Has Peyton Manning become an average NFL QB?

In response to: Theismann: This is a Manning we've never seen

11 interceptions in his last 3 games and, more importantly, in jeopardy of missing the NFL playoffs for the first time in the last 9 seasons. Has Peyton Manning fallen off of his pedestal and become just another average QB? Based on those horrid numbers, the fun answer would be "yes". I'm going to say "no"...and here's why:

-Dallas Clark, arguably Manning's favourite target (and safety valve), is on IR. Jacob Tamme and Brody Eldridges are his replacements. No offence to either, but that's like moving from Kim Kardashian to Rosie O'Donnell...I think you get my point.

-Joseph Addai, Peyton's under-rated, versatile RB out of LSU, has been sidelined for the past 6 weeks. Although Mike Hart and, to a lesser extent, Donald Brown, have shown flashes of sufficiency, neither has been consistent and/or been able to stay on the field. As an act of desperation, the Colts just signed Dominic Rhodes today to team up with Edgerrin James' cousin in the backfield. Yes, THAT Dominic Rhodes...yikes!

-Their offensive line has been offensive lately. The likes of Charlie Johnson, Kyle Devan and Mike Pollak have been disappointments to say the least. On top of that, Jeff Saturday and Ryan Diem aren't getting any younger and it's showing. Manning has been taking hits and feeling pressure he hasn't seen since his painstaking rookie year

-The Indy defense has been plagued by injuries and is forcing Manning to come from behind. Once an opposing defense puts out a dime or quarter package on the field knowing that you're going to try and expedite some scoring, throws are forced and interceptions result.

Is there a solution to the recent woes of Peyton and the Colts for this season? I say not likely. But it's not because of the regression of Peyton Manning. It's due to everything else going on around him. We all know that he's still one of the top dogs when it comes to signal callers.

Anyone who thinks otherwise, feel free to battle me on it :)

Blog – 1 year, 5 months ago by mattzilla to Football. 1178 views, 2 likes.