The Frustrating Career of Peyton Manning, plus Game Picks

One of the biggest games in the NFL year in and year out occurs this weekend, as the Denver Broncos travel across the country to New England to take on the Patriots. It’s Manning-Brady Bowl XVI. Brady and the Patriots have a 10-5 advantage over Manning’s teams, but it’s going to be 10-6 after this weekend. Denver is head and shoulders above everyone else in the NFL right now, and as great as New England has played this month, their victories have come against the, “We couldn’t slow down a middle school offense” Bears, the, “We don’t know what we’re doing” Jets, and the, “We haven’t been good since the Music City Miracle” Bills. Not exactly a Murderer’s Row.

 

The most compelling thing about this weekend’s game is actually Manning himself, who, in his late 30s, is putting up his best numbers ever. His stats have been so good that if he was a baseball player, we’d suspect him of using steroids. Manning has no doubt benefited from a softer NFL, in which the rules no longer allow for defenders to blast receivers going over the middle, graze the quarterbacks anywhere except the torso, or touch receivers when the ball is in the air. Still, Manning has been great, and is in the running to win an unprecedented sixth NFL MVP award.

 

For someone who loves sports as much as I do, I guess it’s a little strange that I don’t really passionately root for that many teams. I’m a huge Braves and Vols fan, but other than that, I mostly just enjoy watching great players and teams go at it every week. I do have a few favorite athletes though. Manning has been one of those guys, mostly because of his Tennessee association. I don’t really remember his time playing for the Vols (I was four years old during his senior season), but I do remember having an orange shirt with the number 16 on it, as well as feeling this obligation and push from the adults around me to root for him. Honestly, I’m not really sure why that was the case. In fact, I’m not sure there’s an athlete in the country that has a stronger connection to the fan base of his college team than Manning. I mean, this dude is universally LOVED by the Vol Nation. Do all the Michigan fans love Tom Brady, and follow his every step in the NFL? Do all the Cal fans love Aaron Rodgers, and passionately cheer for him? I don’t think they do. But with Manning, it’s different.

 

Because of Manning, I became a Colts fan. I watched as many of their games as I could, had my grandmother buy me a Manning jersey, purchased and wore Colts merchandise, and was disappointed when they lost. In fact, of the ten most devastating sports’ losses of my life, Manning and the Colts are involved in at least three of them. Any time you flame out as a higher seeded home team in the playoffs, it’s disappointing (something Manning’s teams have done 5 times in his career). And when you couple that with his 10-12 playoff record, that’s a lot of heartbreak for a young me to cope with.

 

In the 2012 off-season, when Manning was released by Indy and signed with Denver, I didn’t hold onto my Colts fandom. It probably had something to do with the fact that I was just a Manning fan, and he was the only reason I rooted for them. I didn’t become a Broncos’ fan, but I did intently observe them that season. They got off to a slow start (2-3), but they followed it up with 11 straight wins and ended the year with the best record in the AFC, giving them home field advantage throughout the playoffs. I remember lying on the couch in my parents’ house, cautiously watching their Divisional Playoff game against the Ravens. And in typical Manning playoff fashion, Denver lost. Yes, it wasn’t Manning’s fault that Joe Flacco completed that miracle pass over Rahim Moore to Jacoby Jones, but he wasn’t exactly stellar in that game either (28-43, 290 yards 3 TDs, two picks). Plus, he committed the biggest turnover of the season with an atrocious throw across his body in overtime that set Baltimore up with a short field for what was ultimately the game winning field goal.  

 

After that game, I remember being so frustrated with Manning, and all of his playoff disappointments re-entered into my mind. There were so many; the 41-0 blowout at the hands of the Jets in the 2002 Wild Card Round; back-to-back physical beat downs at the hands of the Patriots in the ’03 and ’04 playoffs; the embarrassing and inexcusable home loss to the 6^th seeded Steelers in the 2005 Divisional Playoffs (Manning’s first loss as a one seed); the similarly disappointing home loss to the Chargers 2 years later; the loss as a 12-4 team traveling to play the 8-8 division winning Chargers in the 2008 Wildcard Round; the Super Bowl loss to the Saints when Manning threw a late, soul crushing, pick six; and finally, the 2010 AFC Wild Card Round loss to Mark Sanchez and the Jets. But it doesn’t end there. Manning’s teams have lost their first playoff game eight times in his career, an NFL record.

