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Dołączył: 17 Sie 2010
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Wysłany: Pią 18:47, 29 Paź 2010 Temat postu: was a nasty one |
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Hull once started 121 consecutive games. [link widoczny dla zalogowanych] had 75 consecutive starts before missing two games in 2004, and despite playing one of football's toughest positions, has missed only six starts since winning the starting job in 2000.
So what will it be like for the Colts this weekend?
Even [link widoczny dla zalogowanych] sees the similarities.
Manning and Marvin Harrison eventually shattered the records of Kelly and Reed, and this weekend, on the same day Manning and [link widoczny dla zalogowanych] are expected to pass Kelly and Hull, Manning and Reggie Wayne are likely to surpass Kelly and Reed for second all-time in combined yards. Manning and Wayne have 9,507 yards; Kelly and Reed are at 9,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych],538; Manning and Harrison finished with 12,766.
[link widoczny dla zalogowanych] calls it an honour, Manning refers to it as a privilege. Levy thinks the record-breaking start is well-deserved, and Polian, well, for him, it's a brief moment to reflect on what his players have been able to accomplish.
Manning agrees, and, like Kelly, spent countless hours developing that close relationship with his centre — on and off the field.
"I think he has missed two, three or four games, but you're talking about 40, 50 games he's played where a lot of guys wouldn't be playing with the injuries and the pain their bodies are going through," Manning said. "I've spoken with Jim Kelly and know the pride he took in that relationship with his centre, and I've taken a lot of pride in mine with Jeff. That will be a special record to break."
Those who have followed the Bills and Colts are not surprised things turned out this way.
While Kelly and Andre Reed were helping to make the no-huddle chic, they were also earning the title of greatest quarterback-receiver tandem in league history — a title they held until Manning and his cast made the no-huddle offence a way of life.
Few have been more proficient at it.
The similarities don't stop there.
"Jim would be one of the first to tell you that Kent Hull was 50 per cent of the quarterback process," Levy said.
Polian never deviated, and instead implemented almost an exact replica of the plan he used to build four AFC championship teams in Buffalo.
Hull and [link widoczny dla zalogowanych] both had to make split-second decisions along the offensive line, calling out signals while everyone else scrambled to get into position for the next play.
Hull signed with the Bills as a free agent out of the USFL, was an outspoken leader in the locker-room and a three-time Pro Bowl selection who rarely missed a start. [link widoczny dla zalogowanych] joined the Colts as a free agent after spending one season away from the game, emerged as the Colts' voice with the NFL Players Association and has now been to four Pro Bowls.
Coincidence? Hardly.
Fortunately, Manning and Kelly, didn't have to make many introductory speeches.
INDIANAPOLIS — Bill Polian always considered Jim Kelly and Kent Hull the model quarterback-centre combination. Peyton Manning and [link widoczny dla zalogowanych] just perfected the blueprint.
When former Bills tight end Pete Metzelaars, now [link widoczny dla zalogowanych]'s offensive line coach, popped in an old Bills tape earlier this year, [link widoczny dla zalogowanych] took one look at Hull and knew they were made from the same cloth.
Manning believes that is the real measure of success for Indy's 35-year-old bearded nasty boy.
It wasn't just Kelly and Manning winning over teammates.
[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], Manning about to become NFL's longest-running quarterback-centre tandem
It depends on the perspective.
"Jim Kelly was a very unique personality. He was John Wayne," former Bills coach Marv Levy said. "Peyton, he's the ultra student. Jim was more of a gunslinger, a Brett Favre type. But both prepared so well they earned the confidence of their teammates just because they were so well-prepared, and that's a great quality to have — to inspire confidence in your teammates."
"I'm not sure how much the general public realizes what leadership roles Kent and Jeff have played, but they've convinced me that you can't have a championship team without a great centre," Polian said. "Once it became pretty clear we were going to get Peyton, we wanted to use the Buffalo experience here."
On Sunday, the two Colts that Polian paired during his stay in Indy are expected to set a new record for most career starts together (158), breaking a tie with the two Bills that Polian put together in Buffalo.
"I told Pete, he (Hull) was a nasty one," [link widoczny dla zalogowanych] said, laughing. "I think he and I would have gotten along together real good."
"It starts with professionalism and toughness and leadership, and all of those guys had those qualities, and they earned great respect from their teammates over the years," said Polian, owner of six AFC titles. "But it isn't just the numbers, it's wins, too. Some guys put up numbers, these guys put up numbers in the clutch week after week, and they've won a lot of games. That's what it's really all about, wins."
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