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Kicking Colts Manning doesn't take kindly to Mora's public lashingPosted: Wednesday November 28, 2001 4:12 PMUpdated: Wednesday November 28, 2001 4:59 PM
OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Bristling as he has never publicly bristled before, an outspoken Peyton Manning on Wednesday fired back at Indianapolis head coach Jim Mora. At issue was not the message, but the method by which Mora criticized his quarterback after the Colts' latest loss. Consistently defending Mora's right to dress down any player, Manning made it clear that he felt betrayed by his coach's lack of public support after Sunday's 40-21 loss to San Francisco. Manning threw a career-high four interceptions and was booed by the home crowd before being replaced by backup Mark Rypien. It was the underachieving Colts' third consecutive loss, fourth in a row at home, and it effectively knocked them out of the playoff chase at 4-6. In a scathing postgame news conference, Mora blasted his entire team's performance, but lobbed his sharpest barbs Manning's way in repeatedly mentioning the four interceptions.
Taking part in the usual mid-week conference call with the Baltimore-area media on Wednesday -- the Colts play at the Ravens on Sunday -- Manning was both pointed and expansive in his comments, and several times swore to underscore his level of irritation with Mora's postgame diatribe. Manning also spoke of his practice of defending Mora in the past, and left little doubt that the relationship between the two men has been strained by Sunday's events. "I am a player and if the coach wants to correct me and yell at me, I have absolutely no problem with that," said Manning, when asked if he would have preferred that Mora vent his frustration in a different forum. "I can take it. I have thick skin. But everything he said in that press conference, he said to the team right before that [in the locker room]. He said the exact same thing, and more or less busted my chops in front of the whole team. And I can handle that. That's not fun as a leader to be called out in front of your team, but that's the way it goes. And I have to be accountable. "Now, to be called out in front of the whole country, where that press conference is going to be replayed over and over again for the whole country? That bothers me. It really does. But you know what? I can handle it. And I will handle it. Because I am the player and he's the coach and that's the way it is. But if somebody asked me if that bothers me, you're damn right it bothers me. "What bothers me is that what he said to us in that locker room has become the entire country's business. And I don't like that. But I have to deal with it. I'm going about this by just putting my ass to work. Just to work and work and work and try to win. But did I like it? No. Not one bit." Manning took special exception to Mora's use of the word "disgraceful" in describing the Colts' peformance. In his postgame news conference, Mora was quoted saying: "That was a disgraceful performance. We threw that game away. We gave them the game. It was pitiful, absolutely pitiful." Said Manning on Wednesday: "I agree with what he said about my performance, as far as the interceptions go. I don't necessarily agree with how he said it ... I don't feel that my performance was disgraceful. If my performance was disgraceful, that would be hard to live with. ... I guess he used the word 'disgraceful.' Disgraceful to me would be if I had not prepared to play, or if I was coming into meetings late or just sort of goofing off in practice. "But I prepared harder for that 49ers game than I had for any other game. I just went out there in the second half and didn't get it done. So, was it bad? Yes it was bad. Was it disgraceful? No. Disgraceful to me would be ... if we had anybody quit at this point in the season. If anybody jumped ship and said, 'Hey, the playoffs are out of reach, the season's over.' " Mora spoke with the Baltimore-area media after Manning did, and was peppered with questions regarding his comments on Sunday and the state of his relationship with Manning. The veteran head coach, whose job security is believed to be rapidly dwindling in Indianapolis, seemed almost in denial regarding his outburst. Mora expressed surprise at the national attention his colorful post-game comments received, and debated whether he had even used the word "disgraceful."
"I don't know if I said disgraceful," Mora said. "Did I say disgraceful? I don't remember saying that. I may have I don't know. I don't remember saying it. I don't think I said disgraceful. I might have said horrible. I think I said 'horrible,' or maybe 'pitiful'. But I don't think I said disgraceful. I don't remember saying it. I don't think I did. You'd have to check out the transcript of it." Asked if he regretted dressing down his star quarterback in a post-game news conference setting, Mora again took issue with semantics. "I didn't dress him down, though," Mora said. "I didn't even mention his name." When Manning was asked whether he was taken aback that Mora seemed to be talking directly to him in the postgame comments, he interjected: "Seemed, I think, is an understatement. He was talking to me. There's no question about it. Although he never spoke with me directly. Nor will he, I don't imagine. ... He has not spoken to me since any of that and I doubt he will." Mora countered by saying he was just telling it like it is. "When you throw interceptions, the quarterback throws them," Mora said. "But we've thrown interceptions this year and they haven't all been Peyton's fault. Hey, every quarterback throws interceptions. But interceptions hurt us Sunday. And that's all. I got to say what happened and that's what happened. "Yeah, there were a couple words I probably used that I would not use [again]. [Words] that I use sometimes when I get emotional. Get carried away a little bit. Which I did Sunday. Hey, I admit it. I was emotionally upset. I was mad. I was frustrated. Because I felt like we had a chance to win a game, and we hurt oursevles with our own mistakes.
