With training camp a little more than a month away, Indy Football Report Editor John Oehser will spend the final weeks of the off-season examining 21 questions about the Indianapolis Colts entering 2010 . . .
No. 21: Can QB Peyton Manning keep getting better?
We lead off this series examining 21 questions around the Indianapolis Colts asking what has become an annual topic in recent seasons: Can QB Peyton Manning keep getting better?
This year's answer is similar to last year's:
It's not wise to say no until there's evidence to suggest otherwise.
Manning, entering his 13th season as the Colts' quarterback, not only has shown no signs of a production drop-off in recent seasons, he has improved in recent seasons, last season winning his second consecutive Associated Press National Football League Most Valuable Player Award and leading the Colts to a second Super Bowl appearance in four seasons.
This being the off-season, and this being the internet age, the blogosphere and mainstream media are full of debate over Manning's place in history, and they're also full of debate over Manning's ability as a post-season quarterback and whether him “only” having won one Super Bowl will somehow be a negative to his “legacy.”
Such questions are interesting talk-show fodder, but have little to do with the the reality of Manning's importance to the Colts, and his play on the field.
The reality of that is his play on the field has continued to improve by the season, and that he is perhaps more important to the Colts than any other player in the NFL to his team, with Colts Head Coach Jim Caldwell during the Colts' 2010 organized team activities saying there's little reason to believe that – even at age 34 – Manning won't continue to improve.
“He’s a very unusual guy,” Caldwell said. “Every year, he kind of goes through this process where he and (Quarterbacks Coach) Frank (Reich) will sit down and take a look at what he was able to accomplish last year. They’ll look at all his strengths and weaknesses. He’ll review every single snap of every game that he played, and they will look at it, not just glancing over it, but I’m talking about in detail.
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