He has to be THE most important player to any franchise. Without him they will be lucky to get to 4 wins. With him a perrenial Super Bowl contender. I can't think of another player who means as much to his team. Now we are seeing the value of Peyton Manning.

If he never plays again, I expect to see him on the sidelines coaching in the near future. The only question will be if he stays in the NFL, or returns as the QB coach at Tennessee...

The Patriots missed the playoffs the year Brady went down. They were just smart enough to keep a decent backup around in case he was needed, instead of having to talk a guy (who hadn't played at a high level in years) out of retirement at the last minute.

If Brees went out for the year, I doubt the Saints would win many games with Chase Daniel at QB. The Packers would probably be okay without Rodgers because they have Matt Flynn, but that doesn't make Rodgers any less talented.

The main driver here is not Peyton's greatness, it's the Colts putting all their eggs in one basket. It's like they thought he would play and be healthy forever. If they'd put more resources into grooming a dependable backup through the years, they'd be in much better shape now.

Well, until this injury, Peyton was an Iron Man. He had never missed a single snap until this season...