His career totals in passing yards, touchdowns and MVP awards will boggle your mind, but what truly sets Peyton Manning apart in the discussion of the NFL’s all-time quarterbacking greats is how he attacks the game intellectually.
Watch Manning before the snap in Super Bowl XLVIII Sunday night at MetLife Stadium and you will see how the Broncos star dissects opposing defenses in a flash while using various words and arm motions at the line of scrimmage to change the play, identify a weakness or try to trick them into a penalty.
The one piece of jargon that has garnered nationwide attention recently is Manning’s use of the term “Omaha!” — over and over and over. And for the curious, casual fan, it’s actually easy to explain.
Manning became the butt of jokes and Nebraska’s largest city became known for something other than Warren Buffett and the College World Series three weeks ago when the Broncos star yelled the phrase repeatedly during an AFC playoff win over the Chargers.
It’s still such a source of fascination that oddsmakers are actually taking bets on how many times he will say it during the Big Game.
In reality, the phrase is just a small part of Manning’s famously manic pre-snap routine at the line of scrimmage — an important aspect of the game for any quarterback and one that No. 18 arguably has mastered like no other in NFL history.
The phrase is intended to confuse the defense, which is why Manning didn’t mind if it also confused fans, reporters and anyone else interested in an explanation after the win over the Chargers made it a household word.
“I know a lot of people ask what ‘Omaha’ means,” Manning said.
“It’s a run play. But it could be a pass play or a play-action pass, depending on a couple things: the wind, which way we’re going, the quarter, and the jerseys that we’re wearing.
“It varies, really, from play to play,” Manning added with a smile. “So there’s your answer to that one.”
Actually, it’s really none of that. The word is used instead to signal that Manning is done with his pre-snap reads, adjustments and audibles and is ready for the snap, which comes on a predetermined count.
Manning isn’t even the only quarterback in the league to use “Omaha!” and it’s not the only word the Broncos have for that moment. Manning switches up occasionally and uses “Montana!” or “Marshall!” or “Hurry! Hurry!” instead.
That and Manning’s trademark pointing and flapping of his arms at the line of scrimmage are part of his bid to leave defenders mentally dizzy before the play even starts.
“The big thing is all the theatrics, all that stuff, try not to focus on it,” Chargers pass rusher Dwight Freeney — a former Manning teammate with the Indianapolis Colts — told ESPN after the playoff loss.
“He’s going to be calling different things so that guys on defense pay attention to it. He really feeds off that stuff.”
The Seahawks didn’t face Manning during the regular season, but they said this past week that they’re well aware of the thinking behind “Omaha!” and everything else Manning does before the snap.
Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman vowed to ignore it, and said his defensive teammates would do the same on Sunday.
“You can’t try to get in Peyton’s head,” the Seahawks’ All-Pro said. “If you get in his head, you’ll get lost.”
That’s easier said than done, of course, and even ignoring it is no guarantee you will have much luck shutting down the Hall of Fame-bound superstar. Just ask the teams the Broncos faced in the regular season, when Manning set the all-time NFL record with 55 touchdown passes, or the Chargers and the Patriots in the playoffs.
Of course, the Broncos aren’t exactly happy that Manning’s pre-snap signal has gone viral.
The reasons, at least in this case, are twofold: The league requires either the center or two offensive guards to wear microphones in their pads for the benefit of the TV broadcast, and the crowd at Denver’s Sports Authority Field — where Manning’s use of “Omaha!” first became famous — is library-quiet when Manning and the Broncos’ offense are on the field.
“It’s not real fun for us,” Broncos head coach John Fox said this past week when asked about the sudden popularity of “Omaha!”
The phrase might sound silly, but it’s all part of the gamesmanship and strategy that make football such an intriguing chess match.
“When you give people 18 hours a day to think of stuff, this is what we do,” Fox said of Manning’s pre-snap histrionics. “We are very blessed. [Manning] is very sharp.
“He’s done it a very long time in his career, and he is as good — I am not going to say he is the best — but he is as good that I have ever been around of doing it.”
And because New York doesn’t have a dog in this fight Sunday, we can all sit back and enjoy one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time right along with Fox.