Terrell Davis, John Lynch face steep competition in HOF …media.denverbroncos.com/images/9008/Daily Clippings/150130.pdf · Terrell Davis, John Lynch face steep competition in HOF

Terrell Davis, John Lynch face steep competition in HOF vote By Mike Klis The Denver Post January 29, 2015 PHOENIX — Terrell Davis doesn't need election into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday to call it a good week. On Wednesday, his wife Tamiko delivered their first daughter, Dylan. On Thursday, Davis, the former Broncos running back, flew in for the Super Bowl, where he has appearances, NFL Network responsibilities and anxious moments as he awaits how a 46-member Hall of Fame voting committee considers his candidacy. Davis is one of 15 modern-era finalists vying for one of the five spots that can be elected into Hall class of 2015. "There's a lot going on," Davis said. "I look at it as I'm almost playing with house money. When I looked at where my career started to where I am now, I never dreamed I would have been this close to the Hall of Fame." Given the Broncos' on-field success over the past 40 years, a case can be made no team is more underrepresented in the Hall of Fame than the Broncos. Only John Elway, Floyd Little, Gary Zimmerman and Shannon Sharpe are in. Compare that to two other original AFL teams — the Kansas City Chiefs, who have 10, and the Buffalo Bills, who have nine Hall of Famers. Davis and safety John Lynch are representing the Broncos among finalists this year. This is the first time Davis made it to the voting room after reaching the cut to 25 semifinalists the previous eight years. His candidacy has been tricky because it's built on a relatively small time frame of four seasons. But within those four seasons was dominance. The most compelling case for Davis is he was the No. 1 reason the Broncos won their only two Super Bowls in 1997-98. Elway never won a Super Bowl without Davis. Peyton Manning, Karl Mecklenburg, Mike Shanahan, Rod Smith, Little — none of those Broncos greats won a Super Bowl for the Broncos without Davis in his prime. Lynch, who played most of his career with Tampa Bay, but was a Bronco from 2004-07, is a finalist for a second consecutive year. He was a key player of Tampa Bay's great defense that won a Super Bowl in 2002. His nine Pro Bowls are second only to Hall of Famer Ken Houston's 10 among safeties. Davis and Lynch have a good chance to make the first cut Saturday from 15 finalists to 10. But from there, the list of candidates is so strong, the cut from 10 to five is a tossup.

"How do you pick from that list?" Lynch said. "My thoughts are the same as last year: I'm very honored. I do feel a little bit more momentum this year. But gosh, that list is so incredible." About the only candidate certain to be elected is Junior Seau, the great linebacker for the San Diego Chargers and later the New England Patriots. "It's obviously got to happen," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said at his Super Bowl news conference Thursday. "I can't imagine having a Professional Football Hall of Fame without Junior Seau in it." Seau and left tackle Orlando Pace, who also is considered a favorite, could be elected in their first year of eligibility. Holdover finalists who received strong support last season include Marvin Harrison, Jerome Bettis, Charles Haley, Will Shields, Tim Brown and Kevin Greene. A sleeper could come from one of three coaches nominated — Don Coryell, Tony Dungy and Jimmy Johnson. The top eight to 12 candidates are so compelling, there is a possibility quarterback Kurt Warner, who led three teams to the Super Bowl and was a two-time league MVP, might not get in. "It's strong," Davis said. "I never went into a game where I thought about losing. But with the Hall of Fame you look at these players and you can't help but think you might not get in." 2015 Hall of Fame Class General managers Bill Polian and Ron Wolf are likely to be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame as contributor candidates, and center Mick Tingelhoff is likely to be rubber-stamped as a senior candidate. Only five of the 15 modern-era candidates can get elected. NFL reporter Mike Klis takes a stab at how the voting will go Saturday: 1.Junior Seau, linebacker, 1990-2009 The only sure selection. Sadly he will be inducted posthumously. 2.Marvin Harrison, receiver, 1996-2008 Peyton Manning's all-time favorite receiver ranks seventh in yards, third in catches, fifth in TDs. 3.Orlando Pace, left tackle, 1997-2009 Left tackles get love on draft day, contract time and by Hall of Fame committees. 4.Charles Haley, defensive end, 1986-96, 1998-99 I'm stunned he hasn't made it, yet. Only player with five Super Bowl rings. 5.Jerome Bettis, running back, 1993-2005 Nearly voted in last year. Ranks sixth all-time with 13,662 rushing yards.

6.Will Shields, guard, 1993-2006 Named to 12 consecutive Pro Bowls. Played all 224 games (223 starts) for Chiefs in 14-year career. 7.Kurt Warner, quarterback, 1998-2009 Super Bowl MVP and two-time NFL MVP. Led two teams to three combined Super Bowls. 8.Terrell Davis, running back, 1995-2001 Averaged 1,603 yards, 14 TDs in his first four seasons. NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP. Rushed for at least 100 yards in seven consecutive playoff games. 9.John Lynch, safety, 1993-2007 His nine Pro Bowls are second only to Ken Houston's 10 among safeties. 10.Tim Brown, receiver-returner, 1988-2004 Could upset Harrison. Ranks fifth all-time with 1,094 catches, sixth with 14,934 yards; had four return TDs. 11.Kevin Greene, defensive end, 1985-1999 Most underrated finalist. His 160 sacks rank third all-time behind only Bruce Smith and Reggie White. 12.Tony Dungy, coach, 1996-2008 Won at both Tampa Bay and Indianapolis. First African-American coach to win a Super Bowl. 13.Morten Andersen, kicker, 1982-2004 NFL's all-time leader in field goals (565) and points (2,544). 14.Don Coryell, coach, 1973-1986 Better passing game innovator than coach. 15.Jimmy Johnson, coach, 1989-93, 1996-99 The Terrell Davis of coaches in that he was spectacular for his short time with the Cowboys.

Ineligible receiver officially an issue at Super Bowl By Troy E. Renck and Mike Klis The Denver Post January 29, 2015 TEMPE, Ariz. — A fire alarm sounded at the New England Patriots' hotel Wednesday night, marking the third time this week. Thursday morning, coach Pete Carroll sounded an alarm to the NFL, making it clear the Seattle Seahawks would not be startled by an ineligible receiver Sunday. The Patriots found a loophole in adding an ineligible receiver, using the tactic successfully against the Baltimore Ravens and Indianapolis Colts. Carroll alleged that the Patriots scored a touchdown against the Colts on a play when the ineligible receiver remained in the game, creating confusion. "The league will have a new signal," said Carroll, adding that the referees will point with two hands at the player, explaining whether he's eligible. "They've never done that before." Dean Blandino, the NFL's vice president of officiating, contradicted Carroll later Thursday. He said the referees will use the same signal as adopted for the AFC title game, with the official pointing at the player and signaling like an incomplete pass. Super Bowl referee Bill Vinovich added to the confusion, saying he would also announce to the defense: "Do not cover the ineligible receiver." Blandino said, no, the crew would not do that. Good thing this is all clear before the biggest game of the season, right? Talk of the town. Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch broke from his one-sentence script Thursday, explaining why he doesn't talk to the media. He said the media can't relate to him, and that only the respect of his family and team matters. "I don't know what story you are trying get out of me, what story you are trying to portray out of me. You can go make up what you want to make up," Lynch told reporters. "I don't have nothing at all for you. I have told you that." During his five-minute "availability," he provided shout-outs to players and touted his merchandise at beastmodeonline.com. "He's not selfish. He's just being himself," said Broncos safety T.J. Ward, like Lynch a product of the Bay Area. "That's just who he is." Deflategate update. When the NFL investigates Patriots quarterback Tom Brady about his possible involvement in Deflategate, a union attorney will be with him. NFL Players Association leader De- Maurice Smith said the league decided not to interview any players about the possible deflation of Patriots game balls until after the Super Bowl. The reduction of air pressure in the New England game balls allegedly occurred between two hours before the AFC

championship game, when officials inspected the balls, and the opening kickoff. The game balls were reinflated to specs at halftime. During an NFLPA news conference Thursday, Smith was mostly diplomatic when asked how well he thought commissioner Roger Goodell has been governing the league. "Our job is to represent the players; he represents the interest of the owners," Smith said. "I honestly believe that the collective bargaining agreement represents the best of our work together. Where it spins out of control is where the league nonetheless believes they can impose or do something unilaterally. And I think that represents the worst." Smith cited examples when former commissioner Paul Tagliabue overruled Goodell's decision on Bountygate and when a neutral arbitrator vacated the league's punishment of Ray Rice. "Respectfully, I'm not going to answer your question directly, because that's what I do best," Smith said, smiling. Baby on hold. The girlfriend of Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman is expecting their first child in the next few days. Doctors have told the couple the birth probably won't happen Sunday, but what if the baby arrives sooner? Sherman said "we will cross that bridge if we come to it." He expects the baby to "show discipline," he said, smiling, and wait until next week. NFL players have missed games for births of their children. But no player has been absent from the Super Bowl for that reason.

