Peyton getting love from ex-NFL players on ESPN

[2006Coltsbestever]

Domonique Foxworth, Bart Scott, and Tim Hasselbeck all say that Peyton was scarier to play against than Tom Brady. Foxworth and Scott said when they had to play Peyton they had anxiety - I put this topic in Colts football because Peyton in the greatest Colt ever. 3-1 Peyton over Brady in AFC Title Games.

[LJpalmbeacher2]

Certainly one of the Best to ever play, especially in the regular season.

But in the Big Games and playoffs it was unfortunately for us Colt Fans, it was usually a Different story. 

I'd guess that the anxiety of facing him in the post season wasn't as high as in the regular season lol. He leads in a record of One & Dones. And I don't remember him ever beating Big Ben and the Steelers or Phillip Rivers and the Chargers in the playoffs. One playoff game Rivers backup beat us and I think LT was out too! 

He still is and always be the best thing that's ever happened to the colts since moving to Indy. It just hurts that the playoffs were so different than the regular season.

 

"Are Peyton Manning's one-and-dones his fault?" https://www.espn.com/nfl/playoffs/2013/story/_/id/10266254/are-peyton-manning-one-dones-fault

[IrsaysArmy]

1 minute ago, LJpalmbeacher2 said:

Certainly one of the Best to ever play, especially in the regular season.

But in the Big Games and playoffs it was unfortunately for us Colt Fans, it was usually a story. 

I'd guess that the anxiety of facing him in the post season wasn't as high as in the regular season. He leads in a record of One & Dones. And I don't remember him ever beating Big Ben and the Steelers or Phillip Rivers and the Chargers in the playoffs. One playoff game Rivers backup beat us and I think LT was out too! 

He still is and always be the best thing that's ever happened to the colts since moving to Indy. It just hurts that the playoffs were so different than the regular season.

 

"Are Peyton Manning's one-and-dones his fault?" https://www.espn.com/nfl/playoffs/2013/story/_/id/10266254/are-peyton-manning-one-dones-fault

Best ever if you take away playoffs. A shame he couldn’t win playoff games 

[twfish]

I know we are biased here, but the only times manning ever had good defenses he went to/won super bowls. Brady almost always had a better team around him. Manning IMHO is the greatest QB ever, Brady is the greatest champion however.

[CurBeatElite]

1 hour ago, twfish said:

I know we are biased here, but the only times manning ever had good defenses he went to/won super bowls. Brady almost always had a better team around him. Manning IMHO is the greatest QB ever, Brady is the greatest champion however.

Without Brady, a mediocre Cassell (who never started a collegiate game or played In a pro game at that point) leads Pats to an 11-5 record. 

 

Without Peyton, the Colts go from predicted division Champs (and by some predicted Super Bowl contenders), to the 2-14 laughing stock of the league.

 

Peyton masked a lot of flaws on Teams he played on after his rookie year. One of them was that many years we had atrocious run defenses.. when we got to the playoffs, top-tier teams could expose us.

[Behle]

A 2016 statistic had Peyton with 102 total wins with a defense ranked 16th or worse. Brady had 20. Next best was Marino with 74. Pretty impressive stat showing the value of Manning to the Colts. 

[AKB]

55 minutes ago, Behle said:

A 2016 statistic had Peyton with 102 total wins with a defense ranked 16th or worse. Brady had 20. Next best was Marino with 74. Pretty impressive stat showing the value of Manning to the Colts. 

also a good demonstration of raw talent vs making a team work. 

[EastStreet]

1 hour ago, Behle said:

A 2016 statistic had Peyton with 102 total wins with a defense ranked 16th or worse. Brady had 20. Next best was Marino with 74. Pretty impressive stat showing the value of Manning to the Colts. 

 

Yup. Saw something similar. 

Folks want to poo-poo PM's playoff record, but for the most part, we just lost to better, more complete teams. 

 

[Scott Pennock]

5 hours ago, LJpalmbeacher2 said:

Certainly one of the Best to ever play, especially in the regular season.

But in the Big Games and playoffs it was unfortunately for us Colt Fans, it was usually a Different story. 

