PEYTON PERFECTION

Have you ever wondered what it would look like if possibly the best quarterback to ever play the game was playing at his ultimate prime with the best surrounding cast he has ever had in his career? Well, we are seeing that right now with Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos.

It is quite a story really. Manning had eight surgeries on his neck, was out of the game for more than a year, and many wondered if he would ever play again. Manning used his time away from the game to study, and make his football mind even sharper, and now we are seeing the dividends. Last year, Manning got phyically stronger as well, and now, at age 37, is better than he ever was.

Look at the cast of talent around him too. DeMaryious Thomas is a 6 foot 5 beast of a receiver with speed. Wes Welker came over via free agency from the Patriots, and he just may be the best slot receiver to ever lace ’em up. Eric Decker is a thousand yard receiver who can do it all. He can catch the deep ball, is physical enough to withstand the bump and run, and big enough to make the tough, over the middle catches. Julius Thomas is a young, former basketball player (think a young Antonio Gates), who is only going to get better at tight end. Finally, Manning has three running backs who all can catch the ball in Knowshon Moreno, Ronnie Hillman and Montee Ball.

What Manning is doing so far this season is laughable–in a good way. He is averaging 387.5 yards per game. He is completing 75% of his passes. He has thrown 16 touchdowns and ZERO interceptions. His QB rating is an otherworldly 138. Watching Bronco games and seeing Manning lead that offense, the words “surgical precision” come to mind.

So, is this the best offense I have ever seen? In order to say, I have to analyze all the other offenses I have seen in my lifetime, which is 1970 til now.

I’ll start with the New Orleans Saints from 2009. Drew Brees completed 70% of his passes for over 4300 yards. He had a plethora of targets to throw to like Marques Colston, Devery Henderson and Robert Meachem. He had good pass catching backs like Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas. The main difference was that the Saints could beat themselves with mistakes, as Brees threw 11 interceptions along with those 34 TD passes. Manning is on pace to blow away both of those marks.

How about the “Greatest show on turf”–the St. Louis Rams of 1999. Kurt Warner completed 65% of his passes throwing to perhaps the best wide receiver duo ever: Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt. Add in Marshall Faulk, who had over a thousand times rushing AND receiving, and this offense was certainly dynamic. Warner had 41 TD passes and 13 interceptions for a QB rating of 109.2. Very good, but still no where near what Manning is putting up now.

Then there is the 1998 Minnesota Vikings. Randall Cunningham throwing to Cris Carter, a young Randy Moss and Jake Reed. Robert Smith in the backfield. Those Vikings put up a whopping 556 points in a 15-1 season. Cunningham’s numbers were no where near Manning though. He threw for 3794 yards with 34 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Obviously very good, but not as unstoppable as this years Broncos.

1984 Miami Dolphins. They had Dan Marino in his best year. They had Clayton and Duper. The Dolphins put up over 500 points. Marino completed 64% of his passes for a record 5084 yards, with 48 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. Those Dolphins did it all in an era when rushing the ball still dominated, and Miami had no running game. Opponents knew Miami would be throwing the ball and still couldn’t stop them. Taking all that into consideration, it is impressive, but still not up to the level of Manning this year.

How about the 1983 Washington Redskins? They put up an amazing 547 points. Joe Theisman had his best year, throwing for over 3700 yards to guys like Art Monk and Charlie Brown. The Skins had balance though

with John Riggins running the ball, which made the passing game that much more dangerous. They were an impressive offense, but it just wasn’t as dynamic as this years Broncos.

1981 San Diego Chargers. “Air Coryell” was certainly fun to watch, and they may have had the best complement of players on offense that could possibly rival this years Broncos. Chuck Muncie and James Brooks in the backfield. Wes Chandler, Charlie Joiner and Kellen Winslow were quite the trio and Dan Fouts was in his hall of fame prime. Fouts numbers were not as impressive though. He completed only 59% of his passes for a then record 4802 yards, 33 TD and 17 interceptions. What makes it different is Fouts had a 13.3 yards per completion average–higher than most other QB’s on this list. Those Chargers were great, but the offense beat itself more often than this years Broncos.

After taking a look back, I can now say more confidently that we are really watching something very special this year in the Mile High. I think Peyton Manning and his Denver Broncos have the makings of the best offense we have ever seen in NFL history. Now the only question is….can they keep it up?