Peyton Manning Looks to Stake Claim as League's Best from Sidelines

Brady and Manning. Manning and Brady. That is the argument, the point of reference, the standard of excellence that will forever be used in describing quarterback play from the millennium era. 

Now, with multiple sources reporting that Peyton Manning has had more neck surgery and is going to be out an undisclosed, presumably considerable period of time, the unthinkable may have happened. 

Peyton Manning, by virtue of not being on the field under center for the first time in his hall-of-fame career, may actually be helping his case in the Brady vs. Manning argument.

It has long been understood by most media types (not I, says the struggling small-town radio guy) that Brady is the slightly better quarterback because of his championships. 

This season, should the Colts be without Manning for a significant amount of time as has been rumored, it will go a long way in proving that Manning is in fact the better quarterback. 

In the season Brady missed due to injury, his Patriots went 11-5 with a quarterback who had not started a game since high school, Matt Cassel, and who has since quarterbacked the Kansas City Chiefs to an unimpressive 14-18 record in two seasons at the helm. 

Do you think there is a glimmer of hope for the 2011-2012 Colts to go 11-5 without Peyton Manning? This struggling small-town radio guy thinks the better question is, could they reverse that record and scrap together five wins? 

The short answer? No. 

The slightly elaborated answer? Due to the third most difficult schedule in the NFL this season and a combined opponent record of 133-122, I find it hard to believe the Colts find a way to win five games without Manning. 

Simply put, everything about this team was built around the singular greatness of Manning’s quarterbacking abilities.

I thought Mark Schlereth broke it down really well Thursday morning on Mike and Mike in the morning when he essentially said that the Colts defense is built to play from ahead. They have invested little money into the running game and little money into the protection that Manning only needs sparingly, due to his innate ability to feel pressure and get rid of the ball quickly. 

In the irony of all ironies, the NFL’s current iron man may advance his case in the Manning vs. Brady debate by getting hurt and proving through his absence what he means to his team:

Everything.