Is Peyton's season dimminished because of loss?

[deranged2005]

Before the postseason start, every sports reporter and a lot of people on this forum said that if Peyton doesn't get to the SB and doesn't win it, his season means squat.

So does it now? I still think it does. Football is a team sport. Peyton couldn't do anything when the Colts defense let the Patriots go down the field 3 times with drives more than 12 plays. Couldn't do anything when his recievers coughed up the balls.

[RIyankee]

Yes, bigtime.

If you don't believe me ask Peyton himself.

IMO the Colts, as a team, won't recover from this loss.

[bnorris85]

that loss was totally demoralizing....it wouldnt be as bad as if they lost in a shootout 38-35, but they almost (and should have) gotton shut out.

[PlsDontTearDownY.S.]

Definitely. He can't win in the elements. The whole Colts offense looked unprepared to deal with it.

[ChewieTobbacca]

The Colts defense can't really be put to blame - everyone knew they were bad. The thing was, the Colts offense was heads above everyone else - and they were the ones shutout. Thus much of it falls on the offense.

[twentyquestions]

Definitely. He can't win in the elements. The whole Colts offense looked unprepared to deal with it.

Yep - not only Peyton but his supporting cast looked nonplussed and frustrated in the snow. Only Tony Dungy and his baseball cap appeared reasonably comfortable. Terrible preparation and terrible execution. The Colts should either win more games next year or tear down their Dome.

Unfortunately for them, New England became dynastic when Peyton became God. Otherwise, they may have had more postseason success than they currently enjoy.

[Soriambi]

I think it hurts his image and increases the perception that he can't beat the Pats (which he hasn't) and can't win the big games (which isn't true, as he's won playoff games before), but it doesn't take away from the fact that he had the greatest regular season ever for a QB.

[PlsDontTearDownY.S.]

It doesn't matter, the 49 touchdown passes. He's not a complete QB if he can't win or at least play well in the elements.

[JDPNYY]

I don't think the elements had that much to do with it, unless you are talking about the flawless game plan by the Pats coupled with a punishing defensive attack by the Pats.


Manning still has a lot to prove.

[nygfan07]

Peyton proved that he could play in the elements... His receivers were rarely getting open, making it nearly impossible for him to complete passes. On top of that, when they were open, they dropped a bunch of his passes. I am not saying his team lost it for him, but Peyton did not play a bad game. The Pats out coached and out played the Colts in every aspect of the game, but I feel like Peyton did better than he has in the past.

[BroadwayBomber55]

Yes, it will diminish Peyton Mannings spectular regular season, but you can't take the radical numbers he had in the regular season.

Peyton Manning doesn't need to eclipse his own record in 2005. He can just go out there and bring the Colts a Super Bowl (NFL World Championship) title.

[yankeesAZ]

He still has plenty of career left to get a title. The Colts have to get that homefield advantage though and somehow avoid the Pats.

[cubswin]

Is his season diminished? Of course -- the season's about winning, not individual stats.

However, his record is not diminished.

[WakefieldsKnuckler49]

Eh, Manning might have had more of a chance to score if the Pats didn't sustain 3 drives of 7 minutes or longer, including a staggering 9 minute drive. The whole team is to blame on this one. Peyton is still the best QB in the league IMO, with Brady a close second.

[DaBoys4LifeNYY35]

Eh, Manning might have had more of a chance to score if the Pats didn't sustain 3 drives of 7 minutes or longer, including a staggering 9 minute drive. The whole team is to blame on this one. Peyton is still the best QB in the league IMO, with Brady a close second.

Word for word in agreement.

The receivers were dropping passes right and left. The Pats' D was disruptive at all levels. The Pats' offense held onto the ball for, what, 2/3 of regulation time? That's just ridiculous. Not all Peyton's fault, by ANY means--people should be laying massive amounts of credit on the Pats rather than completely discrediting the Colts. Like I said somewhere else, a QB can't win a game alone, but he CAN lose it alone. Last year, Peyton did a lot to LOSE that game. Not the case this year.

He had the greatest regular season by a QB in recent memory, and his record is just that--a regular season mark. I hope the Colts can continue to add playmakers like Freeney, or at least guys who are solid throughout their defense so that Peyton and Marvin and Co. will finally get a real shot at going all the way.