I'd guess that the anxiety of facing him in the post season wasn't as high as in the regular season lol. He leads in a record of One & Dones. And I don't remember him ever beating Big Ben and the Steelers or Phillip Rivers and the Chargers in the playoffs. One playoff game Rivers backup beat us and I think LT was out too! 

He still is and always be the best thing that's ever happened to the colts since moving to Indy. It just hurts that the playoffs were so different than the regular season.

 

"Are Peyton Manning's one-and-dones his fault?" https://www.espn.com/nfl/playoffs/2013/story/_/id/10266254/are-peyton-manning-one-dones-fault

I remember a certain drunken * kicker not sealing several game winning and game tying playoff games that would dispel those one and done thoughts. Manning put his teams in position to win several times with subpar defenses and a kicker who missed……

 

I remember a certain HOFer NEVER missing for his QB……

 

After that I saw a man who put the weight of the world on his shoulders because he felt like he had to do it all.

 

I don’t care about the rings, Peyton Manning is still the greatest QB to play the game.

[DEColtsLover36]

9 hours ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Domonique Foxworth, Bart Scott, and Tim Hasselbeck all say that Peyton was scarier to play against than Tom Brady. Foxworth and Scott said when they had to play Peyton they had anxiety - I put this topic in Colts football because Peyton in the greatest Colt ever. 3-1 Peyton over Brady in AFC Title Games.

I watched this today as well… proud fan moment lol

 

[LJpalmbeacher2]

We can skew the facts in Peyton's favor but there weren't too many playoff losses that were like 41-40. Meaning the Defense wasn't the reasons we lost in offensive shootouts because there were few if any offensive shootouts. Our offense often didn't perform in the playoffs. Without checking   the linked story I'll try and recall a few myself.....

 

Like the first playoff lost to the Titans, our best offensive play was a punt return that was called back cause the returner stepped out of bounds. Our O was impotent.

 

Then the loss to the dolphins in OT, I think it was something like 10-7. 

 

Then there was the loss to the Steelers, Manning couldn't get anything going until near halftime. Then Betis fumbled at the GL as the Steelers were about to put the game away and our DB was tackled by Big Ben preventing a very late TD. But Peyton couldn't get it in or near the end zone for the win and left 2 timeouts and Vandy missed for the tie with the worst fg attempt in playoff history. It was like he was given a knuckle ball type of football to kick(it was against the Steelers after all). 

 

Then one year filling in for Phillip Rivers, obscure backup Billy Volek outplayed and beat Peyton.

 

Then there was the loss to Mark Sanchez and the Jets, that certainly wasn't a shootout and neither were the others above. 

 

Even in '06, the year we won the super bowl, the Offense didn't light it up except the last 2.5 quarters vs Brady in the AFCCG. The games against the Chiefs & Ravens our Defense played well and were certainly a strong reason we won. Against the Ravens we didn't score a TD, it was ALL FIELD GOALS for our Offense!

.....in the SB, our run game was more than the Bears could handle in the rain.

In the 4 post season games in '06 Peyton threw 3 TD's with 7 or 8 interceptions if I remember correctly.

 

I'm the regular season, he and the Star Wars offense were a pleasure to watch.......in the playoffs,....well it wasn't. 

[Nesjan3]

Quarterback always gets the praise.  Brady had a  better head coach, better defense,  better special teams. Better game plans,  better coordinators pretty much every year.

 

Peyton took a lot of mediocre teams to the double digit wins and playoff appearances but couldn't shoulder all the weight in the playoffs. This never gets talked about.

 

I would love to flip it and see how many superbowls Peyton would have won with the best head coach ever and great teams year in and year out.  How would have Brady done working with mediocrity every year.

[Myles]

16 hours ago, CurBeatElite said:

 

 

Peyton masked a lot of flaws on Teams he played on after his rookie year. One of them was that many years we had atrocious run defenses.. when we got to the playoffs, top-tier teams could expose us.

Yes.  Playoff games are different.   The best teams in the league who game plan much differently than the regular season.  

