It has come to my attention that in my article about Peyton Manning, pensive or petulant? that what I said about his checking his thumb for injury could be construed as mean spirited.
What I meant was that his flair for the dramatic bothers me. Not because it affects me so much, but that it affects performance and tends to increase his own anxieties. The more dramatic one's reactions, the more upset one gets, then no doubt more drama follows.
So what could he have done? -- checked his thumb for injury surrounded by staffers so as not to reveal his latest worries to on-air announcers, who just love this kind of fodder for speculation as to his fitness to continue the game. Where he differs in personality and performance from Brady is that Brady will walk back from a missed opportunity straight faced and with the question in his mind "So what will we do next?" The Pats are always planning, constantly changing their play according to what the other team's reactions are to their attempts.
So where Brady is letting go of failed attempts, and moving on to the next plan to use, it seems to me Peyton is getting bogged down in reacting to failures, or even stubbornly refusing to abandon a strategy that is obviously not going to work against the other team. This stubborness and reactiveness is not doing him any good.
A "drama queen" is a word that comes to mind for the "diva" of football. But Peyton is no queen, there's not a thing effeminate about him. But the boyish reaction to failed attempts really needs to go. It would help his game, it would help him grow.
When Peyton Manning can show that things can't "get to" him, his reactions will be controlled, his manner will be as reflective as his comment that "you have to be careful what you wish for," and he will be a better man, not just a quarterback who is the darling of the AFC.
Kathy
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