His brother's performances in big games.
Took near miracles but we can look at it.
Peyton has the work ethic, he prepares like a beast and he excels in season play.... but much of the NFL season is pointless.
That's just a neat circle. Marino's greatness, Moon's greatness, a host of great ones aren't defined by that. Peyton we hold to a different standard, which is funny to me.
One of the reasons I love Manning is the same reason I loved (if didn't root for) the greatest qb the NFL has produced, Joe Montana. The reason is that neither of them were particularly gifted physically. Both defined their greatness by work, mental ability and unrelenting tenacity. And I'm as sure that Peyton on those Niner teams would have worn the same rings (or one more, being more durable than Joe) as I am of anything.
As long as you get into the playoffs and start playing elite then, you can go as far as ruining someone's undefeated season. Say what you want about Eli, but his post season performances are quite remarkable, in a positive way.
Eli has been both cool in high pressure situations and, frankly, lucky. He's also had a really good coach and, in his ring years, some really good defense.
He has the clutch gene that skipped Peyton, :chuckle: .
That's just irrational, but I won't talk you out of it. Time will bury your opinion and leave mine standing because mine is predicated on the numbers, on the facts and not the perception generated by a persistent narrative from any number of quarters with differing interests in seeing it established.
All Peyton's doing now is damaging his legacy. Time to hang it up, old hoss.
The spirit's willing, but the flesh is weak.
Complete revisionist nonsense. His legacy is secure by any reasonable metric and analysis. He had a bad game at at time when most people who play his position have been retired. And given how terrific he was last year and even this year until the Rams game, what should he have done differently? Pfft. The same sort of nonsense was being circulated about your guy early in the season when some idiot asked Bill if he was considering a change at the position.
Most great players, from Namath to Emmitt Smith leave a shadow of what they were. No one remembers the shadow. They remember what threw it once.