Peyton's always a favorite. It is special to look over and say, 'Peyton Manning is leading that team over there.' That's special to me.
The NFL is made up of 1,800 players, guys from different religious backgrounds, different upbringings. I love Peyton Manning. But I don't want 1,800 Peyton Mannings in the NFL.
I would never bet against Peyton Manning. You know about the age and the neck and the strength. But I had George Blanda, and as he got older, he got smarter, and he just got rid of the ball quicker. I watch Peyton, and I see George Blanda.
But I remember back in 1998, the year after Peyton Manning left Tennessee, a lot of people didn't really give Tennessee a chance. There was a lesser-known Tee Martin playing quarterback. He ended up leading them to a national championship in 1998 the year after Peyton left.
I think he supersedes Peyton Manning but let's not throw Tom Brady in the category with Joe Montana, who was 4-for-4. He's royalty.
I got to know Peyton Manning when he was a high school junior and I was the offensive coordinator at Mississippi State.
I also wanted to play with Peyton Manning because I thought he could teach me a lot, and he did.
Randy Moss was a fad. People were looking for some way to vote against Peyton Manning.
My all-time favorite interception was picking off Peyton Manning back in 2007, the one-hander down the sideline.
Say I had been with a guy like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning or Drew Brees all of my career. Are you kidding me?
I have tremendous respect for both John Elway and Peyton Manning as people and as quarterbacks in the NFL, but I was not concerned one bit with playing in their shadow.
That was a terrible Super Bowl, I have to say. I mean you got the big Peyton Manning walk off into the sunset win, but what a shnoozo.
Remember: Super Bowl is the biggest day of the year for pizza delivery - so no matter what happens in the game, Peyton Manning wins.
To me, any time you're playing a Peyton Manning-led football team, there's a challenge - but that's what you dream about growing up as a kid.
I can honestly say that I never 'enjoyed' our meetings, but the respect I have for Peyton Manning as a competitor was, and will likely remain, second to none.