I wish people would stop discrediting Peyton, calling him the Marino of our generation, etc., until he's ready to call it quits. Elway lost the big one 3 times before going out on top. Heck, in the other conference, McNabb has already lost 3 straight NFC title games in 1 less year in the league than Manning. Neither of them has even broken 30 yet--I choose to wait at least a little bit longer before making any sort of sweeping judgments about careers that are still very much in progress.

[YankeeFan1]

Word for word in agreement.

The receivers were dropping passes right and left. The Pats' D was disruptive at all levels. The Pats' offense held onto the ball for, what, 2/3 of regulation time? That's just ridiculous. Not all Peyton's fault, by ANY means--people should be laying massive amounts of credit on the Pats rather than completely discrediting the Colts. Like I said somewhere else, a QB can't win a game alone, but he CAN lose it alone. Last year, Peyton did a lot to LOSE that game. Not the case this year.

He had the greatest regular season by a QB in recent memory, and his record is just that--a regular season mark. I hope the Colts can continue to add playmakers like Freeney, or at least guys who are solid throughout their defense so that Peyton and Marvin and Co. will finally get a real shot at going all the way.

I wish people would stop discrediting Peyton, calling him the Marino of our generation, etc., until he's ready to call it quits. Elway lost the big one 3 times before going out on top. Heck, in the other conference, McNabb has already lost 3 straight NFC title games in 1 less year in the league than Manning. Neither of them has even broken 30 yet--I choose to wait at least a little bit longer before making any sort of sweeping judgments about careers that are still very much in progress.

Great analysis of the game. The Colts' defense and their receivers didn't help out Peyton much at all. It was a team loss. The Colts were just out played by the Patriots. Dungy needs to continue building that defense. Dwight Freeney is a good start.

As for Peyton, I just think that there are a lot of haters out there. Peyton had a good season, although it didn't end with a Super Bowl victory. I remember when they used to say the same crap about Elway not being able to win the big game. Peyton is a young guy who has another 7 to 8 years to win a Super Bowl and I think that he will.

[NYPenn]

The problem with Manning is not his on-field performance. He's a superb quarterback, though he's not the quarterback I would choose to lead my team with two minutes left to go in the Super Bowl.

The problem with Manning is that he's making about a zillion dollars a year, and there is no money in Indianapolis to pay for a defense.

[cubswin]

...As for Peyton, I just think that there are a lot of haters out there. Peyton had a good season, although it didn't end with a Super Bowl victory. ...

Has nothing to do with hating. imo, Manning seems like a good guy. It does have to do with thinking that (i) some people overrate him b/c of his gaudy #s and (ii) the role of the QB is to do more than post gaudy #s. He is a very good to great QB. However, as far as I'm concerned, he isn't the best until he shows he can overcome adversity, find ways to win (even if it means w/o the big #s) and win the SB.

Nat, of course it isn't fair to write him off -- maybe he'll wind up with 3 or 4 SB championships. But for now, he hasn't been able to do it, and we're talking about his career up until this point.

To me, the bottom line is that, if I were forced to pick a QB to win 1 game, it's Brady; if I were forced to pick a QB to throw for 400 yds and 5 TDs in a game, I'll go Manning. But the former is what matters, not the latter.

[b-ball-lunachick]

I don't think the elements had that much to do with it, unless you are talking about the flawless game plan by the Pats coupled with a punishing defensive attack by the Pats.


Manning still has a lot to prove.

ditto...I think it was francesa who said he's not a great player yet -- just a very good quarterback who had a great season...he still needs to elevate his play a bit against adversity...

[PlsDontTearDownY.S.]

I don't think the elements had that much to do with it, unless you are talking about the flawless game plan by the Pats coupled with a punishing defensive attack by the Pats.


Manning still has a lot to prove.

The weather had a lot to do with it. It's a known fact that the elements wreak havoc on certain teams and certain players, and it looks like that's how it is for Manning. Manning had a better game against a full stregnth Pats D opening night when the weather was nice.

[b-ball-lunachick]

Word for word in agreement.

The receivers were dropping passes right and left. The Pats' D was disruptive at all levels. The Pats' offense held onto the ball for, what, 2/3 of regulation time? That's just ridiculous. Not all Peyton's fault, by ANY means--people should be laying massive amounts of credit on the Pats rather than completely discrediting the Colts. Like I said somewhere else, a QB can't win a game alone, but he CAN lose it alone. Last year, Peyton did a lot to LOSE that game. Not the case this year.

definitely more of the credit goes to the Pats, their defense and their gameplan...but most of those passes that were dropped were not for much yardage. Manning looked nervous and never opened up the field -- the Pats may have had great coverage downfield but you have to at least open it up once or twice instead of throwing those same screens...

