Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford may not yet play like Peyton Manning. But Stafford will soon sound like him.
As recently explained by Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, the arrival of former Manning coaches Jim Caldwell and Jim Bob Cooter means Manning’s late-career catch phrase is coming to Michigan.
Omaha.
“It’s been around a long time,” veteran backup Dan Orlovsky said, via Birkett. “I think different teams use it in different capacities. I’ve used it before in a different way. That’s part of it, too, is re-wiring your brain for what it means.”
For running back Reggie Bush, extensive wiring already is in place from the time he spent with the Saints.
“The new system, like I said, I played in the system five years in New Orleans so all the terminology’s pretty much the same to me,” Bush said. “We definitely have what it takes to be an explosive offense, just as we were last year. Just got to clean up doing the little things right and we’ll be OK.”
They could be better than OK. They could be playing in January, when the maximum audience will hear Stafford impersonating Peyton.