Peyton Manning, Whiner

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This is awesome.  I’ve long been surprised at the pass Peyton Manning gets from the media when he screams at his players.  He does it constantly, in virtually every game I’ve seen him play.  (I’ve noted this on the site before.  In mid-December, ESPN rated Manning the #2 QB in the game and Favre the #3 QB in the game, despite Favre’s better numbers through that point in the season.  After pointing this out in this post, I wrote: “Apparently the judges gave bonus points for arm-flailing before the snap and whining after incompletions, so Manning got the nod.”  Earlier that month we included Manning on a short list of QBs who blame their teammates when things go wrong.)

There is no better example of this than this video clip from YouTube (H/T, profootballtalk.com).  Enjoy.

34 Responses to “Peyton Manning, Whiner”

  1. Cate Says:

    Now that’s disappointing. I’ve never loved Peyton Manning that much, but I have always kinda pulled for the Colts because I respect Tony Dungy so much. This will make pulling for them a bit more difficult.

  2. djburf Says:

    I see Sorgi jumping in there to break it up…..earning his money.

  3. PackerBelle Says:

    I never knew that about Manning. Too bad since I had some respect for him and now not so much. This is partly why I view Favre as probably the greatest QB of this era. He played because he loved the game and if anything took too much on himself. He never blamed the team and he didn’t care about his own individual accomplishments if the team wasn’t doing well. I’m glad that he went out like he did where his individual records were also accompanied by team success.

  4. MC Says:

    Two thoughts:

    1) Sorgi rules

    2) Manning has been doing this crap for years, which is why I was shocked when he actually won a Super Bowl. You rarely, if ever, see a team win the big game with this type of whining, finger-pointing and blame-shifting. (Jim Kelly: 0-4 in such games, to illustrate my point.)

    Football Outsiders have suggested that the Colts’ Super Bowl victory was kind of flukish due to the team’s horrible run defense, and I would submit that the win was also flukish because it was delivered by the privileged, whiny goober seen in the above YouTube clip.

  5. BratsNBeerGuy Says:

    @MC

    And they were playing the Bears.

  6. sfhayes Says:

    Manning has been doing this for years and he never gets called on it. I truly do not understand why. But he’s not nearly as bad as Dan Marino, who berated his teammates throughout their games in infantile outbursts. As MC points out, it’s hard to win when your leader behaves this way and I think it’s one important reason that Marino, for all of his statistical greatness, never won the Super Bowl.

  7. awhayes Says:

    I’ve never been a fan of Peyton Manning. He is good, but he is also a massive whiner as this clip shows. Just watch him during any game, it’s fairly obvious. Some argue he’s just competitive and really into it – BS. The key is to notice WHEN he whines – often if a player broke off a route or didn’t do something Manning expected him to do (or if Manning gets sacked) causing it to appear as though Manning were at fault.

    Another Manning point- his streak of consecutive games is total BS. He is part of an offensive system that has him getting rid of the ball within 2 seconds of drop-back. He almost never gets nailed back there. Sure, part of it is being smart, getting rid of the ball, not forcing things etc. But if Manning someday breaks Favre’s consecutive games streak, it should have an asterisk because Manning will have been hit hard about 1/5 of the times Favre had.

  8. Mann Says:

    Why are you people making such a big deal out of this video? This is old news! Everyone has seen this video before in the show America’s Game on NFL Network, and both Peyton and Jeff even commented about it. We (Colts fans) already know Peyton enough. But of course you bunch of haters are looking for the tiniest excuse to put him down as usual. He’s a leader and shows it on the field, and he doesn’t have to show it in the way to please you.

  9. sfhayes Says:

    We’re not making a big deal out of it. It is what it is. If you’d read the post you would know that we’ve pointed out on several occasions that Peyton Manning is a whiner. Here is evidence. We posted it. End of story. If you want to argue that your quarterback was just caught up in the game or isn’t the asshole he seems to be in the video, we’re for it. In fact, if you want to send us the comments that “Peyton” and “Jeff” have made, we’d all be the better off.

  10. Mann Says:

    Watch the show. Or better, watch football. No one sends flowers on the benches. This is usual. But it’s Peyton, so he’s an ‘asshole’ now.

  11. Celles Says:

    Enjoy? Have you been in a cave or something? This isn’t exactly a video busting Peyton. FYI this clip is part of a Super Bowl special that was broadcasted last year. Youtube just happened to post it a few days ago. I guess you have no cable.

  12. sfhayes Says:

    Responding to Mann: I do watch football and this isn’t “usual.” I can see, however, that if you just watch the Colts how you might believe that.

