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New Peyton Manning Story! (Good)


NewColtsFan

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So, I thought I had heard/read all the good/great Peyton stories up until today, when I heard one for the first time on Sirius XM radio on their NFL Channel.

 

The host was Bob Papa and his guests were Charlies Weis and Gil Brandt.    And they were telling their all-time favorite stories from the Combine.

 

And Weis offered up this...

 

That before he was the OC for New England,  he was the OC for the NY Jets.  Three years, 97-99.    And in '98, one of the players they interviewed at the combine was one Peyton Manning.      And so Peyton comes to their suite and proceeds to tell Weiss and all the other coaches and execs in their room all about the players AND coaches on the Jets.    Weis said Peyton knew every player on their team (I assume he meant every OFFENSIVE player and every Offensive coach    He said Peyton was able to talk extensively about every player and coach, not just name names.    Strengths, weaknesses,  the works.

 

Weis said he and their staff were dazzled.   That no one had ever done this before and Weis said he hasn't heard about anyone else doing it since.   He added they all thought Manning had to be prepared to do this for all the other teams he was going to meet with as well.    Impressive.

 

The interesting thing to me is this...    that I've heard Polian talk about the process of selecting Manning and I've never heard him say Peyton did the same thing with the Colts players and coaches.    And I've never heard Bobby Beathard, who was the GM with San Diego say that Peyton did that for his franchise either.    Interesting.....

 

But there's no reason for Weis not to be believed.    Would love to hear/read Peyton's remembrances of this event....  

 

Love this story.     Not as much as my favorite Andrew Luck story which I tell once a year for all the new comers.    I'm happy to re-tell that story,  but only upon request.    I don't want to repeat it and waste bandwidth if no one really wants to read that Luck story from his rookie season with the Colts.

Just let me know.

 

 

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They weren’t kidding when they said he was a cerebral quarterback. 

 

Everything about him was unique, and I’ve never seen one person have such an attention to detail. 

 

I knew he was an all time great with us pretty much the best, but man once he went to the Broncos and immediately made them contenders his legacy was sealed. 

 

I love hearing these stories... Makes me wish I was able to afford Sirius Radio again...

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11 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

OK.....     finally home after a very looooong day...   and a number of you have been kind enough to ask me to tell the Andrew Luck story.     It's my favorite.

 

I should preface this by sharing that I'm oddly interested in the Super Smart.    People in a league of their own.     As a Stanford fan,  I come across a number of execptionally smart people,  but even among them,  there are a few who really stand out.    This interests me because while I'm a reasonable bright guy, I'm not even close to being super smart.    Not.   Even.    Close.    I'm sure many (most?) of you will fully agree!       :thmup:

 

Having said all that,  here is my Luck story...

 

So, as you may remember,  even once Luck was drafted,  he couldn't spend very much time in Indy for the first six weeks or so.    Andrew was still in school taking classes,  and he very much wanted to attend graduation with his friends and teammates.    So,  he'd be in school M-Thu and then fly to Indy where he'd spend Fri-Sun at rookie mini camps every other week or so.   

 

And the coaches had been spoon feeding Luck the playbook.    A little bit at a time not wanting to overwhelmn the rookie.    A little here,  a little there.    And Luck was doing great.    So, after one 3-day practice,  Luck is presented with a LARGE chunk of the playbook.   About 2/3rds...   all of it situational football.    2 minute offense,  4 minute offense,  Red Zone,  Goal Line...   you name it.  

A significant chunk.    Luck takes it.   A staffer drives him to the Indy airport.   After he leaves,  the coaches look at each other and smile...   one says...    

 

"We won't hear from him for weeks!"

 

Luck had impressed all of them with his intelligence,  but now they basically threw the kitchen sink at him.     Weeks,  they thought.

 

He's driven to the airport,  takes the roughly 4-hour flight to San Francisco and then is driven to the Stanford campus roughly 35-45 minutes away.     Upon arrival he sends the coaching staff a 4-word text.........

