Let's talk about Peyton Manning now. A show of hands, please, from people who still contend

that Manning is the greatest quarterback ever to play the game.

No doubt, the more fervent Manning supporters will shrug off Sunday's Super Bowl loss and

dig their heels in even deeper. But others, the ones who wanted to see the Colts win another

Super Bowl before swinging over to Manning's side, will be more reluctant now.

Count me among the latter. Manning added to his legacy, all right: He and the Colts are the

Atlanta Braves of the NFL, a team that dominates its division for a decade but rarely wins the

big one.

The Colts have made the playoffs in 10 of 11 seasons. They have one Super Bowl title to

show for it. Give them time and they might catch the Braves, who won 14 straight division

titles and just one World Series from 1991-2005.

The Colts have been the model franchise under Bill Polian. Manning is a rare blend of

football skill and intellect. But if you want to be considered the best QB of all time, you're

going to be subjected to the harshest critical standard.

There's no way to prove who is the best ever. It's an endless, subjective discussion. How

do you compare today's QBs to those of the past, when it was a different game and teams ran

the ball far more often than they threw? Statistics can only take you so far.

Manning has a lot more football in him. He still has a chance to get back to the Super Bowl

and win it again. He'd better, because it will be hard to make a case as the best ever with

one Super Bowl ring on his resume.

Quarterbacks are judged by their ability to win the big games. That's why Joe Montana is

generally considered the best ever. Montana won four Super Bowls. In those games, he threw 11

touchdown passes and no interceptions.

I'm partial to Tom Brady, who has three Super Bowl titles and lost a fourth. There's a bias

against Brady, a feeling that he was a product of a great system. It gets tiresome after

awhile.

Brady is 14-4 in the postseason. Manning is 9-9. Go ahead, tell me Brady had better

coaching and supporting cast. Make the Matt Cassell argument if you insist. But five games is

a sizable margin.

Manning's supporters remind us that he won the Super Bowl when Indy had the NFL's worst run

defense. They had a weak running game this year. But in his playoff career, Manning has made

some brutal mistakes that had nothing to do with his defense or running attack.

Joseph Addai had a strong game against the Saints, averaging 5.9 yards on 13 carries. But

in the second half, the Colts abandoned him. On the late, critical drive, with Indy trailing,

24-17, Addai didn't get the ball. Manning, who calls most of his plays, threw on every down

and it eventually cost him.

On a third-and-5 at the Saints' 31, Manning tried to hit Reggie Wayne on a slant, which

they'd run on two of the previous three plays. The third time, Tracy Porter was ready. He

jumped the route, picked off Manning's pass and raced 74 yards for a clinching touchdown.

Manning isn't supposed to make that kind of throw. He's a genius, a dedicated film-watcher

who gesticulates wildly at the line of scrimmage, a coach on the field. But it was Porter who

talked later about "excessive film study." He picked Manning's brain, and his pocket.

It was one play, one mistake. But it was the kind of mistake Montana and Brady never made

in a Super Bowl. It's a play that will follow Manning around, one that will resonate with

critics who admire him but stop short of anointing him as the best quarterback ever.

Manning had a chance to make his case and got outplayed by Drew Brees. Maybe the question

isn't whether Manning is the best ever, but whether he's even the best in the game today.