Manning has new definition of ‘teammate’

I'M trying to be a good teammate here ...

Of the things we will remember from this year's NFL playoffs, there will be the 4,783 crazy plays in the Colts-Steelers quarterfinal and that line.

Talk about an "instant classic." That was a great one, give Peyton Manning that. I love it.

You see, of course by the very fact that you are saying "I'm trying to be a good teammate" you are not being a good teammate.

Most of us already know this -- you can either look like the good guy or you can blame the people around you. Two choices. Either/or. It's when you try to pull off the Herculean task of doing both simultaneously that you end up with the verbal equivalent of slipping on a banana peel.

There are a few politicians who can somehow pull that off, and a few coaches can do it, too. But most of us do not possess such super powers.

Peyton, it turns out, is not quite that skilled, either. No, he gave us the banana peel. One for the ages.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have our new "It's not about the money."

(Because, you know, anytime anyone says it's not about the money ...)

And then of course there was Archie Manning, apparently mortally offended that Fox's Terry Bradshaw would dare jump on said gaffe.

These NFL playoffs are interesting, to say the least.

Anyone else getting a kick out of pro quarterback's fathers roaring in when their sons receive a little Sunday postgame-show criticism? What is this, high school?

First it was TV-guy Steve Young saying Tampa Bay's Chris Simms could be a little tougher, then fellow commentator Phil Simms huffing and puffing that how dare Young, well, commentate; his son is really, really tough!

Yes. He looks tough, when his dad comes running in to defend him.

Now, Archie. Of course.

That's entertainment.

In fact, I'm disappointed Peyton's gone. The rest of the run probably won't be as enjoyable without him. Now we have Joey Porter's conspiracy theories and Jake Plummer's "mustache" mug-shot photo. And there's always a chance Matt Hasselbeck might yell "We're going to score!" into the ref's microphone after winning the coin toss.

And of course, the way things are going, there are sure to be 462 more blown calls, with replay to boot.

But there is no way we are going to see another all-time catch phrase added to the lexicon, one which I personally plan to run into the ground for the next several months.

Any quarterback can go to the Super Bowl. It takes a true star to give us the next "What choo talkin' 'bout Willis?"