Three great articles from Stan
Written by Deshawn Zombie   
Saturday, 06 February 2010 17:54

The Tribune discusses Manning's place in history

•Toughness.

Manning has started 192 straight games — the most by any quarterback at the beginning of his career. If it weren't for Favre, this accomplishment would get much more play.

He doesn't take unnecessary hits when he doesn't have to, but that doesn't mean he isn't tough. He knows how to preserve himself. Still, Manning has played hurt, including with a broken jaw and a bad knee.

He is the complete package.

"I've never seen a guy with such an impact on his team," Lynch said. "Peyton stands out in that there were times on the other side of the ball, you felt helpless, like this guy is just too good. I think he's the best football player I've ever played against."

And the best quarterback anyone ever has seen.

The NY Times makes a case for Manning as the greatest ever

The Indianapolis Colts were trailing Houston, 17-0, when the Texans rookie linebacker Brian Cushing glanced up to see Colts quarterback Peyton Manning looking in the direction of the defense’s huddle. In those few seconds of quiet before the chaos at the line of scrimmage, Cushing saw Manning nodding his head. Up and down. Up and down.

Uh-oh.

“He was sizing us up,” Cushing said. “I had that feeling right then that he was locked in and that might be it.”

It was. Manning threw a 20-yard completion to start that drive and a touchdown pass to finish it, igniting a comeback that resulted in another Indianapolis victory.

Howard Mudd for the Hall?

Trust," he said, is the key to his relationship with Manning.

"I know he trusts me and I've tried to earn his trust," Moore said. "He could do anything. I've got his back. Whatever he does is right. I tell him, 'You see it, you go for it, and don't worry about it.'"

Moore gives Manning three plays to call, usually two passes and a run. The QB has total freedom to make changes at the line.

"He tells me before the game, 'Hey, if you see something out there, you call it,'" Manning explained. "That puts a lot of confidence in you as a quarterback. Some coaches tell their quarterbacks, 'Hey, you can change the play, but it better work.' That is not confidence, that is a threat."

"Never have, never will," Moore said when asked if he had ever second-guessed his QB. "I don't coach that way. You don't give someone some freedom and then the first time, you start questioning him."




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Comments (7)Add Comment
NY Times article
written by JohnD, February 06, 2010
I could read articles like that one all day long. I hate to be a fair weather fan, but it's going to be very difficult to enjoy football after Manning retires.
More NY Times stories
written by JohnD, February 06, 2010
You beat me to it, JohnD
written by Chris S., February 06, 2010
I was going to mention the speedreading a defense myself. A couple of thoughts on that:

--the sheer amount of information that Manning (and his receivers too) process in that 2.2 seconds. Depending on how the defenses react, that pass play to Collie could have been an 18 yard pass, thrown on a rope, or the 45 yd bomb that actually occurred. Amazing.

--I've read a number of comments where the writer purports to educate the statistics nerd (you'll see a lot of this on FO comment pages) about the realities of competitive sport. There's a lot of talk about how leadership in the huddle, etc. Typically, this writer will reference his high school football career. And it will be about as relevant to pro football as playing war as a kid is leading an infantry platoon. So, let's just put that nonsense to bed.
@ John D
written by Bob M, February 07, 2010
It'll just be different, that's all.

I think of it as (and this is fictional) maybe my dad and I used to fish at a favorite fishing hole. The he died, I'd go there and remember him, but it wasn't really fun anymore, just fishing and remembering. Almost like an obligation without any real pleasure. And then I took my sons, and it became almost like the old days again.....

The ideal scenario would be if the Colts had a dominant D when he retires, so that the dropoff to his successor, while notable, won't be quite so painful. We can cheer almost exclusively for the seasoned and new emerging D stars and forget abot the pain of Manning's absense. We could even joke about it along the lines of "Man, if we had Peyton back we'd go 19-0 (again)" or "If we had 18 back there, it just wouldn't be fair."

We could ask Broncos or Dolphin fans how they transitioned. or Packers fans... no, wait, Rodgers is pretty damn good. Maybe we could poll Texans fans about how they felt when Carr left. No, this is just getting me nowhere.....
Admire how good we really have it
written by Dubsac, February 07, 2010
I can't sleep, I've checked all sports sites and this blog countless times today (not to mention this week). I've come to the conclusion that no matter what happens today, we are truly blessed.
...
written by ColtsHeadBen, February 07, 2010
As far as Peyton retiring, I think Polian will find somebody, not to replace him of course, but who can step in an be really good and win football games. Dunno who that will be, he's probably not even playing in college yet.
Polian's lack of planning
written by JohnD, February 07, 2010
In an alternate universe...

1. Draft Peyton
2. Peyton becomes a father almost immediately
3. Peyton retires after 22 years
4. Peyton Jr. takes over

See, we all revere Polian as a genius, but clearly he doesn't always plan for the long term.

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