Does Peyton Manning just out work many NFL QBs? (1 Viewer)

[Spanky267]

Probably has something to do with having an NFL quarterback as a father. He's been trained to be a QB from birth. That's one of the reasons his footwork is so amazing. You don't pick that up in college.

This is not true. Archie wouldnt let any of his boys, Cooper, Peyton or Eli play football until middle school. Archie never pushed football on any of them. He just wanted to be their dad. Archie had a strained relationship with his dad. His father commited suicide between either Archie's sophmore/junior year or his junior/senior year of college. Took a huge toll on him and he almost gave up the game entirely to move home and take care of his mom and sister.

Peyton idolized his dad and wanted to be a quarterback from a young age. So he was driven personally to become a qurterback. Cooper and Eli not so much.

ESPN ran a documentary this past Friday on the Manning family and their legacy. From Archie to Cooper, Peyton and Eli.

Of the three Peyton was driven to be a QB and wanted to be the best. He has such a fear of being unprepared that he is constantly studying film. Its pretty crazy but his drive to be the best at his craft is pretty remarkable. I think if his dad had been a carpenter instead of a quarterback, Peyton Manning would be the most legendary carpenter of all time.

After watching that documentary it made me an bigger fan of Peyton than I already was and it was very touching to see home movies of the boys growing up and how Archie was just their dad. Archie seemed to create a distinct line between his professional and personal lives. Pretty remarkable too.

The documentary is part of ESPN's SEC Storied series. Definitely worth a watch. It can get a little dusty if you had a strained relationship with a parent as well.

Peyton is the best at what he does because their isnt anyone in the league who works harder before, during or after games to mentally prepare for each match up.

 

[Khy]

It's a few things...

1. He's brilliant at the position. I don't know that anyone can run an offense as efficiently as Peyton does on a weekly basis.

2. As Adam stated above, he runs one of the most simple offensive schemes in the league. And has been running it since Day 1.

3. He may have the best WR corps of any of the 'all time greats' at the position.

In Indy he had Harrison, Wayne and Clark, here in Denver he has Thomas, Thomas, Welker and Decker, he some how always had this slew of extremely talented WRs around him. And sure, you could argue that he is the big reason for their stats... but not entirely. Most of these guys were all high draft picks OR had success under other QBs. Harrison, Wayne and Clark were both first round talents. Demaryius is a first round talent, Decker was a high end WR2 with Tebow throwing him the ball, Welker is one of the best slot receivers of all time and Julius Thomas while not being a 1st round pick has that essential "basketball background" which we're starting to see become a big deal for TEs successfulness. Think about it this way, Jimmy Graham (3rd round pick) is the best pure TE in the league probably... basketball background. Rob Gronkowski (2nd round pick) very close to Graham in talent, basketball background. Jordan Cameron (4th round pick) basketball background. Julius Thomas (4th round pick) basketball background. Tony Gonzalez (1st round pick) basketball background. Antonio Gates (undrafted) basketball background. You don't find a good TE without it these days and Thomas has it.

You'd be hard pressed to find another G.O.A.T candidate with these types of receiving corps. A good example of this would be the current record holder Tom Brady. Who was always considered "elite" but never put up the kind of stats that Peyton did... until he got Randy Moss and Wes Welker in 2007 and exploded and broke 50 TDs for the first time in history.

So sure, while I agree Peyton is in my opinion the GOAT. I think you can make an argument that if you put... Brady on the Broncos right now he'd be having almost the exact same season that Peyton's having right now.

 

[Buck Bradcanon]

Peyton is a film room junkie. He gets in early in the morning and is the last one to leave the facility.

 

[jurb26]

Manning clearly out works most QBs the NFL. He'll, he clearly out works most players and even some coaches in the NFL. He is not alone however. I know Brady and Bree's also put in similar study and work. Some other guys may as well but it just not as readily reported.

