Tau837
Footballguy
Apologies if this is a Honda, but I haven't seen any posts like this, at least not for a long time. I tried the Search function but couldn't find any similar posts.
I'm interested in discussing Manning's legacy. The Sports Illustrated preview had an article about him that included this:
Manning has 37,874 passing yards. Barring injury, he should finish this season 9th all time, behind Marino, Favre, Elway, Moon, Tarkenton, Testaverde, Bledsoe, and Fouts. He is currently 23,487 yards behind Marino. That is still a substantial gap. Manning has averaged 4176 passing yards per season in his career. If he maintains that pace, he'll need five more seasons after this season to claim the mark. If his pace slips, maybe he'll need another season beyond that. Note I'm assuming Favre doesn't advance much, if at all, beyond Marino's mark.
Manning has 278 passing TDs. With 23 more, he will be in 4th place all time, behind only Marino, Favre, and Tarkenton. Depending on how far Favre advances beyond Marino, Manning would stand a very good chance to become the all time leader in four more seasons after this season.
His career QB rating is 94.6, which is 2nd all time to Steve Young. I assume it is fairly unlikely that he can elevate it above Young, and it is possible it could ultimately drop below Kurt Warner, who is in third place.
Manning is 10th in all time completions, but "only" 13th in all time passing attempts.
Manning holds the single season records for passing TDs and QB rating.
Manning holds the record for both most career seasons with 4000 passing yards and most consecutive seasons with 4000 passing yards.
Manning's consecutive starts streak is second only to Favre's for QBs in NFL history. It is certainly possible he could play long enough to pass Favre, though that is a long way off and would obviously require sustained durability.
In 9 seasons, Manning has 2 MVP awards (2003 & 2004), an NFL Man of the Year award (2005), and a Super Bowl MVP award (2007), has been to 7 Pro Bowls, and has been selected All Pro 6 times.
OK, so with all that, he is likely to at least be in the conversation for the best QB ever from a statistical standpoint when his career is over. What else does he need? More awards, particularly MVPs, Super Bowl MVPs, and All Pro selections, would certainly help. But I assume it comes down to Super Bowls.
How many more does he need to be considered the best QB of all time? If he ends up with just the one Super Bowl win he got last year, but continues his stellar play for several more years, could he be considered the best ever? I think not. I think Montana would still be held in higher regard. I'm sure at this point some Brady supporters might chime in and say he would also be ranked higher. I think that is more subjective, depending on how Brady's statistical performance goes throughout the rest of his career. And, frankly, I find it very hard to compare modern era QBs to older QBs like Unitas, Graham, and Baugh... I think with just the one Super Bowl win, it remains a gray area in comparing Manning to the old greats.
I assume we could all agree that if he were to finish with 4 or more Super Bowl wins, as well as carrying his superlative statistical performance forward, that he would arguably be the best ever.
So where is the line? Is it 2? 3? Or does he have to get to 4?
I'm interested in discussing Manning's legacy. The Sports Illustrated preview had an article about him that included this:
So let's get the numbers out of the way.The question going forward just might be, Could he become the best quarterback who ever played? He's durable, having missed one play because of injury in nine seasons. At 31 he's six very good seasons away from the alltime records for passing yards and touchdowns... But given the NFL championships on the resumes of Johnny Unitas, Otto Graham, and Joe Montana--not to mention Brady, who could add to his three--Manning would probably have to win another Super Bowl or two to be considered the best. Unless he puts his numbers out of sight.
Manning has 37,874 passing yards. Barring injury, he should finish this season 9th all time, behind Marino, Favre, Elway, Moon, Tarkenton, Testaverde, Bledsoe, and Fouts. He is currently 23,487 yards behind Marino. That is still a substantial gap. Manning has averaged 4176 passing yards per season in his career. If he maintains that pace, he'll need five more seasons after this season to claim the mark. If his pace slips, maybe he'll need another season beyond that. Note I'm assuming Favre doesn't advance much, if at all, beyond Marino's mark.
Manning has 278 passing TDs. With 23 more, he will be in 4th place all time, behind only Marino, Favre, and Tarkenton. Depending on how far Favre advances beyond Marino, Manning would stand a very good chance to become the all time leader in four more seasons after this season.
His career QB rating is 94.6, which is 2nd all time to Steve Young. I assume it is fairly unlikely that he can elevate it above Young, and it is possible it could ultimately drop below Kurt Warner, who is in third place.
Manning is 10th in all time completions, but "only" 13th in all time passing attempts.
Manning holds the single season records for passing TDs and QB rating.
Manning holds the record for both most career seasons with 4000 passing yards and most consecutive seasons with 4000 passing yards.
Manning's consecutive starts streak is second only to Favre's for QBs in NFL history. It is certainly possible he could play long enough to pass Favre, though that is a long way off and would obviously require sustained durability.
In 9 seasons, Manning has 2 MVP awards (2003 & 2004), an NFL Man of the Year award (2005), and a Super Bowl MVP award (2007), has been to 7 Pro Bowls, and has been selected All Pro 6 times.
OK, so with all that, he is likely to at least be in the conversation for the best QB ever from a statistical standpoint when his career is over. What else does he need? More awards, particularly MVPs, Super Bowl MVPs, and All Pro selections, would certainly help. But I assume it comes down to Super Bowls.
How many more does he need to be considered the best QB of all time? If he ends up with just the one Super Bowl win he got last year, but continues his stellar play for several more years, could he be considered the best ever? I think not. I think Montana would still be held in higher regard. I'm sure at this point some Brady supporters might chime in and say he would also be ranked higher. I think that is more subjective, depending on how Brady's statistical performance goes throughout the rest of his career. And, frankly, I find it very hard to compare modern era QBs to older QBs like Unitas, Graham, and Baugh... I think with just the one Super Bowl win, it remains a gray area in comparing Manning to the old greats.
I assume we could all agree that if he were to finish with 4 or more Super Bowl wins, as well as carrying his superlative statistical performance forward, that he would arguably be the best ever.
So where is the line? Is it 2? 3? Or does he have to get to 4?
Last edited by a moderator: