By Julie Buehler
Just knock it off, ok?
Just for one season, quit.
Just for one week, stop yourself from saying what every lame-ass Mike Florio-wannabe is saying.
Peyton Manning is having one of the greatest seasons in the history of sports whether the Broncos win a Super Bowl or not.
He broke ANOTHER record on Sunday and, for those keeping track, that’s the infinityith that’s fallen at the hands of 18 through his NFL career.
Look, this season has been wacky on a lot of levels, and for some inexplicable reason, Manning’s greatness is getting dismissed by some. It’s as though critics have grown numb to his artistry and are now more compelled by his infrequent oversights. Qualified NFL analysts say things like “Well, sure 51 touchdowns is cool, but it’ll mean nothing if he doesn’t win the Super Bowl.” Really? Meaningless to whom? How quickly some dismiss history for the sake of their own convenience.
Let’s say you’re enjoying the Sistine Chapel’s majestic ceiling for the first time and as you marvel at its intricacies and reflect on its rich history, your fellow traveler says, “Well, this place stinks. Can’t find a hotdog stand to save my life.”
Petty, no?
There’s every reason to marvel about Manning’s career and especially the season he’s having in 2013.
On Sunday, he threw 51 times in a win over the Houston Texans and logged his 51st touchdown pass this season, breaking Tom Brady’s record of 50 set in 2007.
He threw that pass to Julius Thomas, the same guy he threw his first pass of the season to. That’s just poetic.
Manning matched Brady’s 2007 touchdown mark 5 quarters sooner than Brady needed to best the mark set by Manning in 2004. So Manning, stepped over Brady to break his own record again.
Manning is one of only 5 players to throw for 5,000+ yards in a season and the first to do that AND throw 50+ touchdown passes.
He’s going to win the MVP for a record-obliterating 5th time, become the first player to win MVP honors with 2 different franchises and for the second season in a row has earned his team a first-round bye in the playoffs.
And if they don’t win the Super Bowl, all that will mean nothing? Tell the guys having to re-write the history book. Manning is making them work overtime.
The problem is sports media has become so one-dimensional and myopically focused on winning championships that many are losing key perspective and causing fans everywhere to do the same.
Football is NOT a one-man show. It’s a complicated chess match in which a quarterback, the most talented and most valuable of which, is only on the field MAYBE half the time.
Franchises used to build teams: as in a sturdy defense, stout offensive line, precise special teams units and all with the understanding that the 3rd string guy had to be as competent as the starter.
But then came endorsement deals and TV money and players that were no longer players but the “face of the franchise” and those guys had to get paid. Once the salary cap was introduced (1994), this meant, by definition, less money for the tertiary players that were historically key to many a championship runs.
So now we have an NFL where the last 13 MVPs- that is, the MOST VALUABLE PLAYER- does NOT win the Super Bowl.
The last MVP to win a Lombardi was Kurt Warner in 1999. Since then, the league MVP has been on the losing team 5 times and failed to make it to the big dance the other 8 times.
Football is NOT a one-man show. Even if the one man is an all-time great.
As previously mentioned, Manning became one of 5 quarterbacks to throw for 5,000+ yards in a season. Mathew Stafford in 2011, Tom Brady in 2011, Drew Brees in 2012, 2011 and 2008 and Hall of Famer Dan Marino in 1984.
Guess how many won the Super Bowl the year they surpassed that mark.
“I’ll take: The Number Less Than One, Alex.”
Marino and Brady both lost in the Super Bowl their years, Stafford was a first round playoff punt and the one year Brees WON the Super Bowl (2009) he passed for only 4,388 yards. Slacker.
So if armchair quarterbacks, while downing their Stella and nachos are complaining that Manning’s historic numbers are meaningless without a ring, be the one person smart enough to dismiss THAT notion as meaningless.
IF the Broncos win the Super Bowl, Peyton Manning will have completed the GREATEST SEASON IN THE HISTORY OF SPORT. Period.
If they don’t he’s still adding more evidence to support the claim he’s the greatest quarterback to ever play football.
So sit back, grab a hot dog and enjoy. You have the privilege of seeing it.
Julie Buehler hosts the Coachella Valley’s most popular sports talk radio show, “Buehler’s Day Off” every day from 3-6 on 1010 KXPS, the valley’s all sports station. She’s an avid gym rat, slightly sarcastic and more likely to recite Steve Young’s career passing stats than American Idol winners. Tune in M-F 3-6 pst at www.team1010.com or watch the show on Ustream.
