Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning doesn’t seem to be happy unless he’s unhappy.
He’s currently unhappy about having to prepare for the Eagles after a Monday night game when the Eagles played last Thursday night.
“We’re coming off of a short week -- it’s nice of the NFL to give Philly 12 days and give us six,” Manning told reporters after the Week Three win over the Raiders, via John Gonzalez of CSNPhilly.com. “So we’ve got to handle that. We’ve still got some guys injured. So we’ve got to get some new guys playing. We’re trying to kind of weather that storm with our injuries. We’ve got to get ready for an unfamiliar opponent who has got a really good team at home next Sunday.”
Eagles coach Chip Kelly fired back on Tuesday.
“When do we go play?” Kelly said, via Gonzalez. “We got to play in a parking lot? We’ll go play in a parking lot. We don’t care. . . .
“We played three games in 11 days. I don’t care. We only worry about what we can control, and we don’t control the schedule.”
Kelly has the right attitude. Peyton, who as explained below looks to be running away with the 2013 NFL MVP award, doesn’t.
Or maybe he does.
As advantages and disadvantages go, the Broncos have plenty this year. The Broncos faced the Giants in Week Two after getting to host the Week One opener because the Ravens couldn’t. In December, the Broncos will get extra time to prepare to face the Texans, since Denver hosts the Chargers on Thursday Night Football in Week 15.
Speaking of the Chargers, the Broncos will have the Sunday before traveling to San Diego on November 3 off, while the Chargers are playing a 10:00 a.m. PT game in Washington the Sunday before Peyton comes to town.
In advance of the game against Philly, the Broncos don’t have to travel. They were home on Monday night, and they’ll stay home to face Philly.
But if that’s what it takes to get Peyton appropriately pissed off to continue a torrid run through a regular-season schedule short of actual tests, so be it. The Broncos look to be good enough to win every week, as long as Peyton can stay healthy.
To do that, they can’t afford to be complacent. Finding actual or perceived slights may be the best way to keep the team focused.