[coltsfeva]

  I have issues with the G.O.A.T. discussions, due to the subjectivity involved. 
  Football is a team sport. Including in that is the quality of the coaching staff and FO to bring talent in.

   If you are going strictly by championships, Otto Graham had ten. TEN!

   And you could make the argument that at least two of Brady’s rings were, to some degree, gifts. 

    Guys like Graham, Unitas and Starr will never have the stats that you see in modern football.

     One could argue that Dan Marino was the greatest pure passer to ever play. Yet, there are no Lombardi’s on his resume.

       For some reason, we like to insist on labeling a player the “greatest of all time”. 
        If you are talking golf or tennis (or various other individual sports), you could point to stats to make an objective argument, although the era one played in could be a factor.

        To me, it’s much more accurate to say for instance; “Tom Brady is ONE of the greatest quarterbacks of all time” , even though he never faced Bill Belichick, wasn’t among the best scramblers, or most accurate, or had the strongest arm. He was (and still is) a GREAT qb.

        And he belongs in an elite group of quarterbacks that includes Peyton, Unitas, Marino, Elway, Graham, Starr and others who excelled in their respective careers. The rings? Totally okay dependent upon the teams around them. Archie Manning never sniffed a chance at a championship but how would his legacy differed, if he was on a great team? 
        In short, to me, when it comes to NFL quarterbacks, there is no G.O.A.T.

    

   

[Tsarquise]

Manning is the GOAT.

[Dingus McGirt]

21 hours ago, LJpalmbeacher2 said:

We can skew the facts in Peyton's favor but there weren't too many playoff losses that were like 41-40. Meaning the Defense wasn't the reasons we lost in offensive shootouts because there were few if any offensive shootouts. Our offense often didn't perform in the playoffs. Without checking   the linked story I'll try and recall a few myself.....

 

Like the first playoff lost to the Titans, our best offensive play was a punt return that was called back cause the returner stepped out of bounds. Our O was impotent.

 

Then the loss to the dolphins in OT, I think it was something like 10-7. 

 

Then there was the loss to the Steelers, Manning couldn't get anything going until near halftime. Then Betis fumbled at the GL as the Steelers were about to put the game away and our DB was tackled by Big Ben preventing a very late TD. But Peyton couldn't get it in or near the end zone for the win and left 2 timeouts and Vandy missed for the tie with the worst fg attempt in playoff history. It was like he was given a knuckle ball type of football to kick(it was against the Steelers after all). 

 

Then one year filling in for Phillip Rivers, obscure backup Billy Volek outplayed and beat Peyton.

 

Then there was the loss to Mark Sanchez and the Jets, that certainly wasn't a shootout and neither were the others above. 

 

Even in '06, the year we won the super bowl, the Offense didn't light it up except the last 2.5 quarters vs Brady in the AFCCG. The games against the Chiefs & Ravens our Defense played well and were certainly a strong reason we won. Against the Ravens we didn't score a TD, it was ALL FIELD GOALS for our Offense!

.....in the SB, our run game was more than the Bears could handle in the rain.

In the 4 post season games in '06 Peyton threw 3 TD's with 7 or 8 interceptions if I remember correctly.

 

I'm the regular season, he and the Star Wars offense were a pleasure to watch.......in the playoffs,....well it wasn't. 

You’re a blast…

[Moosejawcolt]

On 6/20/2022 at 5:32 PM, Behle said:

A 2016 statistic had Peyton with 102 total wins with a defense ranked 16th or worse. Brady had 20. Next best was Marino with 74. Pretty impressive stat showing the value of Manning to the Colts. 

I know people point to Peyton's lack of  defensive support  as the main contributor in him not obtaining more superbowls. However, if u take off the rose colored glasses, the Colts offence underwhelmed repeatedly in the play offs. One could argue that the defences actually played better in the play offs than during the regular season. Now that is not saying much as those defences were pretty vanilla and didn't put up much resistance. Now the offences continually were  in the top 5 during the regular season  and repeatedly laid an egg as did  Peyton. The offences under Polian were given tons of assest. Basically what I am saying is the lack of superbowls under Peyton are squarely on his shoulders and the offence as a whole.

