Think
of Hank Aaron with a bat, Brooks Robinson with a glove, Bjorn Borg with
a racket, Jack Nicklaus with a 1-iron, Peter Forsberg with a stick,
Dale Earnhardt with a stock car, Michael Jordan with a basketball,
Michelangelo with a chisel and a slab of marble, Frank Sinatra with a
ballad.
Think of Peyton Manning with a football.He is the special, smooth, skilled master craftsman an assiduous athlete and distinctive artist, a Rodin-thinking man in his 37th year, a will-be Hall of Fame quarterback soon to begin his 14th season in the NFL, his second in Denver.Manning and the Broncos returned Saturday to the stadium for the first time since Jan. 12.
After a delay because of showers and lightning, the players finally emerged at 7:30 p.m. to the delight of approximately 25,000 loyalists. Peyton raced to the 45-yard line and did a belly flop on the slippery surface. He and several others repeated the headfirst slide at the goal. Several minutes later the Broncos held an abbreviated scrimmage.
On his first drive, at the defense's 4-yard line, Peyton rolled right (just as he did on his last pass against Baltimore). This one had better results: a completed touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas. Manning departed the scrimmage.
Peyton didn't stop to stare and ruminate about the Broncos' last time on the field, and his last pass an interception. "I don't look at what's happened in the past. We had a good season (in 2012), but we didn't finish the way we wanted to finish. I look at this year now," he told me after practice the previous day.Yet, he admitted that the playoff loss to the Ravens in the second overtime still "hurts. It stings. We hope to use that sting to motivate us this year, and keep us driven to try to finish this year."
(Bailey), you have to have a sense of urgency" about winning the Super Bowl. "If any part of you is thinking, 'Well, we'll just get some momentum this year and save that (championship) for next year,' that's being selfish, and you're not being fair to the other guys. With injuries and free agents, you don't know what's going to happen next year. You'd better be all in for this year."Last August, when I asked Manning about his long-term plans in Denver, he said: "At the end of the day, my contract really is a one-year contract."
No longer true. He passed an offseason physical, and Manning will receive $40 million guaranteed through the 2014 season. Even though he signed for five years, the Broncos and especially John Elway (who retired at 38) want Manning to play as long as he desires.
There were no uncertainties Saturday about Manning's recovery from the neck injury and three surgeries that forced him to miss the 2011 season. He was comeback player of the year and MVP runner-up. His health is not an issue; his arm and his resolve are stronger.
"I've made considerable progress from last year. ... I've put in a lot of sweat with Luke (Richesson, the team's strength and conditioning coach) and Greek (trainer Steve Antonopulos). Doctors told me back in September 2011 (when he underwent an operation that fused two vertebrae), that time was the biggest thing. There has been improvement, and I'm hopeful there will be even more."
Cornerback Chris Harris has said the quarterback is "light years ahead" of the previous training camp. "Obviously, Chris' opinion means a lot to me," Manning said. "He and I constantly compete against one another in practice. I've always appreciated and used feedback from receivers and DBs. If that's how he's seeing that, there must be some truth to it. Sometimes, when you're in this body and see yourself every single day, you don't know how you're doing. All that offseason hard work is paying off."
Both Peyton and younger brother Eli have reached two Super Bowls. Eli won two, Peyton one. Eli said he is hungry to advance to his third."I feel the exact same way,The g-sensor high brightness Cheap Landscape Stone is designed with motorcyclist safety in mind." Peyton said.Get the led fog lamp products information, find Cheap Interior Decoration Products, manufacturers on the hot channel. "I think any head coach would be disappointed in his quarterback if he didn't have that mentality. Coach Fox talks about how he's been to two, and he wants to go win one (this season). That's what I want. Our whole team wants that. You can sit here and talk about it all you want, but you got to go do it."
Indeed, the Broncos are favored by the Vegas wiseguys to win the Super Bowl."Yeah, well, there are things we have to improve on," Manning said. "I have not ... we have expectations ourselves, but at this point,Most modern headlight designs include Cheap Marble Slabs. we have things we have to get better at. So I don't give that a lot of, I guess, time because I'm more focused on what we have to do in order to accomplish our goals."
