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Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning finally emerged from the undisclosed rehab bunker he’s been living in. He made a rare appearance at practice today (the Colts first practice at brand new Lucas Oil Stadium), walking very carefully on a left leg that is five weeks out of surgery to repair an infected bursa sac (in his left knee):

“This is just to kind of stop some of the whining going on. I just didn’t want to get into these daily progress reports. I’ve done nothing but rehab. Looks like we’re already in the rumor mill.”

Rumors can be expected when one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks completely disappears after surgery. Peyton’s rehab process was estimated at 4-6 weeks, so I guess I’ll wait another seven days before making a big deal out of this. I know we’re just under three weeks from the first game of the regular season. And sure, it would be better if he was able to practice with his teammates. But if any quarterback can succeed without practice, it would be Peyton Manning. That being said, the Colts are toast without Peyton. So taking a few games off at the beginning of the season would be better than playing in them before he’s ready and re-injuring himself long term.

Source: IndyStar.com

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

What’s Going on With Peyton Manning?

It’s preseason with a tinge of the playoffs. That will be one of the highlights of a 13-game national television preseason schedule that was announced today by the NFL, along with the complete list of 2008 preseason matchups. All 12 of the 2007 NFL playoff teams will be featured in the national TV games.

It all starts in Canton, OH — site of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. On Sunday night, August 3 on NBC (8:00 PM ET), the Indianapolis Colts will take on the Washington Redskins in the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Game. It will be an eventful weekend for the Redskins as two of the greatest players in their history — cornerback Darrell Green and wide receiver Art Monk — will join the class of 2008 at the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies on Saturday. The game also will mark the NFL head-coaching debut of Washington’s Jim Zorn. That game is just the start of the preseason national TV excitement:

WEEK 1: Two of the top-10 receivers of last season in both catches and yards square off as New Orleans (Marques Colston) visits Arizona (Larry Fitzgerald) on Thursday, August 7, ESPN, 8:00 PM ET ….. NFL fans will see the debut as a starter of Packers QB Aaron Rodgers, who this year takes over for the retired Brett Favre, when Cincinnati travels to Green Bay (Monday, August 11, ESPN, 8:00 PM ET).

WEEK 2: Panthers QB Jake Delhomme will continue his comeback from elbow surgery as he is tested by new Eagles (and former Patriots) CB Asante Samuel when Philadelphia hosts Carolina (Thursday, August 14, FOX, 8:00 PM ET) ….. Two recent first-round quarterbacks meet for the first time as Oakland (JaMarcus Russell) visits Tennessee (Vince Young) on Saturday, August 16, FOX, 8:00 PM ET ….. Two division winners go at it as New England (preparing to duplicate its undefeated ’07 season) travels to Tampa Bay (Sunday, August 17, NFL Network, 8:00 PM ET) ….. And the Super Bowl XLII champion New York Giants debut at home against Cleveland (Monday, August 18, ESPN, 8:00 PM ET).

WEEK 3: Two quarterbacks seeking to re-establish themselves as starters go at it as San Francisco (Alex Smith) travels to Chicago (Rex Grossman) on Thursday, August 21, FOX, 8:00 PM ET ….. The Battle for Texas takes place when Houston visits Dallas (the preseason series is tied 2-2) on Friday, August 22, CBS, 8:00 PM ET ….. Pittsburgh’s No. 3 NFL rush defense of ’07 can judge where it stands for ’08 when it faces Minnesota RB Adrian Peterson, the NFL ’07 Offensive Rookie of the Year and Pro Bowl MVP (Saturday, August 23, CBS, 8:00 PM ET) ….. Buffalo helps Indianapolis open its new 63,000-seat Lucas Oil Stadium (Sunday, August 24, NFL Network, 8:00 PM ET) ….. And two more division winners meet when Seattle travels to San Diego. The Seahawks will be priming new RB Julius Jones (Monday, August 25, ESPN, 8:00 PM ET).

WEEK 4: The national TV schedule concludes with another matchup of playoff teams as Washington prepares to kick off the season and new Jacksonville WR Jerry Porter gets his final tune-up (Thursday, August 28, NBC, 7:00 PM ET).

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

NFL’s Preseason National Television Schedule Features Every ‘07 Playoff Team

From their Annual Meeting in Palm Beach, FL, the NFL announced today its 2008 Kickoff Weekend national primetime television schedule, including a Monday night doubleheader. It’s always exciting to watch the schedule piece itself together and this is where it begins.

In a tradition that began in 2004, the Super Bowl champion annually hosts the NFL Thursday night season kickoff the following year. This September 4 at 7:00 PM ET on NBC, the Super Bowl XLII champion New York Giants will host their NFC East-rival Washington Redskins and their new head coach Jim Zorn. Kickoff will be 90 minutes earlier than the start time of the traditional season opener due to the Republican National Convention, which NBC News will cover following the conclusion of the game.

The Sunday night primetime game (8:15 PM ET) on NBC will feature a rematch of Super Bowl XLI as the Indianapolis Colts host the Chicago Bears. I’m excited to see this one as the game marks the first regular-season contest at new Lucas Oil Stadium.

