Peyton Manning wouldn’t provide bulletin-board material if he was a sitar instructor with fliers at a Boulder coffee shop.
For a pocket passer, he’s a master at sidestepping, avoiding controversial public admissions by, instead, complimenting an opponent or deprecating himself with a quick quip.
So Peyton isn’t going to admit this, so I’ll say it — this postseason is perfectly set up for his ultimate revenge, en route to his second Super Bowl.
. His old team. Against the quarterback whose existence basically forced Manning to be cut. And the owner who jabbed Manning’s lack of postseason success by calling his otherworldly regular-season stats “Star Wars numbers.”
If Denver wins this Sunday (Denver should win this Sunday), Manning will then face either longtime rival Tom Brady or the Ravens in . Could you imagine — the Ravens, back in Mile High for a playoff game, and this one to determine who plays in the Super Bowl?
And then, of course, it’s quite possible that the Seattle 43-8ers will make it to the Super Bowl. Thus, a rematch, and a chance for the ultimate revenge to get the ultimate prize.
So this could be fun.
First up, though, Denver must push aside the Colts, who have an amazing star quarterback, a couple pretty good complementary players (T.Y. Hilton and Vontae Davis) and then, who, Mike Adams? On Tuesday, I was chatting with a Colts writer, who said that the former Broncos safety is a key player on the Colts D. Mike Adams. Key player on a playoff team’s defense.
This isn’t apples-apples, but the Andrew Luck Colts remind me of those Allen Iverson 76ers teams — one game-changing stud and some other guys. But, yes, the one game-changing stud can change a game. Iverson carried the dang 76ers to the NBA Finals and even won a game against the Kobe-Shaq Lakers.
But in the end, Denver is built for winning a game like this, especially at home, especially (for the most part) healthy.
I also appreciate Denver’s defensive mentality, heading into this one — cocky, but unsatisfied. Terrance “Pot Roast” Knighton said the guys know they could’ve played better in the regular-season game against the Colts, a game Denver still won. The Broncos led 24-7 at halftime, but were outscored 17-7 in the second half of their 31-24 win on Sept. 7.
“We won the game, but we let them off the hook,” Knighton said. “It could have been a message we sent Week 1. Now they’re coming into our house again, thinking — ‘We had an opportunity to win the game,’ not ‘We got our (butts) kicked in Week 1.’ They feel like they probably (exposed) us on defense (in the second half).”
I say Denver 31, Indianapolis 24, and Peyton can celebrate with a chicken parm sandwich.
Chew on this
• How about Semyon WALL-LAMOV! In last night’s (yes, Chicago), Avs goalie Semyon Varlamov stopped all 54 shots. He’s just the third goalie since 1995 to have a shutout with at least 54 shots. Never has one win exemplified everything right and wrong with a team. The Avs goalie was a nesting doll, standing on his head. But the team was embarrassingly outshot, once again. Luckily, they netted two early goals and notched the important win.
• Watch this high-school FRESHMAN .
• With last night’s Brandon Jennings buzzer-beater against the Spurs, the Pistons are now 6-0 since waiving Josh Smith (who signed with Houston).
• Here’s a fascinating read on the , via Grantland.
• This is random, but someone tweeted of Diane Keaton, at the height of her comic-acting fame. Keaton’s one of a kind. Worth the read.
• And finally, happy 38th birthday to Samuel “Screech” Powers, who .
Benjamin Hochman: bhochman@denverpost.com or
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