King tries to be a voice of reason
Enough is enough. If I hear one more word about how Peyton Manning ruined his “legacy” by throwing that interception in the Super Bowl, I’m going to puke.
The same way it was absurd to suggest Manning would be the greatest quarterback ever if he had won this year’s Super Bowl (which would have given Manning two titles in 12 years, with none of the all-time records his), it’s just as absurd to call him some tragically flawed player because he threw a bad interception going in for the tying touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
Now, if you want to say you see a pattern forming — from his can’t-beat-Florida days in college, to some of the playoff losses he’s had in the pros, to the fourth-quarter pick by Tracy Porter — that’s fine. But it’s silly to say a guy’s career epitaph has been written when he has four, five or six possible prime years left. Let his career play out, then let’s put him where he deserves to be put in history.
I’m annoyed enough as it is that most people who analyze football make playoff football the only thing that counts when considering the greatness of players. I loved the Tweet of Aaron Schatz of FootballOutsiders.com Sunday: “How come no one ever mentions Jim Brown was 1-3 in the playoffs and averaged 3.7 YPC (yards per carry) when they talk about his legacy?”
Quarterbacks surely are the most important players on a football field. So that means they’re the most important players in postseason play. But to minimize the significance of regular-season dominance drives me nuts. Manning is 70 games over .500 in 12 seasons, which is better than Dan Marino, John Elway, Johnny Unitas, Bart Starr, Terry Bradshaw and Roger Staubach were in their careers. But Manning’s 9-9 playoff record overshadows all of that. I’m not saying the 9-9 shouldn’t be considered. I just think it shouldn’t overshadow everything.
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