Peyton Manning didn’t do anything memorable, but, then, neither did he do anything memorably bad, like toss a preventable pick-six to Tracy Porter to clinch his team’s defeat, as he did as a member of the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV. “You throw in the fact that we were just off on some things – had a couple turnovers early, just a little bit off on some other things”. I could sit here all night and tell you about the meetings he and I went through over the course of the last 10 weeks when he was injured working his way back – battling his way back for the football team. But the NFL’s highest-scoring team came up with only one touchdown and lost 24-10 to the Broncos in the NFL’s championship game for the 2015 season. He got some good evidence from Dick Vermeil and Bill Cowher about not making an emotional decision, one way or another.
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Given Manning is a five-time MVP, Super Bowl MVP, 14-time Pro Bowl selection and seven-time first team All-Pro, his legacy is already secured.
The Carolina Panthers quarterback had a memorable season, but it ended on a sour note. They really did. Their defense played spectacular. It’s not an easy pill to swallow. We had our opportunities.
Many Hoosiers are wondering if one of their all-time favorite football players is calling it quits.
“I’m done, “Newton said as he made his way off the podium”. Furthermore, in Manning’s win on Sunday night, his performance was lackluster at best: 13 of 23 passing for 141 yards and an interception.
Emulating his Broncos boss, John Elway, the 39-year-old Manning can ride off with the Lombardi Trophy after leading Denver to its third National Football League title, first since 1999 – when Elway was the quarterback.
Chris Harris happily talking about shutting down Cam Newton was right next to the MVP’s press conference. The officials? The Panthers’ own offensive failures?
“He dropped the ball for me”, he said. “Their defense played spectacular”.
This Broncos defense may be talked about for a very long time. “It’s probably his last hurrah”, Norman said later. “We wanted to come out and prove that we’re the best”. “When he turns it on and he’s healthy, nobody’s going to stop him”. I want to go kiss my wife and my kids, I want to go hug my family. We can’t fumble. We can’t kill ourselves with penalties. I have a lot of friends who are like, okay, it’s cool.
Like Norman, Tolbert is also headed for free agency.
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“It has been a tremendous season”, Tolbert said. “I’d like to see him retire, and that’s hard for me to say”, Isaacs said. He’s thinking about whether we were going to go for two. “We asked them to make some concessions along the way”.
