Manning focusing on playoffs, not legacy
Each January, Peyton Manning is asked about the one missing link to an otherwise full resume – no Super Bowls.
Truth is, the two-time MVP is content letting others write his legacy; he worries more about winning games.
“I’m caught up in the Chiefs right now,” he said Tuesday. “We’re trying to catch up with the shorter week, you lose a whole study day, and that’s what I’m into right now. That and getting a win against the Chiefs.”
Manning has achieved virtually every conceivable goal a nine-year veteran could.
He’s won two MVP awards, set the single-season record for touchdown passes, produced the most 4,000-yard seasons of any quarterback in league history and led his Indianapolis Colts (12-4) to seven playoff appearances, five division titles and four straight AFC South crowns.
Manning enters Saturday’s wild-card game against Kansas City with a 3-6 postseason record.
Some think Manning plays different in the postseason, yet the numbers tell a different tale.
In nine career playoff games, Manning has completed 60.1 percent of his passes, averaged nearly 274 yards per game and thrown almost twice as many touchdowns (15) as he has interceptions (eight). Those do not deviate much from his regular-season totals of 64.0 percent, 261 yards per game and 275 TDs compared with 139 interceptions.
“Colts coach Tony Dungy has no plans for returning to college, even if he gets a call from his alma mater, Minnesota.
Dungy denied a report out of Minneapolis saying he was near the top of the Golden Gophers’ wish list and that there was mutual interest.
Draft order released
The Detroit Lions’ win in Dallas on Sunday dropped them from the first pick in next April’s draft to the second, with the first choice going to Oakland as the NFL released the official order for the draft.
Both the Raiders and Lions need quarterbacks, with Brady Quinn of Notre Dame considered the best quarterback prospect. Wide receiver Calvin Johnson of Georgia Tech, a junior who has not yet decided if he will enter the draft, is considered the best at that position and might fit the Lions, who took wideouts with their first pick for three straight seasons from 2003-2005.
Around the league
Detroit fired defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson and offensive line coach Larry Beightol, Lions coach Rod Marinelli announced. Marinelli also announced that longtime special teams coach Chuck Priefer had announced his retirement. Lions general manager Matt Millen said that he will not quit, despite criticism of the team’s dismal performance in his tenure. … Quarterback Koy Detmer returned to Philadelphia. Detmer will be the No. 3 quarterback behind starter Jeff Garcia and backup A.J. Feeley. … The NFL ruled that the block by Tennessee receiver Bobby Wade that injured New England safety Rodney Harrison over the weekend was legal. … Pittsburgh Steelers assistant head coach Russ Grimm and offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt were given permission to interview for NFL head coaching jobs. Whisenhunt will talk with the Atlanta Falcons and Arizona Cardinals. Grimm will also meet with the Cardinals. … Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio fired offensive coordinator Carl Smith, special teams coordinator Pete Rodriguez, quarterbacks coach Ken Anderson, wide receivers coach Steve Walters and declined to renew the contract of special teams assistant Mark Michaels.