Manning to Broncos doesn’t ensure anything!

Baltimore middle linebacker Ray Lewis.

Maybe it’s me Eye On Sports NFL football lovers, but I’m just not a huge believer that Peyton Manning is instantly going to turn the Denver Broncos into a legitimate Super Bowl title contender.

Yes, I know that playing in the mediocre AFC West will give him a chance to lead Denver to a division title and playoff berth every season, but I say it still doesn’t guarantee the Broncos much of anything – mostly because they’ll be trying to get past a trio of ‘better’ teams in New England, Baltimore and Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh safety Troy Polamalu.

Besides, the aforementioned trio I also expect Houston and Cincinnati to be better than the Broncos moving forward into the next couple of seasons, with both teams having excellent defenses and very solid quarterbacks.

Hell, you also never know what the AFC West is going to bring each season – as Kansas City, San Diego and Oakland are all teams that could challenge for the division title.

While Peyton Manning signing with the Denver Broncos does make them a lot better on offense than they were a year ago, it certainly doesn’t ensure them of winning the AFC or a Super Bowl title. As a matter of fact, I believe Denver will be hard-pressed to win the AFC each and every season Manning remains with the Broncos.

Love Him or Loathe Him – Eli Manning’s Elite!

Love him or loathe him,
you've got to admit that Eli Manning is elite.

Has everyone had enough of the ‘Is Eli Manning elite’ talk by now? I know I have – and besides – I thought it was pretty clear that Manning was elite – before he even won his most recent Super Bowl title.

Before Manning collected his second championship trophy this past Sunday, only 10 quarterbacks in league history had managed to win more than one Super Bowl – and now Manning joins that elite group – not just today’s class of elite quarterbacks.

With the win, Manning joined Bart Starr, Bob Griese, Roger Staubach, John Elway, Jim Plunkett and  Ben Roethlisberger as two-time Super Bowl winning quarterbacks. Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw both won four while Troy Aikman and New England's Tom Brady won three apiece.

More importantly, Manning has risen to the occasion at just the right time in both of New York’s Super Bowl runs which tells me he has that special quality to remained poised at the most critical times – an intangible that has ruined many a NFL quarterbacks’ career.

Love him or loathe him – Eli Manning is an elite quarterback – and not just among today’s era of signal-callers either. He’s going down as an all-time great people!