Media are missing the potentially-awesome Peyton Manning narrative

It is Friday.  The NFL playoffs are in full swing.  So my biases are feeling real good.  It’s like going commando, and it feels good (don’t act like going commando doesn’t feel good).

So, while I’m “freeballing,” let me go ahead and defend my man, Peyton Manning.

The most popular media narrative: “This is the most important postseason of Peyton Manning’s career.  If he loses in the playoffs again, especially with a first-game exit, he will cement his status as shakiest playoff quarterback of all-time, given his career regular season mastery.”

Yeah, yeah.  We hear this every year.  And it always pisses me off (bias!).  It pisses me off, in part, because we’re doing it with a Super Bowl champion.  A guy whose been to two Super Bowls as well.

The narrative is unneeded. Two Super Bowl appearances, one championship and the greatest regular season quarterback of all time.  Does that mean “Greatest Of All Time?”  It can be argued that even if he breaks a leg (or has another neck surgery) before his divisional playoff game against the San Diego Chargers this weekend, he’s still the greatest QB of all-time.

Whether you agree with that or not is another debate for another day.  But here’s what the gasbags are missing.

What if Peyton wins this season?

How come no one talks about that?  If he wins, to me (bias!), he cements his spot as the greatest quarterback of all-time.

Yes, even if he just has two Super Bowls to his name.  Who else has done it with two teams? No one.

Just add that to his records (I really shouldn’t have to do this list, but I will anyway) for most career comebacks, game-winning drives.  Single-season records (as a bleeping 37-year-old) for passing yards and passing touchdowns in a season.  Give him another year and he’ll break Brett Favre’s all-time passing touchdown record.  Two more seasons: Favre’s passing yards record falls to Manning.

And, again, he will have won rings with two different teams.

Instead of the “what if he loses again?” narrative, how about the “what if he wins?” narrative?

Or is that too positive?