“Peyton on the field was a master orchestrator He knew your game plan on defense better than you did”, said Kevin Lanke. “There were other players who were more talented, but there was no one could out-prepare me, and because of that I have no regrets”. For 18 years, we battled fiercely but regardless of each game’s outcome, I always walked off the field with the utmost appreciation for the highest level of competition in which those games were prepared for and played. “God bless all of you and god bless football”.
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They say all good things must come to an end, and finally we must say an emotional farewell to arguably the greatest quarterback in National Football League history, Peyton Manning, 39.
“I get asked a lot about my legacy”, Manning said before the Super Bowl. “I’m not interested in re-litigating something that happened when I was 19….”
Then after the Super Bowl, a sexual assault allegation from his days at Tennessee resurfaced – a female athletic trainer alleged he had placed his exposed genitals on her face during an exam; Manning said he was “mooning” another athlete in the room.
He played 13 seasons with there before undergoing a series of neck surgeries that forced him to miss the 2011 season.
– Steak dinners at a place in Indianapolis after wins. Going against great players such as John Lynch and Troy Polamalu, to name a few.
– Figuring out blitzes with longtime center Jeff Saturday.
Manning started off his retirement remarks talking about another gunslinger, former Baltimore Colts star Johnny Unitas.
“Grateful is the word that comes to my mind when thinking of the Denver Broncos”, Manning said. “But I knew he’d come back and be Peyton Manning again because nobody else works that hard”. He’s also using his wit to break the ice.
Elway thanked Manning for coming to Colorado, saying he made his own job easier, noting with Manning living here, free agents were basically asking Elway “where do I sign?”
He was starting quarter back for 17 seasons overall.
Coach Gary Kubiak recalled how he and Manning had several private meetings after the quarterback was pulled in the second half of the Week 9 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The two worked together to make sure Manning’s presence helped the team and didn’t cause any disruptions. “Or the warmth that my family feels for you”, started Manning on his Colts tenure.
Broncos executive VP John Elway has now taken the podium to talk about Manning.
“I know it was tough, and you were special along the way”, Kubiak said, turning to the five-time MVP. Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders are chatting with Manning’s wife and children.
Manning is going golfing later this week with brothers Cooper and Eli – whose trip to Denver on Monday morning was scuttled by a stomach bug.
Also on hand is Bennie Fowler, who caught Manning’s last pass on a 2-point conversion to cap Denver’s 24-10 win over Carolina a month ago in Super Bowl 50.
There are certain times in sports, where fans simply have to “stop and smell the roses” because there will never be another Peyton Manning.
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The Broncos scheduled a news conference for 11 a.m. Monday that was expected to be attended by dozens of current and former teammates. He spent 14 seasons in Indianapolis before leaving for Denver in 2012.
