Manning had ample opportunity to smooth over the narrative this week, to let Irsay off the hook for the awkward comments the Colts owner made to USA Today about why he let the quarterback go, comments that made Irsay sound, perhaps inadvertently, ungrateful for the one Super Bowl they won together.
Manning did not do it. He was clipped in declining to address what Irsay had said. This, then, was about what Manning did not say and the way he did not say it.
There is little doubt Manning's departure from Indianapolis was wrenching and that it still rankles. You don't say something like "I've learned that in life you need to be at peace with other people's decisions that affect you, that you have no control over," without revealing that the bromide has been put to the test in the past 18 months.
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But since joining the Broncos, Manning has assiduously avoided addressing his exit. Bill Polian, the man who drafted Manning and was fired by the Colts not long before Manning was released, believes it is far more difficult for the quarterback to play games against his brother, Eli, than to return to Lucas Oil Stadium and oppose his old team.
Still, it was hard to watch Manning this week and not come away thinking he's angry at Irsay's remarks. And that the response Manning most wants to make will come in the final score, which he would undoubtedly prefer to be lopsided, to provide the resounding rejoinder to the notion that the Colts' decision to release him and move on with Luck was best for all parties.
Originally Posted by Pugger
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