After losing to the Indianapolis Colts this last weekend, everyone is asking one question: “Should Peyton Manning retire?” It seems as though many experts and fans believe that this great quarterbacks' career is over, after falling off the map of who he was early in the season. His play in the last six games was not the Peyton Manning everyone once saw.
Experts have pointed out many reasons for his struggles this year. Some of the biggest points have been his age and arm strength. Those two points alone mark evidence that it is safe to say his career is over. That being said, the question that is not being asked is why his career is not over? This season, Peyton Manning has had to deal with a great deal of adversity (mostly the second half of the season). There were five particular factors to point to why Peyton Manning had an off year, which was not regularly shared by SportCenter.
1. Schedule.
The Denver Broncos had the second hardest schedule in the NFL, according to ESPN. Opponent winning percentage was projected at 0.570. They debatably had the toughest road schedule, as they had to play the Superbowl champs at home as well as the patriots at home. Not to forget they had to play many other teams that they had not played in several years. The Broncos had there bye week on the fourth week of the year. The end of the regular season is when players start to lose physical momentum and the injury roster is starting to build. For players who are aging like Manning, not having a bye late in the season can be very impactful. To which his numbers did decrease late in the season.
2. Offensive line.
The offensive line was unproductive, as it seemed as though there was a line change every week. It can be difficult to have a balanced and efficient offense if there is little chemistry. Peyton had accrued numerous blows throughout season and was forced to throw the ball more in early season. This was due to the fact that the Broncos were unable to find chemistry on the line when it came time to run-block.
3. Run Game.
The offensive line eventually found their spark to run block after the disappointing loss against the St. Louis Rams. This brought the emergence of the undrafted running back, C.J Anderson. For the next couple of weeks, the coaching staff enforced that the run game would be a much more balanced approach to winning. This left Manning in an uncomfortable role as he was forced to hand the ball more. Manning wasn’t able to get rhythm going due to a lack Ariel play calls. This unconventional role lead to lower stats in the end of the year, in which he didn’t produce the stats we would assume Peyton Manning to have.
4. Julius Thomas.
The red zone specialist had an awkward hit to the ankle in the late season against the St. Louis Rams, which enviably kept him out of the spotlight he was in at the start of the season. Thomas had 12 touchdowns in the first five games and in the last four games, he had 0 touchdowns. I call Thomas a red zone specialist because 16 of the 24 career touchdowns he’s had have been in the red zone. In the devastating loss of Thomas, Manning had struggled to find ways to deliver more touchdowns in the red zone. If Thomas would have been healthy, it is safe that he would have gotten first in passing touchdowns. He only lost to Andrew luck by only one touchdown. (Manning= 39 TD’s, Luck= 40 TD’s)
5. Manning’s “Quad Injury”.
In week 14 against the San Diego Chargers, Manning had gotten a quad injury after setting one of unnecessary block I have ever seen for his young back C.J Anderson. After the block, Manning went in locker room just a couple minutes before half time, later he returned to lead his team to victory. The Broncos had then placed him questionable for the next three weeks. It wasn’t to be of too much concern because anytime Peyton Manning is listed as questionable, meaning Peyton Manning is playing. As most people now know, Peyton had actually had a torn quad. It was so bad that he had actually had developed serious bruising on the back of his leg. What people who do not play football realize that throwing involves a heavy amount of power from your legs. Torn quad can result in the difference completion and interception or a touchdown and settling with a field goal.
Despite having these struggles, there were many stats that were not mentioned to Manning regular season. Manning finished fourth in completion and QBR, second in Passing TD’s, and he also surpassed the career touchdown record by a mile. Evidence here shows that even though Peyton Manning didn’t have the year everyone would have thought, he still managed to be one of the leagues top quarterbacks. Peyton Manning finished with an awful performance in his playoff game with the Colts. However, it does not diminish how great he is. It was only a year ago that Manning lead his team to the Superbowl and demolished most quarterback records, expect rushing (LOL). Peyton Manning is now faced with an interest predicament with having his coaching staff let go. This could possibly lead to some new direction to which Manning may have more success in the next year.
I will say as a fan, I have the utmost respect for Peyton Manning. I think he’s a hard worker and a very humble man. He could have thrown in the towel after his neck injury, but he came back. I believe he can comeback from the scrutiny he is currently faced with. Someone with that much passion for the game won't walk out after one down season. He still has a bright future ahead. I believe in Peyton Manning, and you should too.
