montana. He has also thrown for more touchdown passes then both (actually a lot more); Manning has 491 touchdown throws, while Brady has 359 (132 less) and Montana has 273 (218 less). Wow!
Courtesy: ESPN
As for passing yards, obviously the man who broke the record for most passing yards in a single season would have more, Manning has 64,964 career passing yards, while Brady has 49,149 and Montana has 40,551. Brett Favre (71,838) is the only other quarterback with more than Manning; however Peyton potentially has a lot of playing left.
So clearly statistically Manning is the best; well the doubters aren’t just looking at stats. Critics say that Manning postseason play is what’s hurting his legacy; maybe, then again maybe not. As far as playoffs, besides the Super Bowl, I would agree that Brady is the best out of the three, with at least one playoff win in all his 11 playoff appearances. As for Super bowls Montana, has the most rings with four, while Brady has three and Manning of course only has one.
These are all logical and valid points on why the other two are better in the playoffs then Manning, however with a win in the Super Bowl, Manning can go 2 for 3 (right now 1 for 2), while Brady is 3 for 5 with both losses coming from a huge underdog (both times against the New York Giants). While Montana would still sit with an outstanding championship record of 4-0.
However this is for the people who believe the more rings the better you are; that’s not true. Quarterbacks like Bart Starr, Bob Griese, Terry Bradshaw, and ELI Manning all have 2 championships; all great quarterbacks but none of them are even on the same planet then Peyton statistically and I don’t think there’s anyone in their right mind that can argue that. Brady and Troy Aikman have three. Now Aikman, even though he was one of the best, is not as good as Manning, or even Brady statistically. Then there are quarterbacks like Phil Simms and Trent Dilfer who have the same amount of rings as Peyton; which really just pisses me off but still shows that Super Bowls don’t mean as much as people think. If they do we all also need to remember that Manning has a chance to get his second in this year’s against the Seattle Seahawks.
As for records let the records show that Manning is filling it up compared to Brady and Montana. As for Favre, who’s leads him in career passing touchdowns and career passing yards, like mentioned earlier if Manning does happen to stay in the league next year he will destroy both records.
Courtesy: Fox News
Last but not least MVP’s and pro bowls; Manning has more MVP awards then Brady and Montana and more pro bowls just for some extra support. Actually Manning with 13 pro bowl selections has the most of any other quarterback in NFL history and he also has the most MVP awards out of any other player ever with 4 (5 if he wins it this year.)
So who’s the best? Well if Manning wins the Super Bowl this year (in his little brother’s home stadium), I don’t think there’s any doubt in any one’s mind what he can do on a regular basis in the NFL. He has had the greatest season in NFL history and if he returns next season, well good luck to the other NFL defenses.
Manning just keeps getting better from the second he was born to now, as he is as it stands the greatest ever.