 

"Got it.   What's next?"

 

How long could that have been?   7-8 hours?    Maybe?   Less?   And he felt good enough to alert the coaches he knew all about the 2/3rds of the playbook he'd been given.    That's the moment when the coaches knew Luck was not like anyone else they'd ever been around.    That's what a photographic memory will do for you.    He looks at a page and just has it.

 

This story was shared by a Colts coach.    I'm sorry I don't remember who.   Pags?    Arians?     Someone else?     I only wish I remembered.

 

This is why when fans here have worried over the Colts hiring a new coordinator and what it might do to Andrew, I've always shared not to worry.    That with Luck,  learning the new playbook is the LEAST of their worries.     Remember,  because he was rehabbing for more than half of 2018,  Luck didn't even really get to practice very much until August.   And even then,  it was somewhat limited.   But once the season started,  Luck certainly looked like a QB who knew his new playbook.  

 

"Got it.   What's next?"  is always going to be my favorite Andrew Luck story.   Because it perfectly demonstrates how for Luck and yes,  Peyton Manning,  the best part of their game is what you CAN'T actually see.    It's how their minds work.    Not like anyone else.

 

Hope you enjoyed!

Thanks for sharing, Luck is really smart. Glad he is our QB. We are a really lucky franchise to have had Peyton now him. I mean real lucky.

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8 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Thanks for sharing, Luck is really smart. Glad he is our QB. We are a really lucky franchise to have had Peyton now him. I mean real lucky.

 

Yup.    Manning for roughly a dozen great years.    And then Andrew Luck?   

 

What were the odds?      As long as they get.      Love them both!

 

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Kind of on topic, but not really.

Was talking to a client at a work thing a few months back, started talking football, tell him I'm a colts fan.

 

He tells me he actually partied with Luck and his entourage at a World Cup after party. Said he was the friendliest regular non intimidating guy ever. He was with about 5 of his buddies including our boy Fleener.

He did say they were going hard with the beer, but were funny happy drunks giving autos and being 100% respectful though.

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13 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

OK.....     finally home after a very looooong day...   and a number of you have been kind enough to ask me to tell the Andrew Luck story.     It's my favorite.

 

I should preface this by sharing that I'm oddly interested in the Super Smart.    People in a league of their own.     As a Stanford fan,  I come across a number of execptionally smart people,  but even among them,  there are a few who really stand out.    This interests me....

 

Having said all that,  here is my Luck story...

 

So, as you may remember,  even once Luck was drafted,  he couldn't spend very much time in Indy for the first six weeks or so.    Andrew was still in school taking classes,  and he very much wanted to attend graduation with his friends and teammates.    So,  he'd be in school M-Thu and then fly to Indy where he'd spend Fri-Sun at rookie mini camps every other week or so.   

 

And the coaches had been spoon feeding Luck the playbook.    A little bit at a time not wanting to overwhelmn the rookie.    A little here,  a little there.    And Luck was doing great.    So, after one 3-day practice,  Luck is presented with a LARGE chunk of the playbook.   About 2/3rds...   all of it situational football.    2 minute offense,  4 minute offense,  Red Zone,  Goal Line...   you name it.  A significant chunk.    Luck takes it.   A staffer drives him to the Indy airport.   After he leaves,  the coaches look at each other and smile...   one says...    

 

"We won't hear from him for weeks!"

 

Luck had impressed all of them with his intelligence,  but now they basically threw the kitchen sink at him.     Weeks,  they thought.

 

He's driven to the airport,  take the roughly 4-hour flight to San Francisco and then is driven to the Stanford campus roughly 35-45 minutes away.     Upon arrival he sends the coaching staff a 4-word text.........

 

"Got it.   What's next?"

 

How long could that have been?   7-8 hours?    Maybe.      And he felt good enough to alert the coaches he knew all about the 2/3rds of the playbook he'd been given.    That's the moment when the coaches knew Luck was not like anyone else they'd ever been around.    That's what a photographic memory will do for you.    He looks at a page and just has it.