[2006Coltsbestever]

On 6/20/2022 at 3:17 PM, IrsaysArmy said:

Best ever if you take away playoffs. A shame he couldn’t win playoff games 

He was 14-13 in the playoffs and won 2 SBs with 2 different teams.  14 is a lot. He was 3-1 vs Tom Brady in AFC Title games. This narrative he couldn't win playoff games has me confused. I guess because Brady won more is why. Saying Peyton couldn't win playoff games is like saying Larry Bird couldn't win playoff games. He won a lot, Magic just won more. Brady always had the better coaching.

[IrsaysArmy]

8 hours ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

He was 14-13 in the playoffs and won 2 SBs with 2 different teams.  14 is a lot. He was 3-1 vs Tom Brady in AFC Title games. This narrative he couldn't win playoff games has me confused. I guess because Brady won more is why. Saying Peyton couldn't win playoff games is like saying Larry Bird couldn't win playoff games. He won a lot, Magic just won more. Brady always had the better coaching.

Bro, how could you be a diehard Colts fan and not understand Peyton wasn’t that great in playoffs. 7 or 8 one and dones? The losses weren’t ever ONLY on him but at the end of the day he didn’t get it done. He also has 14 wins because they made the playoffs every season so of course he’s going to have large numbers. 

[FuedinHatfield]

12 hours ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

He was 14-13 in the playoffs and won 2 SBs with 2 different teams.  14 is a lot. He was 3-1 vs Tom Brady in AFC Title games. This narrative he couldn't win playoff games has me confused. I guess because Brady won more is why. Saying Peyton couldn't win playoff games is like saying Larry Bird couldn't win playoff games. He won a lot, Magic just won more. Brady always had the better coaching.

For the most part Brady always had a defense that could hold a team. Manning always had to bear the weight of basically an entire team and put up 30ish points every game and be up by 2 TDs or more so Freeney and Mathis could work. When Manning finally had a defense we won a Superbowl. Not taking away from Brady at all. I feel they are 1 and 1A in terms of greatness. I think Manning would have had much more success in NE than Brady would have had in Indy though. Possibly won more than Brady did in NE.

[Indyfan4life]

1 minute ago, FuedinHatfield said:

For the most part Brady always had a defense that could hold a team. Manning always had to bear the weight of basically an entire team and put up 30ish points every game and be up by 2 TDs or more so Freeney and Mathis could work. When Manning finally had a defense we won a Superbowl. Not taking away from Brady at all. I feel they are 1 and 1A in terms of greatness. I think Manning would have had much more success in NE than Brady would have had in Indy though. Possibly won more than Brady did in NE.

Peyton with Brady's defense would have brought us multiple super bowls. Is what it is though.

[jvan1973]

3 hours ago, IrsaysArmy said:

Bro, how could you be a diehard Colts fan and not understand Peyton wasn’t that great in playoffs. 7 or 8 one and dones? The losses weren’t ever ONLY on him but at the end of the day he didn’t get it done. He also has 14 wins because they made the playoffs every season so of course he’s going to have large numbers. 

4 superbowl appearances with 4 different head coaches says he was far better than most in the playoffs. 

[Indyfan4life]

4 hours ago, IrsaysArmy said:

Bro, how could you be a diehard Colts fan and not understand Peyton wasn’t that great in playoffs. 7 or 8 one and dones? The losses weren’t ever ONLY on him but at the end of the day he didn’t get it done. He also has 14 wins because they made the playoffs every season so of course he’s going to have large numbers. 

Peyton masked a lot of the team's deficiencies, which were obvious in 2011. The year we actually had a running game and decent defense, we won the Super Bowl. See how that correlates? Brady had both for many, many years. Average WR, great RB and defense.

[2006Coltsbestever]

4 hours ago, IrsaysArmy said:

Bro, how could you be a diehard Colts fan and not understand Peyton wasn’t that great in playoffs. 7 or 8 one and dones? The losses weren’t ever ONLY on him but at the end of the day he didn’t get it done. He also has 14 wins because they made the playoffs every season so of course he’s going to have large numbers. 

