The Hall of Fame Class of 2022 is shaping up nicely. First Charles Woodson. Now Peyton Manning. Those two have been somewhat linked since each was a finalist for the 1997 Heisman Trophy. Woodson won it. Randy Moss was a finalist for that trophy too. Moss should already be in the Hall of Fame by the time Woodson and Manning make it on their first try. Woodson and Manning could be joined by fellow, recent retiree Jared Allen. Maybe Calvin Johnson too. But this isn't about the potentially great Hall of Fame Class of 2022. This is about Peyton Manning deciding to end his 18-year NFL career. Word of his retirement leaked today. An official retirement announcement will probably be made tomorrow.
Peyton Manning kicked off his NFL career as the first pick of the 1998 NFL Draft. He ended that career with a Super Bowl title. Pretty perfect. The NFL was always better with Manning as a part of it. He will be missed but I'm happy that my last view of Manning playing the game was as the quarterback of the winning team in the Super Bowl. It's better this way even though he's going to miss the game so very much.
Except for a few playoff games his career reads like fiction.
2 Super Bowl wins
1 Super Bowl MVP
4x AFC Championships
5x NFL MVP (2003, 2004, 2008, 2013)
14x Pro Bowl (1999, 2000, 2002-2010, 2012-2014)
7x First-team All-Pro (2003-05, 2008-09, 2012-13)
3x Second-team All-Pro (1999, 2000, 2006)
2x Offensive Player of the Year (2004, 2013)
Comeback Player of the Year (2012)
2000s All-Decade Team
Countless high school, college, and NFL records including
-NFL career touchdown passes
-NFL career passing yards
-NFL career wins (tied with Brett Favre)
And that's with missing the entire 2011 NFL season.
With father Archie Manning playing in the NFL for 14 seasons Peyton Manning has been a part of the NFL for his entire life. He's been known by many fans for as long. I was aware that he was headed for his own NFL career not long after he started throwing passes at Isidore Newman School in New Orleans. It was a just a matter of time. National Player of the Year in High School. Nearly every individual award that a quarterback can win in college. Top pick in the NFL Draft. Super Bowl wins. His last game being a Super Bowl win. My goodness, it's tough to script a football career any better. About the only thing missing is that Heisman Trophy and a few more playoff wins.
The argument over the best quarterback of all time will never be settled. There's really no way to settle it. The football eras are too different to compare and personal preferences will always get in the way. Peyton Manning will always be in the argument.
I always enjoyed watching Peyton Manning throw the football and his pre-snap animation was a gas but I think that it was his approach to the game that I appreciated the most. He was always studying, always preparing. I love the stories of his college recruiting visits in high school and his pre-draft visits with NFL teams. He always seemed to be the one doing the interviewing in all instances. He prepared for those meetings probably more than any player ever has and that was just the start. He never did anything half-way. He was always so damned prepared. I loved his practice habits. And his after-practice habits. He became the model for all quarterbacks for me. The Colts have been so ridiculously lucky with quarterbacks. John Unitas prepared like this. If there was ever another quarterback that prepared like Unitas it was Manning. If there was ever another quarterback that prepared like Unitas and Manning it was Andrew Luck. Come on!
Congratulations Peyton Manning on an outstanding football career. You will always be one of the very best in my book. And in the books of many others.
Thank you Peyton.
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