Why Peyton Manning is a great quarterback

This week’s Friday edition of our NFL Google+ hangout -- “NFL Slam with Mark and Sam,” starring Times NFL columnist Sam Farmer and Mark Thompson of “Mark and Brian” radio fame -- spent most of its time talking about the greatness of Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck.

As Farmer wrote earlier this week:

If the Colts were looking for a carbon copy of Manning, they made the right call.

“He’s not Peyton Manning, but I swear he has a lot of the mannerisms,” said Hall of Fame coach John Madden, who lives in Pleasanton in Northern California and saw a lot of Luck’s games at Stanford. “You watch all the games and you just watch him. He does things understanding the game and playing, you just get the feeling that he’s a young Peyton Manning there. He has different skills. He can run, and he runs pretty fast, but just the command.”

“In a bizarre coincidence, Luck and Denver’s Manning had identical passing totals through eight games, 2,404 yards, and both have their new teams at 6-3 and on track for the playoffs.

“Through nine games, Luck is ranked eighth in yards passing with 2,631, and has thrown for 10 touchdowns with nine interceptions. Those numbers have been eclipsed by Manning’s — 2,705, 21 touchdowns with six interceptions — yet Luck has been an unmitigated bonanza for the Colts. With Manning sidelined because of neck problems last season, Indianapolis finished 2-14.

“On Sunday, Luck and the Colts play at New England, where Manning and the Patriots’ Tom Brady forged the NFL’s greatest rivalry of the last decade. Luck isn’t trying to be Manning 2.0, even though fans on the streets of Indianapolis frequently remind him he has gigantic cleats to fill.

“NFL Slam with Mark and Sam” is held every Monday and Friday at 11:30 a.m. You can watch it on this blog post. If you have questions for Mark and Sam, email them to sportshangout@latimes.com and we will try to get them answered live during the chat.