Peyton Manning has been asked time and time again this offseason about the new offense that Gary Kubiak is installing as head coach of the Denver Broncos.
Apparently, one more question about playing under center or bootlegs or whatever the case might be was one too many for Manning. Here are a couple of very candid, very ‘real’ quotes from Manning in response to yet another one of those questions, via Andrew Mason of DenverBroncos.com.
“What are we doing, June evaluations? There’s got to be another story out there. I’m not doing June evaluations,” Manning said. “Look, we’re working right now, and I think, to me, if I said I liked it or didn’t like it, it would mean that I thought my opinion mattered, which I don’t. It’s our job to execute the plays and to make it work.
“This is just part of the process,” he added. “We’re learning; I’m learning. But I’m committed and I’m all-in on trying to make any adjustments that I have to, (and) at the same time trying to do some of the things that I’ve done well, and hopefully keep doing those things well, and improve on things that I need to improve on.”
Oh, and also — don’t call Manning ‘old’.
“Y’all keep using that word a lot. There’s got to be a synonym out there,” he said. “But I will say that I’ve talked to some players that have told me that they thought that they may have stopped playing just because they got bored with the monotony, whether it was the offense or the same meetings or what-not, that physically they felt pretty good, they just got bored and they got frustrated, and they said, ‘I want to go do something else.’
“I think everybody likes continuity and some consistency in what you’re doing, but I will say that at age 36 when I got here, now 39, I have been stimulated by the changes, which I do think keeps you engaged and energetic and focused in meetings.”
Manning also talked about the fact that he’s certainly not ‘bored’ learning a new offense, and it’s a great point, really. If anything, the monotony of what has been the Broncos’ offense the last three years needed a bit of shaking up, which is why it was for the best that everyone — including Adam Gase — was gutted from the Broncos’ offensive coaching staff and decision-making crew, save for some position coaches.
The Broncos’ offense will be fresh, and it will be a great new challenge for Manning, who hasn’t been in this kind of environment before, at least as it pertains to his Broncos career.
I’m excited to see what he can do, but I agree with No. 18 — stop asking about the offense. We all know it’s going to be different than the previous one, and we all know it’s not something Manning’s used to.
What more do we want him to say?