Manning does allow himself a moment to remember his grandest memory. "It sure is a fun offseason when you win your last game, and it's the Super Bowl. I've gotten to experience it once. There's no feeling quite like it."
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Think of Peyton Manning with a football.He is the special, smooth, skilled master craftsman an assiduous athlete and distinctive artist, a Rodin-thinking man in his 37th year, a will-be Hall of Fame quarterback soon to begin his 14th season in the NFL, his second in Denver.Manning and the Broncos returned Saturday to the stadium for the first time since Jan. 12.
After a delay because of showers and lightning, the players finally emerged at 7:30 p.m. to the delight of approximately 25,000 loyalists. Peyton raced to the 45-yard line and did a belly flop on the slippery surface. He and several others repeated the headfirst slide at the goal. Several minutes later the Broncos held an abbreviated scrimmage.
On his first drive, at the defense's 4-yard line, Peyton rolled right (just as he did on his last pass against Baltimore). This one had better results: a completed touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas. Manning departed the scrimmage.
Peyton didn't stop to stare and ruminate about the Broncos' last time on the field, and his last pass an interception. "I don't look at what's happened in the past. We had a good season (in 2012), but we didn't finish the way we wanted to finish. I look at this year now," he told me after practice the previous day.Yet, he admitted that the playoff loss to the Ravens in the second overtime still "hurts. It stings. We hope to use that sting to motivate us this year, and keep us driven to try to finish this year."
(Bailey), you have to have a sense of urgency" about winning the Super Bowl. "If any part of you is thinking, 'Well, we'll just get some momentum this year and save that (championship) for next year,' that's being selfish, and you're not being fair to the other guys. With injuries and free agents, you don't know what's going to happen next year. You'd better be all in for this year."Last August, when I asked Manning about his long-term plans in Denver, he said: "At the end of the day, my contract really is a one-year contract."
No longer true. He passed an offseason physical, and Manning will receive $40 million guaranteed through the 2014 season. Even though he signed for five years, the Broncos and especially John Elway (who retired at 38) want Manning to play as long as he desires.
There were no uncertainties Saturday about Manning's recovery from the neck injury and three surgeries that forced him to miss the 2011 season. He was comeback player of the year and MVP runner-up. His health is not an issue; his arm and his resolve are stronger.
"I've made considerable progress from last year. ... I've put in a lot of sweat with Luke (Richesson, the team's strength and conditioning coach) and Greek (trainer Steve Antonopulos). Doctors told me back in September 2011 (when he underwent an operation that fused two vertebrae), that time was the biggest thing. There has been improvement, and I'm hopeful there will be even more."
Cornerback Chris Harris has said the quarterback is "light years ahead" of the previous training camp. "Obviously, Chris' opinion means a lot to me," Manning said. "He and I constantly compete against one another in practice. I've always appreciated and used feedback from receivers and DBs. If that's how he's seeing that, there must be some truth to it. Sometimes, when you're in this body and see yourself every single day, you don't know how you're doing. All that offseason hard work is paying off."
Both Peyton and younger brother Eli have reached two Super Bowls. Eli won two, Peyton one. Eli said he is hungry to advance to his third."I feel the exact same way,The g-sensor high brightness Cheap Landscape Stone is designed with motorcyclist safety in mind." Peyton said.Get the led fog lamp products information, find Cheap Interior Decoration Products, manufacturers on the hot channel. "I think any head coach would be disappointed in his quarterback if he didn't have that mentality. Coach Fox talks about how he's been to two, and he wants to go win one (this season). That's what I want. Our whole team wants that. You can sit here and talk about it all you want, but you got to go do it."
Indeed, the Broncos are favored by the Vegas wiseguys to win the Super Bowl."Yeah, well, there are things we have to improve on," Manning said. "I have not ... we have expectations ourselves, but at this point,Most modern headlight designs include Cheap Marble Slabs. we have things we have to get better at. So I don't give that a lot of, I guess, time because I'm more focused on what we have to do in order to accomplish our goals."
Manning does allow himself a moment to remember his grandest memory. "It sure is a fun offseason when you win your last game, and it's the Super Bowl. I've gotten to experience it once. There's no feeling quite like it."
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