Peyton Manning Returns

As the 2013 NFL season rolls on, fans of all ages eagerly await to see Denver Broncos’ quarterback Peyton Manning battle the team that he once led to a Super Bowl victory, the Indianapolis Colts. Manning has been on an absolute tear this season, setting records left and right through the first six weeks of play. However, all of his success this season may have never came to fruition if he wasn’t released by the Colts in 2011 after a 14 year stint with the team.

After being on the injured reserve list for the 2011 season, Colt’s general manager Jim Irsay decided to look to the future of the franchise, and releasing  Peyton Manning was a huge step in that direction. The Colts then selected Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck in the 2012 draft. Within two years, Luck has established himself as a top quarterback who only gets better game after game. As for Peyton Manning, he found himself a new home with the Denver Broncos in 2012. After “Tebow-Mania” in Denver was over, the Broncos became a serious threat when they signed Peyton. At 36 years old, some questioned if Peyton still had what it took to be an elite quarterback; he blew those questions right out the window.

So far with Denver, Manning has accumulated 6,838 yards and fifty-nine touchdowns in twenty- two games which are mind boggling stats. Manning is the clear cut number one quarterback in the league and will most likely become a five time MVP after this season. However, not too far down the list of quarterbacks is his replacement, Andrew Luck. Luck has had nine games in his career where he led his team to victory in the 4th quarter. The Colts are 16-7 since Luck was drafted and they made the postseason last year.

Just last Tuesday, general manager Jim Irsay was making headlines again, this time it was on Twitter. Irsay bashed Peyton on only winning one Super Bowl in his time spent as a Colt. He then stated that other teams such as the Giants and Ravens have more championships than the Colts organization which bothers Irsay very much. Manning doesn’t seem fazed by these comments and is just focusing on playing the Colts. Peyton should get a very favorable reaction to the fans that loved him for years.  On Sunday night watch Manning and the highly dangerous Broncos look to knock off the young but very talented Indianapolis Colts inside the house that Peyton built.