Everybody is in a joking mood after Peyton Manning set a new NFL record for career touchdown passes.
New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick got in on the fun during his conference call with reporters Monday morning. Self-effacing jokes usually aren’t Belichick’s forte, but he broke character when asked about Manning surpassing Brett Favre’s mark during the Denver Broncos’ 42-17 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
“It’s a great career,” Belichick said. “It’s an unbelievable amount of consistent production. He’d probably be waiting a lot longer to pass that record if he hadn’t played against me so many times. He certainly threw a lot of them against defenses that I had.
“His durability, his longevity, his consistent production — that’s why it is what it is, why the record is what it is. (Brett) Favre did it for a long time and did it on a very consistent level. Peyton’s done the same thing, even a little more so. It’s a phenomenal accomplishment. Like I said, he’s certainly thrown plenty of them against me.”
OK, so it’s not exactly organizing your own game of keep-away, but poking fun at himself is about as much fun as Belichick has had on these mandatory conference calls. At least he didn’t confuse Manning with Gary Payton.
Photo via David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports Images
