Manning Should Retire

Manning has a rare opportunity to go out on top (Biography.com)

Amid reports that the Denver Broncos are preparing to move on without its Super Bowl winning quarterback (welcome back, Brock Osweiler), who plans to retire by week's end, I'd like to urge Peyton Manning to please do so. After what he just did, winning his second Super Bowl at age 39, he has nothing left to prove*.

*Except, maybe, that he didn't use HGH or sexually assault one of his female college trainers, but those are things that can't be proven on the gridiron. 

Seriously, what else is there left to achieve? He's thrown more yards and touchdowns than anybody. He's won five MVPs, all of them deserved. Then, he capped it all off by beating a heavily favored Panthers team in Super Bowl 50. It was the storybook ending that most athletes only dream of. Tacking on another chapter would only spoil it.

So please, Mr. Manning, go home, spend time with your family, figure out what your next move is (something tells me you'd be great on TV), and drink all the Budweiser you want. You've earned it.

A Plea to Peyton Manning

Manning has been benched but insists he can still play (Washington Post)

Please, Peyton Manning, don't come back next year. Don't go all Brett Favre on us.

We know you're a gunslinger, but don't try to make one last heroic stand. You're out of bullets. You won't go out in a blaze of glory--you'll go out with a whimper, like a sick dog who has to be put down.

This year you tried to prove that your putrid finish to last year was a fluke. Instead, this year proved that it wasn't.

Next year will be more of the same, probably even worse. You'll try to show you still have something left in the tank, when clearly you don't. You're too slow. Your arm's not strong enough. Your reflexes aren't sharp enough.

Don't give us another year of missed passes, ugly interceptions, and wobbly throws, Don't cloud all our great memories of you with the sad sight of you hanging on too long. No more games like the one you had against Kansas City.

Nothing good will come of your stubborn return. You have nothing left to prove. You're a Super Bowl champion and the greatest quarterback of all time (statistically speaking). You don't need to take any more big hits, not when you have a surgically repaired neck. Not when a guy twice your size could shut your lights off.

Nobody blames you for coming back this year. You were so good last year. You wanted one more ring so little brother Eli, an inferior signal-caller in every regard, wouldn't finish with more than you. A return to form seemed possible.

It didn't happen. It usually doesn't for 39 year-olds. So what makes you think it will at 40? At some point, you just have to admit you can't do it anymore. We've reached that point.  You've been replaced by Brock Osweiler. Brock. Osweiler.

If you have a shred of dignity, you'll stop sulking, mentor the new kid, and call it quits after this year. You won't try to latch on with another team that will give you a chance. You'll bow out gracefully on your own terms, rather than be forced out when you fall apart again next year. Then you can get on with the rest of your life, which I'm sure will involve lots of commercials.

Please, Mr. Manning, don't make us suffer through another season of you stumbling around the pocket. Don't subject yourself to any more criticism. Just do us all a favor and just walk away.

Super Bowl Recap: Seahawks Smoke Broncos

For the first time in franchise history, the Seahawks are Super Bowl champs

Unless you are a Seahawks fan (and if you are, congratulations are in order), Super Bowl XLVIII was a huge letdown. It wasn't even a game. Seattle dominated from start to finish. The anticipated slugfest between the NFL's top offense (Denver) and stingiest defense (Seattle), both of whom were the best teams in their respective conferences after finishing the regular season with identical 13-3 records, never materialized.

Which really is too bad, for it was just the fifth time in Super Bowl history that the best offense squared off against the best defense. After last night, the best D has now won four times so far, which reinforces the belief that defense does indeed win championships.

That certainly seemed true last night, when the record-setting Broncos offense was held to just eight points. It was like they never even got off the plane. Denver was outplayed in every facet of the game. Not since the Patriots were curb-stomped by the Chicago Bears in 1986 has a team been so thoroughly dominated in the championship game. New England lost that game (its first Super Bowl appearance) 46-10, a 36 point deficit that is still the largest margin of defeat in a Super Bowl. But the Broncos lost by 35, and would have made history had they not succeeded on their two-point conversion to Wes Welker following Peyton Manning's lone touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas.

Speaking of Manning, I  don't believe he deserves an ounce of blame for what happened last night. He didn't have a great game, what with his two interceptions and 73.5 QB rating, but did complete 34 of his 49 passes to set a Super Bowl record for most completions. Besides, there was nothing he could do about Denver's defense getting torched for 43 points. Manning could have gone out and had the greatest game of his career, and I'm not sure it would have made much of a difference based on how well the Seahawks were playing. If Manning plays well the Broncos still lose, just by less. As such, I don't think his legacy should suffer.

Seattle was simply too-good. They had a great offense and an airtight defense. Russell Wilson was amazing. Sometimes the best team loses because they get outplayed by an inferior team (see: the 2007 and 2011 Patriots), but I don't think that was the case last night. The Seahawks were the best team, and they proved that pretty definitively.