 

Now obviously, Manning is just 1 of 53 guys on a NFL roster, and he doesn’t deserve all the blame for the playoff exits. He isn’t even on the field half the time. But it’s hard to not be critical of him, because he does touch the ball more than anyone else, and he’s been so great in the regular season. He holds/will hold all the passing records when his career is over, he’s won five league MVPs, and he’s always physically and mentally prepared to play every game. Plus, it’s not like he’s never gotten it done in the playoffs. They did win the Super Bowl in 2006, and he led the Colts back from a 21-3 deficit in that AFC Championship game against Brady and the Pats. So he is capable. And knowing that makes it that much more frustrating when they crumble and come up short.

 

In fact, “frustrating” is a perfect word to describe Manning’s career. I’ve felt frustrated at the end of all but two of Manning’s seasons (2004, when he broke Dan Marino’s TD passing record, and 2006, when they won the Super Bowl. And yes, I realize he broke almost every season passing record last year, but we’ve seen him put up great numbers for about a decade and a half. 2004 was the first season that he really started putting out those cartoonish numbers we expect from him. We’re used to it. Now, he’s only going to leave people ultimately satisfied if they win the Super Bowl). Every other year has ended with an embarrassing playoff loss. And if you don’t like me describing it that way, then how about this: he’s had the ultimate “Yeah, but….” career. That’s how he’ll be remembered. When discussing his legacy, this conversation will probably happen a zillion times:

 

Person 1: “Look at those numbers! 500+ TD passes, over 70,000 passing yards, multiple MVPs, etc. Manning’s the greatest of all time!”

 

Person 2: “Yeah, but he also lost more playoff games than any quarterback, had more early playoff exits than anyone, and turned into Tony Romo in multiple playoff games. Don’t you feel like he left a lot on the table? He had the potential to be the unquestioned greatest quarterback of all time, and maybe greatest football player in the history of the NFL, but instead, he’s just ONE of many greats. I realizing I’m kind of splitting hairs, but any time you’ve got an opportunity to be the greatest to ever do something, and are given multiple opportunities to demonstrate that you are, only you fail year after year after year, that’s really disappointing to me.”

 

That Super Bowl loss last year to the Seahawks was a perfect example of that. Obviously, Seattle was better, and they demonstrated that on the field, but there was no reason to lose that game 43-8. Manning, with just a good performance (they didn’t even have to win), could’ve given a boost to his historical reputation. But with the way that game turned out, on that huge national stage, it’s going to be hard for the public to forget about. It’s been burned into our memories.

 

Manning’s only hope is to take care of business this year, run through the playoffs, and win the Super Bowl. Denver has been the best team in the league for the first eight weeks, as that offense is clicking like they did last year, and the defense has a physical edge that they lacked last season. They’ve assembled one of the best rosters possible in the modern NFL. There aren’t any excuses for Denver (and Manning) this year. And if he can’t get it done this season, with this roster? Watch out, because he’s going to get excoriated by the media. But if they do win this year, then the media will celebrate him like he’s Michael Jordan, and (almost) everything will be forgotten.

 

Now, quickly onto my NFL picks. I’ll offer a few thoughts where necessary. As always, the victor is in CAPS.

 

Bucs at BROWNS

 

Jags at BENGALS

 

CARDINALS at Cowboys

 

Arizona isn’t getting enough love nationally, probably because they aren’t elite at quarterback, but that doesn’t mean this team isn’t really good, as they’ve got victories over the Chargers, 49ers, and Eagles this season. On Sunday, they get the Cowboys, on a short week, with Tony Romo coming off a back injury he suffered last week against the Redskins. Plus, I think we’ve forgotten how good this Arizona defense is. If you take out that Denver game, the Cardinals haven’t allowed more than 24 points to any team all year. They’ll win on Sunday.

 

EAGLES at Texans

 

Jets at CHIEFS

 

CHARGERS at Dolphins

 

This will be a bounce back game for the Chargers, who are coming off back-to-back division losses. Miami, who sits at 4-3, has looked pretty impressive over the last few weeks, but they've also had the sixth easiest schedule in the NFL this season. San Diego has been so banged up this year, but they’ll get Donald Brown back at running back this week, which should help a little bit. Plus, I just have a feeling we’re going to get a huge Phil Rivers game on Sunday. He was my MVP after Week 6, but he’s struggled the last two games (he completed less than 55% of his passes against the Chiefs, and he threw two huge picks against Denver). San Diego will get back on track this week.

