Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning underwent a tremendous team makeover from the 2008 to the 2009 season. First, head coach Tony Dungy, who won a Super Bowl with Manning in the 2006 season, retired to become an analyst on NBC. Then, wide receiver Marvin Harrison, who along with Manning holds the all-time record for quarterback-to-wide receiver touchdowns, yards, and completions, left the Colts.
Following the departures of key personnel, the Colts replaced them with rookie head coach Jim Caldwell and unknown receivers Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon. In addition, the Colts entered the 2009 season with Anthony Gonzalez primed to breakout as the team’s number two receiver, behind Reggie Wayne. However, Gonzalez damaged his MCL in his knee during the first quarter of the first game of the regular season. He would not return for the rest of the year. Things looked bleaker for the Colts following the opening game of the regular season.
However, Manning overcame all of the transformation to have his greatest season as a professional, if not the best season in the history of the NFL. First, despite having one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL, Manning made adjustments to counter inefficiencies in protection. Tony Ugoh, who the Colts drafted in 2007 to supplant Tarik Glenn as left tackle, switched to guard. That left Charlie Johnson, a sixth round draft pick, to play guard. Mike Pollak, a player who contemplated quitting football, anchored one of the guard positions. In fact, the porous offensive line contributed to the league’s worst rushing attack.
Yet, Manning’s constant pre-snap audibles at the line of scrimmage put the linemen in a better position to succeed. In spite of the troubles at the line, opponents only sacked Manning 10 times all season.
Next, Manning groomed two unknown receivers into quality forces in the NFL. First Pierre Garcon, a sixth round draft pick in 2008 from Mount Union, only caught four passes for 23 yards prior to this season. This year, through Manning’s guidance, Garcon enjoyed a breakout season with 47 receptions for 765 yards and four touchdowns in the regular season. Furthermore, Austin Collie, a rookie fourth-round draft pick, caught 60 passes for 676 yards and seven touchdowns.
Then, in the postseason, teams double covered both tight end Dallas Clark and Reggie Wayne, leaving single coverage for both Collie and Garcon. The young receivers responded, as both Garcon and Collie accumulated over 120 yards receiving and a touchdown each in the AFC Championship victory over the New York Jets.
Moreover, along with providing invaluable assistance to teammates, Manning enjoyed a spectacular statistical season. He established career highs in completions and completion percentage while passing for a total of 4500 yards. Furthermore, he threw for over 300 yards passing in eight out of the team’s first nine games. Overall, he threw for 33 touchdowns and had a quarterback rating of 99.9.
While other quarterbacks may have had a higher rating than Manning, few had a larger impact on his team than the Colts quarterback. In fact, in the 16 games that Manning played the entire game, including the postseason, the Colts won each and every single one of those. He even did that with inferior and inexperienced talent around him on both sides of the ball.
In fact, Manning often instilled confidence in his youthful and depleted defense through his presence alone. The Colts defense could play every game thinking they could surrender some points and still have a chance to win, since Manning could always lead his team to victory. This season alone, Manning orchestrated seven come-from-behind wins, including one over the Jets in the AFC Championship game.
Therefore, with the combination of mixing in new personnel and still playing at an exceptional level on the field, Peyton Manning had arguably the greatest season in the history of the NFL.
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