Peyton Manning would like to play out his current contract. (USATSI)
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In case there was any doubt -- and, frankly, we don't know why there would be -- 38-year-old Peyton Manning has no intentions of retiring anytime soon.
Coming off the most productive two-year stretch of his Hall of Fame career, the Broncos quarterback says he'll continue to play as long as he's effective.
"I still enjoy the work and preparation," Manning said, via the Associated Press.
The quarterback says he would like to play out his contract, which runs through 2016.
"Sometimes I sort of kick back and I pause and I think what sorts of things would I miss the most if I wasn't playing," he said.
Specifically?
"Being in the huddle," Manning continued. "That's what I missed most when I was injured, I'll say that. I mean, there's no other type of unity or bond that I think any other job can provide. I know there are meetings, there are video conferences. But that huddle, because of where it takes place: it's often on the road, in the middle of the field, in front of 80,000 people, it's unique."
Put another way: Manning loves the camaraderie.
"When you don't play football anymore, you can broadcast, you can coach, you can be in management, whatever, but you are not allowed to go into the huddle anymore," he said. "That huddle is just for players. You can go into the locker room after the game and you can speak to the team, but I think any retired player would probably tell you they miss the huddle."
Retirement talk is nothing new. The question was first posed to Manning following the 2011 season, which he missed after having multiple neck surgeries (but before the Colts released him and he signed with the Broncos). And the topic came up again in the days leading up to Super Bowl XLVIII, a game that saw the Seahawks dominate the Broncos from start to finish.
"When you still enjoy the preparation and the work part of it, I think you ought to be still doing that," Manning said before the game. "I think as soon as I stop enjoying it, if I can't produce, if I can't help a team, that's when I will stop playing."
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Packers notes: RB Eddie Lacy feeling more comfortable; QB Aaron Rodgers will continue to run
After a slow start to his rookie season due to a concussion, Packers running back Eddie Lacy averaged 23 touches and 104 yards per game from Week 5 on. The 24-year-old is currently a first-round fantasy back because owners are expecting that he will only improve in his second season. Lacy said last week that he certainly feels like he has improved greatly from where he was at the beginning last year and is much more comfortable now in Green Bay's offense"In the beginning, I definitely second-guessed myself a lot," Lacy said via Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "I wanted to be as close to perfect as possible. ... I was overly cautious. As the season went on, things slowed down for me. It got a little bit simpler. I was able to play to my natural ability."Another Packer who is looking to run well in 2014 is quarterback Aaron Rodgers.Yes, you read that correctly. Rodgers is aware that the team's brass would like for him to play it safe with his body and stay in the pocket more often, especially after he missed half of last season due to a broken collarbone. But Rodgers isn't just going to stop scrambling. Rodgers told Dunne that he will "always" want to use his legs to make plays because "it adds an extra dimension to my game."
That injury-shortened season saw Rodgers gain only 120 yards on the ground when he is usually topping 250-350 yards with a handful of scores to go with it. Using that ability definitely raises Rodgers' injury risk, but that ability also helps put him in the upper echelon of fantasy QBs. Rodgers has been durable outside of last season. He is FFToolbox's No. 3 quarterback for good reason.Expect the Packers' offense to be more balanced this season now that they have a real running game, something they've been lacking since the early days of Ryan Grant. Lacy is a bull, incredibly tough to bring down on first contact, but he also has surprisingly soft hands. He caught 35 passes last year, so he's a first-round pick in basically any type of league setting.
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