 

This is why when fans here have worried over the Colts hiring a new coordinator and what it might do to Andrew, I've always shared not to worry.    That with Luck,  learning the new playbook is the LEAST of their worries.     Remember,  because he was rehabbing for more than half of 2018,  Luck didn't even really get to practice very much until August.   And even then,  it was somewhat limited.   But once the season started,  Luck certainly looked like a QB who knew his new playbook.  

 

"Got it.   What's next?"  is always going to be my favorite Andrew Luck story.   Because it perfectly demonstrates how for Luck and yes,  Peyton Manning,  the best part of their game is what you CAN'T actually see.    It's how their minds work.    Not like anyone else.

 

 

 

That's a great story, you always hear them talk about his intelligence and never know if it is just because he's their QB.

 

He is definitely i different type of person though, you get that in interviews and just how he speaks.

 

I really hope we can build a team around him to challenge the likes of the Patriots etc. he deserves more praise than he gets imo.

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6 hours ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

Yup.    Manning for roughly a dozen great years.    And then Andrew Luck?   

 

What were the odds?      As long as they get.      Love them both!

 

 

Goes to show the value of having a franchise QB. Yeah, only hoisting one Lombardi might be disappointing to some, but for the most part, the Colts have been a competitive team, for most of the last 20 years.

 

The Browns, not so much!

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20 minutes ago, MPStack said:

 

Goes to show the value of having a franchise QB. Yeah, only hoisting one Lombardi might be disappointing to some, but for the most part, the Colts have been a competitive team, for most of the last 20 years.

 

The Browns, not so much!

Yeah over the last 20 seasons (1999-2018), we have only missed the Playoffs 5 times, been in 10 Divisional Round games, 4 AFC Title Games, 2 SB's, and won a SB. It isn't the Pats lol but that is pretty solid.

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  Interesting tidbit: in all of the Colts playoff losses (from 1998 to present) the Colts allowed more than 100 yards rushing (with the exception of the 2008 wildcard vs San Diego, in which they allowed 99 yards).

   With all of the talent on those teams, it wasn’t until 2006 that the Colts held their own against the run, thanks to McFarland and Corey Simon. Of course, that was the year they hoisted the Lombardi.

     That’s why I’m hoping they get a 1 DT that will collapse the pocket, and hopefully pick up 1 or 2 DEs to get pressure. (I feel good about Lewis/Autry at the 3.)

    Stopping the run and getting pressure on the QB. 

     Another reason for optimism is Frank Reich. He manages the clock better than Andy Reid and  I believe has the potential to match wits with the Belichicks, Paytons and McVays of the league. Great coaches can make good QBs look great (ie Nick Foles).

     If the defense can be a little more diverse and play man to man at times, the sky is the limit for this team.

     Give Luck something Peyton rarely had; a great defense and exceptional game planning and he’ll bring the Lombardi back to Indy - more than once.

  

 

 

 

      

   

 

 

 

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9 hours ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

Yup.    Manning for roughly a dozen great years.    And then Andrew Luck?   

 

What were the odds?      As long as they get.      Love them both!

 

Great stuff. Thanks NCF. The Colts have been so blessed to have them both. Not to mention they are each great guys. I’ve met them both, with the oppprtunity to have a conversation. Each time I came away impressed with how down to earth and decent both were. Thanks for sharing these stories. 

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Some of my favorite Luck tidbits come from his teammates in game. I love watching SoundFx or similar productions that have in-game video of someone on the O or D commenting on how good Luck is. I think it was Leonard this past season that had a quote that went something like "Man, that 12 is something else, something else". 

 

Seeing teammates get hyped up for their other teammates when they do something good is always fun to watch. 

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5 hours ago, coltsfeva said:

  Interesting tidbit: in all of the Colts playoff losses (from 1998 to present) the Colts allowed more than 100 yards rushing (with the exception of the 2008 wildcard vs San Diego, in which they allowed 99 yards).

