Has it really been 10 seasons since Peyton Manning joined the Indianapolis out of Tennessee? How is it possible that he is now 32 years old and entering his 11th season and on the backside of a Hall of Fame career?
Was it that long ago when Peyton and older brother Cooper waddled in with their day Archie at the Saints; training facility on David Drive? Eli, the youngest son, was 4 when Archie played his final game. Trainer and assistant coaches were extended family.
The boys would act like big shots -- get their ankles taped and sit in the whirlpool. After games they'd scrounge for loose tape in the locker room, roll it into a ball, and go deep on the turf at the Superdome. The equipment guys would put gum and candy bars in all the players' lockers, and the boys would eat what was left behind.
Today, Peyton is football's leading endorses and makes $30,5 million a year in salary and endorsements. But little brother Eli is catching up with Peyton, with whom he shares on television commercials.
Peyton's salary and winnings are worth $17.5 million and he makes $13 million in endorsements.
"Sometimes it doesn't seem like it's been 10 years," said Peyton. "I still have a pretty good recall of games that don't seem they were that long ago."
The actuarial tables on legendary quarterbacks suggest they star to break down in their late 30s, with many of them, including Brett Favre this spring, retiring around age 38.
With some, it's injuries. With others, it's a matter of passion, and whether they want to make the offseason sacrifices necessary to play another season.
Manning, though, has a chance to play beyond 38. Not just play, but perform at a high level.
The first reason is loves the game. And that doesn't figure to change.
Then there's the physical element. He is as healthy as a quarterback can be at this point of his career. He has been blessed and pprotected by very good offensive lines, supported by top-level skill position guys and guided by an offensive coach, Tom Moore, he trusts implicitly. Moore was offensive backfield coach under Mike Ditka with the Saints while Danny Abramowicz was offensive coordinator. Manning is a lot tougher than he is given for.
It's no accident that Manning''s run of 160 consecutive starts is second all time among quarterbacks, trailing only Favre, who retired (we think) with 253. If Peyton remains healthy, he will pass Favre six seasons from now. That's right. In 2013.
Peyton and Archie both have sharp knowledge of sports. I played sports trivia with Archie on roads trips and he was very hard to beat--in any sport.
"As far as individual categories, that consecutive start statistic has mean as much to me in my career than any other," said Peyton. "I'm proud of that. And I appreciate that because of the help I've gotten. I've taken a lot of pride in being there and being accountable to teammates.
"I've never really looked at a certain age when I retire. But the way I'd continue to play is if I could still play at a high level, if I could still make the throws, and do so as a starter. If I wasn't starting and was just hanging on, I probably wouldn't continue."
A couple of years ago, a poll was taken and players were asked to name the smartest player in the NFL. Peyton collected 49 per cent of the votes. Favre was second with 9 per cent. Manning graduated cum laude (3.61 GPA) in three years from Tennessee with a major in speech communications.
Word is Archie might have been a better all-round athlete, but Peyton has a stronger arm and a quicker release.
"To tell you the truth, I don't believe I'll ever be as good a player he was," said Peyton. "He was just great. But I can try to be the same kind of person he was."
SOME HITHER, OTHERS YON: Scattershooting while wondering whatever became of Rosey Taylor, the New Orleans native who plays in two Pro Bowls and two Super Bowls while with the Bears, 49ers and Redskins? He turns 71 on Friday...Despite wanting to be traded, Joe Horn, Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff said there is nothing doing on that front. Horn's agent has been cleared to gauge interest in Horn with other teams, but as of now, there are no takers...Worst trade of the NBA season was Shaq O'Neal for Shawn Marion. The Suns got a calcifying rapper who will win a Grammy before he wins another championship...Prediction: Sen. Arlen Spector will hold hearings after rumors surface that the Patriots illegally videotaped Big Brown's walkthough before the Belmont...Some Cowboys fans will need to get to their new stadium by taking a cab...from their parking places...Why does Louisiana-Monroe play SEC West schools and get their buts handed to them three times? They collect nearly $3 million. They played Alabama, got $800.000 and a win...
Reggie Bush and girlfriend Kim Kardashian have a new nickname they coined together "We were tired of Bush and Tush so we came up with Kush," the actress told El's Daily Ten. "That's Kardashian and Bush, when we call each other on the phone we programmed each other as Kush." Asked how Reggie was dealing with his new paparazzi-laden life, Kim has some expert advice to tell. "If you let it affect your life too much you'll have a miserable life cause they're always around so just act like they're not there. He wasn't really used to the paparazzi life. He had had his entire career with a helmet on." She said she was excited about the upcoming football season, has gotten used to traveling back and fourth from Los Angeles to New Orleans so it doesn't bother the two of them. Plus she said that while she is pretty much in New Orleans the entire season, things will be different if they decode to tie the knot. Bush and LaDainian Tomlinson spent two days last week meeting with the London media, promoting the Saints-Chargers game at Wembley Stadium. Following he first day of interviews and appearances, the two players got a little distraction when they were VIPs at the World Premiere of Will Smith's new movie "Hancock," due out in July. Tomlinson and Bush, who was accompanied by Kardashian, walked the red carpet before the show and mingled withthe film's stars...
According to Sports.com, the Saints are a 3 1/2-point favorite over TamoaBay in the season's opener. Odds on the Saiints winning the NFC championship are 8-1 and winning the Super Bowl 20-1. LSU is 15-1 to win he BCS championship while USC is 7-2 and Georgia is 5-1.Ohio State is 4-1...My time is up. Ed Staton can be reached at edcoachstaton@yahoo.com.
Nick Revon, the all-time leading scorer in the history of Southern Miss basketball, died Monday morning at Ochsner following a series of heart problems. He was 79.
There will be a visitation on Thursday from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. at Saint Louis Cathedral with a funeral mass to be held immediately following the visitation.
Revon coached 24 years on the high school level at St. Aloysius, East Jefferson and Ridgewood. His East Jefferson teams won 299 games as well as capturing nine district titles while reaching the state playoffs 15 times in a stint that ended with the 1986-87 season.
For his successes, Revon earned induction into the Louisiana and Mississippi Hall of Fames and the Southern Miss M-Club Athletic Hall of Fame. He also is a member of the New Orleans Sugar Bowl Hall of Fame and the Southern Miss Legends Club.
Revon was married twice and is survived by six children.