You do realize Peyton is tied for 3rd for most playoff wins: The list is

 

1. Brady (35) because he has played longer than anyone, what is he 100 years old  

 

2. Montana (16)

 

3. a tie between Peyton, Elway, and Bradshaw who won 4 SB's (14)

 

I am already on record saying Brady is the GOAT but to say Peyton couldn't win playoff games is wrong. Yeah he had plenty of one and done's, but like @jvan1973said he has also took 4 different coaches to the SB. The only play/game that I am critical of Peyton is, is that INT he had in SB 44 but even then had we scored, it would have only tied the game and Brees was slicing us up. We probably still lose 27-24 had Peyton tied it. Brady was 18-0 and lost to the 15 point underdog Giants and Eli in the SB (2007), crap happens.

 

I created this thread because several defensive players said they feared Peyton more. 

[IrsaysArmy]

1 minute ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

You do realize Peyton is tied for 3rd for most playoff wins: The list is

 

1. Brady (35) because he has played longer than anyone, what is he 100 years old  

 

2. Montana (16)

 

3. a tie between Peyton, Elway, and Bradshaw who won 4 SB's (14)

 

I am already on record saying Brady is the GOAT but to say Peyton couldn't win playoff games is wrong. Yeah he had plenty of one and done's, but like @jvan1973said he has also took 4 different coaches to the SB. The only play/game that I am critical of Peyton is, is that INT he had in SB 44 but even then had we scored, it would have only tied the game and Brees was slicing us up. We probably still lose 27-24 had Peyton tied it. Brady was 18-0 and lost to the 15 point underdog Giants and Eli in the SB (2007), crap happens.

 

I created this thread because several defensive players said they feared Peyton more. 

So you don’t think Peyton And the Colts underachieved in the playoffs? They would consistently go 7-0, 9-0, 14-0 all while looking dominant and then the second we got to the playoffs we would go 3 and out the whole first half. Idk. It just doesn’t make sense. 

[2006Coltsbestever]

1 minute ago, IrsaysArmy said:

So you don’t think Peyton And the Colts underachieved in the playoffs? They would consistently go 7-0, 9-0, 14-0 all while looking dominant and then the second we got to the playoffs we would go 3 and out the whole first half. Idk. It just doesn’t make sense. 

We should've won the SB in 2005 and 2009 I will give you that. Those 2 years we underachieved but in a 1 game situation the best QB/team doesn't always win. Brady lost to Eli twice and lost to freakin Nick Foles in SB's. Look at Rodgers every year. Point is you said Peyton couldn't win playoff games, that isn't true. I am not picking on you but he won 14 playoff games and 2 SB's. Only 12 QB's in NFL history have won 2 SB's or more. Brady is just so overwhelming with 35. - that is due to longevity though. 

 

What is your opinion on, Peyton being 3-1 vs Brady in AFC Title Games? That was 3 huge playoff wins.

[FuedinHatfield]

12 hours ago, Indyfan4life said:

Peyton with Brady's defense would have brought us multiple super bowls. Is what it is though.

Makes me sick thinking about it. 

[Moosejawcolt]

On 6/20/2022 at 8:37 PM, LJpalmbeacher2 said:

We can skew the facts in Peyton's favor but there weren't too many playoff losses that were like 41-40. Meaning the Defense wasn't the reasons we lost in offensive shootouts because there were few if any offensive shootouts. Our offense often didn't perform in the playoffs. Without checking   the linked story I'll try and recall a few myself.....

 

Like the first playoff lost to the Titans, our best offensive play was a punt return that was called back cause the returner stepped out of bounds. Our O was impotent.

 

Then the loss to the dolphins in OT, I think it was something like 10-7. 

 

Then there was the loss to the Steelers, Manning couldn't get anything going until near halftime. Then Betis fumbled at the GL as the Steelers were about to put the game away and our DB was tackled by Big Ben preventing a very late TD. But Peyton couldn't get it in or near the end zone for the win and left 2 timeouts and Vandy missed for the tie with the worst fg attempt in playoff history. It was like he was given a knuckle ball type of football to kick(it was against the Steelers after all). 

