Manning Frequently Changed Play Calling During AFC Championship

NFL News - January 25th, 2010 - Written by John

Brett Favre was bashed in the media, and badgered by questions regarding his meddling with the Minnesota Vikings' play calling several weeks ago. His relationship with head coach Brad Childress was put under a microscope after he denied Childress' attempt to pull him from a meaningless game, and then reportedly changed runs into passes on the fly.

Apparently, though, more quarterbacks do it than just Favre, and those with cleaner images have escaped criticism.

According to FanHouse, via ProFootballTalk, Peyton Manning also runs his offense with complete freedom, and directed the Indianapolis Colts offense on the fly in the AFC Championship game.

"We were aggressive the first series of the second half. I was changing every play. Tom was calling some run plays. I just kind of got hot," Manning said. "And changed it."

The "Tom" in question is offensive coordinator Tom Moore, who has been just fine with Manning's audibles, and more-or-less gives Manning a starting point to work with before he can assess the defense pre-snap.

"Tom, as he does, said 'Hey, you're hot -- let's just keep it going,'" Manning said.

Certainly, Manning was hot, and there are few quarterbacks with the mental make up that would allow a coordinator to put his pride aside and let the public know that his play calls are simply suggestions. But Manning will likely get a pass on this because he is favored in the court of public opinion while Favre, a notorious villain for his treason against the Packers, was hammered because it only added to his selfish perception.

The reality is a fair number of elite quarterbacks have complete freedom to change plays because the defenses audible themselves on the fly, and that's what makes them elite. They need to be able to evaluate and alter the course accordingly without making it appear that they are stealing the show.

Favre likely continued to audible against the New York Giants in the regular season finale and the Dallas Cowboys in the divisional round and that's fine if they work.

And the bottom line is Manning's choices worked. Favre's choice came when the team was losing two of three late in the 2009 NFL Season.