OT: Interesting read on Manning

[PP2]

Yes I know it's BSPN, but worthy of consideration, that he may be a lot closer to the end of his career than most people think or can see:

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/1...-manning-defies-weakening-body-best-brain-nfl

 

[NashuaPats]

Best brain in NFL my ass.

No need to elaborate on this site.

 

[PatsDeb]

I don't want to give ESPN a click for the article, but yesterday when they showed a close-up of Manning as he threw one of his TDs, the grimace on his face as he threw made me think he was in pain making that throw. No one hit him or anything; it looked like it hurt him to throw a TD pass.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Yes I know it's BSPN, but worthy of consideration, that he may be a lot closer to the end of his career than most people think or can see:

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/1...-manning-defies-weakening-body-best-brain-nfl

I think at this point most people can see that he's very close to the end. I respect the hell out of him, and over the last two weeks he's played better than I thought he could, by making throws that I simply thought he couldn't make anymore.

But he's looked really bad making them. He's laboring to make relatively basic throws downfield in September, under basically perfect conditions. I give him a lot of credit for gutting it out as much as he has, but I see this getting pretty ugly as fall turns to winter. If he still played in a dome, you could argue that having 6 home games over the second half of the season would be a lifesaver, but 6 games in Denver doesn't exactly help his cause.

Or maybe he keeps doing just enough to win on the back of a really good defense. Who knows; I know it's popular to forecast doom and gloom for the Broncos around here, but all the people doing that would've told you two weeks ago that there's no way in hell the Broncos start 3-0, so they might not be the most clearheaded authorities on the subject.

 

[PP2]

Some excerpts from those not wanting to add to the clickbaiting:

IT TAKES PEYTON Manning 15 minutes to shed his suit of armor after a game.

He begins with his cleats, which he can barely untie without assistance. A Broncos equipment staffer helps peel them off his feet while he does a radio interview, because after nearly 25 years of football dating back to high school, it's a relief to not have to bend over that far. Next come his shoulder pads, which, when yanked over his head, generate a groan that is a mixture of suffering and sweet relief. Manning's pale arms and torso are covered in fresh scrapes and old bruises, some the color of strawberries, others a shade of eggplant.

His socks come off after several violent tugs, revealing toes that are twisted and bent into obtuse angles. When he removes a thick blue DonJoy knee brace from his stiff left leg, he twice pauses to grimace and gather himself before stripping it off and handing it to a staffer for safekeeping. As he slices away at the thick layers of athletic tape supporting his ankles, he looks like a surgeon operating on his own leg without anesthesia.

When he finishes, he stands, joints creaking, loose strips of tape and blades of grass still stuck to his skin. He has just completed a comeback win over the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium in Week 2, and a flood of text messages keeps pinging his phone, which has a picture of his 4-year-old twins, Marshall and Mosley, as his background. He can't resist reading a few and smirking with satisfaction. He drapes a towel over his shoulders, but the crooked pink scar on the back of his neck is still visible, evidence of the four neck surgeries he's had to repair a pinched nerve and herniated disks and to fuse his vertebrae. Because of the victory -- the 181st of his career -- Manning smiles as he limps gingerly in the direction of the showers. If this is what it feels like on a good night, only two games into his 18th year, try to imagine the bad ones.

It's hard not to wonder: How much longer can he possibly keep this up?

Notably:

It's possible that the fact that he currently has no feeling in the fingertips of his right hand -- a side effect of neck surgeries and nerve damage -- is finally catching up to him. When his mechanics get sloppy, he looks like he's flinging knuckleballs in the direction of his receivers. (He completed just 25 percent of passes thrown more than 15 yards through Week 2, tied for third worst in the league.)

 

[Deus Irae]

Manning has been exposed as a complete system QB, he has been exposed throughout his career as being a guy who freezes up when he's confronted with something he hasn't dealt with before, and he's not better than Brady at reading defenses, so I don't get the "best brain" assertion.

 

[Rhodey]

I don't want to give ESPN a click for the article, but yesterday when they showed a close-up of Manning as he threw one of his TDs, the grimace on his face as he threw made me think he was in pain making that throw. No one hit him or anything; it looked like it hurt him to throw a TD pass.

