Peyton Manning went out just as he played, just as I expected — with extreme class.
Watching Peyton Manning’s emotional retirement speech was bittersweet. Sweet because it was time to leave the game. His physical skills had diminished tremendously, but he left on top.
Bitter because I hate to see someone that left such an indelible mark beyond the field leave a game that needs more guys like Manning.
Where does Manning fall in the hierarchy of all-time great quarterbacks? That depends on the yardstick you use. Some use championships as yardstick. Others look at overall statistics and records.
I say both are key measuring sticks, but football is the ultimate team sport — making it hard for me to give Tom Brady the nod over Manning.
Manning, who announced his retirement from professional football on Monday after 18 seasons, was a statistical freak and record-breaking machine in his prime, an improvisational signal caller. He was the ultimate pocket passer who revolutionized the no-huddle, hurry-up offense by crafting mini game plans, surveying defensive alignments and calling out audibles before the ball was snapped.
Manning went 50-15 in Denver, leading the Broncos to four AFC West titles, two Super Bowl trips, one championship, and in 2013 guided the highest-scoring offense in league history. All after retraining himself to throw following a series of neck fusion surgeries forced him to miss the 2011 season and he was cut by the Colts.
Yet due to some disappointing postseason exits, some Super Bowl losses and the misfortune of existing at the same time as some other spectacular players and teams, Manning's championship legacy doesn’t stack up to some other all-time greats at that the position.
The Brady-vs.-Manning case is fun to argue. But no matter on which side you fall, there is one thing we all can agree on — and that’s the character and passion Manning played the game with and the humble, endearing way he handled himself off the field.
In a time when the NFL needs class acts like Manning and Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson to overshadow the shenanigans of so many rogue players and immature cry babies like Carolina signal caller Cam Newton.
Much has been made of Newton’s less than inspiring tantrums at the Super Bowl — both on the field and after the game when he stormed out of the press conference.
Newton is a physical freak with a great NFL future ahead of him, but talent isn’t everything.
Hopefully Newton can learn from examples set by Wilson and Manning in the future, and become a good role model for young athletes.
