Pittsburgh Steelers

DeAngelo Williams says what no one else will about Peyton Manning

Published Mar. 7, 2016 11:17 a.m. ET

foxsports

Pittsburgh Steelers running back DeAngelo Williams is not shy about sharing his opinions, and in the wake of the Peyton Manning retirement news, Williams said what no one else will about the Denver Broncos quarterback. Williams took to Twitter Monday morning in what originally began as a spat with CBS senior NFL columnist Pete Prisco about whether Manning was still effective as an elite quarterback last season.

?ing and he had a mountain of picks and break ups but u find the 6plays all season that looked good https://t.co/HqDZnEICVJ
— DeAngelo Williams (@DeAngeloRB) March 7, 2016

When Prisco insisted Manning could still play, Williams dropped the bomb that nobody else will admit, claiming Manning was only on the Broncos' 2015 roster because his name is Peyton Manning.

?u are kidding me right last year Peyton manning without the name would never have been in the NFL anywhere Pete?? https://t.co/C4PvxGztIh
— DeAngelo Williams (@DeAngeloRB) March 7, 2016

Williams has a point. Manning was not just not himself last season. Statistically speaking, he was one of the worst quarterbacks in the league. Manning finished the year with a career-worst 67.9 passer rating, which also happened to be the worst rating of any regular starting quarterback in the NFL in 2015. Manning's passer rating only fell below 90 for the year in three other seasons in his career, and he had not had a passer rating below 90 since the 2002 season, when Manning finished the year with an 88.8.

Manning recorded nine touchdown passes last season despite never having recorded fewer than 26 touchdowns in a season in his career. While Manning can chalk some of that drop up to the fact that he missed six games, his touchdown numbers look terrible in comparison to his interception total. Manning finished the year with the second-most interceptions in the league with 17 picks. Only Jacksonville's Blake Bortles (18 interceptions) was worse.

I never said Peyton was average but he wasn't close to that last year u should prob catch up https://t.co/heyHIzAO2M
— DeAngelo Williams (@DeAngeloRB) March 7, 2016

Those numbers played a large part in the media and fans speculating widely over whether Manning would retire at the end of the year. Manning will turn 40 this month, and given his injury history, it is impressive that Manning has even made it this far. But Williams used his Twitter rant Monday morning to point out a bit of hypocrisy about the retirement rumors and the subsequent reaction to Manning's decision to actually retire.

?? Why is it that while he's playing the media says he needs to retire then when he retires "he still can play"?? https://t.co/o5dexqOSI2
— DeAngelo Williams (@DeAngeloRB) March 7, 2016

DeAngelo Williams is a fiery player who clearly does not mind saying something controversial. Just last month, he took aim at the New England Patriots when he claimed nobody likes Bill Belichick except for Tom Brady. But when it comes to his statements about Peyton Manning only earning the starting job for the Broncos in 2015 due to his name, the statistics clearly show that Manning was indeed one of the league's worst quarterbacks last year. In this scenario, Williams might simply be saying what nobody else wants to admit about the legendary QB.