To: The Media

From: Andrew Marchand

Re: Peyton Manning

CC: Dan Marino

Dear Media:

It is not black and white.

If the Colts win Sunday, Peyton Manning is not suddenly a winner. If the Colts lose, he is not a born-again choker. It is not that simple.

To some, Manning discarded the “He can’t win the big one” label when the Colts beat the Patriots. But consider this: With 3:22 remaining in the AFC Championship Game, the Patriots had a three-point lead and the ball at their own 40.

They basically were one or two first downs away from making Manning a loser again. Instead, they went three-and-out, Manning got the ball and now he is 60 minutes from a ring.

If he places it on his finger, the coverage will be overboard. If he doesn’t, it still will be – the other way.

So The Memo recommends to the media and fans to actually look a little deeper. Just consider: The youngest quarterback to ever win a Super Bowl, Ben Roethlisberger at 23 last year, might have played the worst big game ever.