NFL: Selecting the best player in each franchise’s history
By Brad Rowland
Indianapolis Colts – Peyton Manning
Many pundits believe that Peyton Manning is already the best quarterback in the history of the NFL. Frankly, he was barely the best quarterback in Indianapolis (and Baltimore) Colts history.
Johnny Unitas is one of the most difficult players to evaluate from any era because, well, the numbers just don’t stack up to today’s quarterbacks. Still, he was widely considered as the best player of his generation, and stacking that up against Manning makes things a bit more interesting. Peyton gets the nod by nature of sheer volume and the fact that he finally won a Super Bowl ring, but the gap isn’t wide.
That isn’t to knock Manning, as he is a five-time league MVP who will likely hold every major passing record when he retires. Peyton is already the all-time leader in passing touchdowns (530) and with additional production, he should pass Brett Favre in the other major statistics while riding off into the sunset as an unquestioned first-ballot Hall of Fame selection.
Manning will always (repeat: always) be a player known for his playoff shortcomings, but the fact that he boasts a Super Bowl win should help to mitigate that a bit. Also, his numbers are simply jaw-dropping for any era. Polarizing is a great word to describe Peyton Manning, but “incredible” is another accurate one.
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