That situation with the neck...not good. FYI: a lot of (younger) people will come down with something similar in the near future...already happening, now. It's called Occipital Neuralgia: https://paindoctor.com/conditions/occipital-neuralgia/ Essentially, this comes from overuse. Tech people and consistent texters are now getting this.

 

[PatsBoy12]

I think at this point most people can see that he's very close to the end. I respect the hell out of him, and over the last two weeks he's played better than I thought he could, by making throws that I simply thought he couldn't make anymore.

But he's looked really bad making them. He's laboring to make relatively basic throws downfield in September, under basically perfect conditions. I give him a lot of credit for gutting it out as much as he has, but I see this getting pretty ugly as fall turns to winter. If he still played in a dome, you could argue that having 6 home games over the second half of the season would be a lifesaver, but 6 games in Denver doesn't exactly help his cause.

Or maybe he keeps doing just enough to win on the back of a really good defense. Who knows; I know it's popular to forecast doom and gloom for the Broncos around here, but all the people doing that would've told you two weeks ago that there's no way in hell the Broncos start 3-0, so they might not be the most clearheaded authorities on the subject.

This about sums up how I feel about Forehead Manning. Though I've been reduced to calling him Forehead, I do respect the heck out of him. ESPNFL is only admitting what most of the world has been seeing since about mid-season last season. I think that they finally cannot keep hoping he is not done when it's pretty obvious that he is done.

 

[PatsBoy12]

Manning has been exposed as a complete system QB, he has been exposed throughout his career as being a guy who freezes up when he's confronted with something he hasn't dealt with before, and he's not better than Brady at reading defenses, so I don't get the "best brain" assertion.

Yup, I agree completely. Ironically, it's always been Brady labeled as the "system" guy. Go figure.

EDIT: He morphs to a different offense EVERY week! Do you all see how bad Manning looks trying to run Kubiak's offense?! He had the halftime analysts begging for the team to put him in the shotgun against KC last week! Are you kidding me?!

 

[Concussion Protocol]

Those big completions down the right sideline to 88 and 10 were not "back shoulder" throws. He just couldn't get the ball out in front of his receivers 35 yards downfield. He's got nothing left physically.

 

[upstater1]

I don't want to give ESPN a click for the article, but yesterday when they showed a close-up of Manning as he threw one of his TDs, the grimace on his face as he threw made me think he was in pain making that throw. No one hit him or anything; it looked like it hurt him to throw a TD pass.

You mean on that 7 yard pass over the middle? Yeah, he really had to give it his all to throw that. (No, I'm not being sarcastic).

 

[shmessy]

Some excerpts from those not wanting to add to the clickbaiting:

IT TAKES PEYTON Manning 15 minutes to shed his suit of armor after a game.

He begins with his cleats, which he can barely untie without assistance. A Broncos equipment staffer helps peel them off his feet while he does a radio interview, because after nearly 25 years of football dating back to high school, it's a relief to not have to bend over that far. Next come his shoulder pads, which, when yanked over his head, generate a groan that is a mixture of suffering and sweet relief. Manning's pale arms and torso are covered in fresh scrapes and old bruises, some the color of strawberries, others a shade of eggplant.

His socks come off after several violent tugs, revealing toes that are twisted and bent into obtuse angles. When he removes a thick blue DonJoy knee brace from his stiff left leg, he twice pauses to grimace and gather himself before stripping it off and handing it to a staffer for safekeeping. As he slices away at the thick layers of athletic tape supporting his ankles, he looks like a surgeon operating on his own leg without anesthesia.

When he finishes, he stands, joints creaking, loose strips of tape and blades of grass still stuck to his skin. He has just completed a comeback win over the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium in Week 2, and a flood of text messages keeps pinging his phone, which has a picture of his 4-year-old twins, Marshall and Mosley, as his background. He can't resist reading a few and smirking with satisfaction. He drapes a towel over his shoulders, but the crooked pink scar on the back of his neck is still visible, evidence of the four neck surgeries he's had to repair a pinched nerve and herniated disks and to fuse his vertebrae. Because of the victory -- the 181st of his career -- Manning smiles as he limps gingerly in the direction of the showers. If this is what it feels like on a good night, only two games into his 18th year, try to imagine the bad ones.

