PART
BEGINNER’S LUCK
AFTER 16 YEARS, PEYTON MANNING FINALLY SEEMS TO BE GETTING THE HANG OF PLAYING QUARTERBACK. HERE’S HOW HE’S PULLING OFF HIS BEST YEAR EVER, WHICH MAY JUST BE THE BEST YEAR EVER.
3
BY SCOTT T. MILLER
DINK AND DUNK
NECK AND NECK
Manning’s 12.3 yards per completion is his best mark since 2004, but his passes are covering only 6.5 yards in the air, his second-shortest average since ESPN Stats & Info began tracking in 2006. Peyton’s receivers are picking up the difference; the Broncos’ 5.8 yards after catch average is nearly a full yard more than any other Manning receiving corps has averaged since ’06.
Conventional wisdom says that to disrupt Manning, you have to pressure him. Last season his 1.2 Total QBR when facing pressure (defined as any time a QB is sacked, forced to scramble, hit while throwing or put under duress) was indicative of a man coming off four neck surgeries. But in 2013, he’s been the NFL’s best when pressured, with a 62.5% completion rate and 27.5 Total QBR.
TOTAL YARDS PER COMPLETION
STATS VS. PRESSURE
12.2
2006
AIR YARDS YAC
MANNING IN 2013 2013 NFL AVG.*
12.0
2007
62.5
YARDS QBR
342 27.5
10.8
2008
11.5
2009
10.4
2010
11.7
2012
COMPLETION %
12.3
YARDS
IN THE ZONE
According to Pro Football Focus, Manning gets rid of the ball in an average of 2.32 seconds, which is 0.14 faster than last season and third best in the league. As a result, D-coordinators have essentially stopped trying to blitz him. Opposing defenses are sending five or more pass rushers on only 22% of Manning’s dropbacks this season, the lowest rate he’s faced since 2006.
ESPN The Magazine 11/25/2013
SECONDS
WHICH WAS A PEYTON MANNING PLAYCALL WITH THE COLTS?
Manning has thrown 532 passes in the red zone since 2006; 155 have resulted in touchdowns and only nine have been intercepted. This season he’s on pace for 40 red zone TDs, which would be the most since the stat has been tracked (Tom Brady threw 34 during his historic 2007 season), and his 98.3 Total QBR in the red zone is more than 35 points higher than the NFL average (60.7).
92.5
88.1
89.3 89.2
98.3
72.4
27
40 *
13
12
10
09
26
20
20
20
20
20
18
20
08
07
20
24
20
06
45.4
20
2 32 PEYTON MANNING
259 2.8
QBR
BLITZ-PROOF
.
40.8
MANNING’S RED ZONE NUMBERS TOTAL QBR TDs * Manning’s 2013 pace
STATS THROUGH WEEK 9.
A: “Louisville Soul Train” B: “Tennessee Mud, Orange Cream”
ANSWER: A. “Tennessee Mud” and “Orange Cream” are retired Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavors that sound suspiciously like they were named by Manning while an undergrad at Tennessee.
2013
90
COMPLETION %
* Among QBs with minimum 15 action plays per team game
illustration by KELSEY DAKE; photograph by DOMINIC DiSAIA