Brief Biography on Peyton Manning
Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976 in
New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American football
quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts NFL franchise.
He
is the son of former New Orleans Saints quarterback
Archie Manning and Olivia Manning, and the older
brother of current New York Giants quarterback
Eli Manning. Peyton played college football
for the University of Tennessee and was selected
by the Indianapolis Colts as the first overall
pick in the 1998 NFL Draft.
Manning holds numerous passing records, including
the record for touchdown passes ina single season
(49 in 2004) and consecutive seasons with over
4,000 yards passing (6 through 2004). Despite
this level of play, he has yet to appear in
a Super Bowl.
College
career
Because
of his father's legacy at Ole Miss, as well
as his own status as the most highly recruited
high school quarterback of his class, Peyton
Manning stunned many when he chose to attend
and play for the University of Tennessee. Manning
would become Tennessee's all-time leading passer
with 11,201 yards, 863 completions and 89 touchdowns,
while compiling a 39-6 record as a starter.
In his college career, he threw only 33 interceptions
in 1,381 attempts, an NCAA record for best all-time
interception percentage.
Although
he completed his degree, a BA in speech communication
with a 3.61 GPA, in three years, and was projected
to be the top overall pick in the NFL Draft,
Manning returned to Tennessee for his senior
year. He put up even more impressive numbers
in his last season (3,819 yards, 36 touchdowns)
and finished second in Heisman Trophy voting
to The University of Michigan's Charles Woodson,
although he was unable to beat arch rival University
of Florida for the fourth consecutive time.
Professional
career
Manning
was selected first overall in the 1998 draft
and has started every game in his NFL career,
missing only one snap due to injury and many
others due to large leads. He was the NFL co-MVP
in 2003, sharing the honor with Tennessee Titans
quarterback Steve McNair. In 2004, Manning became
the highest-paid player in NFL history at the
time, signing a $99.2m contract for seven years
with a $34.5m signing bonus, which averages
out to $14.17m annually. Under the contract,
Manning is also eligible to earn an extra $19m
in incentives.
Manning
is widely viewed as an elite NFL quarterback,
and some sportswriters and scouts already consider
him a future Hall of Fame inductee. In scouting
reports, he is known as a "pure" pocket
passer, with prototypical size, a strong arm,
excellent touch, and nearly perfect mechanics.
Manning reads the field extremely well, and
is one of the few quarterbacks with complete
freedom to change a play at the line of scrimmage.
He is well known for his frantic hand gestures
and shouting before the play while calling out
audibles and blitzes. Unlike some modern quarterbacks,
Manning is not known as a "scrambler"
and is not very mobile if the pocket collapses.
After
many football insiders criticized Manning for
being 0-3 in the playoffs, he won his first
NFL playoff game against the Denver Broncos
on January 4, 2004. Manning's Passer Rating
in the Colts' playoff games against the Broncos
and Kansas City Chiefs was a perfect 158.3.
However, he posted the third lowest passer rating
of his career - 35.5 - in the AFC title game
against the New England Patriots, throwing four
interceptions in a 24-14 loss.
In
2004, Manning had one of the greatest seasons
a quarterback has ever produced, putting up
4557 yards, a 121.1 quarterback rating, and
49 touchdowns, surpassing thelegendary mark
previously held by Miami Dolphins quarterback
Dan Marino. His quarterback rating in 2004 also
surpassed the previous single-season mark of
112.8 set by Hall of Fame San Francisco 49ers
quarterback Steve Young.
In addition to his individual achievements,
Manning also led the Colts to a 12-4 record
and their second consecutive AFC South division
title. As a result, he was a near-unanimous
selection for the 2004 NFL MVP, was named NFL
Offensive Player of the Year and Pro Bowl MVP.
However, the Colts' 2004 season ended in Foxboro
for a second straight year with a 20-3 loss
in the AFC Divisional Playoff game against New
England when Manning played his worst game of
the year, recording a season-low passer rating
of 69.3. It was Manning's seventh consecutive
loss to the Patriots in Foxborough, MA.
In
the sports media, Manning has often been criticized
for not winning big games against specific teams,
such as the Patriots in the NFL and his 0-4
record against Florida in college. He is sometimes
compared to Dan Marino, another quarterback
who put up great numbers but never won a Super
Bowl. Others make the case that it is still
too early in his career to make that claim and
that the Colts' oft-shaky defense is a bigger
factor in the losses. It could be said that
this is one of the most contentious topics in
football today. But as of the 2005 season the
Colt's defense is one of the most feared in
the NFL. Coupled with the Manning led offense
they are currently a 13-0 team, and on pace
to match the 1972 Miami Dolphins for a perfect
regular season.
(From Wikipedia) |