Broncos' T.J. Ward determined to be big hit on huge stage, like Kam Chancellor By Troy E. Renck The Denver Post January 29, 2015 PHOENIX — Coffee in hand, Broncos strong safety T.J. Ward sipped from the cup, stared across the cafe and answered the question with steely-eyed focus. His expression and passion were typical, but for one exception. He's attending the Super Bowl as a visitor, not as a player. Before making his way through the carwash of radio row Thursday, Ward disputed the notion that the window to win an NFL championship has closed on the Broncos' fingers, even if quarterback Peyton Manning returns to the team. "One player doesn't make the team," Ward said. "You can have talent, but you need a team. And we have a team. We get along with each other. We hang out off the field. Besides the ability, we have smart players with great work ethic. Yeah, especially after how we finished, the goal is to win a championship. All of the free agents didn't sign one-year, this-is-the-only-year contracts. We are here, three, four, five years. As long as we are here, the goal is the same." Ward draws comparisons to Seattle safety Kam Chancellor. Both have forged reputations on big hits and leadership. History says the Seahawks trounced the Broncos last year by five touchdowns. Witnesses at MetLife Stadium insist Seattle won with a hit on Denver's second possession when Chancellor delivered a forearm shiver that knocked Demaryius Thomas 7 yards back and to his knees. "It was one of those things where I had watched that play on film and put myself in that position in my mind. When it happened, I just executed it," Chancellor said. "From what people tell me, it led to a lot of dropped balls. That play, yeah, it was a little different." Chancellor answers to the nickname "Bam-Bam." It is tattooed on his shoulder blades. Ward goes by "Boss," earned from video gaming in college and carrying himself with authority on the field. The Broncos reacted to Chancellor's Super Bowl performance by signing Ward as a free agent. Denver general manager John Elway sought a defense that was more clenched fists than finesse. Ward wanted to be on a winner, and to play in prime time, both foreign concepts during his time in Cleveland. Ward finished second on the Broncos in tackles and earned Pro Bowl honors, but couldn't match Chancellor as a menace. That wasn't entirely Ward's fault. Jack Del Rio played a conservative style as Denver's defensive coordinator, only loosening his vice grip on blitzes over the final six weeks — at which point Ward became more impactful. At times, Ward's knowledge and discipline hurt him. He is reluctant to freelance at the expense of a teammate.

Endless transition hasn't helped, either. In Gary Kubiak, Ward will be playing for his fifth head coach in six seasons. "People say, 'You used to do this, and why aren't you doing that?' I am like, 'I have been in four different styles of defenses and they all have me doing different things,' " Ward said. "Just because you don't see a lot of that in one year doesn't mean it's not there. My defense calls for me to do different things. It's hard to get comfortable in a defensive scheme when you change it every year." Ward is intrigued by Denver's hiring of defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, Del Rio's successor. "I don't know much about him, but I do know he had some really good defenses in Houston," Ward said of Phillips, who is expected to use a 3-4 alignment, which encourages aggressive tactics to attack the quarterback. Consistency, meanwhile, defines Chancellor's career. He has played for the same head coach, Pete Carroll, and two defensive coordinators in five NFL seasons. The Seahawks use a basic scheme, with the defense tied to the players' strengths, not the other way around. Chancellor starred in playoff victories over the Panthers and Packers. "We feed off him. He sets the tone," said all-pro cornerback Richard Sherman. "He damages people's souls." Ward respects Chancellor's talent. He believes he's better than people realize, explaining, "He's not just a hitter. He's a tackler, someone who is really athletic." Ward will be watching Sunday. That was never the plan. He wants to spend next January practicing for the big game, not talking about it on radio row. "What Elway says about winning, that's the mind-set we should have," Ward said. "We don't want to be good a couple of years, then bad. Why can't you just be good all the time? That's pretty much where Elway is coming from with his expectations. Why can't we meet them every year?"

Archie Manning talks about Peyton Manning’s future The Denver Post January 29, 2015 In Arizona for the Super Bowl, Archie Manning joined Woody Paige and Les Shapiro on The Sports Show on Thursday and offered some insight on his conversations with Peyton regarding his future. While on the show, Archie refused to go into too much detail about Peyton’s decision of whether he’ll play next season but said that “he’s good” and has taken time to rest his injured thigh. “Peyton’s pretty good at this,” Archie said. “I don’t tell him what to do, but I talk to him a little bit about his process and I said, ‘You figure this out. You take a good evaluation — a truthful evaluation — of where you are physically.’ “Peyton obviously had to make an adjustment when he came to Denver because of all his neck surgeries. He had to be a different type of player. But I said, ‘You take an evaluation … You know what it takes to play, and if you want to play, then play. And if you don’t want to do it, then it’s been a great run and you’ve got a great life waiting on you out there. He’s always made good decisions.” Archie was also asked about how Manning would fare with new Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak, his own health and much more in the clip.

No legacy points for Broncos' coaching staff of 2015 By Benjamin Hochman The Denver Post January 29, 2015 In regards to the Broncos getting the band back together, this isn't like reuniting the Rolling Stones; it's like reuniting Sly & The Family Stone. That funk group had 21 members over the years — including moonlighting, sax-playing pitcher Steve Stone — and over at Dove Valley, it's like every former Broncos coach is now a Broncos coach again. It's definitely a Throwback Thursday. Wade Phillips was named the defensive coordinator Wednesday — he was Denver's DC during the George Bush administration (the first George Bush). Former Broncos player and position coach Rick Dennison is the offensive coordinator. Gary Kubiak is the boss of these guys — Kubes was a Denver player and offensive coordinator. And, of course, Kubiak's boss is John Elway. Somewhere, Joe Collier is calling up the land-line number he had for Elway in 1989, hoping to get a gig. Initially, I wondered if the return of the good ol' boys could actually backfire. It just sounded forced — bringing back all the old guys for one last hurrah. That's one of the reasons I hoped Denver would hire Vance Joseph as DC. He's lauded as a brilliant up-and-comer in the league, he's only in his 40s and, yes, he's African-American. Basically, none of these guys are going to defy the great John Elway, who arguably has more power than he ever had with the John Fox administration. Elway, I understand, wanted Joseph, too. But because of the Bengals' refusal to release Joseph from the final year of his contract, he instead brought back men who made Elway Elway over the years, hoping to make the Broncos the Broncos one more magical time. But there are numerous reasons why John & The Family Elway could work. For one, these dudes are proven. You've read Mike Klis' stuff, you know about how Phillips is a defense-fixer and how Kubiak seldom gets fired from gigs.Of course, the team's pretty good to begin with: Eleven Broncos were either Pro Bowlers or Pro Bowl alternates. Another thought is, these guys aren't going anywhere. Much has been made about how Fox, Jack Del Rio and Adam Gase were considering other jobs before Denver's debacle against Indianapolis. You could argue that this will be Phillips' last job. Kubiak — who announced he wouldn't leave his post as the Ravens' offensive coordinator until the guy he calls Woody (Elway, not Paige) called — even told The Post that "hopefully it works out so this is the last coaching job I have." Dennison, sure, he'd probably consider a head coaching job down the line, but he must prove himself as the offensive coordinator first. The age thing is a thing. Phillips is 67, Dennison is 56, Kubiak is 53. Some might wonder if they still have that fire. But look, clearly these guys have been successful more times than not. And while age is major on the field, it's often just a number with coaches. Dick LeBeau turned 100 the season his Steelers' defense won the Super Bowl in 2008.

