Is Peyton Really That Bad In The Playoffs? (v.2010)
We were 2 months into football season before we realized that we had never posted our annual "Is Peyton Manning That Bad In the Playoffs?" column. Well to be perfectly fair we hadn't done anything since the World Cup. It was THAT awesome. Well it was pretty good at least, we did predict the winner (and got nothing else right). Killer was so happy that France choked he laughed himself into a coma and just woke up during the Packers bye week. Since Green Bay wasn't playing he thought it was still summer. But laughing time is over, we must return to work... or whatever you call this.
Peyton Manning, the potential answer to "The Greatest Ever?", missed another opportunity for a championship. For over a decade we heard how he couldn't win the big game. Then he did. Yet the myth still exists that Peyton Manning is the worst/best playoff quarterback in the NFL. He has one ring and we can only assume that he will eventually own every passing record available. Unless the rugged and malleable Brett Favre continues to defy natural aging like some mutant F. Scott Fitzgerald creation. The story of Brett Button gets even weirder as he seemingly unveils a new injury every week that is miraculously healed by the combined powers of Jesus, the ghost of Mother Teresa, and Harry Potter.
In the last two years, we've broken down some important stat categories to determine whether Peyton really struggles worse than his contemporaries in the post-season. This season's edition will not change out any players from the final 2009 version. Although Philip Rivers just completed his 7th playoff game, he has not yet been to a Super Bowl. New Champion Drew Brees has only started 6 playoff games. Until Rivers leads his team to the Super Bowl, or Brees starts another game, Brad Johnson (yes THE Brad Johnson. Super Bowl Champion: Brad Johnson) will fill out the ranks of Peyton's contemporaries. In other words, next year we'll sub Brees for Johnson.
Just as in the past we have two sections. One for players who shared the same generation as Peyton, and one for the all time greats. And if you're new to the comparison, here's the links to the earlier columns. They explain why we use the statistics we use, and include some swell pictures and captions:
PART I (Pre-2009 Super Bowl)
PART II (Post-2009 Super Bowl)
Peyton hasn't gained any ground since last season despite going 2-1 in the 2009-10 post-season. Manning's nemesis and front man for Five Man Electrical Band, Tom Brady, has dropped to second among their contemporaries. But Brady still tops the Super Bowl Era greats. "Tom Brady is an all time great?" That's you, that's what you're saying right now. And yes he is, he even fits the profile for the best of the best:
Best Around:
a. Play on a team of the decade
b. Have less illegitimate children than Super Bowl rings
c. No one's ever gonna keep them down
You may hate his hair, but that doesn't show up in the record books.
I'm pretty sure we burned through all our Eli Manning is Terry Bradshaw jokes last year. We know that completion percentage isn't always an accurate gauge of how effective a passing attack is. But if a quarterback is missing passes in the post-season that he made in the regular season, the offense's struggles to move the ball or convert on third downs will make them less effective. In parenthesis you can see each quarterback's regular season and post-season completion percentage. This is a category where Manning looks much stronger than after his playoff loss last season. Remarkably Kurt Warner has managed to retire with a 66.5% playoff completion percentage. Let's see Tim Tebow top that.
Just like in our last ranking, Peyton Manning has a stronger showing than last year. Not only has the chasm between his playoff and season numbers shrunk, his post-season TD/INT ratio went up. Why does Jake Delhomme have a higher post season TD/INT ratio than Terry Bradshaw, Eli Manning and Jim Kelly? Bradshaw's era quarterbacks tended to throw more interceptions, because back then pass interference was merely a term used to define stopping a potential teammate's late night hook up. Jim Kelly only had to score touchdowns when Thurman Thomas forgot his helmet. And Jake Delhomme is actually a long lost cousin of the Manning brothers. Gifted enough for a few good seasons, but without the full mutant genetic blueprint.
Peyton Manning, the potential answer to "The Greatest Ever?", missed another opportunity for a championship. For over a decade we heard how he couldn't win the big game. Then he did. Yet the myth still exists that Peyton Manning is the worst/best playoff quarterback in the NFL. He has one ring and we can only assume that he will eventually own every passing record available. Unless the rugged and malleable Brett Favre continues to defy natural aging like some mutant F. Scott Fitzgerald creation. The story of Brett Button gets even weirder as he seemingly unveils a new injury every week that is miraculously healed by the combined powers of Jesus, the ghost of Mother Teresa, and Harry Potter.
In the last two years, we've broken down some important stat categories to determine whether Peyton really struggles worse than his contemporaries in the post-season. This season's edition will not change out any players from the final 2009 version. Although Philip Rivers just completed his 7th playoff game, he has not yet been to a Super Bowl. New Champion Drew Brees has only started 6 playoff games. Until Rivers leads his team to the Super Bowl, or Brees starts another game, Brad Johnson (yes THE Brad Johnson. Super Bowl Champion: Brad Johnson) will fill out the ranks of Peyton's contemporaries. In other words, next year we'll sub Brees for Johnson.
Just as in the past we have two sections. One for players who shared the same generation as Peyton, and one for the all time greats. And if you're new to the comparison, here's the links to the earlier columns. They explain why we use the statistics we use, and include some swell pictures and captions:
PART I (Pre-2009 Super Bowl)
PART II (Post-2009 Super Bowl)
Peyton hasn't gained any ground since last season despite going 2-1 in the 2009-10 post-season. Manning's nemesis and front man for Five Man Electrical Band, Tom Brady, has dropped to second among their contemporaries. But Brady still tops the Super Bowl Era greats. "Tom Brady is an all time great?" That's you, that's what you're saying right now. And yes he is, he even fits the profile for the best of the best:
Best Around:
a. Play on a team of the decade
b. Have less illegitimate children than Super Bowl rings
c. No one's ever gonna keep them down
You may hate his hair, but that doesn't show up in the record books.
