It’s not in the nature of most highly competitive athletes to go quietly into the night. Very few walk away with anything left in the tank.
Peyton was clearly not the same in the second half of the season this year, and yesterday he looked terrible. We don’t really know if he is injured or if Father Time has finally caught up to him. There’s no question in my mind that he should have played this year.
Next year… IMO he’ll probably want to come back after he heals. But that team will not be the same - they have a long list of UFAs and I don’t think they can sign them all, and who knows if they will want to sign back with Denver. If you are Demaryius Thomas or Julius Thomas do you want to sign a long term deal with Denver knowing Peyton has maybe one more year left, and then it’s the Brock Osweiler era? Welker’s probably gone, he wasn’t worth his contract this year and will certainly not get another $6mil contract, but you can’t ignore defense either - you have to pay Terrance Knighton and Von Miller too (he has a 5th year option for $10 mil, but he probably won’t be happy if they exercise it).
Denver went for broke, and came up short. Now they have to deal with the downside.
Ouch, saintfan. I think Peyton is a great QB and remains relevant. He looked bad yesterday, for sure, but that shouldn’t negate his performance throughout the year.
I do admire the athlete, however, who knows his/her limitations and willingly goes out on top.
If you are into cap stuff, overthecap.com has a good article on what is facing Denver this offseason. Go to the site and scroll down a bit on the home page, the article is titled “Major Contract Questions Facing the Broncos With or Without Peyton Manning”. I’m afraid to link directly to it.
“I do admire the athlete, however, who knows his/her limitations and willingly goes out on top.”
I used to admire that also, but no longer do. I think the very best athletes crave constant improvement in their own performances, and also look for the drive and challenge of the competition itself. I think it’s why good golfers do their best in a foursome of other really good golfers.
It follows that such a sense of striving and competing doesn’t often end in a quiet retirement. As the poet said (kind of) football players should not go gentle into that good retirement, but should rage, rage at the dying of the light.
I think the problem with that is identifying the point where you reached the top. There are so many ways an athlete can improve and change (at least in complex sports like football) that I think it is hard to say “yep, this is the best I can be!” Plus, it is a team sport, and it always hard to be sure how much of your performance is uniquely you and how much is related to the team surrounding you (which will change between seasons!).
I don’t see any reason why an improving player would quit. I don’t see any reason why a player who thought they could contribute meaningfully to a championship team would quit. Manning may not be in the first category, but he sure as heck is in the second!
I would actually be a little surprised if he didn’t get into coaching. I have heard it said over and over again by players how Manning is essentially a second OC on the field and in practice, I think transitioning to that role would come very naturally to him.
You know my order Deborah! Yes, Manning got waffled in the Rams game and has been playing gimpy ever since. That’s where Denver went run heavy at the end of the season. At any rate, he never threw a beautiful ball, it was all about quick release and precision timing and The Brain. When he’s gimpy his timing is off and he’s not hitting his receivers and the quality of the ball isn’t there to zip it in there while playing on one wheel like Rodgers can.
I found an article listing the 17 HoF players who have become head coaches. Only three or so have career winning records - Art Shell, Raymond Berry, and Mike Ditka. This is true in other sports as well, I believe. Neither Larry Bird or Michael Jordan were very successful as NBA coaches, for example. One theory I’ve heard is that the superstars just don’t have the patience to deal with lesser talents.
Plus today’s superstars make so much money - if you are smart enough to be a coach you are smart enough not to go broke, so you don’t need the money, plus the job is a grind. Or you go on TV and make the same money for 1/10 the work. So I wouldn’t be surprised if very few of this generation’s stars go into coaching.
I agree! I just think Manning will likely be one of the few! Look at all the things he has done with the passing academy and other ventures - it isn’t just about the money to him, he really loves this sport and really loves to win. He certainly could go the TV route, or just decide to sit on his money and oversee his Papa John’s franchise… but I think he will want to coach, and I think he will get the opportunity.
Being a coach is a very different thing than being a player, and it explains why very few successful players become succesful coaches (Jim Harbaugh is a great coach, but he also was not exactly a superstar QB, more like a journeyman). One reason may well be what in music teaching they talk about, a great performer often cannot explain why they were as good as what they were, they often do things without fully understanding it. Same way with football, a great QB could be outrageous on the field, but not be able to explain it.
Being a coach also requires a vision, understanding the players you have, their abilities and faults, and tailor things to them. Manning is a bright guy, his knowledge of the game is probably up there with almost anyone (a trait he shares with his evilness, Belichick of NE:), so he potentially could be a great coach. However, coaches are a lot more than that, can Peyton besides drawing up great game plans, be able to get players to understand his vision? Can he take a qb who has thrown 5 picks in a game, and make him realize that this kind of thing happens, and how to avoid it? Does he have the patience to build a young team up, to go through the growing pains, or will he lose patience and take it out on the players? We know he is demanding and driven, something coaches need, but he already has rubbed players wrong over his career who thought he was also abrasive and a jerk, so what will he be like like a coach? I think he might be a great QB coach or Offensive coordinator, as long as his people skills are there he might work.
Interesting side note from yesterday’s Packers game. There was a period during the second period when Lacy wasn’t in, and H and I were wondering why he was on the sidelines… had he been hurt? But he came back in rather quickly so we forgot about it. I just read that he had an asthma attack during the game yesterday; evidently he thinks it was brought on by the cold. Glad they got it taken care of!
Yeah, I never mentioned him as a head coach. The obvious step would be for Manning to move to QB coach. If he does well, then he could move quickly up to OC. Head coach might never happen even if he is a great OC - there are, of course, different skills and abilities required for each position.
Well John Fox is gone so the Broncos are completely retooling. Apparently it’s his fault Manning is old. I guess Fox knew his days were numbered going in and got word out back channels that he might be available. They’re saying he want the Bears job.