    And Celles: You’re right. This isn’t a video busting Peyton. It’s a video showing how Peyton often treats his teammates.

    As it happens, I lived in Indiana for four years and I like the Colts. And I think Peyton Manning is a damn fine quarterback. But he’s also an inveterate whiner. And so, apparently, are some Colts fans.

  13. Mann Says:

    Look, that’s our QB when he’s angry ok? I have no problem in how he shows it especially in this video. I actually like it. I want him to be on fire. He may be a whiner, i’ll take that, but i prefer a whiner on fire unlike others. You may see it differently and that’s fine too, we don’t have to agree.

  14. PackerBelle Says:

    There is a difference in my opinion between being fired up and yelling at your teammates. A true leader fires up his team through his own actions and through challenging them. Yelling at them to a point where another teammate has to intervene doesn’t get people fired up – it gets them upset and destroys team morale. Favre was great at firing people up and getting his teammates motivated without yelling at them. He did it by working harder than anyone and by getting fired up himself. I’ve never seen any video of him doing something like this – and for the NFL player with the most video taken of him of any player that says something.

  15. Mann Says:

    Well, again, that’s how he reacts when the team is not listening to him. You don’t like it, so be it.

  16. PackerBelle Says:

    I think it is a mark of a poor leader to do that. There are far better ways of getting people’s attention than screaming at him. Favre never needed to scream at people like that to get them to pay attention. He had their attention and respect without it.

  17. Cheeseheads Says:

    I’m gonna send a couple packages of pampers to packer nation because apparently they don’t get mad at each other over there. Lollipops and smiles all around. Quick group hug on the frozen tundra. Whining is not running over to 300 pound men, getting in their face, and telling them to get their act together. But apparently with a QB that frequently breaks down and cries on national TV, I could see how that would be confusing. And finally, if any QB gets a media pass it’s Brett Farve. He has been an interception machine stuck in mediocrity for several years now. But everyone is too steeped in nostalgia to notice. He won one SB but everyone acts like he won twelve. Talk about a media golden boy, oh ya betcha, ya.

  18. MC Says:

    Favre never needed to scream at people like that to get them to pay attention. He had their attention and respect without it.

    Ditto for Montana, Young, Elway, Aikman, Brady, Starr, Bradshaw, Simms and nearly every good-to-great quarterback with a Super Bowl victory on his resume.

    None of them berated their teammates like Peyton does.

    And the “I’m just trying to be a good teammate here” post-game comments from a couple years ago was as passive aggressive a statement I’ve ever heard from a so-called championship-caliber quarterback.

    Eli may never put up the numbers his big bro does, but I wouldn’t be shocked if he claims more championship trophies than Peyton when all is said and done.

  19. PackerBelle Says:

    Cheeseheads, they do get upset with each other – they just deal with it with class rather than screaming. Ryan Grant fumbled twice within the opening minutes of the Seattle playoff game which led to the Packers being down 14-0 right away. Ryan Grant obviously needed to get his act together. Not one Packer yelled at him. Brett Favre certainly didn’t – in fact he encouraged him to shake it off because they still needed him. And Ryan Grant went on to have a heck of a game.

    Brett Favre has the best winning record of any team in the NFL over the past 16 seasons. And he did that despite having no name receivers for years, bad defenses (4th and 26 still makes me cringe) and crappy coaches. When he finally got talent around him and a good coach he finished with the best passer rating in the playoffs after a 13-3 record (tied for a Packer best) and runner up for league MVP. That doesn’t sound like mediocrity to me.

  20. Brett Favre, Mediocre? « packergeeks Says:

    […] mediocrity” for years.  (Anyone in reading the entire comment can do so at the end of this post.  If you do read it, be sure to treat yourself to PackerBelle’s devastating smack-down […]

  21. Mann Says:

    Gimme a break this is FOOTBALL. Everyone talks about football being like war, soldiers, gladiators, but god forbids someone yells at a teammate when he’s angry cause now he’s a whiner and classless. Saturday made a call that he shouldn’t have and that’s what made Peyton angry. He was heated up and ended up yelling at him. THE END. It didn’t go pass that, watch the damn show where this clip was shown on NFLnetwork a year ago.

    And those of you saying this happens in every single game, prove it! He may not be perfect but Peyton wouldn’t be where he is now and made the Colts the team it is now if he was nothing but a classless whiner. As a player Peyton has more qualities than flaws.

