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.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
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.
When Peyton went into the game and remained the starter, it was OK with me because our team was winning games. We won a championship.
He's been so successful, arguably the best quarterback ever to play the game. If you were trying to follow his footsteps, it would be incredibly difficult. I'd go crazy if I woke up every day and tried to compare myself to Peyton Manning.
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.
Peyton Manning is doing things that I think no other quarterback in the history of the league has done at the line of scrimmage... I just think they are a team right now that's got a real chance to run the table.
I also wanted to play with Peyton Manning because I thought he could teach me a lot, and he did.
I have great respect for Greg Knapp, who was my quarterbacks coach in Denver for three years. He taught me so much about playing quarterback in the NFL and made me a better football player.
I have to leave the games now if the announcer says something I don't agree with. I'm thinking, 'Peyton, it is not healthy to be all worked up before a game.'
I think it was one of the better meetings that I've had with those guys, because I was honestly able to say everything I wanted to say, and I pretty much aired out the dirty laundry. So from that point on, I thought all of that was behind us.
I'm the best Manning.