Quarterback, Indianapolis
Age: 33
12th
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 2008, he was selected to his seventh
straight Pro Bowl (ninth overall) and was over 4000 passing yards for the ninth
time, and again received MVP recognition (AP, PFWA, Sporting News), although
the team lost to the Steelers in the AFC Championship game.
2009 Season Summary
Appeared and
started in all 16 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Passing
Attempts – 571
[2]
Most
attempts, game – 50 vs. Houston 11/8
Completions –
393 [2]
Most
completions, game – 36 at Tennessee 10/11
Yards – 4500 [2]
Most yards,
game – 379 at Arizona 9/27
Completion
percentage – 68.8 [2, 1st in AFC]
Yards per
attempt – 7.9 [8, tied with Brett Favre & Eli Manning]
TD passes – 33
[2, tied with Brett Favre, 1st in AFC]
Most TD
passes, game – 4 at Arizona 9/27, vs. New England 11/15, vs. Denver 12/13, at
Jacksonville 12/17
Interceptions
– 16 [7, tied with Matt Cassel]
Most
interceptions, game – 3 vs. Denver 12/13
Passer rating
– 99.9 [6]
300-yard
passing games – 9
200-yard
passing games – 14
Rushing
Attempts – 19
Most
attempts, game - 3 (for -4 yds.) vs. Jacksonville 9/13, (for -3 yds.) vs.
Denver 12/13, (for -3 yds.) at Jacksonville 12/17
Yards – -13
Most yards, game
– 3 yards (on 1 carry) at Miami 9/21
Yards per
attempt – -0.7
TDs – 0
Postseason: 3
G
Pass attempts
– 128
Most
attempts, game - 45 vs. New Orleans, Super Bowl
Pass
completions – 87
Most
completions, game - 31 vs. New Orleans, Super Bowl
Passing yardage
– 956
Most yards,
game - 377 vs. NY Jets, AFC Championship
TD passes – 6
Most TD
passes, game - 3 vs. NY Jets, AFC Championship
Interceptions
– 2
Most
interceptions, game - 1 vs. Baltimore, AFC Divisional playoff, vs. New Orleans,
Super Bowl
Rushing attempts
– 3
Most rushing
attempts, game - 2 vs. Baltimore, AFC Divisional playoff
Rushing yards
– -2
Most rushing
yards, game - 0 vs. NY Jets, AFC Championship
Average gain
rushing – -0.7
Rushing TDs –
0
Awards & Honors:
NFL MVP: AP, PFWA,
Sporting News
1st
team All-NFL: AP, PFWA
2nd
team All-NFL: Pro Football Focus, Sporting News
Pro Bowl
Colts went 14-2
to finish first in the AFC West with the best record in the conference while
leading the AFC in touchdowns (53). Won AFC Divisional playoff over Baltimore
Ravens (20-3) and AFC Championship over New York Jets (30-17). Lost Super Bowl
to New Orleans Saints (31-17).
Aftermath:
Manning was
again a Pro Bowl selection in 2010, but after starting 208 regular season games
at quarterback, he was 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, and had an even bigger year in 2013 as he
set records with 5477 passing yards and 55 TD passes, again attaining MVP
honors while the Broncos won the AFC title. Through 2013, he had passed for 64,964
yards, with 13 seasons over 4000, and 491 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).
[Updated 12/2/14]
[Updated 12/2/14]