 

Then one year filling in for Phillip Rivers, obscure backup Billy Volek outplayed and beat Peyton.

 

Then there was the loss to Mark Sanchez and the Jets, that certainly wasn't a shootout and neither were the others above. 

 

Even in '06, the year we won the super bowl, the Offense didn't light it up except the last 2.5 quarters vs Brady in the AFCCG. The games against the Chiefs & Ravens our Defense played well and were certainly a strong reason we won. Against the Ravens we didn't score a TD, it was ALL FIELD GOALS for our Offense!

.....in the SB, our run game was more than the Bears could handle in the rain.

In the 4 post season games in '06 Peyton threw 3 TD's with 7 or 8 interceptions if I remember correctly.

 

I'm the regular season, he and the Star Wars offense were a pleasure to watch.......in the playoffs,....well it wasn't. 

U make to much sense lol

[Moosejawcolt]

On 6/22/2022 at 3:29 PM, 2006Coltsbestever said:

We should've won the SB in 2005 and 2009 I will give you that. Those 2 years we underachieved but in a 1 game situation the best QB/team doesn't always win. Brady lost to Eli twice and lost to freakin Nick Foles in SB's. Look at Rodgers every year. Point is you said Peyton couldn't win playoff games, that isn't true. I am not picking on you but he won 14 playoff games and 2 SB's. Only 12 QB's in NFL history have won 2 SB's or more. Brady is just so overwhelming with 35. - that is due to longevity though. 

 

What is your opinion on, Peyton being 3-1 vs Brady in AFC Title Games? That was 3 huge playoff wins.

Well the Brady vs Manning thing to begin with is silly  as they don't play each other. Now if u ask me who is better between Tyson and Douglas, I can tell u that one lol.

[LJpalmbeacher2]

1 hour ago, Moosejawcolt said:

U make to much sense lol

 

It's easy when tell the truth. 

[EastStreet]

On 6/20/2022 at 10:37 PM, LJpalmbeacher2 said:

We can skew the facts in Peyton's favor but there weren't too many playoff losses that were like 41-40. Meaning the Defense wasn't the reasons we lost in offensive shootouts because there were few if any offensive shootouts. Our offense often didn't perform in the playoffs. Without checking   the linked story I'll try and recall a few myself.....

 

Like the first playoff lost to the Titans, our best offensive play was a punt return that was called back cause the returner stepped out of bounds. Our O was impotent.

 

Then the loss to the dolphins in OT, I think it was something like 10-7. 

 

Then there was the loss to the Steelers, Manning couldn't get anything going until near halftime. Then Betis fumbled at the GL as the Steelers were about to put the game away and our DB was tackled by Big Ben preventing a very late TD. But Peyton couldn't get it in or near the end zone for the win and left 2 timeouts and Vandy missed for the tie with the worst fg attempt in playoff history. It was like he was given a knuckle ball type of football to kick(it was against the Steelers after all). 

 

Then one year filling in for Phillip Rivers, obscure backup Billy Volek outplayed and beat Peyton.

 

Then there was the loss to Mark Sanchez and the Jets, that certainly wasn't a shootout and neither were the others above. 

 

Even in '06, the year we won the super bowl, the Offense didn't light it up except the last 2.5 quarters vs Brady in the AFCCG. The games against the Chiefs & Ravens our Defense played well and were certainly a strong reason we won. Against the Ravens we didn't score a TD, it was ALL FIELD GOALS for our Offense!

.....in the SB, our run game was more than the Bears could handle in the rain.

In the 4 post season games in '06 Peyton threw 3 TD's with 7 or 8 interceptions if I remember correctly.

 

I'm the regular season, he and the Star Wars offense were a pleasure to watch.......in the playoffs,....well it wasn't. 

 

While I agree you can say Manning didn't win some games, he also didn't really lose many of them either. 

I dug into all of the PM playoff losses a while ago (still probably have the notes on my PC if you want me to dig them up and pub), and here's what I can say off the top of my head.

