Broncos front office boss John Elway wants Peyton Manning to get more credit.
Elway says when people talk about Manning and Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, they talk like Manning has never won a big game, the way Brady has, and gloss over the fact that Manning does, in fact, have a Super Bowl ring on his finger and a Super Bowl MVP award on his mantel.
“He’s won a Super Bowl. For some reason he doesn’t seem to get the credit for having won one Super Bowl already,” Elway told the New Daily News. “I think maybe the comparison is Tom going to five and Peyton having been to two and winning one, that may be it.”
Elway knows first-hand that quarterbacks are often judged more by the number of rings they’ve won than by the quality of their play: Elway himself was a better all-around quarterback early in his career than he was in the last two seasons of his career. But it was only in those last two seasons -- when Elway had a more complete team around him -- that he won back-to-back Super Bowl rings and permanently changed the way he’s viewed.
“Fair or not, that’s the way it is,” Elway said. “As a quarterback, especially the level you’re at with Peyton, that’s what they are going to look at. If we can win a championship this year, it’s going to help with Peyton’s legacy. Even if we don’t, I think the year that he’s had this year is going to still help with his legacy. He’s had a tremendous year. For some reason, Peyton is not getting the credit — he’s been there twice and he got one. You get to the point where Peyton is, the greatness that he’s had, there is always someone trying to put chinks in the armor and that’s what they go after.”
If the Broncos win another Super Bowl, Manning’s critics will have a lot less to criticize.