 

[Ksquared]

One thing that Peyton does to a degree I had not realized is a support system that he has created and directs. A couple of weeks ago (may have been when ESPN ran the special mentioned earlier) it was shown how on the off-day for players, he meets with his OC, QB coach, and Asst OC about the next opponent and each of them are given specific tasks to identify traits about this opponent for Peyton. During the game - each of these coaches and both backup QBs are responsible for monitoring certain things during the game. Not sure what all this info each is providing to Peyton, but it is easy to see why he really is like an OC on the field.

 

[DeCleater]

I swear I read somewhere that outside of football Manning isn't particularly bright. Not that he's dumb, but that he doesn't wow you away from the game, and he struggles with some tasks most of us find simple. I don't remember details, but think it was in pretty normal things eg: ordering things, banking stuff - things along those lines. I got the impression that he's sort of an idiot savant - genius at football, but fairly below average in most other things

He can count to 100 million, I think he is doing fine in the banking sector.

 

[#hashtagger]

#PeytonIsDivine

 

[Ketamine Dreams]

I swear I read somewhere that outside of football Manning isn't particularly bright. Not that he's dumb, but that he doesn't wow you away from the game, and he struggles with some tasks most of us find simple. I don't remember details, but think it was in pretty normal things eg: ordering things, banking stuff - things along those lines. I got the impression that he's sort of an idiot savant - genius at football, but fairly below average in most other things

He can count to 100 million, I think he is doing fine in the banking sector.

Found it: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1017735/3/index.htm

The main part is on page 3. Sounds like Peyton is kind of stupid actually.

 

[Adam Harstad]

Sure that offense is simple.............just as long as you have a savant genius workaholic with 15 years of experience running it.

The foundation of it I can understand as being somewhat simplistic, though it is anything but simple to run. It may be simple for MANNING, but...............

You're confusing simple with easy. If it were easy, everyone in the league would be running it. It's a very, very difficult and demanding offense, but still a very, very simple one, too. Name another offense in the league with a thinner playbook. Name another offense in the league where the concepts are simple enough that the quarterback could switch to literally any play in the playbook in 10 seconds at the LoS.

It's like a fade. There are few plays in the game that are simpler than a fade. Receiver runs a vertical route, QB takes a 3-step drop from center (or a 1-step drop from the shotgun), Quarterback throws the ball to a spot, receiver fades outside to go get it. There's no need for fancy combo routes, fakes, or misdirections. No need to line up in fancy formations to try to dictate a favorable matchup. There are no double moves. You don't need to spend half the game running a series of plays to set up the action. It's wicked simple- WR goes straight, QBs takes a quick drop and throws to a spot downfield, WR fades to the sidelines to get it. Despite its simplicity, though, it's a very DIFFICULT play to execute consistently. If it wasn't, red zone success rates would be a heck of a lot higher. A perfectly thrown fade is one of the most deadly plays in an offense's arsenal because there's little a defense can do about it, but executing a perfectly thrown fade is difficult. Same thing with Peyton's offense- it's as simple as can be, but executing it consistently is very, very difficult.

 

[msommer]

I swear I read somewhere that outside of football Manning isn't particularly bright. Not that he's dumb, but that he doesn't wow you away from the game, and he struggles with some tasks most of us find simple. I don't remember details, but think it was in pretty normal things eg: ordering things, banking stuff - things along those lines. I got the impression that he's sort of an idiot savant - genius at football, but fairly below average in most other things

He can count to 100 million, I think he is doing fine in the banking sector.

Found it: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1017735/3/index.htm

The main part is on page 3. Sounds like Peyton is kind of stupid actually.

He may have learned a few practical things in the fourteen years since the article was written....

 

[Johnnymac]

He is a great QB. At the same time, I think he is the most over-rated QB in NFL history.

 

[FUBAR]

I swear I read somewhere that outside of football Manning isn't particularly bright. Not that he's dumb, but that he doesn't wow you away from the game, and he struggles with some tasks most of us find simple. I don't remember details, but think it was in pretty normal things eg: ordering things, banking stuff - things along those lines. I got the impression that he's sort of an idiot savant - genius at football, but fairly below average in most other things

He can count to 100 million, I think he is doing fine in the banking sector.