Then on Monday night, September 8, ESPN will host a Monday Night Football doubleheader featuring two critical division matchups. The first game (7:00 PM ET) will send the Minnesota Vikings to Green Bay to visit the NFC North champion Packers (without Brett Favre). The MNF nightcap (10:15 PM ET) will be an AFC West battle as the revamped Oakland Raiders host the Denver Broncos. The rest of the 2008 regular-season schedule will be completed and announced in April.

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

NFL Announces Nationally Televised Primetime 2008 Kickoff Weekend Games

It was nice to see the sun shining in Indianapolis today. It certainly made getting around outside the RCA Dome and Indiana Convention Center much easier. Not that you would really need to go outside here, though. The Dome and CC are connected to much of the city with indoor walkways. I get a big kick out of this. I can walk all over the city without putting on a jacket in the middle of winter. And yes, I’m easily entertained.

The Media Work room was kind of quiet early on, but things picked up as the day progressed with defensive linemen and linebackers being shuttled in and out. One of the most anticipated players was Virginia defensive end Chris Long. Chris, of course, is the son of Pro Football Hall-of-Famer and former Oakland Raiders DE Howie Long. But he made no case for playing in Oakland nor did he make any predictions on where he might wind up being drafted:

“No matter where I was picked, any opportunity to play in the National Football League is an opportunity I would cherish. To be in that position you have to work even harder and show up with more humility and more of an open mind, because people will be looking at you. Wherever I go and whoever I go play for, I’m a football player. I enjoy playing football, I enjoy the game, I enjoy being a teammate. I won’t change. I’ll be the same guy.”

More coaches made their way to the Media Work Room. I sat in on pressers with Mike Smith (Falcons), Ken Whisenhunt (Cards), Jeff Fisher (Titans) and John Harbaugh (Ravens). Coach Smith is obviously very happy with his new position in Atlanta. Seriously, he smiled the entire time. He never stopped smiling. It was nice to see that. Coach Smith said there wasn’t much difference between a 4-12 team and a 12-4 team in the National Football League. And you know what, he’s right. In today’s NFL, a team could flip their record that drastically in one season. He also noted that the “new” Atlanta Falcons will be a more physical football team, much like the punishing defense he led in Jacksonville. Offensively, he said the Falcons would control the line of scrimmage and run the football first and foremost. The Falcons need to address their quarterback situation and Coach Smith mentioned an interest in a number of QBs at the Combine, although me didn’t mention any names.

Today was also the first day for player workouts on the RCA Dome floor. (Note: This is the last sporting event in the RCA Dome. Everything moves to nearby Lucas Oil Stadium post-Combine.) Offensive linemen and tight ends were the focal point of today’s workouts. Here are the winners’ results:

Offensive Line – Bench Press (Jake Long, Michigan, 37); Broad Jump (Cody Wallace, Texas A&M, 9′5″); Vert Jump (Cody Wallace, Texas A&M, 30.5″); 3-Cone Drill (Michael Gibson, Cal-Berkeley, 7.21); 20-yard Shuttle (Mike Pollak, Arizona State, 4.47); 40-yard Dash (Jeremy Zuttah, Rutgers, 4.99).

Tight End – Bench Press (Craig Stevens, Cal-Berkeley, 27); Broad Jump (Dustin Keller, Purdue, 10′11″); Vert Jump (Dustin Keller, Purdue, 38″); 60-yard Shuttle (Gary Barnidge, 11.29); 3-Cone Drill (Derek Fine, Kansas, 6.8); 20-yard Shuttle (Dustin Keller, Purdue, 4.14); 40-yard Dash (Dustin Keller, Purdue, 4.55).

NFL Draft Scout senior analyst Rob Rang reported that USC’s Fred Davis, widely considered the top TE in this class, struggled with these drills. Fred had been impressive early with 24 reps of 225 pounds, but dropped several passes today and elected not to run the 40-yard dash. He could be a classic case of a player struggling with the pressure of the Combine because he stood out at the Senior Bowl and won the Mackey Award as the nation’s top tight end. His struggles with drops definitely caught the attention of scouts.

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

NFL Scouting Combine 2008: Day Three

A couple days ago, Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard announced that his city will bid for the 2012 Super Bowl, its second effort to host the NFL’s biggest event. Political and civic leaders said this year’s bid would emphasize many of the same attributes as last year’s bid, including the city’s new retractable-roof Lucas Oil Stadium and its experience hosting major sporting events such as the Indianapolis 500. But officials declined to comment further on what would make this year’s bid more attractive, saying they didn’t want to give other cities a competitive advantage.

I’m right across the street from the new $700 million Lucas Oil Stadium. It’s been exciting to see this state-of-the-art building being built and we’re mere months away (it officially opens in August) from seeing a football game in this place. I will be sad to see the old RCA Dome demolished, though. Beginning this Spring, it’s going to take about six months to completely tear this place down. I have fond memories of the RCA Dome, but such is progress in the NFL. For amazing daily construction cam images of Lucas Oil Stadium, check out lucasoilstadium.oxblue.com.

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Indianapolis Will Bid for 2012 Super Bowl, Lucas Oil Stadium Nearing Completion