I agree with Finland. Our D is overrated. It's #9.
One thing that irks me is Manning has always played behind an elite OL, has had a Hall of Fame WR for his entire career except this year, and has pretty much played his entire career with a top 10 D, elite coaches, and the same system. Like right now, there's all this talk about the Packers D and the Colts' D is two notches higher than ours.
Rodgers on the other hand has the NFL's worst OL and look at his production. Put Manning behind that line and he's gonna get killed. I'd take Aaron over Peyton any day when it comes to toughness and grit.
As for irking Brett fans if Rodgers gets it, I'm a Brett fan. He's still my favorite player. But if Brett doesn't win it, I'd want it to go to Rodgers, Brees, or Woody. I just don't see this award going to a non-QB this year. Chris Johnson is out of the picture no matter what he does and unfortunately so is Woody. :(
Put Rodgers behind the Colts' OL and his production would be superior to Manning's. Rodgers was getting killed back there earlier in the year. I really hope the judges take that into consideration.
"Greg C." wrote:
I have pretty much the opposite point of view. I think Manning makes his offensive line look a lot better than it is. He is a great decision-maker with a quick release and great accuracy. That's why he's so hard to sack, in spite of the fact that he is not very mobile. The linemen seldom have to hold their blocks for long.
Also, I would be very surprised if the Colts had a top ten defense for most of Manning's career. I don't have time to look for the numbers, but I think the Colts have had an average to below average defense for most of his career. I'm not sure how much that matters anyway. When a QB is on a team with a bad defense he can run up big stats by getting into a lot of shootouts, provided he has some offensive talent around him.
Manning has had some great receivers, but I think it says a lot that he is doing so well this year without Marvin Harrison. He's been steadily productive his entire career in spite of numerous personnel changes. It's easier for me to believe that he really is that good than it is for me to believe that the Colts are that consistent in finding top-notch offensive talent at all of the other positions. I've seen him play a lot, and he is just amazing to watch--one of the best ever.
"zombieslayer" wrote: