The GOAT

[VeveJones007]

I'm not arguing that Tom is not Elite... After the ridiculous numbers vs Den, if he follows it up by going out there and spanking the Ravens today with a big game he'll start to put some distance statistically in the post season. But I get tired of the myth that Peyton is a good regular season QB who chokes in the post season in the post season. It simply has not been true.

Very true. In fact, here are three stat lines against Denver in the postseason from the last 8 years. One is Tom Brady and two are Peyton Manning.

22/26 377 yards 5 TD / 0 INT Rating 158.3
26/34 363 yards 6 TD / 1 INT Rating 137.6
27/33 458 yards 4 TD/ 1 INT Rating 145.7

[VeveJones007]

The reason this argument can go on and on is because there's no objective way to measure it. And honestly, it really doesn't matter. Once you get into that top tier of QBs, then they are all so great that the difference is too hard to discern. If you were to choose one for a given game, any of them could put up a terrific performance no different from the others.

[VeveJones007]

I think they'd be an 8 win team with a healthy Peyton. People underrate how bad the rest of that team was. No way they win more than ten.

I think 8 wins would be the baseline with the total wins anywhere from 8-12 depending on health. As far as the rest of the team goes, the entire thing fell apart because it was so predicated on the offense. The defense was built to play its Cover 2 shell to keep teams from scoring TDs so the offense could outscore the opponent. Without any semblance of an offense, the defense just wilted and could never utilize Freeney and Mathis to rush the passer with a lead.

Needless to say, it was a very poor strategy which got the front office and coaching staffs fired.

[geschinger]

I think 8 wins would be the baseline with the total wins anywhere from 8-12 depending on health. As far as the rest of the team goes, the entire thing fell apart because it was so predicated on the offense. The defense was built to play its Cover 2 shell to keep teams from scoring TDs so the offense could outscore the opponent. Without any semblance of an offense, the defense just wilted and could never utilize Freeney and Mathis to rush the passer with a lead.

I actually thought there were many games where they played decent early on before wilting after the offense kept failing to sustain any drives. The setup worked well with an offense that was at the top of the league in converting 3rd downs but was definitely not well equipped to cover for an offense that was one of if not the worst in converting 3rd downs.

Needless to say, it was a very poor strategy which got the front office and coaching staffs fired.

This is true, but in a way, the way I look at it is I'd rather crash and burn and be in a position to add an elite talent at top of draft than having been constructed well enough to be a mediocre non playoff team w/o being a legitimate playoff contender.

[geschinger]

Interesting article on postseason production

While it's focusing on Eli's run this year a couple of things stand out re: Peyton the regular season QB vs Peyton the playoff QB

Quarterback	DYAR	Games
Peyton Manning	2317	19
Tom Brady	1704	21
Kurt Warner	1612	13
Drew Brees	1330	9
Brett Favre	1111	20
Aaron Rodgers	832	7
Matt Hasselbeck	787	11
Eli Manning	708	10
Ben Roethlis...	634	14
Philip Rivers	595	7

(Hopefully this puts to rest the notion that Eli's older brother had a habit of choking in the playoffs. Peyton Manning's postseason numbers -- 63 percent accuracy, 7.5 yards per pass, 2.6 percent interception rate -- are nearly identical to his regular-season performances of 65 percent accuracy, 7.6 yards per pass and 2.7 percent interception rate.)

[VeveJones007]

This is true, but in a way, the way I look at it is I'd rather crash and burn and be in a position to add an elite talent at top of draft than having been constructed well enough to be a mediocre non playoff team w/o being a legitimate playoff contender.

Absolutely. As soon as Manning went down, the 2011 season ended just about as perfectly as it could for the Colts. They got Chris Polian's hands out of the front office. They got rid of a coach that was in over his head. They got the ability to take Andrew Luck.

When you aren't going to win the Super Bowl, you cheer for what will get you closer to a Super Bowl. After Manning's injury, the rest of 2011 got the Colts a hell of a lot closer to their next Super Bowl than it would have if they went 6-10.