Elway isn't just a quarterback, restaurateur, funny wedding dancer and general manager. He's an orator. The guy doesn't just say all the right things; he says them in a tone that's inspirational. This guy yearns for a Super Bowl. He is aching, he is aggressive. Sure, you can wonder if, say, DeMarcus Ware was the best money spent, considering since November the guy's been " DeMarcus Where?" And he better assemble an offensive line, like his line from the '90s, that earns the swagger to not talk to media, unlike Orlando Franklin, who'd often tell reporters he was "unavailable," even though Tony Orlando could've played better than he did. But John Elway wants this. He wants this for Pat Bowlen, he wants this for Broncos Country. He wants this for his legacy. Right now, John Elway the GM is John Elway the quarterback before 1997. The 2015 Broncos are 0-0. We'll spend the next half-year speculating how this new-look staff will do. But, just like we must hold Elway (yes, John Elway) accountable — as I wrote last February — there won't be any passes for these coaches, just because they were successful back when I was in middle school. CHEW ON THIS • The Nuggets won a game! The Nuggets won an actual game! A road game, too: 93-85 at the New Orleans Jazz Hornets Pelicans on Wednesday. The 19-27 Nuggets need a revamped roster, and I believe, really, the only Nuggets that is untradeable is 20-year-old rookie center Jusuf Nurkic. He tallied 15 points, nine rebounds and two blocks in 29 minutes at New Orleans. Since Jan. 3, The big man has posted a positive plus-minus rating in 10 of the 13 games. He's fun to watch because he's got these nifty post moves. This isn't 7-foot Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, heaving pretty, arching hook shots and above-the-rim baskets. A lot of "The Impaler's" production comes from quick shots on moves in the post. He can't rely on his vert. • More Nurkic! Broadcaster Chris Marlowe, he of "Bosom Buddies," tweeted this from a chat with Nuggets strength coach Steve Hess: Great chat w @SteveHess1 on bus, told me @nurkic23 was 310 lbs and 25% body fat when he arrived in Denver- now 288 12% • As you've seen in a previous post, Nurkic's unofficial nickname is "The Impaler." I called him "Nurky" on Twitter the other night, but to the disdain of Denver fans. Though, I thought I salvaged it by later calling him " Nurky Thompson." Speaking of Nuggets fans on Twitter, the statheads go nuts on Twitter when coach Brian Shaw sticks with J.J. Hickson and Kenneth Faried in the low post down the stretch. These guys play occasional defense and statistically rate out poorly together. Let Nurkic grow! • Super Bowl trash talk doesn't just include players. Check out this smarmy but fun Boston Globe piece, with the headline: "New England is Better Than Seattle at Football and at Everything Else, Too." • Please take some time to read this powerful piece by The Post's Francie Swidler, about her grandmother's survival in the Holocaust.

• Robert Mays of Grantland gives us a glimpse behind the visor of Seattle bad boy Kam Chancellor, featuring quotes from Demaryius Thomas about "the hit" from last year's Super Bowl. • And finally, happy 70th birthday to Tom Selleck! (His mustache is 47.)

After debacle in Denver, McDaniels doing fine By Eddie Pells Associated Press January 29, 2015 You live. You learn. You move on. The name ``Josh McDaniels'' still evokes a certain reaction in Denver _ not a good one. The man vilified by many in the Mile High City for bringing Tim Tebow _ and losing _ to the Broncos is now the mastermind of Bill Belichick's Super Bowl offense. During interviews this week, McDaniels conceded he was far from perfect during his time in Denver, which ended with his firing after only 28 games. ``You make mistakes. There's no resentment,'' said McDaniels, whose Broncos got caught in a videotaping scandal while he was head coach. ``Everything that happened has made me a better assistant and has made us a better offense.'' His name surfaced when the lists of candidates for vacant head-coaching jobs came out at the end of the season. He interviewed with Atlanta and San Francisco. Since then, he's been devising schemes that have helped New England move within one game of the title. He disputes the idea that the Patriots have been devious or breaking the rules with the different formations they've used in the playoffs _ involving bringing players wearing eligible numbers into the game but declaring them ineligible receivers. ``We've huddled every time. We've reported every time, ineligible,'' he said. ``And once we did that, we broke the huddle, we lined up and we ran the play.'' Could he be bringing his brand of football to another team, any time soon? Odds are, he'll get a chance eventually. ``This is such a great team and I've got such a great situatiion,'' he said. ``I'm going to have to think very, very hard before I pick up and leave here.''

NFL says reported concussions down 25 percent this season By Howard Fendrich Associated Press January 29, 2015 PHOENIX (AP) — The number of recorded concussions dropped 25 percent during the regular season, according to the NFL, even as injury reporting and trips to injured reserve list rose overall. Data released by the league Thursday shows there were 111 concussions in games during the 2014 regular season, down from 148 in 2013, and 173 in 2012, a 36 percent drop over that three-year span. This follows repeated changes by the NFL meant to cut down on blows to the head, including reduced practice time and rules protecting defenseless receivers and barring leading with the crown of the helmet. "It would have been nice if we had started this in 1930, but we didn't," said San Francisco 49ers chairman John York, who leads the owners' health and safety committee. "And as things came to our attention, we took more interest in looking at these questions." When preseason games, plus preseason and regular-season practices, are included, the 202 concussions this season declined 12 percent from 2013, and 23 percent from 2012. That's despite no new rules meant to protect players' heads. "Players are changing the way they're tackling," NFL Senior Vice President of Health and Safety Policy Jeff Miller said. "They're changing the way they play the game." Addressing two other areas of player health, Miller said that as concussions have gone down, "We have not seen a correlation with an increase of knee injuries, at all," and that "for the fourth consecutive year, injuries on Thursdays are no greater than they are on Sunday and Monday." In all, the concussion rate is down to 0.43 per game, Miller said, adding: "You have to play more than two games to get a concussion in the NFL, by those numbers." A total of 59 concussions were caused by helmet-to-helmet or shoulder-to-helmet hits this season, the league's data says, almost exactly half as many as two years ago. "With all the technological innovations that we've had over the past few years, I'm surprised the numbers keep going down," St. Louis Rams team doctor Matthew Matava said. "Because you'd think, with more vigilance, you'd see more of any sort of condition." According to STATS, there were 265 players placed on injured reserve during the regular season in 2014, a 17 percent jump from the 226 the year before.

This season, for the first time, NFL injury data was collected by all 32 teams through electronic medical records, allowing for more comprehensive accounting. That system does a better job of capturing all injuries — from a bruise, say, to a broken leg — according to Christina Mack, an epidemiologist at Quintiles, a clinical research organization that works with the league. One change is that less-severe injuries, such as a first-degree sprain, are captured more frequently now, she said. Something worse, such as a concussion or torn knee ligament, is just as likely to have been reported under the old setup. A 15 percent hike in injury reporting from 2013 to 2014 — an increase of about 0.9 per game, on average — is at least in part due to the new system, according to Mack

Peyton Manning to receive Bart Starr Award By Jeff Legwold ESPN.com January 29, 2015 PHOENIX -- Peyton Manning will make his first major public appearance since the Denver Broncos' exit from the postseason when he receives the Bart Starr Award on Friday. The honor, awarded annually at the Super Bowl Breakfast in the title game's host city, cites a player's “character and leadership" off the field. Tony Dungy, Manning's former coach with the Indianapolis Colts, is scheduled to present the quarterback with the award in the ceremony. It will be Manning's most high-profile appearance since the Broncos' Jan. 11 loss to the Colts in the AFC divisional round. Bart Starr Jr., the Pro Football Hall of Famer's son, is scheduled to attend, as is former Broncos and Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety John Lynch. Manning had said on Christmas Eve that he intended to return for the 2015 season, then backtracked following the Broncos' 24-13 loss to the Colts. Manning finished that game 26-of-46 passing for 211 yards and a touchdown. Several Colts defenders said they wanted to put the game in Manning's hands and force him to throw toward the sidelines. Broncos executive vice president of football operations/general manager John Elway met with Manning the day after the loss and said he told Manning at the time to take at least four weeks to make a decision. In making the rounds Thursday at the Super Bowl's Radio Row in downtown Phoenix, Archie Manning told a Nashville station that he expected his son to make a decision about the 2015 season "maybe in the next week or two."

Archie Manning: Peyton Manning will decide on return 'maybe in next week or two' By Jeff Legwold ESPN.com January 29, 2015 PHOENIX – Former NFL quarterback Archie Manning said Thursday that he expects Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, one of his three sons, to decide on whether he plays in 2015 “maybe in the next week or two." Archie Manning made his comments during an appearance from the Super Bowl media center, aired by a Nashville, Tennessee, radio station, and touched on Peyton Manning’s impending decision as well as the quarterback’s right thigh injury he suffered in December. “He’s given a lot of thought to it," Archie Manning said. “My advice for him is to go through the process, get away a little bit, let your leg heal, give it a lot of throught and decide what you’re going to do … [I] think he’s taken a good evaluation of where he is physically." Peyton Manning skipped last week's Pro Bowl because of the injury. At the time, Manning issued a statement that he was “disappointed that I'm just not healthy enough this year to be part of it." Manning suffered the injury just before halftime of the Broncos' Dec. 14 victory over the San Diego Chargers. Manning had suffered flu-like symptoms the night before the game and had four bags of fluids administered by IV in the night before the game and the morning of the game. He has said he believed dehydration contributed to the leg injury, which he suffered trying to roll out to throw to Broncos wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders. After missing some practice time the week following the injury, Manning had his first four-interception game of the season against the Cincinnati Bengals and he did not throw for a touchdown pass in the regular-season finale against the Oakland Raiders. Manning had said on Christmas Eve that he intended to return for the 2015 season, but then backtracked Jan. 11 following the Broncos’ 24-13 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC’s divisional round. Manning finished 26-of-46 passing for 211 yards and a touchdown in the playoff loss as several Colts defenders said they wanted to put the game’s in Manning’s hands and force him to throw the ball toward the sidelines. Following the game, Manning said he could not say with any certainty if he would be back for the 2015 season. Broncos executive vice president of football operations/general manager John Elway met with Manning the day after the season-ending loss and Elway said he told Manning to take at least four weeks to make a decision.

