Peyton Manning is one of the greatest football players who has ever lived. His glow of preparation and mental mastery of the game has become his powerful niche. Peyton breaks records every day he gets out of bed. When your team sacks Manning, it feels like you sacked an entire community. He’s that good and important.

Manning has endured a ton of criticism in his career. Some of it’s fair, most of it is fans lacking perspective. In 2006 Peyton and his Indianapolis Colts won a world title. Manning was the MVP of the Super Bowl and his legacy was set. The problem for Peyton is he has remained so top shelf for so long, we have changed the standard. If you win a ring you are supposed to be a “made man”. Manning is so elite, it seems like he needs another.

The Denver Broncos against the Seattle Seahawks looked like an even matchup for the ages. The biggest focus was how the games turnout would effect Peyton Mannings legacy. Super Bowl 48 became the most disappointing contest in my lifetime. Sometimes Super Bowl blowouts have their place. This should have been a good game. While Peyton played poorly (with a record 34 completions), the real story was the Seahawks suffocated the Broncos and deserve all of the credit. The fans quickly used the game as a way to re-evaluate Peyton’s value in the big picture.

Quarterback is the most important position in the game of football and maybe all of sports. With that said, the perception of the qb in comparison to his teammates, in the ultimate team game, is over blown. We actually give the quarterbacks a win loss record. Tony Gonzalez won “his” first playoff game in his 16th year and it was a side note. Considering Mannings level, he has some flaws on his resume. He is 1 and 2 in Super Bowl games, 11 and 12 in the playoffs, (including 8 first game exits) and has 37 touchdowns to 24 interceptions over that span. These facts are not good enough for a guy that is trying to be the best qb to ever play the game. They are the small details that make other all time greats seem better than each other.

Kurt Warner was 1 and 2 in the Super Bowl. People see Warner as a humble guy with a cool story. A milk drinking, safe face who will be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame at some point. The terrific Warren Moon was 2 and 7 in the playoffs and nobody knows. Dan Marino is a legend. Dan’s teams were 8 and 10 in the post season (32 touchdowns/24 interceptions) and felt short of a title. We don’t bash Marino. We almost feel bad for him because he was so awesome.

Is it good to have played in 23 playoff games or take two different franchises to the Super Bowl? (one coming off multiple neck procedures)Is winning a championship important? How about winning 12 or more games in a season 10 times? Peyton has lame accomplishments like 65,000 yards and just under 500 touchdown throws. He picked up a fifth NFL MVP award on the side. Outside of a couple different seasons, he’s a “top 3” qb every year. This guy is a victim of his own success. He’s stuck being compared to only the best NFL players. When you rip on Peyton Manning, keep your jab in context. It’s like saying Cindy Crawford is your least favorite supermodel because of her mole.

Jay C. Brandriet
2/13/14