"An ironman quarterback -- a Super Bowl winner, an icon in a city, one of the greatest of his generation, a surefire Hall of Famer -- gets caught in a no-win situation with the organization he has come to define, and the only solution appears to be quitting or moving on.

Haven't we heard this story before? Yes. It was 2008, and the quarterback was Brett Favre. Now it's 2012, and the quarterback is Peyton Manning.

They, of course, arrived at their positions by much different means. Favre threatened to retire so many times that eventually the Packers -- with Aaron Rodgers waiting in the wings having been drafted in 2005 -- had to take him seriously. When Favre tried for another hero's return, he was instead thanked for the memories. The Packers' brass eventually looked like geniuses, and Favre turned into a mercenary."