Manning’s salary for the 2015 season -- $19 million – is guaranteed on March 9, which is the last day of the league year, if Manning is on the roster. Manning was signed to a five-year, $96 million deal in 2012 that has been tweaked since he signed it. If he returns to play in 2015, his cap charge is scheduled to be $21.5 million -- his base salary and a pro-rated charge for bonuses. Asked Thursday if he expected Manning to return for the 2015 season, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said: “What a great player he’s been for this league? He’s a great competitor, and I’ve been fortunate to play against him a bunch of times. I certainly hope he comes back because the league will miss him if he doesn’t. Those decisions are up to him. I’m sure it’s up to him whether he’s [ready] mentally and physically, if that’s what he wants to do. I certainly hope he’s back."

Domestic Violence and the NFL: What Impact has the League Made? By Jane McManus espnW.com January 28, 2015 In September, as backlash against the NFL hit an all-time high, commissioner Roger Goodell announced ambitious, new measures to raise awareness about domestic violence. He pointed to the Super Bowl as a good time to evaluate the league's action plan. What did the NFL do? What's working? What isn't working? espnW takes a comprehensive look at the answers to those questions. In September, Lisa Friel was hired by the NFL as a consultant. She has a brash matter-of-factness honed by more than a decade as a Manhattan sex crimes prosecutor. Although she isn't formally in the league's hierarchy, her credibility and directness have made her a key voice on the decision-making team that constructed the league's new personal conduct policy. All of that means she has spent a lot of time with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. The same Goodell who for years wrist-slapped players guilty of domestic violence, until a massive public relations disaster unfolded on his watch last summer. The same Goodell who thought a two-game suspension was sufficient for Ray Rice, a player who punched his wife in the face and rendered her unconscious. Friel is a big part of the NFL's new commitment to "get it right," and she has been working alongside the guys who have admittedly been getting it wrong all along. But Friel is adamant that despite now being on the league's payroll, she senses a genuine commitment on behalf of the league. Goodell has been in meetings with everyone from players' family members to domestic violence awareness groups. And Goodell doesn't just pop in for 20 minutes; he stays for the full two hours, according to Friel. Some of those meetings are a flight away. For a recent meeting with a domestic violence awareness group, Friel recalls that Goodell and a few others flew in and hopped on a return flight immediately afterward. When they boarded to head home, Goodell gathered everybody. "The commissioner goes, 'OK, let's talk about what we just heard,'" Friel says. "We rolled our eyes and said, 'Give it a rest. We're tired!'" You don't have to be much of a cynic to think none of this would have happened if the NFL hadn't botched so much, so badly. But even critics have to acknowledge that the NFL has dedicated time and funds to educating and disciplining its own staff on domestic violence, child abuse and sexual assault, and in the process, it has become a national clearinghouse on domestic violence. For advocates who have toiled for decades to raise public consciousness, the NFL has provided a beacon that could ultimately advance the domestic violence awareness cause by years. The league has received 5,000 pieces of correspondence on the issue, mostly from groups or individuals who want to help or partner with the league, according to the new vice president of social responsibility, Anna Isaacson.

"It may take us some time, but we will respond to every one," Isaacson said. This summer, Goodell pinpointed the Super Bowl as a time to re-evaluate the NFL's domestic violence efforts. Based on interviews with more than 15 people inside and outside league headquarters, Goodell seems to have achieved many of his biggest goals but has also had a few misfires along the way. (See a quick report card here.) Let's start with the complicated business of policing and disciplining player conduct. One of the loudest critics of the new code of conduct policy, which includes paid leave for players who have not yet been convicted of a crime and NFL investigations that run parallel to legal ones, has been the NFL Players Association. The NFL didn't want to collectively bargain the new policy (the NFLPA had given the league dominion over the policy in the 2011 CBA), so Goodell & Co. took the liberty of dramatically expanding the scope. The league set up a conduct committee and introduced the concept of paid leave for when a player or staff member has been charged but not yet found guilty. The NFLPA filed a grievance Jan. 22, and associate general counsel Heather McPhee, a key figure in the aftermath of the Ray Rice incident, said the union isn't done pushing back. "The union will be taking certain actions to address it," McPhee said. "We agree that it's totally different, and it's been imposed, and we have legal mechanisms to address what we see as the problematic aspects of it and the way that it was done." Players and the union were particularly rankled by the message Goodell sent by not reaching out to the NFLPA to work together. The long-running, bitter narrative players hold about Goodell is he works for the owners and puts player interests down the priority list as he makes authoritarian decisions. So excluding the NFLPA in this process did not go over well. "We argued both publicly and privately that it should have been collectively bargained, and that was not done or taken into account," NFLPA deputy managing director Teri Patterson said. Patterson and McPhee point to last year's overhauled drug policy as an example of when working together netted an agreement from both sides. "We agreed this was the process, and interestingly, there has not been one appeal, and we've had positive drug tests," McPhee said. "Our joint efforts have now yielded a really terrific, joint process, and that's what we would have hoped for in this as well." Garner said he was an older man, a staff member on one of the teams, and he told the room that when he was a boy, his mother had been killed by her husband. His story was haunting and impactful, Garner said, as he recounted how that moment shaped everything else about his life -- being a boy, husband and now a grandfather.

"I was speechless," Garner said. There were tears in the room that day, and Garner said that as she traveled, there were other deeply emotional stories of people who experienced abuse as children and still bore the emotional scars. She has found men and women of all ages ready to launch with ideas and action. For example, one NFL coach's wife has been full of ideas to help engage on this issue, and two cheerleading squads have reached out to local domestic violence groups to see how they can help drive funding and awareness. So Garner has a firm answer when asked whether the league's culture has changed. "I believe it has," she said. That shift has meant that, for the first time in league history, difficult, complex conversations are being held about rarely addressed topics. One of those topics: the definitions of masculinity and femininity. Garner helped produce an educational video for coaches that was framed around former NFL player Joe Ehrmann and some of the talks he delivers for his Coach for America anti-domestic violence group. In the video, Rocori High School football coach Mike Rowe talks to his team about "false masculinity" and how the idea of conquest has supplanted honor in some cultural corners. Considering the NFL trades on the idea of toughness, this is a challenging discussion to have. "Having conversations about masculinity is important," Garner said, "because if men can't talk to boys about masculinity, I'm not sure who will do that." Not everyone who sat through the information session thought it was helpful. One NFL player's wife, who asked not to be named, attended a family session and said she didn't think a presentation on one or two subjects would fix the problems in front of the league. "Cleaning up NFL culture is about way more than the issue in front of us," she said. The NFL is in an interesting spot; getting into the business of character development is tricky stuff. There is a lot of talk reminiscent of male gallantry, and the idea that womanhood is sacred, and women should all be treated with the reverence afforded one's mother. Rowe used the classical Greek references to honor and virtue, concepts that don't get a lot of play in popular culture, unless you're watching "The Godfather." The NFL unveiled a new code of conduct policy in December and didn't have to test drive it with the first incident; the San Francisco 49ers cut defensive lineman Ray McDonald immediately after what was McDonald's second incident of the season. When the Indianapolis Colts linebacker Josh McNary was charged with rape the week of the AFC championship, he was moved off the roster and onto the commissioner's exempt list, a kind of paid leave. Is this progress? Roughly 10 months after Ray Rice knocked his then-fiancee unconscious in an elevator and four months after a video made the public realize how lightly the NFL has taken domestic violence, almost everyone interviewed for this story agrees there has been real change.

