Colts owner Jim Irsay probably wishes he hadn’t said anything at all about Peyton Manning’s departure from Indianapolis.
But now that Irsay did say that in moving on from Manning he chose championships over stats, and now that Irsay has been criticized in some quarters as taking a cheap shot at Manning, Irsay is continuing his attempt to put the toothpaste back in the tube.
Hours after Irsay said his comments are being twisted by people with “negative agendas,” Irsay returned to Twitter to say that what he really meant with his initial comments was that he wishes the Colts had been able to put a better team around Manning.
My comments meant if we gave Peyton better SP Teams n Def,we would have won more than 1 Sup/Bowl,instead of asking Peyton 2do too much
— Jim Irsay (@JimIrsay) October 16, 2013
It's hard 2C how any individual could understand them any other way,but CONTRO sells so I understand the games "Let's get something started"
— Jim Irsay (@JimIrsay) October 16, 2013
Translating from Irsay tweet-speak into English, that basically means, “My comments meant if we gave Peyton better special teams and defense, we would have won more than one Super Bowl, instead of asking Peyton to do too much. It’s hard to see how any individual could understand my comments any other way, but controversy sells, so I understand the games: ‘Let’s get something started.’”
Whatever Irsay meant, his comments have been interpreted as taking a shot at Manning, just as Irsay was widely interpreted as taking shots at Manning in 2011, when Irsay referred to Manning as a “politician” after Manning discussed the Colts’ plans for a future without him. At that time, Irsay said Manning should “keep it in house” and not discuss their relationship publicly. Now Irsay is probably wishing he had taken his own advice.