Peyton Manning

It’s possible he will be the greatest QB ever by the end of his career, but I don’t think he’s there quite yet.

I agree the stats aren’t quite where they need to be to make this a slam dunk, but watching this guy play and control the offense makes me believe he is the best. The superbowl was not his best outing, but the way he evaluates defenses, changes plays on the line, and has incredible accuracy – it would be hard to build a better QB if you could do so from scratch. Add this incredible intelligence and talent to his amazing work ethic and compassion for fans and teamates and you have a complete teammate who is a great football player as well as a great person.

I would love it if Stafford fits into the Peyton Manning mold more than Brett Farve (not that we can go wrong either way).

IMO he is. If not to most, he will be.

But no one has ever took full control of a offense like Peyton and No one can direct his army into battle quite like him. Its his Knowledge of the gem that makes him better than anyone to date.

voted favre gets their lions card taken away.

I’m 23, so I didn’t really see a lot of football pre early 90’s, but I can’t say Manning is better than Montana (or Elway, in my personal opinion).

Time will tell, but I feel like a crucial SB interception may have just set him a step back, regardless of his statistical accomplishments. Breaking all the passing records on a team thats been pass heavy for the last decade in a league that has become increasingly more focused on the passing game doesn’t (personally) impress me that much.

That said, my personal opinion is that yeah, he could absolutely be the best QB of all time. His brain alone blows me away with the knowledge and hard work he obviously puts into the game. He is head and shoulders above Brady and all the similar QBs of this era.

I think he needs at least another Super Bowl win or two. But from a cerebral, accuracy and most valuable to his team perspective… you have to say yes. The guy is like a surgeon dissecting the opponent’s defense. I’ve seen very few quarterbacks play with the precision that Manning plays with… it’s simply incredible.

But I would also say that both Montana and Brady have shown the ability to systematically break a defense down through intelligence and accuracy as well… just not as consistently as Manning. Favre and Elway both had the heart and the unbelievable arm strength. Marino had a strong arm, the fastest release on the planet and threw the long ball better than any quarterback ever. But Manning is the whole package. If he plays for another 5-7 years and continues to post 4,000+ seasons and gets another SB win or two…. there will be little debate. He will hold every record in the NFL. If anything, he will always be in the top three… no question.

To me, he’d have to take huge dropoff in the next 3-4 seasons. If he continues on his way though, I think there’s no doubt that he’ll go down as the greatest QB ever.

THAT’s why the Lions need special players. Don’t be afraid of greatness. If a special player is there, draft him! Don’t trade down from greatness.