Archie Manning does not mind being underachiever in family

Being the father of two current star quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning, Archie Manning himself was also once a star quarterback with the New Orleans Saints but never made as great achievements as his sons’, to be exactly, winning a Super Bowl game with any team he used to play for.




As the No. 2 overall pick in the 1971 draft, Archie Manning spent eleven seasons of his NFL career with the Saints and the last two respectively with the Houston Oilers and Minnesota Vikings, which was beaten by Archie’s home team Saints in the NFC championship competition game. The Saints won their first Super Bowl championship following the 2009 season with Drew Brees being the starting quarterback. Archie could feel regretful that it never happened during the years when he was the team’s starting quarterback. But people still remembered what he contributed to the team and shoed great respects for the former star quarterback in New Orleans. No. 8 throwback Archie Manning jersey could be seen here or there in celebrating crowds in No. 9 Drew Brees jersey.

By comparison, both Peyton and Eli were number one overall draft pick when they were entering NFL. Peyton led the Indianapolis Colts to a 29-17 Super Bowl XLI victory over the Chicago Bears in 2007 and Super Bowl XLIV appearance in 2010 against his father’s old team Saints, and Eli led the Giants to Super Bowl XLII win against the New England Patriots in 2008. Thus Archie Manning becomes the only former NFL quarterback without a Super Bowl ring, but that has never made Archie feel bad as he has never been considered to be less great than his sons. Actually he was a better college quarterback than either Peyton or Eli and is the greatest father ever in football world. When the Saints were going to play against the Colts for a Super Bowl title, he did not hesitate to show support for his son instead of his old team, and when the Saints won the historic game, he was just as happy as any true Saints fans.

Colts DE Freeney missed practice along with CB Powers

As we had expected, the ankle injury did not allow the Indianapolis Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney to practice while the team had their first practice in South Florida. Among the 19 players the Colts listed on the injury report, Freeney and injured cornerback Jerraud Powers were the only two who sat out Wednesday’s practice.

Freeney, the All-Pro defensive end, has a torn ligament in his right ankle and is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints. And Powers had a left foot injury. While Freeney was not seen on the field, Powers was on the sideline in his No. 25 Colts jersey watching four-time league MVP Peyton Manning complete all nine passes and throw for a touchdown against the scout team’s nickel defense.




“We’ve played 22 games this year,” Coach Jim Caldwell said. “I want them to be nice and hungry come Sunday. If they need pads this time of year …”

Being asked whether Freeney and Powers are to play this Sunday, Caldwell said he was unsure. He did not expect Freeney to play the game but remained optimistic about Powers’ playing status.