The league's new code of conduct policy allows it to investigate an arrest before the legal case plays out and put a player accused of a felony on paid leave until the NFL has enough information to determine whether the alleged act is a code of conduct violation. Friel said the investigation phase is designed not to penalize players but to protect them. "As we beef up the policy and the discipline is beefed up, there will be a better investigation, a more expert investigation," she said. "You will be better protected, just as the victims will be better protected. But if you are the target of someone saying something that is untrue, these expert investigators are going to protect you from that, so you're better served by this new policy as well." In December, former Syracuse quarterback and longtime gender equity activist Don McPherson was in New York to accept an award from Vital Voices for his work in the area of domestic violence. How big an effect has the NFL had? Well, McPherson accounts for the "almost" in "almost everyone" who thinks the NFL is making an impact. "I hate to be the cynic, but I don't think it has," McPherson said. "And the reason why I don't think it has is because we're still talking about Roger Goodell and the NFL and not Ray Rice punching Janay Palmer in the head, and that was OK for him to be back on the field. When I started doing this work 20 years ago, we were following the white Bronco, and everyone thought the domestic violence world was going to change. And it really hasn't." The truth is McPherson isn't just playing devil's advocate. The new code of conduct policy, which mandates at least six games for an infraction such as child abuse, sexual assault or domestic violence, is an attempt to change attitudes well after they have been set. "I think the conversation that the NFL is having on the punitive side, all it does is further criminalize the players in the league," McPherson said. "It doesn't address the core issue of men's violence against women, which is the culture of masculinity and men that leads to misogyny and sexism and the overall notion that women are less than, which is very much a message that comes out of a lot of language in sport. And until we address those core issues, the problem will continue, and all the NFL is going to be creating [is] a criminal state in their league." The irony, McPherson noted, is that what got the NFL moving on the issue wasn't so much its own recognition of a problem -- two games? -- as sponsors such as Bud Light and Pepsi being uncomfortable with the league's inaction. "All the sponsors objectify women and continue to use women and women's bodies to sell their products and glorify the kind of Man Cave, tough-guy, narrow masculinity that's associated with the game," McPherson said with a laugh -- without actually finding it funny. As much as Bud Light finds domestic violence contrary to its core values -- that's important because of the statistical correlation between alcohol and domestic violence -- it still uses that narrow view of masculinity to market its products. "It's all about the male experience," McPherson said.

The day the Ray Rice interior elevator video went public, in September, the National Domestic Violence Hotline's call volume shot up 84 percent, and its website buckled from the traffic. It hasn't recovered. In the months since, the daily call volume is still double the norm, and roughly 20 percent of the calls to the center can't be answered with current staffing. That's including the 40 people the NDVH hired with a $5 million grant from the NFL. Domestic violence advocates are unanimous in saying the NFL's resource injection has been huge, but awareness and action are still not at levels necessary to combat what is an ongoing national crisis. The NDVH hosted the NFL at its headquarters in Austin, Texas, and CEO Katie Ray Jones gave Goodell a rundown on the good (improved resources) and the bad (still not enough to deal with the sheer volume of cases). Jones, who is well aware of the cynicism about the NFL's virtually overnight interest in domestic violence, found a captive audience that day with Goodell. "We saw the commissioner visibly moved," Jones said. "This was not just about PR." That characterization of Goodell and his involvement was echoed by other leaders in the anti-domestic violence community. Many of these organizations saw their funding ebb during the financial crisis and be cut during the congressional sequester. In September, when the NFL decided to tackle the issue, it was the first major source of new funding to hit the space in years. But with the new spotlight on the issue comes new challenges. The NDVH refers 13 percent of callers to shelters and local programs -- and many of those were strained well before the number of calls more than doubled. "It's a constant triage," National Network to End Domestic Violence president and CEO Kim Gandy said. "Trying to figure out who is in the most danger, who they can serve and who gets that last bed." The stakes are high. Jones said the advocates taking calls have to be prepared to answer legal questions, address concerns about children and find out how much danger the men and women are exposed to. Recently, there have been calls from people wondering if they might be perpetrators of domestic violence. "From a hotline perspective," Jones said, "it's important for us to have the right tools available." The domestic violence community is looking to advance the conversation. Katie Hood heads up the One Love Foundation, which was given $400,000 from the Ravens to take its education program into every high school and college in Maryland. One Love is named for lacrosse player Yeardley Love, who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend, George Wesley Huguely V, while they were students at the University of Virginia. The Ravens opened the team facility to One Love and dozens of educators in January for a presentation of a short film, "Escalation," which shows college students many of the signs that identify relationship violence. One Love hopes to eventually distribute the film throughout Maryland.

That's one shining example of a team taking real, tangible steps to combat domestic violence. A bigger question that will take years to answer: Can the NFL and its funding make a difference in the long run, or has it just unwittingly raised awareness of an issue by tripping into it? There are a dozen tendrils -- self-protection and genuine concern being just two of the most obvious. The NFL's real report card on this issue won't be ready for a few more years.

Bend, don't break: Coaches push NFL rules to the limit By Erik Brady and Jim Corbett USA TODAY Sports January 30, 2015 PHOENIX - Kurt Warner recalls playing a board game with his brother one day as kids. When his brother briefly left the room, Warner had one of those soul-searching moments you see in the movies, with an angel perched on one shoulder and a devil on the other. "Should I read his card?" Warner remembers thinking. He listened to the little devil — and looked. But when his brother returned, Warner immediately confessed. His better angel had won the day. "I just couldn't do it," Warner tells USA TODAY Sports. He just couldn't cheat. Not everyone is as honorable as the boy board-gamer who'd grow up to be the MVP of Super Bowl XXXIV for the St. Louis Rams. Cheating is as old as competition itself. Think of spitballs and corked bats, of doping horses and shaving points, of Lance Armstrong and the Faustian bargain of steroids. The air time for air pressure in the run-up to Sunday's Super Bowl can seem excessive. Only a few know the nuances of pounds per square inch, but the story is oversized precisely because everyone understands the temptation to cheat — whether in a board game with your brother or in a football game watched by 100 million. Sophocles said he'd rather fail with honor than win by cheating, but he wrote plays, not playbooks. Consider the opposing coaches in Super Bowl XLIX. Seattle coach Pete Carroll came to the Seahawks from USC just before the NCAA placed the school on probation for various violations on his watch. And New England coach Bill Belichick's Patriots videotaped opponents' signals in the scandal that came to be known as Spygate, though he and quarterback Tom Brady profess innocence in the comic opera we now know as Deflategate. The impulse to add the suffix "gate" to public scandal of any scale comes from Watergate, in which operatives for the Nixon White House burglarized the offices of Democratic National Committee chairman Lawrence O'Brien, who would go on to become commissioner of the NBA, where today players flopping to draw fouls is right on that line between gamesmanship and cheating. "Rule breaking and bending are two different things," says Mike Pereira, Fox's NFL rules analyst and the league's former director of officiating. "A lot of coaches bend the rules to take creative advantage." Pereira points to the unusual but legal formation that the Patriots have run in this year's playoffs, where an unbalanced line disguises eligible receivers. "Bend versus break," Pereira says. "Rules get bent, not necessarily broken." Players who slather Silicone on their uniforms before games — a practice that Pereira says officials have been policing for more than 15 years — know they are breaking the rules. They do it anyway.

"Officials have to go in the locker rooms before the game starts and at the beginning of halftime to randomly pat down players to see if they have any foreign substance on their body because players would place Silicone on their jerseys which would make them harder to grab onto," he says. "We had to deal with that. We had a policy where if you found a player with Silicone on his jersey, then you confiscated the jersey and you threw it to the sideline. "But it was still happening. By gosh, it's been so long you don't expect you have to send officials into locker rooms to check for substances like that. … Real fun job. You go in and go, 'Give me your left guard, your right tackle, your middle linebacker.' And you have to use your hands down the fronts and sides of their jerseys to wipe them down to make sure they're not wearing anything." 'THERE'S CONSEQUENCES' ESPN analyst Herm Edwards, who coached the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs, says bending rules is fine, as long as you don't break them. "Football really hasn't changed in that sense," he says. "There's always going to be players as well as coaches always pressing the line. And that's okay. And that's part of it. You have some players and coaches press the line more than others. You want to get as close to the cliff's edge, but don't fall over. And if you fall over the cliff, there's consequences, you face discipline." The Patriots paid a fine and forfeited a first-round draft choice after the excesses of Spygate, which came during the 2007 season. If they are ultimately found culpable in Deflategate — and the NFL said its investigation is expected to take weeks — penalties could be harsher this time around. "You do have to take their history into account," Pereira says. "That's like player discipline for personal fouls. History plays into that, too." Videotaping an opponent's signals is illegal, but trying to steal them in some other ways isn't. "People are always trying to get your signals," Edwards says. "That's why guys go out and look at substitution patterns and why when (coaches) call plays, they put the play-card over their mouths. If you can get an edge but not compromise the integrity, hey, you're going to try to get an edge." ESPN analyst Marty Hurney, former general manager of the Carolina Panthers, says he believes most teams trying to get an edge take care to stay inside the rules. "I don't think it's fair to paint a picture there's blatant rule-breaking," he says. "Does everybody try to get a competitive edge? Yes. Every GM and coach, your job is to win as many games as you can within the rules. And sometimes if you break a rule, you address it and try to make sure that doesn't happen again. "Rules are pretty clear. Every team knows what the rules are and where the line is. … Sometimes it might be a misunderstanding and they need a clarification of the rule. Nobody's perfect in this league. It does happen. You address that."