Manning Sets TD Record

Manning torched the Texans for 4 TDs and 400 passing yards 

With a 25-yard touchdown pass to Julius Thomas yesterday, Peyton Manning notched his 51st TD pass of the year to set a new single season record. Fittingly enough, the guy Manning passed is arguably his biggest rival as well as the quarterback he is most often compared to: Tom Brady, who notched 50 during New England's undefeated 2007 regular season.

The record-setting TD was Manning's fourth of the day against Houston's defense. It came with about four and a half minutes remaining in the fourth and made the score 37-13 in Denver's favor. An absent-minded Thomas dropped the history-making ball as he went to celebrate, but thankfully Eric Decker (who hauled in a pair of Manning touchdowns earlier in the quarter) retrieved it and stuffed it in his jersey for safe-keeping.

Manning will try to add to his record on Sunday in Oakland as the Broncos, who clinched the AFC west with their win over Houston, look to clinch the top seed in the AFC (and thus secure homefield advantage throughout the playoffs). He'll also attempt to topple Drew Brees's record for most passing yards in a single season, set in 2011 (Manning needs 265 to tie). He has a great chance to do both against a soft Raiders defense.

Whatever happens in Week 17, Denver's 37 year-old signal-caller is a sure bet to take home the MVP award, which will be the fifth of his distinguished career and provide more ammunition for those who believe he is the greatest quarterback of his generation, if not all-time.

Chiefs Finally Fall

The Kansas City Chiefs, probably the worst 9-0 team in NFL history, are undefeated no more.

It took 11 weeks before they were finally beaten. Fittingly enough, KC was dethroned by the Denver Broncos, the second best team in the NFL entering last night's game as well as the least team to beat the Chiefs (in 2012). This time KC fell behind early and never led, allowing Denver to go on to win 27-17.

Kansas City's top-ranked defense was unable to put much pressure on Peyton Manning, who completed 24 of his 40 pass attempts en route to 323 yards and a touchdown (to Julius Thomas). Alex Smith was solid but less effective, completing 21 of his 45 pass attempts for 230 yards and a pair of touchdowns, one to the recently arrested Dwayne Bowe and another to Anthony Fasano.

Denver's defense played paricularly well, holding Jamaal Charles scoreless and not allowing any of KC's receivers to log more than 60 yards. The Broncos' D also sacked Smith three times and forced two fumbles, recovering one of them.

Now that Denver has knocked off the Chiefs, expect the Broncos to go about their business of winning the AFC West.

MVPeterson

With the 2012 NFL regular season officially in the books, it's time to look back and determine who earned the title of the league's Most Valuable Player. There are three standout candidates, all with compelling cases, all worthy in their own right. Each one enjoyed tremendous individual success over the past 17 weeks and helped his team reach the postseason, but one rose above the pack and is the frontrunner to win the award.

3. Tom Brady
Brady once again guided the league's most prolific offense by getting the most out of New England's deep arsenal of weapons in Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Wes Welker and Brandon Lloyd. The two-time MVP amassed 4,827 passing yards--the second highest total of his distinguished career--and limited his mistakes, posting the lowest interception percentage in the league. His name is plastered over the NFL leaderboards, for the 35 year-old placed in the top five in nearly every passing category. Tom Terrific is a longshot to take home the trophy but has the best chance to win more valuable hardware: another Super Bowl ring.

2. Peyton Manning
After sitting out all of 2011 and getting released by the Colts (fortunate to draft a good replacement in Andrew Luck), the 36 year-old field general came back and added another MVP-caliber season to his Hall of Fame resume. Even more impressively, he single-handedly transformed a mediocre offense that used to rely on Tim Tebow's miracles into one of the league's most dangerous passing teams that outscored every team not named the Patriots. Eli Manning's big brother threw for 37 touchdowns, posted the league's second highest passer rating (behind only reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers) and completed 68.6 of his 583 pass attempts--tied with Matt Ryan for the best rate in the NFL--all while leading Denver to a 13-3 record and the top seed in the AFC. Although Brady's stats are neck and neck with Manning's numbers, Manning's season was more valuable because his supporting cast was not quite as deep nor talented as Brady's receiving corps. However, you could make the case that neither one was the top quarterback last year since Drew Brees accrued the most yards and TDs, Rodgers boasted the best passer rating and Luck led the most game-winning drives.

1. Adrian Peterson
The NFL's leading rusher and MVP favorite rebounded from a down 2011 plagued by injury to have a historic year. Peterson racked up 2,097 rushing yards, falling just nine yards short of Eric Dickerson's single season record. AP also led the league with with 2,314 total yards from scrimmage (rushing and receiving yards combined) while helping 10-6 Minnesota clinch a playoff berth with its 37-34 win over the Green Bay Packers in Week 17. With his eye-popping numbers and timely late-season surge, Peterson is the clear-cut choice for this year's MVP.