BY TOM ROCK
Staple made the point that one of the biggest crowds in the post-game locker room was swarming around Peyton Manning. Certainly he's one of the faces of the league, so there's some validity to it. But there are other options.
It brought to mind the time last year when I was covering the AFC title game in Indy between the Colts and the Pats. That was the game when everyone finally stopped saying that Peyton couldn't win the big one (though I think they're starting to say it again after this year's early playoff exit). Anyway, I was walking through the tunnel and I came across Eli. I congratulated him on Peyton's win and then asked him if he had any thoughts on it.
"Nah," he said. "This is Peyton's day. Go talk to Peyton."
Yesterday was Eli's day. Go talk to Peyton.