 

• Our run offense failed to perform in many of the games. We had very few games over 100 yards rushing.
• Our run D failed to perform in many of the games, and allowed for several 100 yard RBs and big rushing totals. This also allowed several opponents to kill us in time of possession. 
• Overall, our D failed in a few games late at crucial moments that led to late 4Q and OT losses.
• We missed 2 or 3 critical FGs, ones that would have won the game, or would have tied it up and sent it to OT. 
• Harrison had 2 costly fumbles in 2 of our losses. 
• Several of our losses were to eventual SB champs (or AFC champs). We also played a few top ranked Ds and a few top ranked Os. 

 

I'd add that in the year we won the SB, we rushed for 100+ in every game, and we only allowed one team to run for over 100. 

In short, not many games we didn't have some obvious failure points not related to Manning, or that you can say Manning couldn't overcome. 

[throwing BBZ]

10 minutes ago, EastStreet said:

 

While I agree you can say Manning didn't win some games, he also didn't really lose many of them either. 

I dug into all of the PM playoff losses a while ago (still probably have the notes on my PC if you want me to dig them up and pub), and here's what I can say off the top of my head.

 

• Our run offense failed to perform in many of the games. We had very few games over 100 yards rushing.
• Our run D failed to perform in many of the games, and allowed for several 100 yard RBs and big rushing totals. This also allowed several opponents to kill us in time of possession. 
• Overall, our D failed in a few games late at crucial moments that led to late 4Q and OT losses.
• We missed 2 or 3 critical FGs, ones that would have won the game, or would have tied it up and sent it to OT. 
• Harrison had 2 costly fumbles in 2 of our losses. 
• Several of our losses were to eventual SB champs (or AFC champs). We also played a few top ranked Ds and a few top ranked Os. 

 

I'd add that in the year we won the SB, we rushed for 100+ in every game, and we only allowed one team to run for over 100. 

In short, not many games we didn't have some obvious failure points not related to Manning, or that you can say Manning couldn't overcome. 

 

   It was impossible to run for 100 yards when your QB thinks his passing is the best way to win (MVP's).

[EastStreet]

21 minutes ago, throwing BBZ said:

 

   It was impossible to run for 100 yards when your QB thinks his passing is the best way to win (MVP's).

 

So you must be talking about games like our first playoff loss with Manning vs TN in 99....

 

Edge had 20 rushes (higher than JT's average last season) for 56 yards and a 2.8 yards per carry average... 

 

I just can't believe Manning might not think our rushing was going to win the game with that great 2.8 average... 

 

 

 

 

Yes, italics is sarcasm.....   But your take does not surprise me lol... 

And hey, how about our run D letting Eddie run for 162 yards (197 overall rushing yards) against us.

[LJpalmbeacher2]

3 hours ago, EastStreet said:

 

While I agree you can say Manning didn't win some games, he also didn't really lose many of them either. 

I dug into all of the PM playoff losses a while ago (still probably have the notes on my PC if you want me to dig them up and pub), and here's what I can say off the top of my head.

 

• Our run offense failed to perform in many of the games. We had very few games over 100 yards rushing.
• Our run D failed to perform in many of the games, and allowed for several 100 yard RBs and big rushing totals. This also allowed several opponents to kill us in time of possession. 
• Overall, our D failed in a few games late at crucial moments that led to late 4Q and OT losses.
• We missed 2 or 3 critical FGs, ones that would have won the game, or would have tied it up and sent it to OT. 
• Harrison had 2 costly fumbles in 2 of our losses. 
• Several of our losses were to eventual SB champs (or AFC champs). We also played a few top ranked Ds and a few top ranked Os. 

 

I'd add that in the year we won the SB, we rushed for 100+ in every game, and we only allowed one team to run for over 100. 

In short, not many games we didn't have some obvious failure points not related to Manning, or that you can say Manning couldn't overcome. 

The colts were built to be a Star Wars offense and a Defense to rush the QB with the lead. That was polians vision and he built it to perfection. Another way to go could have been to put more resources on the Defensive side and change the scheme to a aggressive Defense instead of a soft zone cover 2. And let his All World QB do his thing with less weapons. 

