October 14, 2015
By Eddie Pipkin
Peyton Manning is one of the best quarterbacks to play the game of football. In his 17-year career, he has thrown for more than 70,000 yards, and just a few weeks ago became the record holder for most NFL touchdown throws (at 538 and counting). He is most widely known for his tenure with the Indianapolis Colts, but is now playing the sunset of his career in Denver.
And in 2015 he is not the quarterback that he once was. Even though the Broncos are once again at the top of their division (as of the writing of this blog), Manning is clearly struggling to maintain the form that which was once so automatic. In fact, he is currently ranked at the bottom of the quarterback pool, statistically speaking, unfamiliar territory for sure.
Still, the Broncos remain one of the only undefeated of this season. This is a testament to the quality of the players that surround Manning: a strong offensive line (whose job is to protect their quarterback at all costs), talented skill players (receivers and running backs) who perfectly complement Manning’s abilities, and one of the top-ranked defenses in the league. Although the seemingly superhuman talents of a select few athletes monopolize the highlight clips on ESPN’s Sports Center, the truth is that it is a well-structured team, unified in purpose and supportive of one another on field and off, that triumphs in the end.
For so many