Bronco fans shouldn't be complaining . Went from tebow to Peyton freaking manning. Most NFL teams would drop their QB for him in a heartbeat. Brady lost to the ravens at home in the AFC championship game and did we see his decline? His team didn't really miss the playoffs and the colts defense is very underrated.
Can't believe Broncos fans were booing the crap out of him all game, even when they were down by one score...
This reminds me of Brett Favre's last two seasons. He was awesome, then he declined rapidly. Peyton Manning, Kobe, nobody beats father time
That's because he wasn't their guy. I bet that doesn't happen in Indy. When a Major superstar like that changes teams and is on the decline because he's been on the same team for all his career, the fans of the new team never have that same appreciation. Like Kobe, Kobe can't do wrong to Laker fans. Everyone else can see he's on the decline, if he were to go to some other team the new fans would just despise his 25+ FGA games, Laker fans deal with it because he delivered 5 championships for them. Either way, if he's going to change teams I'd welcome him here. Still draft a QB to groom under him and hope you could get 2 seasons out of him. Even still man...it just looks like it's time.
Dude has a 100+ passer rating and throws for nearly 5,000 yards (not to mention, his team went 12-4)...and he's done. He should hang it up, right? I think (and hope) he'll be back.
He's not "done"... and could certainly still hang around and be better than average... but his decline over the last 8 games is real. His decline each year since joining Denver is also real, and they are less likely to contend for a SB title going forward than they were last year and the year before. He's in regression, for sure... you can't deny that. He's unlikely to get "better"... so its reasonable to suspect he could walk away under that circumstance.
More or less, I'm just mocking the general sentiment out there among fans (SportsNation poll with half of the country thinking he's done, etc) that he should hang it up. But let's not kid ourselves here: he's a LOT better than just 'better than average'. Even in a decline, he's still very much an elite QB. Super Bowl appearance last year, 12-4 this year.... Sure, you could make the argument that's the beginning of a pattern. I'd counter with the argument that maybe he just had a bad day -or maybe he's playing through injury. I mean, this is the same Colts team (and defense) that was completely scored by Pittsburgh and New England earlier this season. And let's not forget that Denver beat Indy in week one. Anything can happen on a given day in this league.
He's been pretty mediocre over the last 8 weeks. Yes, anything can happen on a given day in this league... there are also teams/players that go from being elite to awful in a snap of a finger. The most likely scenario is that he's going to continue to decline... and very well could end up falling off a cliff the more he continues to play (Favre-like). Also, other than his post-surgery recovery year, he's NEVER missed a game due to injury... never been concussed, never had an ankle or shoulder tweak, never had a bruised rib that needed an extra game to heal... the odds of him continuing that streak, at his age, is extremely unlikely. But as of now, yes...he's better than average.
If he hadn't had the career he's had it would be different. I don't know if a guy like Peyton Manning sticks around if he can't make throws he's been used to making.
Respectfully, you're living in denial if you think his numbers indicate he's merely 'better than average'. Jay Cutler is better than average. Carson Palmer is better than average. Matthew Stafford is better than average. When's the last time any of those guys went 12-4? Now, in their primes or at any point? A 12-4 team is most likely going to win the Super Bowl this year. Just saying.
Agreed... and he's now smart enough to know he can't make those throws, so he doesn't even try to. The problem is, defenses are picking up on that more and more... and giving him all the 3-5 yard crossing patterns he wants (as long as you have better than average tackling CB's or LB's, you won't give up any huge gains). He still can make adjustments at the line and exploit holes/weaknesses in the defenses better than most... but if he can't physically get the ball to those spots routinely, you have games like the last 8 of this season (and it can only get worse).
And you're in denial if you don't think he's in regression. The Texans were 12-4 not too long ago when people were saying they should blow up the core and sign Manning. Things can change just that fast. Again, a regressing Peyton Manning is still better than all of those you mentioned above... but do you honestly think he's got a better chance to win the Super Bowl from this point going forward than he's ever had? At this point, he's only playing the game to win championships... a non-regressing Manning had a good chance to win it all this year with their improved defense. They lost that game yesterday because he was incapable of scoring on a mediocre defense.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Broncos QB Peyton Manning played Sunday’s Divisional Playoff loss and the past month of the season with a torn right quad, per two sources.</p>— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/554667776384589824">January 12, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> This would seem to possibly explain some of his decline this year.... probably should have sat a few games to rest it/heal it up. Seeing this info could provide optimism that if healthy, he continues to tear it up... but you also add his age as a factor that injuries such as this (or other nagging ones) tend to be more frequent at this point in his career (and again, he's never missed a game other than the year he sat out after his neck surgery...truly phenomenal).
Problem is, with KC and SD being two decent teams, Broncos might have missed the playoffs entirely, if Manning sat out a couple of games.
Well, yeah, players regress with age. It happens in any sport. It still doesn't change the fact that Brady, at essentially the same age as Manning, could very well win another this year. If the crux of the argument here is 'age implies regression', I don't disagree. What I do disagree with is that age precludes the possibility of Manning winning another Super Bowl. Moving forward, the AFC is relatively wide open. The only team out there that looks scary is Seattle. Green Bay at times, too. Both are NFC teams. Peyton could lead Denver to the Super Bowl again if he chooses to return. No doubt about it in my mind. Mind you, this is coming from a Pittsburgh fan. I have nothing to gain by singing his praises. I just happen to think he's playing through injuries (coupled with an atrocious performance last night).
They had two games after that one... he played poorly and they lost to the Bengals, and he played OK and they trounced the Raiders (No TD passes). Even if they go 0-2 in those games, 11-5 would have secured them a first round bye over Pittsburgh and Indy, so really him playing in those last two games didn't change their standing. Not saying it would have made a huge difference in yesterday's outcome, but 3 weeks of rest couldn't have made the problem worse... but its not in his nature to sit.
No... regression implies regression. Even with the above mentioned injury, he had 4 games before that with only one of them showcasing the "elite" Manning (game against Miami)....granted they still went 3-1 thanks to CJ Anderson's breakout, but it was clear that something was off starting with the Rams game. And your last point goes hand in hand with "age"... I don't expect him to get healthier as he continues to play. If anything he's due for even more nagging injuries. IF your only comparison on why he could still continue to produce is Brady, I'm still standing by my stance... Brady is a rare exception as somebody who is actually in better shape now than when he was as a rookie/younger player... he's the Andre Agassi of football.
