Who would you compare Peyton Manning to now? Bret Favre or John Elway (see details before answering)?

Question

Personally, I don't like to compare players to other players all the time, but I do think that it does have some reference to who the athlete reminds him/her of and that helps us try to figure out the player better, at least a little bit. Now that Peyton and the Colts (my hometown and favorite team) have won the Super Bowl you can't compare Peyton Manning to Dan Marino now as much as you used to, except for the comparisons in numbers. To me there are two Quarterbacks that I can name that Peyton Manning reminds me of, Bret Favre and John Elway. Peyton is compared to Farve because of the regular season MVP's, the numbers, leadership, and the one Super Bowl win (although the Colts WILL win at least one more Super Bowl with Peyton Manning). Peyton is compared to Elway because of his intelligence, patience in the pocket, Super Bowl MVP, and numbers as well. Right now I am going to say Peyton is closer to Favre than Elway. Which would you pick?

yooperchris, the reason Marvin Harrison and especially Reggie Wayne are great and Hall of Famers (Harrison is already in, guarunteed.) is because of Peyton Manning. Peyton Manning makes players better because he doesn nothing but practice, practice, and practice with them showing with new routs, different throws, and so forth during every practice and before every game. That is why even the reserve recievers and tight ends are so good, because Peyton is relentless when it comes to practicing. I am tired of Manning haters trying to find new ways to say that Manning is overrated. Get over it! He will go down as one of the top five quarterbacks of all time by the time he is done.

Oh, and one other thing you can compare Peyton to Farve, consistence and determination. If you don't know this the closest behind Bret Favre in number of games played is Peyton Manning and if Peyton continues this because he was a starter right away he will take over another of Bret Favre's records.

I agree, Peyton can easily be compared to Unitas as well.

Answer 1

Steeler fan. I dont even like him but I do respect his ability and
dedication. If he stays healthy he will redefine what an Nfl Qb
shoud be..He is in my opinion not similar to either Elway or Farve
He is unique in him self , I think the only other Qb in history better than him is Joe Montana..

Answer 2

This is a great question. I've only watched the NFL for about 11 years, so I missed out on a lot of both Favre and Elway. However, I'd like to propose that we should abstract away the numbers and Super Bowl wins, since they are so contingent regarding what players the Colts have (or on the admittedly less than 1% chance Peyton will go to another team in his prime years). I think your best criteria is leadership, intelligence, and patience in the pocket. The last, especially, seems so distant from Favre (at least, compared to Elway). I think I might have to go with Elway on this one.

Answer 3

As much as I hate to say it, Manning will likely be in the top 5, or at least the top 10. You can NEVER compare him to Brett Favre. Brett Favre Is in the top 3 quarterbacks of ALL TIME. Not just because of his skill as a quarterback, but because he has something that not many players nowadays have, heart. He played half of a season, into the playoffs, with a broken throwing thumb. He played even when he couldn't feel his arm. He has started EVERY game since the second year of his career. When he scrambles he never slides, he is the one giving the hit. When the situation requires he never misses the opportunity to pancake a linebacker, which he has done many times. He will be inducted into the Hall of Fame the day after he retires. The same cannot be said for Peyton. Therefore if you want to compare him to one of these men you had better do it to John Elway because there may never again be a player who can equal the greatness of Brett Favre. ( I am not a Green Bay fan, I am a Buccaneers fan, but I cannot deny the facts).

Answer 4

Favre was better then peyton because he has a much stronger arm AND Brett Favre did not have the Recievers that Manning has had. Manning has two potential Hall of Fame Recievers while Favre may have had Sharp but sharp was injured to early in his career so from their on out he was playing with mediocre recievers. so Favre is a better QB i would compare Manning more with Akimen or Marino.

and to post above

Favres first game was a come from behind against the Bengals. he has started every game since then He also leads all ( atleast Active) qbs in 4th quarter combacks. he is good at comeback games.

EDIT

im not saying Manning is a bad quarter back or over rated. I am just giving my opinoin of who the better quarter back is. Yes Manning will probably go down as a top 5 QB in history but FAvre will go down as a Top-3 in history. that is my opinion. and i garentee if Favre had those Recivers he would have had a LOT bigger numbers then he has right now.

Answer 5

I too am a Colt fan, but I don't see the similarities to either Favre of Elway. Favre is a risktaker with a great arm. Elway had all the physical tools. I think Manning reminds me most of Unitas. His knowledge of the offense, his leadership, his footspeed (lol).
The timing and precision he has with Harrison is uncanny with Unitas and Raymond Berry.
I'm just relieved that the team got it done this year in the playoffs so the comparisons to Marino could end.

Answer 6

As far as style...More Marino than Farve or Elway. Manning and Marina are passers who are not very mobile and has a good pocket presence to buy time and a quick release.

Farve and Elway are similar to each other. Both are very good at moving and creating their plays when the planned play is not there and sustain the play or run - which is something that Manning does not really do.

Winning or not winning a Super Bowl should not come into consideration as to comparing the styles and how two players play.

Answer 7

I would say Elway. They both are famous for working the 2 minute drills and coming back from behind (Manning obviously famous for it, Elway, remember "The Drive."). I don't remember any remorable comebacks made by Brett Favre. Also, each of them have won the Super Bowl sorta late in their careers. Also both of them have been known as player who can't make it to the Big One. They both have demolished those labels. Favre won a Super Bowl rather earlier in his career.

Answer 8

Closer to Favre. Manning has no similarity to Elway. Elway was magic late in games from the beginning, and hoisted 3 BAD teams to the Super Bowl. Elway had a super gun and good wheels and moved around and through bombs on teams.
Favre was similar to Elway physically (not similar to Manning) but was plagued by losses to better teams in the playoffs until breaking through in 96.
Elway is better than Favre because of his superior performances in big games. Manning was OK in the super bowl and has a history of chokes.

So I'm with you, closer to Favre.

Answer 9

If you look at John Elways stats they aren't nearly as good as Mannings. Brett Favre would be the closer of the two but even that would be a longshot.

Answer 10

i don't know that he's all that close to either of them, and by the time he's done it'll be unfair to compare him to either of them bcause he'll have carved out his own place in history...but for the sake of debate i'll say favre...he can move around in the pocket and make a play when the first option breaks down, much like favre can get outside the pocket...he has a strong arm and is tremendously accurate, much like favre when he was in his prime(he's not nearly as accurate today)...the one edge for favre is his ability to take off and run(again, in his prime), and the one edge for peyton is his decision making and ability to read defenses