Found it: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1017735/3/index.htm

The main part is on page 3. Sounds like Peyton is kind of stupid actually.

He may have learned a few practical things in the fourteen years since the article was written....

Maybe, but when he's been coddled his entire life, none of this is very surprising. The things we do every day, he had done for him while throwing a football.

 

[Man of Zen]

I think if his dad had been a carpenter instead of a quarterback, Peyton Manning would be the most legendary carpenter of all time.

Although his legend would be strained a bit by the fact that almost every house he ever built fell down right when it finally became time to sell it. You want a house with resale value, you buy a Tom Brady house. That guy builds to last.

 

[lod01]

Guys are running wide open virtually every play. How do these guys and the 07 Pats do that? Other teams, you watch them and nobody is open.

The offense looks no different than the 07 Patriots. All you need is good WR's, one being a short quick slot guy and a TE. San Diego is pretty much doing the same thing now that their new coaching staff has determined that the small quick WR is already on their roster named Eddie Royal....and their outside WR's are not even in the same league as Denver's.

Rivers is on pace for 44 TDs. He's also only been sacked 6 times on 142 attempts so far where last year it was 9 sacks on 126 attempts.

However, Gabbert would not be able to excel in this offense...or any for that matter. The QB actually has to be good.

 

[oswizzle]

Dedicated to the game ...his Heart is in it... Just like Kobe Bryant...

They are the Elites of their Sport... The All-Time Greats absorb as much information as they can and use it to their gain

 

[Dizzy]

When they show Mike Vick after every possesion he is sitting by himself on the bench, not talking to the WRs, not going over the photos of the Denvers defense..just sitting there.

He certainly appears to outwork most QB's, especially on the sidelines, and especially Mike Vick.

Having been down this road with Peyton Manning many times before though, he does seem to be the ultimate front runner. Let him out to 2+ score lead and you can forget it... but in a tight game I often wondered if his (semingly) over-preparation doesn't lead him into trouble and he starts pressing. Jeff Saturday mentioned recently on ESPN something about Peyton's tendency to dwell-on/overthink things sometimes on the sidelines.

I love Peyton, and really believe that he is one of the all-time great QB's... but let's see it in Janauary.

 

[thatguy]

Sure that offense is simple.............just as long as you have a savant genius workaholic with 15 years of experience running it.

The foundation of it I can understand as being somewhat simplistic, though it is anything but simple to run. It may be simple for MANNING, but...............

Nail on the head.

 

[pizzatyme]

I swear I read somewhere that outside of football Manning isn't particularly bright. Not that he's dumb, but that he doesn't wow you away from the game, and he struggles with some tasks most of us find simple. I don't remember details, but think it was in pretty normal things eg: ordering things, banking stuff - things along those lines. I got the impression that he's sort of an idiot savant - genius at football, but fairly below average in most other things

He can count to 100 million, I think he is doing fine in the banking sector.

Found it: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1017735/3/index.htm

The main part is on page 3. Sounds like Peyton is kind of stupid actually.

He may have learned a few practical things in the fourteen years since the article was written....

Maybe, but when he's been coddled his entire life, none of this is very surprising. The things we do every day, he had done for him while throwing a football.

If I made $100MM, I guarantee you someone would be wiping my ### for me! Banking, really? Lots of millionaires are likely the same way.

 

[Adam Harstad]

He is a great QB. At the same time, I think he is the most over-rated QB in NFL history.

I think he's the third-most-overrated QB in history named "Manning".

 

[Adam Harstad]

When they show Mike Vick after every possesion he is sitting by himself on the bench, not talking to the WRs, not going over the photos of the Denvers defense..just sitting there.

He certainly appears to outwork most QB's, especially on the sidelines, and especially Mike Vick.

