Peyton Manning was 44 as he was officially elected Saturday into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Tom Brady is 43 as he starts for Tampa Bay on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV.
For Manning, Brady didn’t so much spike Father Time as he crushed the challenge of switching teams so late (presumably) in his career.
Please, Peyton, help us understand how Brady is still playing at the highest level.
“I don’t have any special insight,’’ Manning said in a Zoom interview with 9News. “He’s done a great job adjusting. It’s been a challenging offseason with the pandemic. He has found a way to get on the same page with his receivers. They’ve improved throughout the season. It’s something I can relate to. It wasn’t all smooth in my first year, and it wasn’t all smooth for Tampa. But they had a good team in place. It took a while to form their chemistry, and he deserves all the credit for his hard work and adaptability and his leadership. His stamp is all over that team.”
Video above: Peyton Manning elected to Pro Hall of Fame.
It was while addressing another topic, current Denver Broncos’ quarterback Drew Lock, that Manning hit on the key for Brady. To make a successful second chapter adjustment with a new team, it helped that Tampa Bay went back to what made Brady so successful for 20 years as New England’s starting quarterback.
Oh, and by the way, while so many current Broncos were lobbying for another quarterback last week, leave it to Manning to step up and throw his support behind the team’s current quarterback.
“I’m a Bronco fan, I’m a Drew Lock fan,’’ Manning said. “I’ve known him since he came to work our football camp and I’ve kept up with him and stayed in touch with him so I’m pulling for him. Look last year for anybody who had a new offensive coordinator and a younger quarterback it was going to be challenging.
“The teams that really got into the hunt this year had veteran quarterbacks, veteran coordinators, had some chemistry together. Brady was kind of the exception. I think Tampa figured out they were better off running a lot of his plays. Took them a while to figure that out, but with the pandemic offseason, not having much time. It’s just not easy. I’m pulling for Drew. I’m excited for their prospects with a full year and an offseason getting on the same page in this system with some of those new players and I’m excited for him to have a good year this year.’’
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