I'm pretty sure we burned through all our Eli Manning is Terry Bradshaw jokes last year. We know that completion percentage isn't always an accurate gauge of how effective a passing attack is. But if a quarterback is missing passes in the post-season that he made in the regular season, the offense's struggles to move the ball or convert on third downs will make them less effective. In parenthesis you can see each quarterback's regular season and post-season completion percentage. This is a category where Manning looks much stronger than after his playoff loss last season. Remarkably Kurt Warner has managed to retire with a 66.5% playoff completion percentage. Let's see Tim Tebow top that.
Just like in our last ranking, Peyton Manning has a stronger showing than last year. Not only has the chasm between his playoff and season numbers shrunk, his post-season TD/INT ratio went up. Why does Jake Delhomme have a higher post season TD/INT ratio than Terry Bradshaw, Eli Manning and Jim Kelly? Bradshaw's era quarterbacks tended to throw more interceptions, because back then pass interference was merely a term used to define stopping a potential teammate's late night hook up. Jim Kelly only had to score touchdowns when Thurman Thomas forgot his helmet. And Jake Delhomme is actually a long lost cousin of the Manning brothers. Gifted enough for a few good seasons, but without the full mutant genetic blueprint.
What do Steve Young and Matt Hasselbeck have in common?
a. Road playoff futility
b. Long time backups
c. ESPN connections
d. Gonna take the ball and gonna win
e. a, b & c
a. Road playoff futility
b. Long time backups
c. ESPN connections
d. Gonna take the ball and gonna win
e. a, b & c
This of course is the big one. The category which led to this annual extravaganza. The topic burning through the airwaves every Monday after a Colts playoff loss. Peyton Manning's regular season dominance burdens his championship image. He's now been to 2 Super Bowls, but he may never catch Montana, Aikman or Bradshaw. For that matter, he'll never catch Jim Kelly or John Elway, which seems strange to say. But Manning belongs to a different era. And among his contemporaries, he's only a Drew Brees playoff game and an Eli post-season flameout from climbing into the top flight.
If you haven't followed our previous rankings. This is where our strange methods become justified. In the greats section, the guys with the most rings take the top four spots. In the contemporaries it's a combination of championship appearances and victories that thrusts players to the top of the pack. Peyton finishes 8th among the greats and 7th among his contemporaries.
The Top Greats: Tom Brady (4 Super Bowls - 3 Wins), Joe Montana (4 Super Bowls - 4 Wins), Tory Aikman (3 Super Bowls - 3 Wins), Terry Bradshaw (4 Super Bowls - 4 Wins)
The Top Contemporaries: Kurt Warner (3 Super Bowls - 1 Win), Tom Brady (4 Super Bowls - 3 Wins), Ben Roethlisberger (2 Super Bowls - 2 Wins)
We could are semantics about whether the system is perfect, i.e. Jake Delhomme tied for 4th with Eli Manning among Peyton's generation. However, they've both been to a Super Bowl and remember, Delhomme's a cousin without the mutant gene. The only QB's with more Super Bowl appearances on that list are Favre at 6th and Peyton at 7th. Remember this isn't about any quarterback's overall history. We're only here to measure how they stack up in the playoffs. And to prove or disprove the myth that Peyton Manning is worse in the playoffs than his rivals.
Considering that last season Manning was only able to best Dan Marino and Super Bowl Champion Brad Johnson it seemed a lock that the media was correct in doubting Peyton's clutch ability. But this year Manning not only ranks above his contemporaries: Super Bowl Champion Brad Johnson, plus the ringless Steve McNair, Donovan McNabb, and Matt Hasselbeck. Manning is stronger than Marino, Steve Young, and Jim Kelly.
Is he the worst/best Super Bowl winning quarterback ever? Not in this competition, it's either Steve Young or Brad Johnson.
Is Peyton Manning bad in the playoffs?
I guess that depends on if your definition of bad is Dan Marino.
The Top Greats: Tom Brady (4 Super Bowls - 3 Wins), Joe Montana (4 Super Bowls - 4 Wins), Tory Aikman (3 Super Bowls - 3 Wins), Terry Bradshaw (4 Super Bowls - 4 Wins)
The Top Contemporaries: Kurt Warner (3 Super Bowls - 1 Win), Tom Brady (4 Super Bowls - 3 Wins), Ben Roethlisberger (2 Super Bowls - 2 Wins)
We could are semantics about whether the system is perfect, i.e. Jake Delhomme tied for 4th with Eli Manning among Peyton's generation. However, they've both been to a Super Bowl and remember, Delhomme's a cousin without the mutant gene. The only QB's with more Super Bowl appearances on that list are Favre at 6th and Peyton at 7th. Remember this isn't about any quarterback's overall history. We're only here to measure how they stack up in the playoffs. And to prove or disprove the myth that Peyton Manning is worse in the playoffs than his rivals.
Considering that last season Manning was only able to best Dan Marino and Super Bowl Champion Brad Johnson it seemed a lock that the media was correct in doubting Peyton's clutch ability. But this year Manning not only ranks above his contemporaries: Super Bowl Champion Brad Johnson, plus the ringless Steve McNair, Donovan McNabb, and Matt Hasselbeck. Manning is stronger than Marino, Steve Young, and Jim Kelly.
Is he the worst/best Super Bowl winning quarterback ever? Not in this competition, it's either Steve Young or Brad Johnson.
Is Peyton Manning bad in the playoffs?
I guess that depends on if your definition of bad is Dan Marino.
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One of the first things I learned about acting was, the only person you compete against is yourself.
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