 

Redskins at VIKINGS

 

Rams at 49ERS

 

Raiders at SEAHAWKS

 

Seattle “got it together” last week, as they squeaked by a mediocre Panthers’ team in Carolina. Something was up (and still may be) in that locker room. There was talk the last few weeks about how Russell Wilson was losing the team because he wasn’t “black enough”, which sounds ludicrous. I think the biggest problem was that the team wasn’t winning. They got physically overpowered by Dallas, and followed that up with an embarrassing loss in St. Louis. Plus, they traded Percy Harvin, which created a lot of drama, particularly when it came out that he’d been a clown and a cancer in that locker room ever since he’d arrived from Minnesota. All of that crap just morphed together and created a bunch of noise. That’s why that game last week was so important. If they’d lost that one, then the season could’ve potentially spiraled into name-calling, selfishness, and bad football. But they won, and they’re still alive. Plus, they get the best cure for poor play on the field this week, as the Raiders are coming to town. Oakland is clueless, and I’d believe just about any terrible outcome for this team. 0-16? Yeah, it’s definitely in play.

 

BRONCOS at Patriots

 

Ravens at STEELERS

 

COLTS at Giants

 

 

Now I can’t ignore the college game, which has got some massive games this week as well, including the first ever de facto playoff elimination game, #3 Auburn at #4 Ole Miss. Let’s start there.

 

#3 Auburn at #4 OLE MISS

 

I can’t believe I’m siding with Rebels and Bo Wallace in a big spot, particularly after that dumpster fire on Saturday night. I just don’t think Auburn’s that good of a team. Besides blowing out LSU (who was starting a Brandon Harris, freshman in his first game on the road), where are their impressive wins? Yeah, they won at Kansas State, but the Wildcats outplayed them the entire night. I’m not saying they’re garbage, but there’s no way they should be in the playoff over Alabama. Ole Miss will have the best defense in that game, they’re at home, and Bo, besides the aforementioned colossal failure last week, has had a nice season (2,075 yards, 18 passing TDs). I’m crossing my fingers, closing my eyes, and rolling the dice with the Rebels this week. It may come back to bite me.

 

#7 Tcu at #20 WEST VIRGINIA

 

On Monday, I picked West Virginia to win the Big 12, because I think they have the easiest remaining schedule of all the conference contenders (their two biggest games left are this week against TCU, and on November 20^th against K-State, both of which are at home). Of course, TCU could easily come out and just move the ball at will on that mediocre Mountaineers defense. I mean, they scored 82 points last week against Texas Tech. Then again, the Horned Frogs have a worse defense than WVU, and that, coupled with the Mountaineers being at home, in front of those rabid fans, makes me think West Virginia will be able to squeak one out this week.

 

Florida vs #11 GEORGIA (in Jacksonville)

 

This game will go down as the nail in the coffin for Will Muschamp. I think Georgia is just going to absolutely put it on the Gators for 60 minutes, and win by at least 4 touchdowns. Florida is completely outmatched in this game, and they’re going to get destroyed. I still can’t believe the Vols pulled a Derek Dooley and lost to this Gators’ team. Sheesh. Regardless, Georgia will win for the 4^th straight time over Florida, the first time that’s happened since the early ‘80s.

 

TENNESSEE OVER South Carolina

 

I’m making this pick solely because I believe in Josh Dobbs and the magic he showed last week. Do you realize that if the Vols go 2-2 over their final 4 games (making them 5-7), Butch Jones will have a worse record in his first two years than Derek Dooley? I believe that Butch, despite the problems I’ve had with him, is far superior to Dooley as a coach, and therefore, can’t have a worse two year run then Dooley did. But it’s in play. Fortunately for the Vols, the Gamecocks have an awful defense, and I think the Vols will be able to move it down the field with relative ease. If they can outscore Alabama over the last 3 quarters last Saturday, I think they should be able to do it all game to a bad South Carolina team.

 

Stanford at #5 OREGON

 

If you’d asked me to pick this game a month ago, there’s no doubt I’d pick the Cardinal, just because I thought they had that Oregon match up figured out. But now, I’m going to have to side with the Ducks. Stanford doesn’t have that same physical, pounding, running style on offense that gave Oregon so much trouble the last two years. Plus, they aren’t as great in the front seven on defense. All that, coupled with the fact that this game is at Oregon, in Autzen Stadium, will be too much for Stanford to overcome. Oregon will win.

 

Other college picks:

 

#24 DUKE at Pittsburgh (Watch out for Duke in the Coastal Division! Could they really win that division two years in a row? They’re in first place.)

 

Arkansas at #1 MISSISSIPPI STATE

 

#10 NOTRE DAME at Navy

 

#12 ARIZONA at #22 Ucla (has there been a bigger phony than the Bruins this season? For all this talk about them being national title contenders, they’ve been extremely disappointing. They’ve only looked impressive in one game this year, against Arizona State. Heck, they needed double overtime last week to beat Colorado. Colorado!)

 

#17 UTAH at #14 Arizona State (I’m a believer in the Utes! Watch out Oregon! It's going to be tough at Utah in two weeks!)

 

Like always, enjoy football this weekend. You deserve it.