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Silverman: Just Like Eli And Brady, Don't Write Peyton Off Just Yet

By Steve Silverman
» More Columns

The second half of the season has not been a very good one for Peyton Manning.

Suddenly, the 38-year-old quarterback looks vulnerable, tired and past his point of usefulness with the Denver Broncos. The whispers have turned into a dull roar, and suddenly Manning finds himself in the same position that brother Eli was in last year and at the start of this season, and in a similar spot to Tom Brady in the first month of the season.

The critics are always quick to point out when greatness is starting to slip away. Take a look at some of Peyton's second-half performances and it doesn't look like the quarterback who was strafing opposing defenses through the first half of the year.

Manning passed for a grand total of 179 yards in Week 13 against the Kansas City Chiefs, and he followed that with a 173-yard showing against Buffalo the following week. He threw a total of two TD passes in those two games.

It was just a tad better in the Broncos' 22-10 win over San Diego in Week 15, as he threw for 210 yards and one TD. But last Monday against the Bengals, Manning got hammered by a defense that he normally would have eviscerated.

Manning completed 28 of 44 passes for 311 yards and two TDs, but threw four interceptions as the Bengals came away with a much-needed 37-28 victory.

Manning looked confused and beaten as he tried to rally the Broncos and allow them to remain in contention for the top seed in the AFC. He looked pathetic when his short pass in the flat was intercepted and taken to the house by Bengals cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick in the fourth quarter.

But there's a funny thing about Hall of Fame quarterbacks who go through a few bad games. Their careers are not over and they find a way to bounce back. Critics were wrong to write off Eli and they were wrong when they said Brady no longer had it.

Those who are saying the same thing about Peyton are even more mistaken.

The Broncos have a chance to reverse this situation in a direct and functional manner. The Broncos close the season at home this week against the Raiders. A win by Denver will assure the Broncos of a bye in the AFC playoffs, and that's vital to a Manning recovery.

If the Broncos can take care of the Raiders in the first half by securing some of the protection problems they have had in recent weeks, they can get Manning out of the game by the midway point of the third quarter.

Once that happens, he gets a chance to rest and rehab from some of the brutal hits he has taken in the second half of the year. While he's recovering, offensive coordinator Adam Gase has to find a way to secure the protection schemes for an opponent like Pittsburgh, Cincinnati or Indianapolis.

It should not be too difficult, because none of those teams are defensive juggernauts, despite what Cincinnati accomplished last week. Manning and the Broncos should be able to survive a home game against one of those opponents.

It will most likely come down to another trip to New England, to take on Brady and the Patriots. Last year, Denver had home-field advantage and took apart the Patriots. This time around, New England will be favored to return the favor.

Many stories will be written about how the time has come for Peyton, and that he simply doesn't have enough left in the tank to beat the Pats and get another crack at the Super Bowl.

None of it will be true. He may not throw the ball with the same velocity he had in his prime with the Colts, but he is smarter than ever and he has seen every defense imaginable. Nobody is going to outsmart him.

Beating Manning means out-executing him and playing better. Opposing defenses are not going to outthink him.

So while many are quick to write him off and say he no longer has the ability to get the job done, don't believe it for a second.

The problems that have revealed themselves in the last month are all correctable, and Manning is in a perfect position to make the critics regret their words.

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