NFL: Peyton Manning announces retirement. Press Conference on Monday.

[BackToTheBrierePatch]

wish the guy well in his post pro playing career.
wherever that lands him.

 

[CDJ]

I was 11. It definitely feels weird. The Manning/Leaf debates still feel like fresh memories, but my NFL memories before that are basically all related to the Steelers.

One of the first football story lines I can remember from my childhood. I was probably around 6. I couldn't get over Ryan Leaf having a dumb last name. Would've chosen Manning as a 6 YO GM, nbd but kbd.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

One of the first football story lines I can remember from my childhood. I was probably around 6. I couldn't get over Ryan Leaf having a dumb last name. Would've chosen Manning as a 6 YO GM, nbd but kbd.

On the flip side I loved Leaf because of Leif Erikson, who I'd only just learned about

Also Washington State had/has a sweet logo.

 

[CDJ]

On the flip side I loved Leaf because of Leif Erikson, who I'd only just learned about

Also Washington State had/has a sweet logo.

I was raised in an eclectic SEC family (they lived in different parts of the south- Arkansas, Ole Miss, Alabama). I recognized the Manning name because all my aunts and uncles always talked about him like he was the boogeyman

 

[XLJ]

Kind of crazy Peyton sb stat line against Carolina was very similiar to Elway's SB stat line against Green Bay.

1 of the all time greats. Glad he got his 2nd SB and went out on top.

Very rare that an older qb had such great run with his 2nd team. He made the postseason every year in Denver and took them to 2 Superbowls and won 1. I can't remember another starting qb who won a sb with 2 different teams.

 

[MikeyMike01]

Good riddance.

 

[aleshemsky83]

Manning was definitely my favorite player to watch from when i started watching football and right up until the injuries. It was always really captivating to see him orchestrating things behind the line, even though you had no idea what he was doing.

 

[What the Faulk]

can i ask a question
Peyton is an all time great QB, there is no denying

but how come winning SB50 has been a crutch to boost his legacy when he had nothing to do with the win?

i go back to last year with tom brady, he played a GREAT game in SB49, yet that would have been overlooked if the patriots had not won, instead the narrative changed.

basically i don't see how this one game should have him ranked any differently

It shouldn't but everyone **** on him for only winning one like it was entirely his fault. This is the opposite extreme.

 

[The Mighty Duck Man]

It shouldn't but everyone **** on him for only winning one like it was entirely his fault. This is the opposite extreme.

To take it further, people continued to blindly argue the importance of rings, despite whatever logic to the contrary, so this is what they get. I do find it funny that it was this year that made some finally admit maybe rings aren't the be all end all in a judging QBs. Not the long list of other examples, no, just Manning winning his second.

 

[Michael Farkas]

Thanks for everything, Peyton. Definitely the best QB I've ever seen.

 

[The Dangly One]

Definetly one of the best.

What took so long though? Was he really holding out hope that someone might want to sign him?

 

[Scandale du Jour]

The thing with rings, and I have said that quite often, is that 4 or 5 plays, TOTAL (over 16 years), go differently and Brady has 6... or 0.

- Tuck rule
- Tyree play
- Manningham's catch
- Welker dropping a pass
- Butler's interception

Those five plays go differently and we are talking about a very different narrative. Brady was directly responsible for ONLY ONE of those plays and, even then, the RULE BOOK made the difference there, not him.

So, yeah, rings, especially when so few plays can make the count go from anywhere from 6 to 0, aren't the and-all, be-all of QBing.

 

[Hockeyfan02]

I'm glad he's retiring, it was a bit painful to watch one of the all-time greats struggle like he did this past season. I didn't like him at Tennessee because I was a UF fan, but I enjoyed watching him in the pros the way he'd change the play and then throw a strike for a touchdown.

 

[Blitzkrug]

Definetly one of the best.

What took so long though? Was he really holding out hope that someone might want to sign him?

It's not easy to walk away from what was essentially your life for the past 20 years.

I still say Elway helped convince him to retire. He is one of the very few to understand what it means to go out on top. That story would be ruined if he did play next season. He just doesn't got it no more.

 

[Michael Farkas]

So, yeah, rings, especially when so few plays can make the count go from anywhere from 6 to 0, aren't the and-all, be-all of QBing.

It doesn't make sense to anyone in the world, except for some football fans and nearly all football writers. Anyone that has even dabbled in the history of other sports look at the weight (inconsistent weight, no less, as Bradshaw is never mentioned) of Super Bowl wins as completely irresponsible...a factor to consider? Yes, certainly. The be-all, end-all like it is made out to be? Laughably no.

 

[Blitzkrug]

Exactly. It's like a guy like Dan Marino or Jim Kelly aren't named in the same breath as Bradshaw.

I've seen Steeler fans here acknowledge he wasn't even that good.

 

[The Dangly One]

It's not easy to walk away from what was essentially your life for the past 20 years.

I still say Elway helped convince him to retire. He is one of the very few to understand what it means to go out on top. That story would be ruined if he did play next season. He just doesn't got it no more.

I think he would have played if he got an offer to.

I'm also prepared to hear the reports for the next few years that he's contemplating coming out of retirement.

 

[BackToTheBrierePatch]

Good riddance.

stay classy.

 

[BackToTheBrierePatch]

It's not easy to walk away from what was essentially your life for the past 20 years.

I still say Elway helped convince him to retire. He is one of the very few to understand what it means to go out on top. That story would be ruined if he did play next season. He just doesn't got it no more.

Yeah I can agree with this. Also he wanted to sit back and think about it without the emotions of winning a ring. He wasnt going to announce his retirement a week after he won.

 

[The Dangly One]

Brady and Manning both have as many rings as they should. Both have been on receiving end of some lucky and not so lucky plays. But I firmly believe that in the end luck evens out.

 

[TNT87]

Great speech from Manning. One of the greatest QBs era is now over.

 

[Soliloquy of a Dogge]

My respect, admiration & appreciation of Peyton Manning continues to know no bounds. One of the greatest athletic careers of all time. GOAT.

I didn't expect to shed so many tears.

 

[Brodeur]

And just one last time for my amusement, here's a fun ESPN the Magazine hot take from before the 1998 Draft: http://espn.go.com/magazine/vol1no03manningleaf.html

Sorry, Archie, I'm taking Ryan. Maybe it was watching Leaf against Arizona as he implored the coaching staff, "Call my number, I'm hot, I'm hot." Or Ryan running by Coach Price during his first Washington game after a completion into double coverage and chuckling, "Didn't think I'd get the ball in there." He possesses an "I don't give a crap" attitude that has proven essential to Super Bowl quarterbacks from Stabler to McMahon to Favre. Come 2018, Ryan Leaf, not Manning, will be strutting up to a podium in Canton.

 

[Soliloquy of a Dogge]

Peyton Manning's sense of humor is also GOAT.

 

[Scandale du Jour]

Peyton Manning's sense of humor is also GOAT.

How many companies did he plugged in his speach?