Miami Dolphins cornerback Bent Grimes figures air pressure and videotaped signals have little to do with winning games anyway. "You still have to play ball," he says. "It's the rules. I see why somebody would be upset about it. But if you're just asking me, I don't think it makes that much of a difference." WARNER'S DILEMMA When Warner was quarterbacking the Rams in their "Greatest Show on Turf" era, he ran a play worthy of an Oscar, backing away from center and unsnapping his chin strap as he trudged toward the sideline, as if ready to call a timeout. That lulled the San Francisco 49ers defense just as running back Marshall Faulk took a direct snap and ran for a first down that led to a touchdown a few days before Christmas in 2001. "I faked like I was mad and I was walking to the sideline and we snapped the ball," Warner says. "I tell you what — I still wrestle with that. It's within the legal boundaries of things, but I still wrestle with that." Warner did think about that play when the Patriots ran the unusual formation that flummoxed the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round. "It's like our play. It's legal and all of that," he says. "But I don't feel good about it." Warner plays pickup basketball these days. When he fouls another player, he calls it on himself rather than waiting for the fouled player to call it, as is often the custom in pickup games. "Things that are potentially outside the rules, I don't have any tolerance for," Warner says. "There's too many guys who do play within the rules that deserve the opportunity to be successful against guys who are stepping outside the rules. "Whether that's (performance-enhancing drugs), whether that's a Spygate-type thing, messing with the footballs if it gives them some sort of big advantage. If you play outside the rules, I don't have any tolerance for it." The reason for Warner's principled stand, he says, is as simple as this: He believes some players have lost careers to cheaters. "There are plenty of guys over the years that have done it by the rules and were right on the verge of having a career and they got beat out by the guys who didn't play by the rules," Warner says. "And that bothers me — somebody used PEDs and they just beat out somebody who did it all naturally." Warner led the Rams to a win against the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV following the 1999 season. His Arizona Cardinals lost Super Bowl XLIII to the Pittsburgh Steelers following the 2008 season. In between, his Rams lost Super Bowl XXXVI following the 2001 season — to the Patriots, the first of six Super Bowls for Belichick and Brady. "I felt like I've always done it the right way," Warner says. "And I've never stepped outside the rules and I've never allowed the guys around me to do that. I feel the only fair way to say we're all on even playing

grounds is to say, 'May the best man win.' And if you lose, you sit back, pat them on the butt and say, 'You got me today.' Anytime the competition becomes anything outside of that it becomes unfair to somebody. "And it can have an exponential affect on different things — on careers, money and the history of our game."

NFL lays out how Super Bowl footballs will be inspected, guarded By Gary Mihoces USA TODAY Sports January 29, 2015 PHOENIX — During Super Bowl XLIX, the NFL will have to keep track of nearly five times more footballs than for a typical game — and that will include whether they are properly inflated. The league said there will be "added security," too. Amid a continuing investigation probing whether the New England Patriots used illegally deflated balls during the AFC Championship Game, the NFL held its first pre-Super Bowl officiating press conference Thursday. Ball inflation was a prime topic. Prior to other games, each team prepares and breaks in 12 footballs it will use that day. They are presented to officials two hours and 15 minutes before kickoff for inspection, including an air pressure test. For the Super Bowl, the Patriots and Seattle Seahawks will each have 54 balls. "The thing with the Super Bowl is during the first half, we rotate footballs in as much as possible, because then those balls are used for charity and NFL auction," said Dean Blandino, the league's vice president of officiating. "So that's something that's been in place for many years at the Super Bowl." The awareness over proper ball inflation has become quite heightened since the start of the controversy known as Deflategate. It has brought denials from Patriots coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady that they had anything to do with deflating balls, perhaps to gain a grip advantage in the rain against the Indianapolis Colts two weeks ago. The protocol for who oversees the balls before kickoff changes at the Super Bowl, too. "So we have 108 footballs that we take custody of on Friday," said Blandino. "The teams do practice with those footballs. They prepare them, and then we take custody of those footballs on Friday. "We have them in our control, and then they're brought to the officials' locker room three hours before kickoff Sunday. We inspect them, we gauge them and then basically approve or disapprove of the football." There will be an extra wrinkle Sunday. "There will be some added security just because of the environment that we're in for this game," said Blandino, though he offered no specifics.

"Just some additional security measures from Friday when we take custody to when they deliver them on Sunday," he offered. "Not quite Stanley Cup (protection for the NHL's famous trophy), but there will be additional measures." The man in control of the balls in the days before Super Bowl XLIX will be Tony Medlin, equipment manager for the Chicago Bears. "(He) has been doing this for a long time, he has custody of the footballs," said Blandino, specifying that Medlin will bring the balls to the officials for inspection Sunday before turning them over to the ball boys. Under league rules, balls must be inflated between 12.5 and 13.5 pounds per square inch of air pressure. While the Patriots are still under investigation, the league has determined, "footballs that were under-inflated were used by the Patriots in the first half (against the Colts), (and) the footballs were properly inflated in the second half." Were the balls in the AFC title game properly inspected by referee Walt Anderson before the game? "We did review what happened pre-game, and from everything we reviewed and all the information we have ... the balls were properly tested and marked prior to the game," said Blandino. Why were the balls checked at halftime? New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft appeared unexpectedly at the team's first Super Bowl press conference Monday night, and said the Patriots did nothing wrong in the scandal of deflated footballs. VPC "There was an issue that was brought up during the first half. A football came into question, and then the decision was made to test them at halftime," said Blandino, who didn't reveal how the issues was raised. "There's an investigation going on. I can't get into too many specifics. But really, that's the chain of events that occurred during the course of the game." Might there be halftime inflation checks Sunday? "We'll plan accordingly, and if a situation comes up, we'll adjust," said Blandino. He expects the league to consider altering its pregame protocol for handling the footballs in the future. "I think it's something that's going to be discussed by the (competition committee)," said Blandino. "There's a lot of different things that can happen with the process. We can test balls at halftime just randomly. ... That's something that will be discussed."

Tom Brady on Peyton Manning: 'I certainly hope he comes back' By Michael Hurcomb CBSSports.com January 29, 2015 While the football world anxiously awaits official word from Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning about his playing status for the 2015 season, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady -- and longtime Manning rival -- said Thursday he hopes the five-time NFL MVP will continue his career. "What a great player he's been for this league," Brady said Thursday, per NFL.com. "He's a great competitor, and I've been fortunate to play against him a bunch of times. I certainly hope he comes back, 'cause the league will miss him if he doesn't. But those decisions are up to him. I'm sure it's up to whether he's mentally and physically -- that's what he wants to do. But I certainly hope he's back." Archie Manning, Peyton's father, told NFL Network on Thursday that his son hasn't made a decision yet. "Well, Peyton evaluates things; he's pretty good at that," he said. "I can't tell him what to do, and he hasn't told me what he's going to do. But I do know that he's really giving a lot of things a lot of thought. He's thinking about where he is physically, he wants to see how he can do this some more, trying to get over an injury." Archie added starting over with new Broncos coach Gary Kubiak will not be an issue for Peyton, if he decides to return next season. "Yeah, but he loves Gary. He likes Gary," Archie Manning said. "He liked John Fox. He liked Adam Gase. All those things, I think, are considered with. But my deal is he's always made good decisions; he's pretty thorough. He's going to evaluate a lot of things, and I think he'll make a good decision."

Peyton Manning has not made decision on future, father says SI.com January 29, 2015 Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning has not decided whether or not he will play next season, his father said. Manning, who will be 39 at the start of next season, said after Denver was eliminated from the playoffs that he was unsure if he would return for a fourth season with the Broncos. Denver GM John Elway said he expects Manning to return. A report last week from Woody Paige of The Denver Post cited three sources who said Manning would like to return but would wait until after his annual physical to make a final decision. The physical is mandated by Manning's contract due to his 2011 neck surgery. Manning also reportedly played with a torn quad muscle this season. In three seasons with the Broncos, Manning is 38-10 as a starter. He has thrown for 14,863 yards with 131 touchdowns and 36 interceptions. In 2013, Manning threw for a career-high 5,477 yards and 55 touchdowns while leading the Broncos to the Super Bowl. The Broncos and head coach John Fox announced they had mutually agreed to part ways shortly after the team was eliminated from the playoffs. Gary Kubiak was hired to replace him. Offensive coordinator Adam Gase left to take the same position with the Chicago Bears. Changes to the coaching staff are said to be a possible factor in Manning's decision.

