Peyton Manning Dishes on Russell Wilson's Year 1 Advantage in Transitioning to Broncos
Ask any NFL quarterback about the inherent challenges of joining a new team and learning an entirely new system and most would admit to the difficulty involved. Peyton Manning famously made that tricky transition when the Indianapolis Colts released him after 14 years. A short time later, he signed with the Denver Broncos in March of 2012.
Manning’s subsequent success is well documented and it owed much to his football intelligence blending with a commitment to diligently learning every corner of his new playbook. After trading for Russell Wilson, the 2022 Broncos are embarking on the same process, hoping that it delivers similar spectacular results.
Thankfully, Manning is always near at hand to provide sage advice and on Wednesday, he shared his take on why Wilson will have a leg up in his assimilation in Year 1, compared to what 'The Sheriff' dealt with a decade ago during his transition.
“I think he’s off to a fast start in talking to him,” Manning told Phil Milani of the team website during the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame event. “I do think it’s an advantage for Russell to be coming in with a new coaching staff, because everybody’s learning and Russell is going to know this offense better than anybody. So he’s going to be in teaching mode, as well. If you’re a new player and you’re catching up to everybody else in a leadership position, that can be difficult. So I think Russell is at a real advantage where they’re learning Coach [Nathaniel] Hackett’s offense together, figuring out what works and what doesn’t work and I think he’s going to be great obviously for our young receivers, Like all Broncos fans, [I’m] excited to see him get to work this fall.”
Manning stepped onto a Broncos roster in 2012 with an already entrenched offensive coordinator in Mike McCoy. Contemporary quarterbacks who've made the jump, like Tom Brady in Tampa Bay and Matthew Stafford in Los Angeles (both of whom won a Super Bowl in Year 1 with their respective new teams), also had to learn the system of an established coach while all their teammates already knew the scheme.
Wilson gets to be the day-one learner just like every other player in Denver, which means, as Manning alluded, it won't take long for him to assert his leadership by becoming the teacher and helping guys along.
Manning always took his preparation work to the next level and his own passing camps invariably provided a building block for what lay ahead during the long summer months of training camp. So it’s noteworthy that the first-ballot Hall-of-Famer is dutifully impressed by how Wilson's off-the-field throwing sessions have built early chemistry.
“It’s quite the setup,” Peyton observed of Wilson’s sessions. “I would imagine San Diego is a little more exciting than Durham in April, although we did throw in some Duke-North Carolina basketball games during the day, so that was neat. Wherever you go, I like the off-campus throwing. There’s something about the [fact that] Russell can lead it, and it’s just him and the receivers—coaches aren’t around. There’s some leadership there from all of the players. Obviously going out to San Diego, it sounds like a heck of a facility. I talked to Russell. He actually sent me the film of the throwing that they did, and I could tell they got a really good work in. That’s why I think they’re off to a really good start.”
Manning’s belief is that all the core tools are in place to achieve positive results. Furthermore, having had the benefit of privileged access to Wilson's own private videos of the event, hearing Manning make such observations resonates loudly.
Wilson is setting the stage to achieve maximum results and that's all part of Manning’s core DNA. It appears that Manning's good habits are once again rubbing off on the modern inhabitants of Dove Valley.
Follow Keith on Twitter @KeithC_NFL.
Follow Mile High Huddle on Twitter and Facebook.
Subscribe to Mile High Huddle on YouTube for daily Broncos live-stream podcasts!
