Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning leaves the field after an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2014, in Denver. Manning has broken Brett Favre's record for touchdown passes with his 509th. The Broncos won 42-17.Peyton Manning is a common topic around these parts, and we know there are some who think he's the bee's knees and some who circle his postseason mediocrity as the defining part of a great but not an all-time career.
We understand the angle of each camp.
Manning set the all-time NFL career passing touchdowns mark Sunday night and now has 510. It's a big number that certainly will grow, and depending on how long he plays it could reach the impossible heights nearing 600. It's an accomplishment that's awesome in its awesomeness.
He will grab almost every meaningful record a quarterback can. He may not win another title, but he might.
Still, we as a sports culture are always looking for flaws and angles to arguments and debates that allow the beauty of the sporting greats to be in the eye of the beholder.
And for some reason, we are quick to downgrade those with some of the most meaningful and impressive records of all time.
Consider the following:
We consistently debate Manning's place in NFL history. We can't see anyone leaving him off the Rushmore of quarterbacks, but there are quite a few people who do not believe he is the best ever. That debate hinges mostly on championships, and, well, quarterbacks always have received too much credit for winning and too much blame for losing, but so it goes.
And Manning is far from alone with a wall full of impressive records who are seldom regarded as the best ever.
Take Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Dude had the single most unstoppable move in the history of team sports. He was a multiple-time champion and MVP. He was the greatest college player of all time. And while we concur that Michael Jordan is likely the GOAT in NBA history, Abdul-Jabbar rarely even cracks better than third-team status at his own position.
Likewise, you can make a hard argument that Hank Aaron is the most underrated baseball player in history. Dude has the non-PED record with 755 homers and still holds the records with 2,297 RBIs and almost 6,900 total bases. And while we think Babe Ruth likely is the best -- he played in such a different era, and the fact that in 1929 Ruth hit more homers than every other American League team is quite possibly the single most dominating stat in team sports -- but Aaron, like Abdul-Jabbar, is frequently left off all-time teams.
Why? Do we try to dismiss the obvious choice of guys such as Manning, Abdul-Jabbar and Aaron who quite simply threw it better, scored it better and hit it out more often than everyone else?
Crazy, right?
Either way, we'll tip the visor to Peyton today. Dude has been a picture of professionalism in the league. No one is better prepared or better positioned for success. And that's a great tribute to Manning the person as well as Manning the player.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com.