  22. awhayes Says:

    Just to clarify for Mann/Cheeseheads, I don’t think packergeeks, MC and Packerbelle are saying that Manning isn’t good. He is good – very good and he does in fact help his team win a lot. Our argument has more to do with HOW Manning wins and the fact that this video clip does not depict an isolated incident. Our point is simply that Manning yells at teammates too much to NOT be considered a whiner. Think of it this way: it’s like having a hard-driving boss whose leadership really helps the company grow financially, but his style is so intense that he has no problem yelling at coworkers/subordinates in front of others. He wouldn’t be fun to work for – same with Manning. Read up on leadership and you’ll learn that there are many more effective ways to handle the stress of errors. (In fact, look no further than your coach to observe one of the classiest, most effective leaders around).

  23. Mann Says:

    Yes, agree overall. But like i said, you’re judging him over that video and you’re claiming Peyton does that all the time, and he doesn’t. He’s a leader and gets along well with his teammates. And if you still say he does it all the time, then it’s fair to share this video of these other things Peyton also does all the time to his teammates during a game.

  24. PackerBelle Says:

    I think Peyton Manning is a very good QB. But to me, a truly great player is someone who excels at all aspects of the game both on and off the field. Screaming at someone for a mistake to a point where another player has to step in and intervene isn’t what a great player does. It ultimately comes down to personal preference. I think that screaming like that diminishes a player. You apparently don’t.

    As for whether or not he does this all the time, I can’t really comment on that. I do know that I’ve never seen Brett Favre do anything like that despite being a fairly die hard Packer fan for years. I just wonder if I went and listened to some interviews with Mr. Manning after losses what I would hear.

  25. Mann Says:

    >>”Screaming at someone for a mistake to a point where another player has to step in and intervene isn’t what a great player does.”<<

    That happened in that video. I insist that you are judging him over one video. He was heated up, he admitted that it was wrong, and Saturday also admitted his part, this is a very old story that was already told but you guys are bringing this up as if it was his daily soup.

  26. sfhayes Says:

    We’re not judging him over one video. We said the same thing before ever seeing this video (check the archives or read the original post). He does it routinely, especially when the Colts are losing. Come back during the season and we’ll point it out every time he does it if you like.

  27. MC Says:

    Just to clarify for Mann/Cheeseheads, I don’t think packergeeks, MC and Packerbelle are saying that Manning isn’t good. He is good – very good and he does in fact help his team win a lot.

    Quite true. Judging him on wins and stats alone, he is an absolute stud. And he’s probably an OK guy to hang out with, given proper medication.

    But his intangibles are sometimes complete garbage.

  28. Mann Says:

    More qualities than flaws. That’s all i see.

  29. PackerBelle Says:

    I don’t know about that. His attitude seems to stink. After a quick search on the internet I found two quotes that irked me. “”It seems like for so long it’s been ‘Colts win’, but then ‘Peyton Manning loses. Either give me all the credit when we win or give the team the blame when we lose. The way it should be is Colts win or Colts lose. That’s the way I always thought it was.” (from after the Baltimore playoff game in 2007). And “I’m trying to be a good teammate here. Let’s just say we had some problems in protection.” from after a loss to Pittsburgh. So now that’s at least three separate occasions with minimal looking. It makes me wonder what a more thorough search would find.

    A good leader doesn’t blame his mistakes on his protection. He also doesn’t complain over who is given the credit for wins or losses. One more reason to miss Favre. He always gave the team credit for wins and he always took responsibility for his own part in losses.

  30. Mann Says:

    What Peyton is doing in the first quote is citing how the press treats him and the Colts. They go to the exremes, either him or the team. He’s restating what the press is doing NOT what he does. Either blame him and credits the team, or viceversa. Then he said the way it SHOULD be done which is Colts win or Colts loose. I won’t argue about the other quote cause i admit that was plain stupid.

    I see you guys are determined in keeping the flaws on top of the qualities in him. No matter what you say, he’s a good leader who has made a big impact and difference in Indianapolis. He’s human, not perfect. He’s already a future HOFer and god willing with a few more years to play.

  31. MC Says:

    Mann: If the temper tantrums and underhanded comments are OK with Tony Dungy and the guys in the locker room, then, hey, more power to them all.

    Things are different in Green Bay, though, largely because of Favre. I mean, I really can’t see the “I’m just trying to be a good teammate here” line sitting well with, oh, Frank Winters, for example.

  32. djburf Says:

    Check out the little girl pushing Manning over…….wuss.

  33. Mann Says:

    Yeah the bullfight dance, classic. Anyway, here’s the full version of the video of the incident, someone posted at the colts.com forum. If you care to watch it, do it before it’s taken out for copyright crap, i’m sure it will. The thing starts from min 5:45 to 7:50 so you see the kiss and make up.

  34. Mann Says:

    Btw, i’m not trying to prove anything with this video. Just that these two guys are like brothers and they can scream at each other if they want.

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