Peyton Manning. Peyton wouldn't go 2-14. Peyton is the greatest player I've ever seen, even if he fails in the playoffs. If it was about most talented, you'd be hard pressed not to think of Calvin Johnson. And another name is Adrian Peterson. RB has been marginalized in the NFL, but he's still a special combination of power and speed.
Watt doesn't depend on anyone else to succeed. People depend on him. I wonder what people would think of Megatron if Schuab was throwing to him. I find it strange there's no consensus superhero tackle in the league right now.
Unless you are a QB you can't be in the conversation. JJ watt was pretty good the team went 2-14. You put manning and and take out watt they go 10-6 or better. Look at the colts. They went from the playoffs to 2-14.
Football is a sport filled with specialists, even moreso than a game like baseball. In basketball, anybody can rebound, defend, score, etc. In baseball, almost everyone has to field and bat, etc. You can't be "the best player" in football. You can only be the best player at your position, or at most, the best player on your side of the ball. I judge "the best player" on offense/defense as the player who contributes to the +/- ratio the most positively. If you really want to be fair, QBs should be in their own category, apart from all other offensive players. Best QB in the league, probably Peyton Manning. Best non-QB offensive player, it's a toss-up between probably Peterson and Johnson. On defense, it's almost unquestionably JJ Watt.
And yet Peyton has 1 Super Bowl ring while Eli has 2. Peyton has always been on pretty talented teams. Tebow "lead" Denver to a first round win.
The benefit of having Peyton Manning is that you're getting another coach/offensive coordinator and that's beneficial considering he's actually in the game. I don't think putting Manning on last year's 2-14 team would have made it an automatic championship contender considering we had issues all over the team but he would have damn sure made Kubiak look like a great coach.
NFL football is still the ultimate team sport. Yes, Peyton is a huge difference-maker, but even he would not be able to do it alone (and I'm mainly talking about having speed/strength across the O-line, and having an opportunistic defense... moreso than talent at WR/RB/TE). But overall, its silly to even have this discussion. Watt is the best defender on the planet (and could be on his way to best defender ever), but will never be able to do it all by himself. Same goes for any RB or WR.
Calvin was putting up monster numbers with the likes of Dan Orlovsky and Shaun Hill under center when Stafford was down with injuries.
for the regular season it has to be manning but once in the playoffs, his team carried him to his only trophy. Best players are as followed: 1.manning-hasn't won anything since james and devensive stud sanders was magically able to stay healthy for an entire playoff run. 2.brady- hasn't won anything since throwing away a ball control offense and replacing it with pass/pass/pass /pass/ pass (repeat 50 times 3.rodgers -(see tom brady) 4.watt- he makes so many plays for himself and others to give our team a chance. 5..sherman- all you can do is avoid him. 6. Lynch- for pete carroll and his style, lynch is his peyton. Taking over where shaun alexander left off. Seems like B.O.B is thinking the same way with foster. 7. Brees 8. Andre/a.j green/megatron- their talents opens up a lot for their qbs.
Here's an interesting thought: Would you take the best QB and the 2nd best defensive player to start your team or Would you take the best defensive player and the 2nd best QB to start your team With all other things being equal? For example, would you take Manning/Sherman or Manning/Kuechly or would you take Rodgers/Watt?
What is your point? Lebron is the best player in the NBA and only has two rings. Peyton gives his team a chance every year to get the playoffs and from there it is crap shoot.
Non QB: 1) Watt 2) Calvin Johnson 3) ehh....Adrian Peterson or Richard Sherman? QB: 1) Peyton 2) Rodgers 3) Brees 4) Brady Overall: 1) Peyton - have him manning the QB spot, and you're practically guaranteed 10 wins 2) Watt - Not much to say, he could probably kick a 70 yard field goal to win the Super Bowl 3) Rodgers - a step below Manning, but a reliable and great overall QB 4) Brees - get rid of that trademark scar and he'd be an Aaron Rodgers clone 5) Calvin - seems to have regressed, but still by far the best in the league, and a chance to be one of the best ever, although it's hard to imagine anyone passing Jerry Rice 6) Brady - just get into the playoffs with him as your QB and you've always got a shot Honorable mentions: 1) LeSean McCoy 2) A.J. Green 3) Jamaal Charles 4) Jimmy Graham 5) Robert Quinn
Really? When has Manning ever played on a crappy team? He's always had great pieces around him. You can't say that cause you've never seen him in that situation. I guarantee if he was on a team like the Browns, he would not win more than 5 or 6 games throwing ducks.
if josh gordon is playing along with cameron... manning can still win more than 5-6 games with that team... manning makes players better..
IMO, I wouldn't even take the 2nd best defensive player. Kuechly is number 2? I'd pass him up and opt for a pass rusher, maybe Quinn. If the best defensive player was an ILB or S, I'd pass him up and go for a pass rusher or CB. If it's QB for 1 game, I'm fine with #2. I can win the Rodgers or Brees or Manning or Brady all the same. If it's long term? I only consider Rodgers and Luck, in that order.