I agree that it's not all Manning but he didn't have a great game either...I thought the Colts defense played pretty well, especially the first half...as for Dungy, I'm disappointed that they practiced that one play all week and didn't know the rule which caused the false start...that was just sad...

He had the greatest regular season by a QB in recent memory, and his record is just that--a regular season mark. I hope the Colts can continue to add playmakers like Freeney, or at least guys who are solid throughout their defense so that Peyton and Marvin and Co. will finally get a real shot at going all the way.

I wish people would stop discrediting Peyton, calling him the Marino of our generation, etc., until he's ready to call it quits. Elway lost the big one 3 times before going out on top. Heck, in the other conference, McNabb has already lost 3 straight NFC title games in 1 less year in the league than Manning. Neither of them has even broken 30 yet--I choose to wait at least a little bit longer before making any sort of sweeping judgments about careers that are still very much in progress.

No one can take away the season Manning had...it was great. His career can't be judged until he retires, but I still think he needs to elevate his play and lead his team more in bigger games to be considered an elite quarterback...he's not the active quarterback I'd choose first to win one game right now...however, I still think he'll reach that level...as you point out, he's still young...

[YankeeFan1]

The problem with Manning is that he's making about a zillion dollars a year, and there is no money in Indianapolis to pay for a defense.

Actually, after Polian made that statement, severly writers in Indianapolis studied the Colts and found out that this wasn't true. In fact, Peyton's new deal lowered his cap hit, freeing up more money. The Colts' problems on defense are based on years of bad drafting and signings.

[YankeeFan1]

Has nothing to do with hating. imo, Manning seems like a good guy. It does have to do with thinking that (i) some people overrate him b/c of his gaudy #s and (ii) the role of the QB is to do more than post gaudy #s. He is a very good to great QB. However, as far as I'm concerned, he isn't the best until he shows he can overcome adversity, find ways to win (even if it means w/o the big #s) and win the SB.

Nat, of course it isn't fair to write him off -- maybe he'll wind up with 3 or 4 SB championships. But for now, he hasn't been able to do it, and we're talking about his career up until this point.

To me, the bottom line is that, if I were forced to pick a QB to win 1 game, it's Brady; if I were forced to pick a QB to throw for 400 yds and 5 TDs in a game, I'll go Manning. But the former is what matters, not the latter.

People are hating on Peyton. Your post doesn't change this fact. In fact, that fact that you chose to selectively quote my post is evidence of the kind of irrational Peyton bashing that is going.

Despite your determination to ignore the basic tenets of football, being a great qb has nothing to do with winning the Super Bowl as I pointed out quite clearly in my post where I provided examples of great legendary qbs who hasn't won. Does not winning a Super Bowl tarnish a great qb's legacy? Yes, look at Marino. However, the fact remains that winning a Super Bowl doesn't make a qb great. Unless you want to claim that Trent Dilfer and Kurt Warner are right up there with Brent Favre in his peak of qb ability and skill. Fundamentally your argument is simply DEAD wrong.

Btw, the irony here is that this is the exact argument that are you using for prefering Brady over Peyton is the exact on that Yankee fans had about chosing Derek Jeter over Nomar for years.

[PlsDontTearDownY.S.]

Actually, after Polian made that statement, severly writers in Indianapolis studied the Colts and found out that this wasn't true. In fact, Peyton's new deal lowered his cap hit, freeing up more money. The Colts' problems on defense are based on years of bad drafting and signings.

The Colts defense didn't even play that bad until they got worn out late in the game. The Colts D gave Peyton and the offense all kinds of chances to score...and they couldn't get it done.

[DaBoys4LifeNYY35]

The Colts defense didn't even play that bad until they got worn out late in the game. The Colts D gave Peyton and the offense all kinds of chances to score...and they couldn't get it done.

All kinds of chances? That's why the Pats' offense was able to mount a succession of incredibly time-consuming drives that added up to them holding onto the ball for 2/3 of regulation? (Although, of course, the Colts COULD have not gone 3-and-out all those times when they DID finally get the ball.)