 

But still the reason for a number of those losses were the offense not playing well. And manning wasn't the only player on offense but watching those elimination games on the edge of your seat on every play as a colt fan you could see Peyton's game often wasn't at his best. 

It's really not even up for debate as far as most NFL fans veiw it. Peyton underachieved on the playoffs often. That's part of his legacy in the eyes of most except some colt fans that worship him....and that's ok too.

 

[EastStreet]

13 minutes ago, LJpalmbeacher2 said:

The colts were built to be a Star Wars offense and a Defense to rush the QB with the lead. That was polians vision and he built it to perfection. Another way to go could have been to put more resources on the Defensive side and change the scheme to a aggressive Defense instead of a soft zone cover 2. And let his All World QB do his thing with less weapons. 

 

But still the reason for a number of those losses were the offense not playing well. And manning wasn't the only player on offense but watching those elimination games on the edge of your seat on every play as a colt fan you could see Peyton's game often wasn't at his best. 

It's really not even up for debate as far as most NFL fans veiw it. Peyton underachieved on the playoffs often. That's part of his legacy in the eyes of most except some colt fans that worship him....and that's ok too.

 

I look at each game factually, and in context.

 

At a macro level, the truth is our SOS was mostly bottom half of the AFC, and even worst in the AFC several years. That allowed our O to light up a bunch of bad teams / Ds, and then struggle when we finally played the top Ds and Os in the league. So did Manning really underperform in the playoffs, or simply beat up on a bunch of chumps in the regular season?

 

And while Peyton gets bagged on for his playoff performances, it's easily better than Luck, another good QB. And Peyton had a higher sack % than Luck in the playoffs. Most try to excuse Luck's failures due to bad OLs, Well in the playoffs, Luck was sacked 3.2%, while Peyton was sacked 3.4%. Even so, Manning had a similar win%, better passer rating, better completion %, better TD %, and lower INT%. So call it whatever you want. Star Wars, etc. It worked only once with 2 good QBs over 19 years. I don't bring this up to bag on Luck, just to illustrate the GM/Colts strategy was 1 for 19 with two QBs considered generational lol... 

 

The year we were capable of running decently, and stopping the run, we won the SB. It wasn't all on Manning. It's that simple. 

[sb41champs]

Each game is it's own unique situation with a variety of variables presented.

 

It is up to the QB who can best move his chess pieces to accomplish the best possible who will win each individual game.

 

Manning - AND - Brady are both all-time greats!!

[2006Coltsbestever]

11 hours ago, EastStreet said:

 

I look at each game factually, and in context.

 

At a macro level, the truth is our SOS was mostly bottom half of the AFC, and even worst in the AFC several years. That allowed our O to light up a bunch of bad teams / Ds, and then struggle when we finally played the top Ds and Os in the league. So did Manning really underperform in the playoffs, or simply beat up on a bunch of chumps in the regular season?

 

And while Peyton gets bagged on for his playoff performances, it's easily better than Luck, another good QB. And Peyton had a higher sack % than Luck in the playoffs. Most try to excuse Luck's failures due to bad OLs, Well in the playoffs, Luck was sacked 3.2%, while Peyton was sacked 3.4%. Even so, Manning had a similar win%, better passer rating, better completion %, better TD %, and lower INT%. So call it whatever you want. Star Wars, etc. It worked only once with 2 good QBs over 19 years. I don't bring this up to bag on Luck, just to illustrate the GM/Colts strategy was 1 for 19 with two QBs considered generational lol... 

 

The year we were capable of running decently, and stopping the run, we won the SB. It wasn't all on Manning. It's that simple. 

I blame a lot of Luck's losses on not having a running game more than anything. In his first 3 seasons = 48 games, he had 1 game where a running back went over 100. That has to be an all time low record by any team in NFL history. No team is going to win a SB when they are 1 dimensional. Regarding Peyton, I agree 100% with you that in many playoff games, his run game failed him as well and so did his run defense.