Peyton Manning Biography and Pictures

Biography

Born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Peyton Manning is the son of New Orleans Saints quarterback, Archie Manning and the older brother of University of Mississippi quarterback, Eli Manning. Peyton played college football for University of Tennessee and was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the 1st round (1st overall) in the 1998 NFL Draft.

Peyton Manning was the 2003 NFL co-MVP according to the Associated Press. He shared the honor with Tennessee Titans quarterback, Steve McNair. After many people criticized Manning for being 0-3 in the playoffs, he won his first NFL playoff game against the Denver Broncos on January 4, 2004. Manning's Passer Rating in the Colt's playoff games against the Broncos and Chiefs was a perfect 158.3 rating.

A former female trainer at the University of Tennessee filed a defamation lawsuit against Peyton Manning in 1999 for a 1996 encounter during which Manning, at the time a quarterback at Tennessee, dropped his pants in front of the trainer. The lawsuit was later resolved in December 2003.

Despite the fact that his statistical output places him in the highest echelon of NFL quarterbacks, Manning has been criticized for being unable to win "big games". Due to this, his ability to perform and lead his team in clutch situations has been called into question by some. He has had this problem since his college days at Tennessee.

Critics focus on Manning's games against Steve Spurrier's University of Florida teams: three straight early-season losses that spelled the end of Tennessee's national title hopes. Manning finished his college career with a record of 26-4 against SEC opponents: 0-3 against Florida, 26-1 against everyone else (the loss was to Alabama). The always wry Spurrier once said, "I know why Peyton returned for his senior year, he wanted to be a three-time Citrus Bowl MVP," referring to the fact that the Citrus Bowl was the designated game for the second-best SEC team; Spurrier would also quip that "you can't spell Citrus without UT." Critics also note that the Volunteers won the national championship the year after Manning graduated. Manning's supporters note that the Vols won the SEC title in his senior year, and that the Florida teams were legendary during those years, winning the national championship in 1996, losing in the title game in 1995, and being very highly ranked during this time. They also note that in the 1996 and 1997 games against Florida, Manning passed for 475 and 353 yards respectively. His 1997 loss to the Gators is believed to have cost him the Heisman Trophy, which went to Charles Woodson of Michigan.

Manning's problems have continued in the NFL, where his Colts have failed to reach the Super Bowl despite his statistical performances and the Colts' strong regular-season records. His detractors point to his record against the Patriots (1-7), especially the AFC Championship Game of the 2004 season, where he and the Colts suffered yet another defeat by the defending champions. They also cite the 2002 season's AFC Wild Card game, where the New York Jets shut out Indianapolis 41-0. An ESPN.COM commentator noted after the Colt's 2005 divisional upset loss to the Steelers that "Manning's career almost certainly will lead him to an induction ceremony in Canton, Ohio, but he rarely is at his best in the biggest spots. Some of his worst performances have come in the playoffs, when Tom Brady, Troy Aikman or Joe Montana achieved the most. A heavy pass rush often turns Manning into a quarterback with happy feet who forces passes".

Because of this, Manning sometimes is compared to Dan Marino, another quarterback who put up great numbers but never won a Super Bowl. A notable commentator who made this comparison was Boomer Esiason. Other comparisons have been made to John Elway, an exceptional quarterback who didn't win his first Super Bowl until near the end of his career.

Peyton Manning also appeared on Saturday Night Live.

Records for Peyton Manning

• Consecutive seasons with 4,000+ yards: 6, from 1999–2004 (Dan Marino is the only other quarterback to have had six 4,000-yard seasons, though not in succession)
• Consecutive seasons with 25+ TD passes: 8, from 1998-2005 (current)
• Games with perfect passer rating: 4 (includes 1 playoff game; most perfect games of any QB since passer rating was created by the NFL in 1973)
• Only player to pass for 3,000+ yards in each of his first 8 seasons in the NFL. (current)
• Manning has started every game since he has been in the NFL, a streak currently at 128 games, the longest career-opening streak for a QB. (current)

2004 season

During the 2004 season Peyton Manning broke several single season passing records, including:

• Touchdowns: 49 (previously held by Dan Marino with 48 in 1984)
• Passer rating: 121.1 (previously held by Steve Young with 112.8 in 1994)
• Consecutive games with at least 4 TD passes: 5 (previously held by Marino with 4 TDs in 4 consecutive games in 1984)
• 5 TD passes in 4 different games in less than 12 months (previously held by Marino)
• First QB to throw 10+ TD passes to each of 3 different receivers in 1 season (14, Marvin Harrison; 12, Reggie Wayne; 10, Brandon Stokley). The Colts are the only team ever to have 3 WRs with 10+ TDs in 1 season.
• Although not an NFL record, Manning threw 6 TD passes in a little over a half against the Detroit Lions on November 25. It was the second time in his career that Manning achieved this (also in 2003 and he has been the only NFL player to throw 6 TDs in 1 game since 1991.

Manning and Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison hold a number of QB-WR tandem records:

• Completions: 664 (set in 2004; previously held by Buffalo Bills QB Jim Kelly and WR Andre Reed)
• Yards: 10,034 (as of November 13, 2005; previously held by Kelly and Reed)
• Touchdowns: 94 (set October 17, 2005; previously held by San Francisco 49ers QB Steve Young and WR Jerry Rice, with 86)

College and miscellaneous

• Peyton Manning also holds two NCAA records, eight SEC records and 33 school records from his four years at the University of Tennessee, as well as numerous Colts season and career records.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

• 33,189 passing yards
• 244 passing touchdowns
• 130 interceptions
• 80-48 record as a starter

Postseason

• 422 passes attempted
• 193 passes completed
• 2,461 passing yards
• 15 passing touchdowns
• 8 passes intercepted
• 3-6 postseason record
• 52.8 passing attempts per interception in the postseason