Injured Jets Matt Forte, Kony Ealy to miss Browns game
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Bill Polian remembers walking into the RCA Dome for Peyton Manning’s home debut in 1998, peering into the stands and seeing all those Dan Marino jerseys.
When he wanted an explanation, the future Hall of Fame executive was told Indiana’s football fans started following the Dolphins when former Purdue quarterback Bob Griese was winning Super Bowls and never switched their allegiance. Polian, who attended high school in the Bronx and grew up a die-hard Yankees fan, never completely understood why they wouldn’t support their hometown team.
Within a few short years, Manning and his teammates had converted them.
Suddenly, an oft-empty stadium was selling out so often the organization needed a season-ticket waiting list. And so many fans dressed in royal blue and white, many bearing the familiar No. 18, that television analyst John Madden often dubbed Indy as the home to the most jerseys in any NFL stadium.
On Sunday, Manning will be inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor and become the first player from the franchise’s Indianapolis era to have his jersey retired.
“He put the sheen on the horseshoe, and the horseshoe, because of him and Jim Irsay and Tony (Dungy), really means something now,” Polian said. “He had a pretty special antenna and connection with fans.”
By almost any measure, Manning had one of the greatest careers in NFL history.
He started 227 consecutive games, including the playoffs, and finished as the league’s career leader in yards passing (71,940) and touchdowns (539). His 6,125 completions and 9,380 attempts are second all-time.
He holds records for most TD passes in a season (55), most yards passing in a season (5,477), most 300-yard games (93), most games with a perfect passer rating (five), most 4,000-yard seasons (14), most come-from behind wins (45), even most interceptions by a rookie (28). His 14 Pro Bowl appearances are tied for the most ever.
His trophy case includes a record five NFL MVP awards and two Super Bowl rings.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – Panthers coach Ron Rivera says Cam Newton’s apology for a sexist remark to a female reporter was “something that was needed to be said.”
The coach said Friday he thinks the apology “was well said and well put” and hopes “we can move forward from and start again. … Hopefully this can settle things so we can go forward.”
Newton made his remarks Wednesday when Charlotte Observer reporter Jourdan Rodrigue asked the 2015 NFL MVP about wide receiver Devin Funchess’ route running. The quarterback laughed and said, “It’s funny to hear a female talk about routes. It’s funny.”
Newton issued a nearly two-minute apology on Twitter Thursday night, saying, “What I did was extremely unacceptable” and that he has “really learned a valuable lesson from this.”
He hasn’t directly apologized to Rodrigue.
Quick kicks
New York Jets running back Matt Forte and defensive lineman Kony Ealy will miss Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns because of injuries.
Forte will be sidelined for the second straight game while recovering from turf toe. Bilal Powell is expected to get the start a week after he rushed for a career-high 163 yards against Jacksonville.