Having been down this road with Peyton Manning many times before though, he does seem to be the ultimate front runner. Let him out to 2+ score lead and you can forget it... but in a tight game I often wondered if his (semingly) over-preparation doesn't lead him into trouble and he starts pressing. Jeff Saturday mentioned recently on ESPN something about Peyton's tendency to dwell-on/overthink things sometimes on the sidelines.

I love Peyton, and really believe that he is one of the all-time great QB's... but let's see it in Janauary.

I agree that Manning is one of the best front runners in history. He also owns the NFL record for 4th quarter comebacks, so I'd say he's one of the best back runners in history, too.

 

[encaitar]

Sure that offense is simple.............just as long as you have a savant genius workaholic with 15 years of experience running it.

The foundation of it I can understand as being somewhat simplistic, though it is anything but simple to run. It may be simple for MANNING, but...............

You're confusing simple with easy. If it were easy, everyone in the league would be running it. It's a very, very difficult and demanding offense, but still a very, very simple one, too. Name another offense in the league with a thinner playbook. Name another offense in the league where the concepts are simple enough that the quarterback could switch to literally any play in the playbook in 10 seconds at the LoS.

It's like a fade. There are few plays in the game that are simpler than a fade. Receiver runs a vertical route, QB takes a 3-step drop from center (or a 1-step drop from the shotgun), Quarterback throws the ball to a spot, receiver fades outside to go get it. There's no need for fancy combo routes, fakes, or misdirections. No need to line up in fancy formations to try to dictate a favorable matchup. There are no double moves. You don't need to spend half the game running a series of plays to set up the action. It's wicked simple- WR goes straight, QBs takes a quick drop and throws to a spot downfield, WR fades to the sidelines to get it. Despite its simplicity, though, it's a very DIFFICULT play to execute consistently. If it wasn't, red zone success rates would be a heck of a lot higher. A perfectly thrown fade is one of the most deadly plays in an offense's arsenal because there's little a defense can do about it, but executing a perfectly thrown fade is difficult. Same thing with Peyton's offense- it's as simple as can be, but executing it consistently is very, very difficult.

I wouldn't even go as far as to call it simple. Most teams only have 16-20 base formations. It's just that other teams also format and design 100s of plays out of those formations that everyone is supposed to memorize. In Denver's offense, the 100s(1000s) of plays out of the formations are made up by Peyton at the line to take advantage of what the D is showing. It's unprecedented and incredible to watch.

 

[Run It Up]

One thing that gets overlooked a lot is that Peyton Manning has basically run the same offense for his entire professional career. More than that, this offense is one of the simplest offenses you'll see in the NFL- perhaps the simplest in the game today. There's not a lot to it. There are very few formations, very few personnel groupings, and the vast majority of the snaps wind up being one of maybe 16 different plays. Manning has been running those same 16 plays every single game for a decade and a half. He's seen every possible way for an opposing team to defend them. At this point, Manning might be able to literally run the offense with his eyes closed.

Just curious, would you call Peyton's offense a system? Ive argued with my brother who respects Peyton a great deal (not that I don't) that his offense is a system, as you said it appears simple but it is relatively deep and requires on almost mechanical precision execution (not dissimilar to the NE system).

Not attempting to reduce what Peyton he does or anything, I just believe - and agree with a lot of people in here that it isn't one single thing that sets him apart from the chaff.

 

[Adam Harstad]

One thing that gets overlooked a lot is that Peyton Manning has basically run the same offense for his entire professional career. More than that, this offense is one of the simplest offenses you'll see in the NFL- perhaps the simplest in the game today. There's not a lot to it. There are very few formations, very few personnel groupings, and the vast majority of the snaps wind up being one of maybe 16 different plays. Manning has been running those same 16 plays every single game for a decade and a half. He's seen every possible way for an opposing team to defend them. At this point, Manning might be able to literally run the offense with his eyes closed.

Just curious, would you call Peyton's offense a system? Ive argued with my brother who respects Peyton a great deal (not that I don't) that his offense is a system, as you said it appears simple but it is relatively deep and requires on almost mechanical precision execution (not dissimilar to the NE system).

