One week after making headlines for his controversial stance that Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees aren’t “generational talents,” Ryan Clark is explaining his take.
On Thursday’s episode of The Pivot, the ESPN NFL analyst addressed his polarizing hot take, which he shared on last Thursday’s episode of First Take. And while Clark didn’t necessarily back down from his belief, he did provide further context that his original analysis was lacking.
“I feel like I just be saying things that are common sense. And then it turns out they’re not so much common sense,” he said. “I was just asked a simple question: Brady, Brees, Manning, are they generational talents? And I said no.”
The former NFL safety then asked co-host Channing Crowder whether he agreed with that take, with the ex-linebacker stating that it’s really a conversation of success vs. talent. Crowder also noted that everyone has a different definition of “generational talent,” with his own being “God-given talent” and that he ultimately agreed that Brady and Brees punched above their weights thanks to their intelligence and work ethic.
Co-host Fred Taylor agreed, also pointing to the lack of context surrounding the entire conversation. The former NFL running back even joked that he thought Clark had been drinking when he first saw the clip on his social media feeds.
Still, Taylor said he’s of the opinion that Manning’s talent was, in fact, generational. And in further explaining his take, Ryan Clark also seemed to admit that he had sold the 5-time NFL MVP champion short in his analysis.
“First off, I think the generational talent conversation is a fun one,” the 2011 Pro Bowl selection said. “And when you mention Manning, Brady, and Brees, if any of those three is going to be a generational talent, to me it’s Peyton Manning, right? Peyton Manning was the number one quarterback when he came out of high school. He was the surefire, No. 1 overall pick. He had a level of arm talent and understanding and anticipation based on the generation he was in, the era he was in that made him special.
“Hard work made Tom Brady special. A will to win, dedication. He changed who he was. When you go 199th overall, the talent piece of your generational talent piece is missing. But he’s the greatest of all-time. Drew Brees built himself into one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play this game. He’s going to be the first ballot Hall of Famer. They’ve had generational careers, both individually and team success. But they are not generational talents to me in that.”
Ryan Clark proceeded to name some of the quarterbacks he does consider to be generational, including Brett Favre, John Elway and Aaron Rodgers, the latter of whom he says he believes was the most talented, despite their own personal differences. He also translated the conversation to basketball, citing LeBron James as an obvious example of generational talent compared to other all-time greats such as Kobe Bryant.
While Clark’s clarification does help provide greater context to what he was getting at, the entire conversation is still a bit clumsy as talent isn’t something that anybody can truly quantify. And that’s before even considering what to do with players like JaMarcus Russell who were considered supremely — perhaps even generationally — talented, but never panned out.
But hey, that’s sports talk and arguments regarding talent vs. accomplishments is a tale as old as Wilt vs. Russell (or in football’s case, Marino vs. Montana). If nothing else, Thursday’s episode shows that it’s a conversation that’s better suited for long-form podcasts than the confines of debate television.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.