Manning has thrown 16 interceptions this season in 10 games, after having just 15 in each of the past two Pro Bowl seasons. He is on pace for 26 interceptions, which would be just two fewer than his rookie season total of 28 in 1998. A league-worst five of his picks this year have been returned for touchdowns, including one against the 49ers on Sunday. Manning seemed most hurt by Mora's words in light of his past support for his embattled coach. Mora is 0-6 in his career in the playoffs, including 0-2 in his three-plus seasons in Indianapolis. No NFL head coach has ever had as many postseason appearances without a victory. Asked if the Colts had lost confidence in Mora, Manning dismissed the notion. But he made it clear that he didn't feel his head coach, in this situation, had reciprocated that unquestioned support. "I've always been his No. 1 supporter," Manning said. "I go down to New Orleans where he won 96 games and was the best coach they ever had, and people there in New Orleans make fun of him. Call him a quitter. I go down there and get in fights with my friends because I defend him. Because he's my head coach. And I defend everybody on this team. Draft choices, coaches, whomever. "I've always believed that you support everybody on your team. It doesn't mean that you don't coach somebody or correct somebody when they make a mistake. But it does mean that you're supposed to support one another. I was his first pick as a player. I've been here every offseason. I'm here every day late. Every morning early, busting my ass to win football games. And that's exactly what I was doing on Sunday. I was busting my ass to win that football game, and by trying so hard, I hurt the team by forcing some throws." Manning took pains to ask reporters to reflect all of his comments about Mora, pointing out that he is hopeful that his head coach will not have to pay for the Colts' disappointing season with his job. "I'll tell you the ironic thing about this whole thing is that I'm playing for his job," Manning said. "I want him to be the head coach here. I don't know what's going to happen this year, but I'm thinking about every year when I'm here. I plan on being here for a while. "I'm playing for his job and for him to be here, because I don't like change. I support him. And I didn't like what went on in the press conference the other day. But like I said, he's the head coach and I'm the player." Moments later Manning was asked to compare his situation with the one in Baltimore, where Ravens head coach Brian Billick has issued unwavering support for his struggling quarterback, Elvis Grbac. "I'd say it's pretty different, wouldn't you think?" Manning said. Mora said he didn't plan on speaking with Manning about the verbal barbs. "I haven't not talked to him for any particular reason," Mora said. "I mean, I don't feel any different towards Peyton. I love Peyton. I wouldn't trade Peyton for any quarterback in football. I'm glad he's our quarterback. There's no need to talk to him. If I felt like there was a need to talk to him, I'd talk to him. This week hasn't been any different than any other week up to this point." Mora had at least two infamous news conference meltdowns in his Saints tenure, the most publicized of which came just a day before he quit as New Orleans head coach after eight games in 1996. In some ways, his outburst Sunday mirrored that one and looked to some as the signing of his own exit papers. But Mora on Wednesday quickly defended his record in Indianapolis and dismissed speculation on whether his job security with the Colts is now an issue. "I don't know," he said. "I don't know. I guess any coach's job security is involved when you're not winning consistently. I know we came in here four years ago and took over a team that wasn't very good. And the first year we weren't very good. And the next year we had the biggest turnaround in the history of the NFL. I know that. "And over the last few years, not including this one, we won 23 games and went to the playoffs twice. I know we did that. And this year we're struggling. We've had some injuries and we're struggling. We're doing the best we can." On that final point, Manning and Mora were finally in agreement. "Nobody's happy here in Indianapolis," Manning said. "Nobody likes to be 4-6, especially when you've had a taste of winning the past two years. Hey, quarterbacking, it is the job from hell. Believe me. It is tough. ... And you've got to handle everything that comes with it. "Believe me, when you win, there is nothing better. Because everybody pats you on the back, whether you deserve it or not. And when you lose, they're on you. And you know what? You deserve it. Because you're accountable, and that's why they pay me the big bucks. To handle situations like this. To handle criticism from the media, from your fans, and sometimes from your head coach. I can handle it." Don Banks covers pro football for CNNSI.com.
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