The 1 thing we will remember about Peyton Manning's NFL career
We asked the Paste BN NFL staff the following question: "What is the one thing you will remember about Peyton Manning's NFL career"? Their responses:
JARRETT BELL
Peyton prayed. On the brink his first Super Bowl, after experiencing the sting of one playoff setback after another with the Indianapolis Colts, Peyton Manning was left to do little more than watch and hope as the clock ticked for the final minute of the 2006 AFC title game. So he sat on the bench, closed his eyes and, as he later revealed, talked to the Man Upstairs. This still resonates as a favorite Manning memory because the sight of him praying was so out of character. We’re talking about the anal-retentive quarterback who was seemingly always in control when he was at his best – scanning defenses, recalling tendencies, maybe reacting off preparation as much as he did with skill….and keeping his emotions in check. Yet in an hour (or minute) of need, Tony Dungy’s quarterback suddenly showed a spiritual side. That was fitting in the sense that it was hardly a typical shootout at the RCA Dome. Manning put up Peyton-like numbers by passing for 349 yards against the New England Patriots, but his only TD pass was a one-yarder to Dan Klecko -- a D-tackle doubling as a goal-line fullback. Another score came when his center, Jeff Saturday, fell on a fumble in the end zone. And while Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne – the wide receivers you’d see running the precise routes for Manning long before everybody else showed up for pre-game warmups -- combined for nine catches, the most extensive damage came from the tight ends. Manning exploited the suspect safeties (James Sanders, Artrell Hawkins) in the middle of the field, evidenced by Dallas Clark’s six catches for 137 yards. And get this: On the game-winning drive, the big play was a 32-yard completion to…Bryan Fletcher. It was a deep corner route that the second-year backup tight end whom Manning called “The Suggestion Box,” had proposed himself to Manning – and Fletcher’s only reception of the game. Manning did so much to rally the Colts from an 18-point deficit that afternoon. Yet the ball was back in Tom Brady’s hands when Manning, well, put it in the Lord’s hands. His prayer was answered. Marlin Jackson intercepted a Brady pass over the middle that sailed high. Peyton rejoiced. He was headed to the Super Bowl. Finally.
NATE DAVIS
Peyton Manning has provided so many memories over the course of 18 seasons, they almost blur together – legacy-making wins, legacy-tarnishing losses, record upon record, MVP after MVP and the incessant commercials. But I’ll never forget covering his stunning transition from the Indianapolis Colts to the Denver Broncos in March of 2012. After 14 years together, there was the tearful goodbye press conference with Colts owner Jim Irsay, Manning choking out to the city, "Thank you very much from the bottom of my heart. … I truly have enjoyed being your quarterback," even while Irsay was turning his gaze to then-Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck. Then there was the NFL version of “Quarterback Bachelor” as Manning hopscotched from workouts at Duke University to Nashville to Colorado, meeting with this team or that – unfounded rumors galore along the way – as we tried to imagine him as a 49er, Cardinal or Dolphin. He ultimately gave his final rose to John Elway and the Broncos less than two weeks after leaving Indy. It concluded the most dramatic episode of Manning’s career in my view before he surprised virtually no one by resuming his penchant for stacking wins and stats a year and a half after we wondered if he’d ever play again.
LINDSAY JONES
More so than the regular season wins and the playoff losses, more than the passing records and MVP awards, what I’m going to remember most about Peyton Manning is how he was in control – of everything – more than any other athlete I’ve encountered. For nearly his entire career, he was in control on the field – of the offense in Indianapolis or Denver, of his huddle, of the line of scrimmage, and so often, of the opposing defense as well. But that control carried off the field as well. He crafted and protected his image better than anyone. He won every press conference, and no athlete or coach has made me think harder about what – and specifically, how – to ask him questions, because he certainly doesn’t believe in the adage that there are no stupid questions. And perhaps that control that he had over his career, especially after he arrived in Denver in 2012 and I covered him on a weekly basis, was what made 2015 so remarkable, because so many of the things he always controlled fell apart. I remember watching him tripping over his own feet, with the gracefulness of a baby giraffe, during a practice in May as he worked on taking snaps under center. And he certainly wasn’t in control as he threw 17 interceptions in his first nine starts. So what I’ll remember about Manning’s final year is how he relinquished the control he had, finally adapted to a new offense and his diminished body and became a complementary piece to the Broncos’ Super Bowl champion team.
MICHAEL MIDDLEHURST-SCHWARTZ
Amid all the talk of how Peyton Manning's Super Bowl record impacts his legacy, it's impossible to ignore that he was a singular force in the NFL. Beyond any one performance, I'll always remember Manning for his unmatched ability to manipulate a defense. He often appeared as though he were dictating the game itself, bending it to his own will. That control made him a force even in dire straits, including a breakthrough performance in the 2006 AFC championship game, in which he rallied the Indianapolis Colts to a 38-34 win over the New England Patriots despite an early 21-3 deficit. Looking across the NFL, it's easy to see how the next generation of great quarterbacks looked to Manning as the standard-bearer for how to command an offense. How's that for a legacy?
TOM PELISSERO
I’ll remember his quick release. Manning rarely played with great (or even good) offensive lines, but his ability to read the defense, adjust at the line and get rid of the ball covered it up more often than not. Few have ever seen and commanded the game so well. That’s a big reason he could have one of his greatest seasons (55 TD passes in 2013) after his body had begun failing him.
ERIC PRISBELL
What I will remember most about Peyton Manning was the second act of his remarkable career. In the final stages of his tenure with the Indianapolis Colts, it sure looked at times like we would never again see the Manning that we became accustomed to seeing dissect defenses at will for the Colts. When it became clear that Manning still wanted to play, the safe bet was that we would see clearly a diminished quarterback in the waning seasons of his career. But as it stands, Manning completed four seasons in Denver and had a passer rating of better than 100 in each of the first three. Only during his past injury-plagued season was Manning considerably compromised on the field. And, as it turns out, that’s the season that would end with Manning earning his elusive second Super Bowl title, largely because of the Broncos’ historically good defense. But the mere fact that Manning has had such a stellar second act remains one of his biggest accomplishments.
LORENZO REYES
The one thing I'll remember about Peyton is a teary-eyed press conference, signaling the end of his run in Indy, and wondering what would be next, wondering whether Manning would ever be the same after his neck fusion surgeries. He then went through free agency -- no surprise -- methodically, leading him to the Broncos. I'll remember watching his first game with Denver, in 2012, Week 1 against the Steelers when he had just seven incompletions and two TDs in an efficient performance. One year later, he set the NFL single-season record for yards and passing touchdowns. It's funny now to think back on all the uncertainty from that transition from the Colts.