A Colts Fan Strikes Back (At the Cost of McNabb's Offensive Support)

A recent article from a fellow Colts fan addressed the popular notion that Peyton Manning is an underachiever who has been surrounded by unsurpassed talent that he has simply failed to maximize. 

The article went on to win POTD and sparked a vigorous follow up article from an Eagles fan that sought to point out just how good Peyton Manning has had it by using Donovan McNabb as a frame of reference. 

That Eagles fan was willing to admit that McNabb's offensive line has been very comparable to what Manning has had, but he chose to focus on the starting skill positions (wide receivers and running backs) to emphasize a disparity in offensive support.

One thing is certainly clear, the starting wide receivers and running backs Manning has played with have certainly out produced those who have played with McNabb. 

However, several people commented on the article to question how much of that difference was actually due to a disparity in talent at the quarterback position rather than the wide receiver and running-back positions. 

I can certainly point to how players who started their careers without Manning saw a noticeable increase in production with Manning while others who left the Colts saw a noticeable drop off to corroborate this idea. I can also point to how well Jeff Garcia was able to step in for Donovan McNabb in 2006.

However, this article is about one thing specifically, the cost of each quarterback’s offensive supporting cast.

Would it surprise anyone to know that while the Colts spent $43,639,030 in cap space (39.7 percent of their total cap spending) on offensive support for Manning in 2008, the Eagles spent $43,567,560  (38.6 percent of their total cap spending) on offensive support for McNabb themselves?

Now is the team with a reputation for overpaying their star players to stay with the team simply shrewder with their spending? 

Is the team hit with the highest salary cap figure of any wide receiver in the league for a player who digressed into only their fourth best receiving option getting the best bargains? 

Or is Peyton Manning simply getting more bang for the buck?

While the total spending on offensive support was eerily similar, the breakdown of that spending is like night and day.

The Colts spent $20,706,877 (18.9 percent of total cap spending) on wide receivers, $3,200,421 (2.9 percent) on tight ends, $2,945,644 (2.7 percent) on running backs, and $16,786,088 (15.3 percent) on offensive linemen.

The Eagles spent $9,164,687 (8.1 percent of total cap spending) on wide receivers, $5,913,345 (5.2 percent) on tight ends, $5,690,913 (5.0 percent) on running backs, and $22,798,615 (20.2 percent) on offensive linemen.

The Colts clearly outspent the Eagles on wide receivers while the Eagles outspent them on tight ends, running backs, and offensive linemen. That’s a product of both the Eagles emphasizing different positions as well as depth.

So yes, McNabb has been making due with significantly less invested in the wide receiver position, but Manning and his unit have been outperforming McNabb and his unit with the same investment in offensive support.

Interestingly enough, the Eagles cap distribution is fairly similar to that of another team with a quarterback often compared against Manning.  This team just so happens to be the best team in the league in the past decade: the Patriots.

The Patriots spent $42,614,146 on offensive support (40.2 percent of total cap spending) in 2008 with $13,245,291 (12.5 percent) on wide receivers, $1,928,614 (1.8 percent) on tight ends, $8,584,324 (8.1 percent) on running backs, and $18,855,917 (17.8 percent) on offensive linemen.

Very similarly to the Eagles, and in deep contrast with the Colts, the Patriots chose to emphasize offensive linemen above wide receivers and put a priority on depth.

So before Eagles fans decide to cry foul, know that your team’s distribution of resources has made a lot of sense.  I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the Patriots and Eagles each represent the most consistent postseason teams in the past decade in their respective conferences.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Randy Moss and Terrell Owens are still without championship rings either.

As for Peyton Manning, my hope is that the release of Marvin Harrison and drafting of Donald Brown will result in a more sensible cap distribution for offensive support that will lead to greater dividends on Jim Irsay’s investment in the postseason.