Brett Favre passes baton to Peyton Manning
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Eli Manning tells Peyton Manning - “You can pass the baton to me”
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Brett Favre played for 17 seasons and started 253 games in a row. Awesome, but who do we look to take his place as the grand old player in the NFL?
How about Peyton Manning?
Peyton Manning, who turned 32 in March, enters his 11th season as the NFL’s active leader in virtually every significant passing category. He embraces his status as one of the league’s elder statesmen.
“I do take a lot of pride in going into my 11th year,” Manning said during the Colts’ minicamp. “I always admire guys that have played as long as (Steve) McNair did or Favre did or (Dan) Marino did. source
Can Peyton have the same kind of longevity that Brett Favre had? Brett not only lasted a long time, but played at a high level for the whole time.
Manning’s teammates have helped. Spending his entire career behind one of the league’s most protective offensive lines, he said, makes him feel like he has the body of a 28-year-old. He has been sacked just 191 times in 160 games, at a rate of once for each 29.3 dropback attempts. Favre’s sack-to-dropback ratio was 1-to-20.9.
Peyton Manning appreciates the help from his team and also knows that it is really special to be able to retire from the NFL. Most players are just let go and do not get to pick their time. Peyton finds that to be amazing.
His appreciation for a player’s ability to perform at a high level for a long time goes beyond words, at least spoken words. When a player he admires retires, Manning will often send him a letter of congratulations for a noteworthy career.
The Indianapolis Colts are expecting more of the usual from Peyton.
As for Manning, the Colts expect the same quality of play that has led him to eight Pro Bowl appearances, a league-record eight seasons with at least 4,000 passing yards and a Super Bowl title.
He’s coming off a season during which his 98.0 passer rating ranked fourth in the league but was his lowest since 2002 (88.8). Yet he passed for 4,040 yards and 31 touchdowns in an offense that had to constantly adjust to injuries. Receivers Marvin Harrison and Anthony Gonzalez, tight ends Dallas Clark and Ben Utecht and tackles Ryan Diem and Tony Ugoh missed a combined 28 games.
When Peyton is done, who will he pass the baton to?
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POSTED IN: Brett Favre, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, Peyton Manning
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