Word play

No other quarterback in the NFL has as complete a command of the offense as Peyton Manning does. Playing for the same offensive coordinator and the same team for his entire career has a lot to do with the fact that he is free to call the offensive plays at the line of scrimmage.

Here's a short video of some of the odd things he says in the huddle and while audibling a play at the line. Pretty fun when you consider that every game tape of his is screened for any signals the opposition can pick up on.

लम्बी रस का घोडा

After Kurt Warner, the quarterback I admire most in the NFL is Peyton Manning. DSC/BD swears by Tom Brady but I feel Manning is the more complete QB, able to throw deep bombs with as much precision as the short out or the slant. He has also done this with the burden of expectations from a very young age, something that Brady did not have to deal with during his college and early NFL days.

One writer that both DSC/BD and I agree upon is Peter King. Not for how good he is but for how hoo-haa, hoopla-driven, totally-today type writer he is. Which does not mean that, on occasion, he cannot write nice articles. Earlier in 2009, for Sports Illustrated, King wrote a fluff piece on Manning that also reveals a lot of what makes the man tick year after year at such a high level.

(Peyton) Manning, simply, has made Indianapolis slump-proof. The Colts have gone 112 games—seven full seasons—without losing three straight. Indy isn't the winningest regular-season team this decade (109 victories, one more than New England) by accident. Anytime Manning steps behind center and starts gyrating and pointing, history tells us, good things are about to occur. "To understand why he hasn't struggled," (Tony) Dungy says, "you have to understand the way his mind works. It drives him every day that the offense will be better, not just as good as it was. The new guys will fit in. He'll make them fit in."

It must be the water

A few weeks ago Jeff Fisher, the coach of the Tennessee Titans, was in hot water for his antics at a charity dinner. At that point in time his team was winless (0-6) and he tried to lighten up by doing this:



Since then the Titans have gone 7-1 while the Colts (led by Peyton Manning) are the only undefeated team left in the NFL at 14-0. So, Coach Fisher, you were right - it WAS the jersey. By channeling your inner Manning you found the path to victory. By the way, should you naysayers point out the solitary loss on the Titans' record. That loss was to the, you guessed it, Indianaoplis Colts!

The secret to success is not hard work, it is Peyton Manning.

Context meets perspective

Until Tiger Woods came on the scene, the idea of exercise for a golfer used to be to walk from the clubhouse to the driving range and then on to the 1st tee. It took the other golfers a couple of years to catch on and there are a ton of fit golfers on the tour, but the buff-est of them all is still el tigre.

Over in the NFL, Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts is not a name that comes readily to mind when we think of big fellows. If anything, he is considered to be on the slender side for a QB.

The following photo gives you an idea of how big the NFL players must really be. Tiger Woods looks almost Lilliputian in comparison to Manning!

I used to think Tiger could have been a running back in the NFL. Now, methinks he would have been crushed to death by the linebackers!