Processing Power

Manning reads defenses imposibly fast

Is the Colts’ Peyton Manning the greatest quarterback in N.F.L. history?

Now ask yourself: How long did it take to read that sentence? Two, maybe three seconds?

That’s about as long as Peyton Manning or any other N.F.L. quarterback has to stand in the pocket and make potentially game-changing decisions before being subjected to a bone-crushing hit. Not many quarterbacks excel at making quick decisions in the pocket. Manning does. In that category, the consensus seems to be that he is the best.

Because of that, time rarely runs out on the Colts

Receiver Hank Baskett spent his first four seasons with Philadelphia, and when he arrived in Indianapolis this season, he knew that few offenses would be as difficult to learn. Early on, he struggled with reading Manning, who develops telepathy, even with young receivers who feel as if the offense is a foreign language.

Eventually, Baskett learned what the rest of the Colts knew.

“When you have the ball, it doesn’t matter if there’s 15 minutes, or 5 seconds, you want to score,” he said. “That’s the mentality around here.”

The Colts’ offense would not function this way without Manning at the helm. Baskett and several teammates said Manning would go down in history as “the greatest ever” because truly elite quarterbacks make their reputations late in games, in two-minute situations, the clock running, tick, tick, tick.

Manning pulled off seven fourth-quarter comebacks this season, which the quarterbacks coach Frank Reich attributed to his knack for playing better when he absolutely must. Reich called this Manning’s “insatiable will to win and execute under pressure that few, if any, have ever had.”