It's hard not to wonder: How much longer can he possibly keep this up?

Notably:

It's possible that the fact that he currently has no feeling in the fingertips of his right hand -- a side effect of neck surgeries and nerve damage -- is finally catching up to him. When his mechanics get sloppy, he looks like he's flinging knuckleballs in the direction of his receivers. (He completed just 25 percent of passes thrown more than 15 yards through Week 2, tied for third worst in the league.)

I know this won't be popular with the masses here, but I admire the hell out of the guy. Many felt he should not be in harm's way on a football field after having to travel to Euorope to undergo 4 neck surgeries that are not permitted in the US.

Would I take him over Brady? Hell no.

But the constant, insecure need to denigrate Peyton Manning is as comical as the Patriot haters who cling to the "cheaters!" rap.

He's a helluva QB who simply couldn't get it done in the clutch. And he won't this year either - - once the temperatures get down below 50 degrees in November. Look at the one and only time he got to the SB since his surgeries - - 2013. Every game down the stretch was either freakishly warm or inside. Then they AFCCG against the Patriots in Denver was a ridiculously sunny 63 degree late January day in Denver. Denver can win their first 8 games and I won't be worried about them this year (although that Defense is excellent, they will stil have to score some points when the weather gets colder.).

He has been the 2nd or 3rd best QB of the this century so far and a worthy rival. I'm not sure many other people on earth would be putting on an NFL uniform after the neck/back procedures he's had., let alone as a starting QB.

 

[PatsDeb]

You mean on that 7 yard pass over the middle? Yeah, he really had to give it his all to throw that. (No, I'm not being sarcastic).

Yes, that's the one. It was such a short throw too.

 

[PatsDeb]

I know this won't be popular with the masses here, but I admire the hell out of the guy. Many felt he should not be in harm's way on a football field after having to travel to Euorope to undergo 4 neck surgeries that are not permitted in the US.

Would I take him over Brady? Hell no.

But the constant, insecure need to denigrate Peyton Manning is as comical as the Patriot haters who cling to the "cheaters!" rap.

He's a helluva QB who simply couldn't get it done in the clutch. He has been the 2nd or 3rd best QB of the this century so far and a worthy rival.

I'm not sure many other people on earth would be putting on an NFL uniform after the neck/back procedures he's had., let alone as a starting QB.

Admire is too strong a word for me; respect is a good one. I used to hate Peytie Pie, as I like to call him, in the early days of the Pats/Manning rivalry. I think a lot of it had to do with how he was annointed as the second coming of Jesus coming into the league, all his obnoxious commercials, etc. when he would beat up on the weak teams and fall to the strong. Ironically, after he won his one ring and, of all things, appeared on SNL and was hysterical, the hatred diminished for me. He has been a great and worthy rival and has been a part of some great games against the Pats (most of which he's lost, of course). I hope he has a good year and avoids hurting himself more, if this is his last year, except, of course, when it comes to playing the Pats and getting in our way on the drive to SB 50.

 

[Ring 6]

I know this won't be popular with the masses here, but I admire the hell out of the guy. Many felt he should not be in harm's way on a football field after having to travel to Euorope to undergo 4 neck surgeries that are not permitted in the US.

Would I take him over Brady? Hell no.

But the constant, insecure need to denigrate Peyton Manning is as comical as the Patriot haters who cling to the "cheaters!" rap.

He's a helluva QB who simply couldn't get it done in the clutch. And he won't this year either - - once the temperatures get down below 50 degrees in November. Look at the one and only time he got to the SB since his surgeries - - 2013. Every game down the stretch was either freakishly warm or inside. Then they AFCCG against the Patriots in Denver was a ridiculously sunny 63 degree late January day in Denver. Denver can win their first 8 games and I won't be worried about them this year (although that Defense is excellent, they will stil have to score some points when the weather gets colder.).

He has been the 2nd or 3rd best QB of the this century so far and a worthy rival. I'm not sure many other people on earth would be putting on an NFL uniform after the neck/back procedures he's had., let alone as a starting QB.

