The legacy of Peyton Manning has been told so many times that you can probably recite it from memory better than you can all 50 state capitals. The quarterback, by all accounts, was committed and devoted to his craft like few others in the history of the game, and he spread that attitude and approach to his teammates as bets he could.
During a stretch of seven years with the Indianapolis Colts, former teammate Reggie Wayne claims that intense work ethic led to never having one dropped pass in a Friday practice because Manning would not allow for it.
“Take for example, on Fridays. It was called ‘Perfect Fridays.’ He would come out and he would kind of run the show for the beginning of Friday’s practice,” Wayne explained in an interview with NFL Network, as transcribed by The Indianapolis Star. “He had his cue cards and he went through all the plays that he wanted to run, and, I mean, it was nuts, the way he prepared that day, and it was to the fact that, we went for about seven years before anybody ever dropped a ball.”
Those Friday practices apparently looked nothing like Peyton Manning playing football with kids for the United Way.
Seven years without a single dropped pass in a Friday practice? For some teams, the Friday practice can be more of a walkthrough session to avoid injury and allowing the body to recover before Sunday’s game, but not one single dropped pass in all that time? I’m inclined to take the over on that, but it is still a strong testament to how committed Manning was and how much he wanted his teammates to be at the top of their game heading into the weekend.
But Wayne stood by his comment and explained what happened when the supposed perfect streak came to an end, without divulging the name of the receiver who dropped a pass.
“He ran that play over, started a new one,” Wayne said. Asked if Manning yelled at the moment, Wayne said “Absolutely.”
It must have worked to a degree because the Colts were routinely one of the top AFC contenders during Manning’s time with the Colts. If not for the New England Patriots, the Colts may have more than one Super Bowl trophy in their collection from Manning’s run.
