{"id":290258,"date":"2026-06-30T16:56:37","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T20:56:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=290258"},"modified":"2026-06-30T16:56:37","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T20:56:37","slug":"hall-of-fame-qb-manning-shough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/06\/30\/hall-of-fame-qb-manning-shough\/","title":{"rendered":"Hall of Fame QB Peyton Manning Explains Why Saints Should Feel Optimistic"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are few opinions that matter more than those of a Hall of Fame QB, especially when the conversation turns to developing young quarterbacks. Peyton Manning has watched countless passers, including Fernando Mendoza,<\/a> come and go over the years through the NFL and at the Manning Passing Academy. That is why his recent comments about young quarterback Tyler Shough<\/a> should grab the attention of New Orleans Saints<\/a> fans. Rather than focusing on statistics or highlight throws, the Hall of Fame QB pointed to something he believes could make all the difference entering Shough’s second season.<\/p>\n

Hall of Fame QB Peyton Manning Explains Why Saints Should Feel Optimistic<\/h2>\n

Manning is Very Complimentary of Tyler Shough<\/h3>\n

\u201cI thought Shough had a good year, and it was good to play,” Manning told a WGNO reporter.<\/a> “There\u2019s always different debates whether you sit for a year or play for a year,\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Manning’s comments stand out because they come from a Hall of Fame QB who experienced both immediate success and the challenges that come with developing at football’s toughest position. While the debate over whether a young quarterback should sit or play has no universal answer, Manning made it clear he believes Shough benefited from meaningful game experience. Live snaps force quarterbacks to process defenses faster, respond to adversity and make adjustments that simply cannot be replicated on the practice field. For Shough, those lessons could prove just as valuable as any statistic he produced during his rookie season.<\/p>\n

Manning Emphasizes Importance of Continuity for Young QBs<\/strong><\/h3>\n

While Manning believes playing as a rookie accelerated Shough’s development, he also pointed to another factor that could be just as important entering the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s information to support both, but I know Tyler got great experience playing as a rookie that will benefit him even more. Same coach back, same system. Kellen, Nuss, and I love continuity for young quarterbacks as opposed to different coordinator or different head coach after their first or second year. Pulling hard for him this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n

Continuity is not always the headline when discussing a young quarterback, but it can be one of the biggest factors in long-term development. The Hall of Fame QB understands that growth is often slowed when players are forced to learn a new playbook, adjust to a different offensive coordinator or build chemistry with another coaching staff.<\/p>\n

Instead of another offseason where Shough is forced to relearn everything, he can instead build upon the offense he has already learned and is capable of identifying where he made mistakes in his first season. This continuity gives him a significantly greater chance at progressing off of his rookie season rather than trying to start from ground zero again. He has a great relationship with Kellen Moore, who was recently praised by Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The words of a Hall of Fame QB like Manning stressing continuity over schemes serve as a reminder that progress at the quarterback position seldom looks like a miraculous scramble in the pocket. It looks like brick by painstaking brick until the game slows down.<\/p>\n

Also Read: What five time Pro Bowler are the New Orleans Saints projected to move on from prior to the start of the 2026 NFL season?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Will Shough Become the Saints Franchise QB?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Whether Shough develops into the Saints’ long-term answer remains to be seen, but receiving this kind of endorsement is certainly an encouraging sign. A Hall of Fame QB has seen firsthand what separates quarterbacks who succeed from those who struggle, and Manning’s comments focused less on physical talent than on the environment surrounding Shough. With valuable game experience already behind him and continuity on the coaching staff heading into Year 2, the Saints have given their young quarterback an opportunity to take the next step. Now it is up to Shough to capitalize on it.<\/p>\n

Main Photo Courtesy of Dale Zanine – Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are few opinions that matter more than those of a Hall of Fame QB, especially when the conversation turns to developing young quarterbacks. Peyton Manning has watched countless passers, including Fernando Mendoza, come and go over the years through the NFL and at the Manning Passing Academy. That is why his recent comments about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5774,"featured_media":290281,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36,28],"tags":[233,7659,9819],"class_list":["post-290258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-news","category-saints","tag-peyton-manning","tag-saints-featured","tag-tyler-shough"],"modified_by":"Drew VonScio","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5774"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=290258"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290258\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":290289,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290258\/revisions\/290289"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/290281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=290258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=290258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=290258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}