He is a professional football player being paid 20 million a year to play a game most of us would love to be able to still be playing. I don't know how that is heroic. There are many true heroes out there in every day life, and its not because they play a game.

 

[PP2]

Admire is too strong a word for me; respect is a good one. I used to hate Peytie Pie, as I like to call him, in the early days of the Pats/Manning rivalry. I think a lot of it had to do with how he was annointed as the second coming of Jesus coming into the league, all his obnoxious commercials, etc. when he would beat up on the weak teams and fall to the strong. Ironically, after he won his one ring and, of all things, appeared on SNL and was hysterical, the hatred diminished for me. He has been a great and worthy rival and has been a part of some great games against the Pats (most of which he's lost, of course). I hope he has a good year and avoids hurting himself more, if this is his last year, except, of course, when it comes to playing the Pats and getting in our way on the drive to SB 50.

Great and worthy rival is a perfect way to put it. He has given us many good games over the years, and the Brady/Manning duels is right up there with the best of the Brady/Belichick era.

 

[Concussion Protocol]

He is a professional football player being paid 20 million a year to play a game most of us would love to be able to still be playing. I don't know how that is heroic. There are many true heroes out there in every day life, and its not because they play a game.

Where did he say it was heroic?

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

The Broncos are a legitimate Super Bowl contender this year, though I thought the media had unfairly buried them before he season started, so I'm not surprised at all. Anyone who really looked at the rosters and thought the Colts were better were drinking the blue kool-aid. The Broncos have a bevy of pass rushers and Talib/Harris at CB. That alone gives them a strong defense. On offense, that line is not good, but Peyton doesn't need to score 35 points.

I believe, though, that the Broncos have depth issues on both sides of the ball. They rely on star players to cover the deficiencies of way too many jags. On offense, Manning, E. Sanders, and D. Thomas are all great in their own right, but they no longer have a good TE and their offensive line is really bad. On defense, they are able to generate pressure with Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware and take away the opposition's two best WRs with Talib and Harris. However, they are not very good in most other areas; their safeties are not great; their linebackers are not great. Teams like the Patriots who can effectively use a RB out of the backfield, can use a TE to take advantage of their coverage outside their star corners, and use the middle of the field (it was wide open but Stafford is a moron), they will be able to easily move the ball on Denver.

Denver over the last few years have lost a ton of depth. They've lost Terrence Knighton, Julius Thomas, basically their entire offensive line, multiple contributing running backs, and additional playmakers on offense. They haven't really replaced anyone, since all those bargains are no longer bargains and everyone is getting paid.

 

[Deus Irae]

The Broncos are a legitimate Super Bowl contender this year, though I thought the media had unfairly buried them before he season started, so I'm not surprised at all. Anyone who really looked at the rosters and thought the Colts were better were drinking the blue kool-aid. The Broncos have a bevy of pass rushers and Talib/Harris at CB. That alone gives them a strong defense. On offense, that line is not good, but Peyton doesn't need to score 35 points.

I believe, though, that the Broncos have depth issues on both sides of the ball. They rely on star players to cover the deficiencies of way too many jags. On offense, Manning, E. Sanders, and D. Thomas are all great in their own right, but they no longer have a good TE and their offensive line is really bad. On defense, they are able to generate pressure with Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware and take away the opposition's two best WRs with Talib and Harris. However, they are not very good in most other areas; their safeties are not great; their linebackers are not great. Teams like the Patriots who can effectively use a RB out of the backfield, can use a TE to take advantage of their coverage outside their star corners, and use the middle of the field (it was wide open but Stafford is a moron), they will be able to easily move the ball on Denver.

Denver over the last few years have lost a ton of depth. They've lost Terrence Knighton, Julius Thomas, basically their entire offensive line, multiple contributing running backs, and additional playmakers on offense. They haven't really replaced anyone, since all those bargains are no longer bargains and everyone is getting paid.

If Green Bay wins tonight, the Broncos 3 wins will have come against teams that are a combined 1-8.

 

[Rob0729]

It is scary that if you take Manning out of the shotgun and ask him to turn his back to the defense even for half a second and he turns into Chad Pennington.