   With all of the talent on those teams, it wasn’t until 2006 that the Colts held their own against the run, thanks to McFarland and Corey Simon. Of course, that was the year they hoisted the Lombardi.

     That’s why I’m hoping they get a 1 DT that will collapse the pocket, and hopefully pick up 1 or 2 DEs to get pressure. (I feel good about Lewis/Autry at the 3.)

    Stopping the run and getting pressure on the QB. 

     Another reason for optimism is Frank Reich. He manages the clock better than Andy Reid and  I believe has the potential to match wits with the Belichicks, Paytons and McVays of the league. Great coaches can make good QBs look great (ie Nick Foles).

     If the defense can be a little more diverse and play man to man at times, the sky is the limit for this team.

     Give Luck something Peyton rarely had; a great defense and exceptional game planning and he’ll bring the Lombardi back to Indy - more than once.

  

 

 

 

      

   

 

 

 

booger and Simon never played a game together for the Colts.  And Simon definitely didn't have anything to do with the Colts winning the Super Bowl.

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@NewColtsFan

 

Excellent story, glad you posted it. I thought it was gonna be this one: http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/8766101/indianapolis-colts-quarterback-andrew-luck-best-rookie-season-ever-espn-magazine

 

Quote

Interim coach Bruce Arians shares his own revelatory story. At the Colts' third practice, he signaled for a defensive package that Indy coaches simply call "empty," a series of 20 different blitzes meant to overwhelm. Mission accomplished: After a practice full of mistaken reads and throws, Luck told Arians he felt like he had been facing a tsunami. Then he watched film of the practice to analyze what went wrong. The next time Arians dialed up the empty package, he was the one who was blown away. Luck carefully picked apart the defense as if he were a 10-year vet. "Andrew made it look easy," Arians says. "He just lit 'em up."

 

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14 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

I remember that story.  Luck was not one to make the same mistake twice.  

 

19 hours ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

So, I thought I had heard/read all the good/great Peyton stories up until today, when I heard one for the first time on Sirius XM radio on their NFL Channel.

 

The host was Bob Papa and his guests were Charlies Weis and Gil Brandt.    And they were telling their all-time favorite stories from the Combine.

 

And Weis offered up this...

 

That before he was the OC for New England,  he was the OC for the NY Jets.  Three years, 97-99.    And in '98, one of the players they interviewed at the combine was one Peyton Manning.      And so Peyton comes to their suite and proceeds to tell Weiss and all the other coaches and execs in their room all about the players AND coaches on the Jets.    Weis said Peyton knew every player on their team (I assume he meant every OFFENSIVE player and every Offensive coach    He said Peyton was able to talk extensively about every player and coach, not just name names.    Strengths, weaknesses,  the works.

 

Weis said he and their staff were dazzled.   That no one had ever done this before and Weis said he hasn't heard about anyone else doing it since.   He added they all thought Manning had to be prepared to do this for all the other teams he was going to meet with as well.    Impressive.

 

The interesting thing to me is this...    that I've heard Polian talk about the process of selecting Manning and I've never heard him say Peyton did the same thing with the Colts players and coaches.    And I've never heard Bobby Beathard, who was the GM with San Diego say that Peyton did that for his franchise either.    Interesting.....

 

But there's no reason for Weis not to be believed.    Would love to hear/read Peyton's remembrances of this event....  

 

Love this story.     Not as much as my favorite Andrew Luck story which I tell once a year for all the new comers.    I'm happy to re-tell that story,  but only upon request.    I don't want to repeat it and waste bandwidth if no one really wants to read that Luck story from his rookie season with the Colts.

Just let me know.

 

 

 

 

I had not heard that one but I had heard that San Diego really wanted Manning as well and tried to get the Colts to trade them the #1 pick.  I don't know that the Chargers knew that Ryan Leaf was going to be Ryan Leaf but they preferred Manning.  

 

To me it sounds like the Manning/Leaf debate was more of a media debate and that to NFL execs Manning was the clear choice.  

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