It is some LXXX hours before the Super Bowl, and it is as if Peyton Manning is hosting “Thursday Morning Live.”
The media blitz has failed to get him off his spot and intercept him. He appears loose and relaxed and all indications are he is poised and primed to chase and make history.
“Thursday Morning Live” began quickly, when he was asked who he thinks are the three greatest quarterbacks.
“Me and my buddies don’t discuss that,” Manning said, drawing a laugh. “We have other things to talk about. I don’t have a list.
“I think I could describe the perfect quarterback. Take a little piece of everybody. Take John Elway’s arm, Dan Marino’s release, maybe Troy Aikman’s dropback, Brett Favre’s scrambling ability, Joe Montana’s two-minute poise and, naturally, my speed in there.”
Omahahahahaha!
“I could take a piece of everyone, of some of my favorite quarterbacks, and I could take 30 traits from different guys, and put them in that perfect quarterback. That is how I like to look at it. I don’t have the list. I know a lot of people have lists. ‘Anytime,’ as John Elway once said, ‘you might be kind of in the conversation of someone talking about some of their favorite quarterbacks, that’s a nice compliment in itself.’ ”
Papa Archie, who was making the rounds for Papa John’s, was informed Peyton had talked of what he would take from other greats to build the perfect quarterback, and I asked him what he would take from his son.
“I’m really a fan and a friend of a lot of guys who play the position, and I don’t know if it’s really fair to do that,” he said.
Then leave it to me. You start with Peyton’s encyclopedic football brain, followed by his accuracy, leadership, field generalship, passion, and the most recent additions of perseverance, grit and courage.
And a sense of humor, dripping sometimes with sarcasm, sometimes in the form of a zinger, sometimes with aw-shucks self-deprecation, often delivered with a poker face.
This was his reaction to Richard Sherman’s criticism of his arm strength, and his occasional propensity in the twilight of his 37th year on earth for “throwing ducks”
“I believe it to be true,” Peyton said, drawing more laughs. “They say he is a smart player, and I don’t think that’s a real reach with what he is saying there. I do throw ducks. I’ve thrown a lot of yards and touchdown ducks, so I’m actually quite proud of it.”
He was serious expressing the desire to win this game for marvelous 15-year cornerback Champ Bailey, and when someone asked if he thinks there are Denver players who want to win this Super Bowl for him, he said: “If that is the case, that is flattering. When you play in the Super Bowl, you are playing for a lot of people. There is a teammate you want to play for. There is a coach you want to play for. For me, I always feel like you are playing somewhat for your family, playing for your hometowns. I’ve seen a lot of people here.”
It’s “Thursday Morning Live!”
“Some of the questions I’ve gotten, I finally asked a guy, ‘Are you from his hometown newspaper?’ I’ve done some bio interviews on [offensive coordinator] Adam Gase and [tight end] Jacob Tamme that had to be from Kentucky and Michigan who I was talking to.”
Omahahahahaha!
“You are representing your hometowns and your families when you play in this game — your college. We have four University of Tennessee guys in this game. I want guys to play for their families and play for those people. If somebody wants to win a game for you, boy, that is extremely flattering. I know I’d like to win it for the Broncos and Pat Bowlen. For him to be in his eighth Super Bowl is an accomplishment in itself. He deserves another championship. I would like to help the Broncos get another championship. But, you have other people you’d like to win it for as well.”
Someone asked if he could name the other two quarterbacks who started Super Bowls for two different teams, and he replied: “I can name them. Do you want me to help you with the answer?”
Omahahahahaha!
“[Kurt] Warner and Craig Morton were the two. I saw Kurt this week. Craig Morton did it with Denver and Dallas. That to me is a special accomplishment in itself. I know how hard it’s been for me to transition to a new organization. To try to get comfortable with the new culture you are playing in and surroundings, just to get comfortable, is hard enough. To actually turn it into some production and help your team get back to this game, it’s hard to do. I’m proud what this team has accomplished this year. That’s not a goal of mine to have that type of recognition. My goal is to help the Broncos win because of what it would mean for this organization and what it would mean to Champ Bailey and so many people that are trying to win this game. I want to be a part of that, and help this team win for many, many reasons.”
Peyton can become the first to win two Super Bowls with two different teams. And Bill Parcells knows why he is knocking on the Super Bowl door following his four neck-fusion surgeries. Because he is the older Ali figuring out a way to win. He is the aging pitcher who lost the velocity on his fastball and gets batters out with guile.
“Peyton Manning doesn’t throw the same stuff he did when he was 19,” Parcells said, “but he’s still gettin’ ’em out, ’cause he knows how to do it.
“He didn’t reinvent himself. He knows where he is. He knows what he’s got — just like [Greg] Maddux, the pitcher for the Braves. They couldn’t hit him, he’s throwing 81 miles an hour, they couldn’t hit him. Why not?
“He just knows how to pitch.”
Enough to get the last laugh.