QB No. 3: Peyton Manning

My number three quarterback coming into the 2013 season is going to be Peyton Manning. Manning has seen it all in his 16-year career. He is a 4-time MVP, a 12-time Pro Bowler, and perhaps most importantly a Super Bowl Champion, and MVP in that particular SB. He's thrown for over 4,000 yards in 12 of the 14 seasons that he's actually played in. His MVP seasons were spectacular, especially the '04 campaign. That year he threw for 4,500 yards while tossing 49 TD and only 10 INT! (At the time, he broke the single-season TD record)

The bugaboo for Peyton has always been the postseason. I don't think many people could argue for someone other than Peyton Manning as the greatest REGULAR SEASON QB in NFL history. Maybe Brett Favre. Maybe. But for all his greatness, and everyone acknowledges his greatness, he's only managed nine playoff wins compared to eleven losses. Dumbfounding, no? And it's not as if the talent hasn't been great around him. Okay, the first couple of playoff appearances are excusable. But once the years of Harrison, Wayne, and Clark arrived, he couldn't ask for better weapons. In his peak years in Indy, '02-'10, he could only manage two Super Bowl appearances. I honestly can't figure out why, but he does seem to be worse in playoff games. He seems to make more mistakes then we're used to seeing, more turnovers. Even last year, with the Broncos, Manning and the Broncos were heavily favored against the Baltimore Ravens at home. He played fairly well, but threw two costly INT. One of which set up the game-winning FG for Baltimore. This season the Broncos added Wes Welker, who should contribute to an already stacked WR corps. The pressure is once again on Manning because the Broncos are heavy favorites to reach the Super Bowl, and one of the favorites to win it all.

Let's not get it twisted. I love Peyton Manning. It's just that when you're ranking guys in the top three you have to nitpick a little bit. The only reasons I can dock Peyton from being number one or two have to do with his age/injury concerns over his neck, as well as his playoff performances. Both in the past and recent appearances. This guy is without question a first-ballot Hall of Famer, one of the "good" guys in the sport, and personally one of my favorite QB I've had the privilege to watch over the years. But for the 2013 season, I believe there are two guys that I'd rather have.

Projections: 4,750 yards, 44 TD, 13 INT