Quarterback, Indianapolis Colts
Age: 32
11th
season in pro football & with Colts
College: Tennessee
Height: 6’5” Weight: 230
Prelude:
Son of NFL
quarterback Archie Manning and a star in college, Manning was chosen by the
Colts with the first overall draft pick in 1998. It didn’t take long for him to
justify the selection as he set NFL rookie records with 3739 passing yards and
26 TD passes. He led the league with 575 pass attempts, also a record for a
rookie at the time, but also with 28 interceptions on a 3-13 club. The record
turned around to 13-3 in ’99, the Colts qualified for the postseason, and
Manning was selected to the Pro Bowl for the first time as he passed for 4135
yards and, while he again threw 26 TD passes, his interceptions dropped to 15.
A classic drop-back passer, he lacked his father’s mobility but made up for it
with a quick release – not to mention an excellent work ethic. Manning led the
NFL with 357 completions, 4413 yards, and 33 TD passes in 2000 and again was
chosen for the Pro Bowl. Following a lesser year in ’01 as the Colts dropped to
6-10, he bounced back with a third Pro Bowl season in 2002, passing for 4200
yards (his fourth straight year over 4000) and 27 touchdowns. Manning received
MVP recognition in 2003 after leading the NFL in completions (379), yards
(4267), and completion percentage (67.0). He again received MVP honors and was
a consensus first-team All-Pro in 2004 as he set a record with 49 TD passes
while leading the league in passing (121.1 rating) for the first of three
straight years and also topped the NFL in TD percentage (9.9) and yards per
attempt (9.2). He was consensus
first-team All-Pro for the third consecutive year in 2005 and, in ’06, finally
overcame years of frustration in the playoffs as the Colts won the Super Bowl.
Manning led the NFL in TD passes with 31 that year, against just 9
interceptions. In 2007, he was selected to his sixth straight Pro Bowl (eighth
overall) and was over 4000 passing yards for the eighth time, but the Colts
were upset by the Chargers in the AFC Divisional playoff round.
2008 Season Summary
Appeared and
started in all 16 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Passing
Attempts – 555
[5]
Most attempts,
game – 49 vs. Chicago 9/7
Completions –
371 [4]
Most completions,
game – 32 at San Diego 11/23
Yards – 4002 [6]
Most yards,
game – 364 at Jacksonville 12/18
Completion
percentage – 66.8 [3]
Yards per
attempt – 7.2 [13, tied with four others]
TD passes – 27
[5]
Most TD
passes, game – 3 vs. Baltimore 10/12, at Pittsburgh 11/9, vs. Cincinnati 12/7,
at Jacksonville 12/18
Interceptions
– 12 [11, tied with four others]
Most
interceptions, game – 2 on five occasions
Passer rating
– 95.0 [5]
300-yard
passing games – 4
200-yard
passing games – 14
Rushing
Attempts – 20
Most
attempts, game - 4 (for 8 yds.) at Houston 10/5
Yards – 21
Most yards,
game – 12 yards (on 1 carry) vs. Jacksonville 9/21
Yards per
attempt – 1.1
TDs – 1
Scoring
TDs – 1
Points – 6
Postseason: 1
G (AFC Wild Card playoff at San Diego)
Pass attempts
– 42
Pass
completions – 25
Passing
yardage – 310
TD passes – 1
Interceptions
– 0
Rushing
attempts – 1
Rushing yards
– -1
Average gain
rushing – -1.0
Rushing TDs –
0
Awards & Honors:
NFL MVP: AP, PFWA,
Sporting News
1st
team All-NFL: AP, PFWA
Pro Bowl
Colts went 12-4
to finish second in the AFC South and qualify for a Wild Card berth in the
postseason. Lost AFC Wild Card playoff to San Diego Chargers (23-17).
Aftermath:
Manning was
again a consensus first-team All-NFL selection and MVP honoree in 2009 as the
Colts won the AFC Championship. He started 208 regular season games at
quarterback until sidelined for all of 2011 with a neck injury. Released by the
Colts and signed by the Denver Broncos for 2012, Manning made a successful
comeback and led the NFL in completion percentage (68.6) while passing for 4659
yards and 37 TDs, garnering consensus first-team All-Pro honors for the sixth
time as well as selection to a 12th Pro Bowl. Through 2012, he had
passed for 59,487 yards, with 12 seasons over 4000, and 436 TD passes.
--
MVP Profiles feature players who were named MVP or
Player of the Year in the NFL, AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974), or
USFL (1983-85) by a recognized organization (Associated Press, Pro Football
Writers Association, Newspaper Enterprise Association, United Press
International, The Sporting News, Maxwell Club – Bert Bell Award, or the league
itself).
No comments:
Post a Comment