Spirals don't define the legacy of Peyton Manning

In 1994, I was a young rail-thin 19-year old standing on the sidelines when a skinny kid from New Orleans hit the practice field in August as a highly regarded signal-caller and he threw wobbly ball after wobbly ball.

My first “Peyton Manning” practice report talked about how he was not the most impressive freshman quarterback on the field that hot August morning.

It shows you want I know. Sunday night in his 239th win since leaving Newman High School in the spring of 1994, Manning didn't throw beautiful spirals. Plenty wobbled. He didn't lead his Broncos team to a win. The Broncos defense led him to his second Super Bowl win and his record setting 200th win in the NFL.

Perhaps it was in some ways fitting, if it's Manning's last ride, that it was those around him who gave him his second Super Bowl. In his first college start, it was defense and special teams that got him win number one. In a 10-9 win over Washington State, Manning was 7 of 14 for 79 yards. If Sunday night's Super Bowl win was his last game, he finished 13 of 23 for 141 yards. In between Manning threw for 82,921 yards.

To put that in perspective that's 47 miles. Forty-seven miles.

The numbers are mind blowing. Many of them will be passed in the future. Many will debate where Manning's place in the game will be or should be. He's a first ballot Hall of Famer.

In my career, I will never cover anyone like Manning again. I might be fortunate to cover a player more talented, but I will never cover another Manning.

Manning's lasting legacy will be different than any player I will ever cover. He changed the game of football. He changed the expectations for how quarterbacks prepare. He changed how offense was played.

For the University of Tennessee, he changed the place of Tennessee football. Vol football has always been a huge deal for the Vol faithful. The 1985 team will always be the favorite squad of many fans. The teams of 1989 and 1990 were extremely talented. The 1998 team won a title that Manning could not, but what Manning has done from 1994 through tonight for Tennessee football will never be matched. In a power T helmet, Manning took the Vols to prominence at a national level that had never been achieved before. He won. He threw for lots of yards. He brought the Vols more national acclaim than ever before. It was Manning who brought Tennessee football to David Letterman and more Sports Illustrated covers than anyone. It was Manning who really created a one Tennessee mantra that Butch Jones has recovered in his tenure. Manning was not just the face of Tennessee football, but was the face of the University of Tennessee.

In the NFL, Manning has been the ambassador for the league, gracious in victory and just importantly in defeat. Manning helped take the NFL to unprecedented popularity and success. As he did that, Manning never forgot his Vol roots. He never said on a broadcast he was from anywhere other than Tennessee. At the Pro Bowl, it was Manning who gathered all the former Vols together for a picture.

It was Manning who found his way to spring games and to Vol games on his open date. It was Manning who sported the Power T with a pullover during Super Bowl week.

For a young guy learning to cover football it was the opportunity to see greatness develop up close.

Greatness that had nothing to do with spirals in 1994 or in 2016.