Retiring On Some Note

I'm not much of a Peyton Manning fan, but I have to give him some credit. By retiring right after his second Super Bowl title, Manning goes out having answered the top criticism of his career- his big losses. Even with his Super Bowl 50 win, he still was about a .500 post-season QB, despite constantly playing in the post-season, for good teams. Even with that stat looming over him, the reality is still the reality- he got that second ring.

It's hard to blame Manning for calling it a day after 2015. Every superstar wants to go out as the best, and he gets to go out a champion. Even so, something feels wrong about this. Whether it was the HGH, the story about the trainer at Tennessee, not defending his title, the feeling he hung on a year or two too long, the memories of past losses, or what, I felt like Manning had a little left to show. The stat sheet says otherwise, but I just feel like he is leaving football with some question marks. I also feel like his press conference belongs in Indianapolis, not Denver- but that's just my view.

Is Peyton Manning the best quarterback of his day, or of all-time? You can have a raging argument about these questions. I tend to go with Tom Brady in this era, as I see the point of football being championships. I tend to go with Joe Montana as the best of all-time, but Manning has his argument for both. His stats sheet beats both, and his two championships at least soften the blow of many big game losses. I still personally put him behind both Montana and Brady. I put him in the top five of all-time now though, which is better than the fate I had in mind for him before Super Bowl 50.