Tom Brady on Peyton: 'I certainly hope he comes back' By Kevin Patra NFL.com January 29, 2015 Questions about the future of Peyton Manning continue to circle. Teammates have remained steadfastly confident the quarterback will return. Tom Brady, Manning's biggest rival throughout his career, joined the chorus in hoping that the Denver Broncos' signal-caller continues his career. "What a great player he's been for this league," Brady said on Thursday. "He's a great competitor, and I've been fortunate to play against him a bunch of times. I certainly hope he comes back, 'cause the league will miss him if he doesn't. But those decisions are up to him. I'm sure it's up to whether he's mentally and physically -- that's what he wants to do. But I certainly hope he's back." Manning has yet to address his future publicly, and his father, Archie Manning, told NFL Network's NFL AM on Thursday that the quarterback hasn't let on to his family either. "Well, Peyton evaluates things; he's pretty good at that," he said. "I can't tell him what to do, and he hasn't told me what he's going to do. But I do know that he's really giving a lot of things a lot of thought. He's thinking about where he is physically, he wants to see how he can do this some more, trying to get over an injury." There are concerns about whether Manning wants to start over with a new coach in Gary Kubiak and a new offense. "Yeah, but he loves Gary. He likes Gary," Archie Manning said. "He liked John Fox. He liked Adam Gase. All those things, I think, are considered with. But my deal is he's always made good decisions; he's pretty thorough. He's going to evaluate a lot of things, and I think he'll make a good decision." Until that decision is made the questions about the future Hall of Fame quarterback will continue to be asked.

Archie Manning: Peyton decision might come soon By Nick Shook NFL.com January 29, 2015 The uncertain future of Peyton Manning might become clear in the coming days -- or weeks. Manning's father, former NFL quarterback Archie Manning, believes the Broncos' signal-caller will make a decision "maybe in the next week or two." "He's given a lot of thought to it," Manning said during an appearance from the Super Bowl XLIX media center, aired by a Nashville, Tennessee radio station, via ESPN.com. "My advice for him is to go through the process, get away a little bit, let your leg heal, give it a lot of thought and decide what you're going to do ... (I) think he's taken a good evaluation of where he is physically." Manning's Broncos were surprisingly eliminated this season by the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Divisional Round. It was revealed after the loss that Manning had been dealing with a leg injury -- suffered during a late-season game against the San Diego Chargers -- which may have affected his passing, which was less-than-stellar in the loss. The quarterback's performance was shocking and alarming to those who have followed his career, prompting questions about whether Manning might just walk off the field for good. Manning hasn't indicated which way he is leaning, and faces adjusting to a new regime under new head coach Gary Kubiak and offensive coordinator Rick Dennison. He also faces the pressure of trying to lead Denver to a Super Bowl victory as their window of opportunity for a title continues to shrink. We could be a mere dozen days from seeing the return of a surefire Hall-of-Fame quarterback, or the beginning of the Brock Osweiler era.

Blandino: NFL to talk expanded use of instant replay By Conor Orr NFL.com January 29, 2015 PHOENIX -- With increased attention and visibility comes added scrutiny on NFL officials, and in no way was that more evident than in 2014/'15. On Thursday, NFL vice president of football operations Troy Vincent joined head of officiating Dean Blandino and Super Bowl crew chief Bill Vinovich to discuss a few matters, including the deflated ball controversy, the future of replay and other significant changes that could be in the fold. Here are a few takeaways: 1. Blandino said that Seahawks coach Pete Carroll was mistaken when he told reporters that a new signal would be utilized to help identify eligible or ineligible receivers. "The new signal, it's not really a new signal ... the signal is basically what occurred during the AFC Championship Game. Walt Anderson, our referee, he pointed at the player, No. 47, he waved his arms like an incomplete pass and then pointed at the player again. So that will be the mechanics of it." 2. Each Super Bowl team is in possession of 54 game balls, more than quadruple the typical amount of footballs on a normal game day. The reason, according to Blandino, is mostly related to outside responsibilities (souvenir footballs, charity footballs etc.) But the protocol on how the balls are handled will not change drastically based on recent events. Officials take custody of the game balls on Friday and have them in control through Sunday when they are returned to the teams, inspected and gaged once again. "There will be some added security based in the environment we're in with this game," Blandino said. 3. Blandino did not think Walt Anderson did anything incorrectly during his initial inspection of the footballs. He declined to comment further, but did say the officials will look into changing the process. Among the potential alterations on the table: Random, in-game inspections of footballs and added staff specifically in charge of game balls. 4. The league will discuss an expanded use of replay, which could include reviewing any calls made by an official. Blandino noted that there were two calls in particular this postseason that stood out -- the pass interference call in the Detroit-Dallas game and the Dez Bryant catch -- which caused a flurry of suggested rule changes. The Lions, for example, proposed a change that would allow expanded use of replay. 5. Pleased with the unpredictability of narrow goal posts during the Pro Bowl, Vincent said a change on that front is very much possible. Adam Vinatieri missed a pair of extra points and a 38-yard field goal. 6. Aware of the increased number of rules plaguing officials, Vincent said there will be a focus to streamline the rule book this offseason, a process that could eliminate some extraneous rules and make for a more efficiently called game. 7. Despite an increased focus on pass interference, calls only rose on average by two per game. Game time decreased by 1:44 per game.

Patriots’ McDaniels reborn after Denver coaching debacle By Bart Hubbuch New York Post January 30, 2015 PHOENIX — The Josh McDaniels Coaching Rehabilitation Project is in full swing, and the capper could come as soon as Sunday. McDaniels’ reputation was in tatters after a disastrous stint in charge of the Broncos that included his own version of Spygate, but McDaniels has been putting it all back together during the Patriots’ impressive run to Super Bowl XLIX against the Seahawks. From the decisive wide-receiver pass from Julian Edelman to Danny Amendola in the divisional round to his creative — and controversial — use of the substitution and tackle-eligibility rules to New England’s incredible balance on offense all season, McDaniels is looking good. “I love having Josh on our staff,” Bill Belichick said this week. “Really, I mean, I’m lucky to have a great staff and very fortunate to have Josh.” So fortunate that speculation is strong in New England the 38-year-old McDaniels is Belichick’s choice to succeed him whenever Belichick calls it a day on his Canton-bound career. McDaniels also is getting requests (which he frequently declines) to interview for head-coaching jobs again, a fact that would have been unthinkable just five years ago after he didn’t even make it through a second full season with Denver. After McDaniels had alienated the entire building, exiled Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall, used a first-round pick on Tim Tebow and gotten busted by the NFL for videotaping the 49ers before a game in London, Broncos owner Pat Bowlen fired McDaniels after a 3-9 start in 2010. McDaniels quickly landed with the Rams as offensive coordinator but was fired after St. Louis finished 30th in total offense in 2011 and immediately brought back by his mentor, Belichick. Skeptics would say it took coaching Tom Brady again in 2012 to make McDaniels look smart once more, but McDaniels’ defenders say he doesn’t get enough credit for his creative schemes and play-calling. “We’ve got a lot of guys who need touches, and someway, somehow, he finds a way to get everybody touches,” Patriots wideout Brandon LaFell said this week. “He finds a way to put everybody’s plays in there. We run everybody’s plays, and he’s a great player-caller. He calls some of the best plays in the [toughest] situations of football.” McDaniels said he was humbled by the experience in Denver and has grown from it, much like Belichick did after his ugly first head-coaching stint with the Browns.

“Anytime you go through an experience like that and don’t succeed at it, the important thing is to understand that we all make mistakes,” McDaniels said. “It’s wasted time to harbor any resentment. My focus after Denver is on the things I didn’t do well and how I can do them better. “Along those lines,” he added, “I think I’ve become a better coach, a better listener, a better father and a better husband just from the adversity that you go through.” The Patriots have finished first, third and fourth in the NFL in scoring offense in McDaniels’ three seasons as offensive coordinator, and an impressive offensive display Sunday against Seattle’s “Legion of Boom” defense could cement him as a perennial hot name again. For now, though, McDaniels is playing it cool. “Yeah, I would love to do [be a head coach] again,” he said. “The most important thing to me is to just be in the right situation and just be in a place where I feel good about being. “I happen to be in a good situation for myself right now and for my family. If it comes up again and it is like there it is, that is the right spot, then I would love to do it again and give it another shot.”

