NFL Looming Legacies: Peyton Manning

Hollywood sequels are generally highly flawed endeavors. Coming off a box office hit and critically acclaimed film, studios rush to capitalize on that initial success and produce poor quality sequels.

Iron Man 2, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, The Hangover Part II. All failed continuations of early success. These disappointing follow-ups leave fans wondering what could have been if each film franchise had reached its full potential.

NFL fans are witnessing a similar story line play out with one of the league’s most talented players: Peyton Manning.

The Indianapolis signal caller is considered by many to be the best quarterback in the league. There is also a strong minority who predict he will go down as the best QB who ever lived.

However, Manning’s playoff performances since his 2006 championship have not been entirely deserving of that praise. Late game mistakes have proved costly and his championship aspirations have paid the price.

Manning’s career post-season record is only 9-10. Elite quarterbacks of Manning’s supposed stature rarely have less-than-stellar playoff records.

Tom Brady is 14-5 in the post-season. Ben Roethlisberger is 10-3 and Aaron Rodgers is 4-1. While New Orleans Saints gunslinger Drew Brees is only 4-3, he won his Super Bowl against Manning.

Rodgers beat Roethlisberger, Big Ben beat a prime Matt Hasselbeck and a hot Kurt Warner. Brady beat that same talented Warner who was several years younger and playing with “The Greatest Show on Turf.” Brady also dismantled Donovan McNabb’s Eagles in the 2005 Super Bowl.

Hell, even Peyton’s less talented little brother beat Brady. I can just imagine little Eli saying, “Oh what’s that Peyton? No, I’m sorry; I can’t put on CNN right now. I’m re-watching the greatest play in Super Bowl history. You know, the one where I somehow avoided multiple sacks and completed an amazing deep ball, beating Tom Brady in the process…Care to join me big bro?”

Is it wrong for me to be more than a little disappointed that Manning’s only championship came against Rex Grossman. Granted, that Chicago Bears defense was fierce. But, beating Grossman is like seducing Lindsay Lohan—it’s really not that hard to do. Am I the only one who believes this tarnishes Manning’s legacy just a bit?

Beating another elite quarterback doesn’t necessarily make you great. But, it certainly helps.

Manning’s recent Super Bowl loss to the Saints was made all the more painful by his late game interception, a mistake that essentially cost his team the game.

Of his 10-playoff losses, six of them have come against the San Diego Chargers, New England Patriots and New York Jets. For someone who is known for his constant adjustments, Manning has been unable to beat these three teams when it matters most. Plus, he is a pedestrian 2-4 in the post-season since his lone championship.

January’s playoff loss marked the seventh time in Manning’s career that Indianapolis lost their first game of the playoffs. I thought great QBs routinely made deep playoff runs. Isn’t that why Brady has played in four Super Bowls, Roethlisberger in three, Aikman in three, Elway in five and Warner in three?

There is no doubt Manning is a first ballot Hall-of-Famer. He is the only reason you can bank on the Colts winning 10+ games every year just like you can bank on Charlie Sheen saying something wholly inappropriate. Both possess a consistency that is scary (No, really. I’m actually afraid of what Sheen will do next).

But, Manning could certainly take a page out of Sheen’s “winning” book because he hasn’t done it enough in January. As such, I can’t place him higher than Tom Brady who has three Super Bowl victories.

Fourteen years into his career and I feel like I am still waiting for Peyton Manning to reach his full potential. Sure, absolutely nobody in the league does more with less than him. The results he produces compared to the usual talent around him rival that of the Go-Daddy make-up artists.

But, as a fan, I am left expecting and wanting more from the QB who will eventually break every major passing record.

At 35-years old, the Colts’ leader has some time left to grab a few more Lombardi trophies. But there is no doubt that his window of opportunity is closing.

Manning needs to win another Super Bowl against a top flight quarterback and he needs to do it soon. Until then, all of the excessive praise needs to stop.

As someone who appreciates greatness, I desperately want Peyton Manning to be the quarterback everyone has anointed him to be. But, as of now Manning resembles those fledging movie franchises with their glory days behind them and only disappointment since.

In fact, at this point Peyton Manning is slightly (gulp) overrated.