Not attempting to reduce what Peyton he does or anything, I just believe - and agree with a lot of people in here that it isn't one single thing that sets him apart from the chaff.

Well, in some respects, every offense is a system. Every offense is a series of plays designed to work together to allow the team to move the football and score points. Nobody just haphazerdously tosses concepts together and calls plays at random. Still, I think the traditional usage of "system" refers to something new, different, and groundbreaking that the rest of the league just hasn't caught on to yet (like the WCO, or the Run and Shoot, or the Spread, or the Read-Option). In that respect, It's not really a "system". It's some core concepts that are included in every single offense because they work perfectly "on a whiteboard", minus all of the extra fluff and trickeration and elements of surprise. In fact, by that definition, it's almost the opposite of a system. If you take any other offense in the league and strip away absolutely everything except the bare necessities required to succeed in the NFL, you're pretty much left with the Peyton Manning offense.

There's nothing that Peyton Manning's offense does that every other offense in the league doesn't also do. There is plenty of stuff that every other offense in the league does that Peyton Manning's offense does not do.

 

[Run It Up]

One thing that gets overlooked a lot is that Peyton Manning has basically run the same offense for his entire professional career. More than that, this offense is one of the simplest offenses you'll see in the NFL- perhaps the simplest in the game today. There's not a lot to it. There are very few formations, very few personnel groupings, and the vast majority of the snaps wind up being one of maybe 16 different plays. Manning has been running those same 16 plays every single game for a decade and a half. He's seen every possible way for an opposing team to defend them. At this point, Manning might be able to literally run the offense with his eyes closed.

Just curious, would you call Peyton's offense a system? Ive argued with my brother who respects Peyton a great deal (not that I don't) that his offense is a system, as you said it appears simple but it is relatively deep and requires on almost mechanical precision execution (not dissimilar to the NE system).

Not attempting to reduce what Peyton he does or anything, I just believe - and agree with a lot of people in here that it isn't one single thing that sets him apart from the chaff.

Well, in some respects, every offense is a system. Every offense is a series of plays designed to work together to allow the team to move the football and score points. Nobody just haphazerdously tosses concepts together and calls plays at random. Still, I think the traditional usage of "system" refers to something new, different, and groundbreaking that the rest of the league just hasn't caught on to yet (like the WCO, or the Run and Shoot, or the Spread, or the Read-Option). In that respect, It's not really a "system". It's some core concepts that are included in every single offense because they work perfectly "on a whiteboard", minus all of the extra fluff and trickeration and elements of surprise. In fact, by that definition, it's almost the opposite of a system. If you take any other offense in the league and strip away absolutely everything except the bare necessities required to succeed in the NFL, you're pretty much left with the Peyton Manning offense.

There's nothing that Peyton Manning's offense does that every other offense in the league doesn't also do. There is plenty of stuff that every other offense in the league does that Peyton Manning's offense does not do.

By system I meant mechanical - simple cause and effect reads, quick audibles, being efficient as possible, thats how I've always seen the Peyton and the NE systems. It comes down to the fundamentals and execution, intelligence and game-sense separating Peyton and Brady from everyone else in that respect.

 

[zoonation]

I think if his dad had been a carpenter instead of a quarterback, Peyton Manning would be the most legendary carpenter of all time.

Although his legend would be strained a bit by the fact that almost every house he ever built fell down right when it finally became time to sell it. You want a house with resale value, you buy a Tom Brady house. That guy builds to last.

Tom Brady hasn't won the Superbowl in 8 years, despite getting to the playoffs every single year.

8 year losing streak. Oh, and the year he built his 16-0 house, its value ultimately came crashing down. To use your bad metaphor...

 

[Otis]

He is smarter, and he works harder than everyone else. It's real, real easy to know why he is so good.

This. Someone with that work ethic in any job excels. He takes ownership of the game and is a consummate professional. You see this in any professional and it's what separates the pros from the hacks.