Ex-Cat Tamme leads four into Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame Lexington Herald-Leader January 29, 2015 Former University of Kentucky standout Jacob Tamme was among four 2015 inductees named Thursday to the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame. Tamme is joined in the class of 2015 by Doug Buffone from the University of Louisville, the late Gil Mains from Murray State and Aaron Jones from Eastern Kentucky. Alabama head coach Nick Saban was announced as winner of this year's Blanton Collier Award for integrity on and off the field. The award is named in honor of the former UK and Cleveland Browns coach. The Hall of Fame's 2015 induction ceremony will take place June 26 at the Brown Theater in Louisville. Tamme, currently with the Denver Broncos, starred at Boyle County High School before coming to UK, where he finished his career first in school history in catches by a tight end with 133 for 1,417 yards and 11 touchdowns from 2004-07. In seven seasons as a pro, Tamme has 178 receptions for 1,703 yards and 10 touchdowns. Jones, designated this year's 1980s inductee, played nine seasons in the NFL with Pittsburgh, New England and Miami. The defensive end was a first-round draft pick in 1988 out of EKU. Buffone, the 1970s inductee, played 14 years at linebacker for the Chicago Bears after a standout career at U of L that earned him a spot in the Cardinals' Hall of Fame. Mains, the pre-1970s inductee, spent nine years as a defensive lineman with the Detroit Lions after playing for Murray State, where he is part of the school's Hall of Fame.

Colorado man has more Super Bowl rings than anyone else By Jeremy Hubbard FOX31 January 29, 2015 CENTENNIAL, Colo. — When you think of guys with a lot of Super Bowl rings, you think of Joe Montana and Tom Brady. Not a quiet retiree from Centennial, Colo. But as the big game approaches on Sunday, we found out the guy with the most Super Bowl bling of anyone alive – lives right here in our back yard. It’s all because of where Neal Dahlen happened to be working, and who he was surrounded by. “Joe Montana, Steve Young and John Elway. They were the only quarterbacks that I was associated with for the years we were there,” Dahlen told FOX 31 Denver. In 1979, the high school and college football star went to work part time in the front office of the San Francisco 49ers. Three years later, he got his first Super Bowl ring. Three years after that, he got another. Four years later, another. A fourth ring came a year after that, when the San Francisco 49ers blew out the Denver Broncos 55-10 in Super Bowl XXIV in New Orleans. The rings kept coming. In 1995, he got his fifth Super Bowl ring. “I left to come (to Denver) with Mike Shannahan, and the next two Super Bowl rings were with John Elway and Terrell Davis,” Dahlen said. In case you lost count, that’s seven Super Bowl rings. More than anyone else – on the planet. Dahlen left the Broncos in 2006 after spending some time as general manager here. And these days, not a lot of people know about the distinction he holds. He’s a quiet and humble guy. Except when it comes to pointing out this: both of his teams have been back to the super bowl since he left, but they can’t seem to win it without him. In case you were wondering, he doesn’t wear those rings around the house – he keeps them locked up in a safe deposit box at the bank. He has seven grandchildren – and he plans to give each of them one Super Bowl ring one day.

Baseball: Clemson strength coach takes job with Denver Broncos By Aaron Brenner The Post and Courier January 29, 2015 CLEMSON – Dennis Love, who served as Clemson’s director of Olympic sports strength and conditioning the past five years, has accepted a position as an assistant strength coach for the Denver Broncos, the Post and Courier has learned. Love primarily worked with the Tigers’ baseball team, which in Love’s first year on staff made the semifinals of the 2010 College World Series. Last summer, Clemson aces Daniel Gossett and Matthew Crownover were especially complimentary of Love’s impact in the weight room. Right fielder Steven Duggar, who ranked among Clemson’s leaders in extra-base hits, runs produced and stolen bases last year, thought the Tigers made strides there this past offseason. “I think one of the more immediate changes we had was in the weight room,” Duggar said Friday. “You saw a lot of guys putting on weight, and I think that’s going to add some distance off the bats.” Love also was working directly with Clemson volleyball and men’s soccer. Before his Clemson tenure, Love completed an internship at the Athletes Performance Institute in Tempe, Ariz., whose former director is Luke Richesson, the Broncos’ current head strength and conditioning coach.

Denver Broncos Cheerleaders representing all of the US in Hong Kong The North Denver News January 29, 2015 Award-winning performance groups from around the globe will gather in Hong Kong to participate in this year’s Chinese New Year festivities. Today, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) announced its selection of the National Football League’s (NFL) Denver Broncos Cheerleaders to represent the U.S. in the 20th annual Cathay Pacific Lunar New Year celebrations. This marks the first visit to China for the Denver Broncos Cheerleaders. As part of the event, the Denver Broncos Cheerleaders will unveil a brand-new performance exclusive to the world-renowned Chinese New Year Parade. “The Denver Broncos Cheerleaders are thrilled to be selected by the Hong Kong Tourism Board to perform in the 20th annual Cathay Pacific Lunar New Year celebrations,” Director of Cheerleaders Shawna Peters said. “This is a wonderful opportunity for our young squad to observe and learn about Chinese culture during one of the largest Chinese New Year celebrations in the world. We are also excited for the chance to share some American customs with the residents of Hong Kong.” On February 19, Asia’s World City will transform into the world’s largest and internationally televised Chinese New Year celebration. Headlined by the award-winning Cathay Pacific International Chinese New Year Parade in Kowloon, and Chinese New Year Fireworks Display on the iconic Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong is set to welcome the “Year of the Goat” – the eighth sign in the Chinese Zodiac symbolizing harmonious co-existence for 2015. “Each year we’ve taken our annual Lunar New Year celebrations to new heights by delivering authentic, thrilling and unforgettable events unique to Hong Kong,” said Bill Flora, U.S. Director of the Hong Kong Tourism Board. “This year is no different as we prepare to welcome thousands of international visitors to celebrate the sophistication and rich traditions that only Asia’s World City can offer. We can think of no better way to do this than with the NFL’s Denver Broncos Cheerleaders.” The award-winning Cathay Pacific International Chinese New Year Parade kicks off Hong Kong’s festivities on the first day of Chinese New Year (February 19), bringing an extravagant procession of embellished floats and international performers to the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront. Celebrating its 20th year with the theme “World Party! Sweet 20!” the Night Parade is set to feature an extensive roster of critically-acclaimed performances by world-renowned talent, including the Denver Broncos Cheerleaders. Following the Broncos Cheerleaders Hong Kong debut, on February 19, the celebration rolls on as Hong Kong’s annual Chinese New Year Fireworks display engulfs the breathtaking skyline of Victoria Harbour.

Archie Manning: Peyton evaluating everything before making a decision By Josh Alper ProFootballTalk January 29, 2015 Patriots quarterback Tom Brady wants to see Peyton Manning back in the NFL in 2015, but Manning’s father said Thursday that his son is still weighing his options. Archie Manning said that Peyton is evaluating everything about the decision to return for another season and that he’s confident his son will make the right decision when the time comes. The first Manning to play quarterback in the NFL added that his son was disappointed that offensive coordinator Adam Gase joined John Fox in moving from Denver to Chicago this offseason, but that Gase’s departure probably wouldn’t swing things in any direction. “Peyton’s going to try to decide whether he wants to play or retire. If he decides to play, he’ll be fine. It’ll be another coordinator. He’ll deal with it,” Manning said, via NBC San Diego. Peyton Manning won’t have to do too much guesswork about what new wrinkles might be in the Denver offense since coach Gary Kubiak and offensive coordinator Rick Dennison have a long history designing schemes in the NFL. Kubiak also said that he’s going to work with Manning to design the offense if the veteran returns for another season with the Broncos.

Tom Brady hopes Peyton Manning comes back next year By Darin Gantt ProFootballTalk January 29, 2015 Tom Brady wants Peyton Manning to come back. And not just because he kind of owns him. The Patriots quarterback had kind words for his Broncos counterpart, who hasn’t made a firm announcement about his future plans. “What a great player that he’s been for this league,” Brady said when asked abut Manning, via Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. “He’s a great competitor. I’ve been fortunate to play against him a bunch of times. I certainly hope he comes back, because the league will miss him if he doesn’t. But those decisions are up to him. I’m sure it’s up to whether he’s mentally and physically, if that’s what he wants to do. But I certainly hope he’s back.” The respect is real, but the record is one-sided. Brady and Manning have played 16 times in their career, and Brady owns an 11-5 edge in those head-to-head matchups. With a record like that, it’s no wonder Brady wants to keep him around.