Living legend and soon-to-be Fox NFL lead in-game analyst Tom Brady generated headlines when he recently said “the only reason why” teams play rookie quarterbacks selected with high draft picks is because “we’ve dumbed the game down, which has allowed them to play.”
Hall of Famer Peyton Manning seemingly disagrees with Brady’s take and thinks teams are sometimes to blame for certain signal-callers failing to find success during and after rookie campaigns.
“The problem is, if the rookie quarterbacks struggle early, what do they do? They take him out,” Manning said during an appearance on “The Stephen A. Smith Show,” as shared by Lauren Campbell of MassLive. “I go, ‘No, no, leave him in there. Let him learn the hard way.'”
The Indianapolis Colts made Manning the first pick of the 1998 NFL Draft and later named him their Week 1 starter. As Michael David Smith noted for Pro Football Talk, Manning ultimately set a record for the most interceptions thrown by a rookie (28) in a single season that still exists today.
Of course, things worked out quite well for “The Sheriff” in the end. Manning became arguably the greatest regular-season quarterback in NFL history, earned two Super Bowl rings and retired as an all-time great.
“The game is still hard,” Manning said. “NFL coaches, I think smartly, are doing the best job they can of adapting their offense to the quarterback that is playing. If that means putting in some plays that the player ran in college, I’m for it.”
New York Giants legend Eli Manning, Peyton’s younger brother, thinks that “nothing gets (a rookie quarterback) better prepared for playing football than playing football.” Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals agrees, but Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells reminded everybody this week that “the psychological makeup of the player” must be considered before a team throws a first-year pro “to the wolves.”
Peyton Manning added that the days of NFL teams not running plays featured by college programs because doing so is “beneath us” are in the past. The Colts are one example of a club that studies college film to find ideas for its offense.
“The best quarterbacks that play well, they feel comfortable,” Peyton Manning continued.
Ideally, the Manning brothers will welcome Brady to an upcoming edition of a “ManningCast” alternate “Monday Night Football” broadcast to continue this debate at some point during the 2024 season.
