Peyton: My Brother, My Response

Peyton Manning: “I think (Eli) hit it on the head when he said Tiki's made a very nice transition to the media world, and there's some truth to that. Ex-players truly become ex-players right away. When they go (into the media), they feel like they have to criticize players. And maybe that's what they're supposed to do. You don't know. I think quarterbacks are a unique fraternity. I don't think anybody knows what it's like to be a quarterback except a current quarterback. I think sometimes former quarterbacks forget what it's like. It seems like more so the ones in the media. They forget how hard it is and what you have to go through. So I pull for all quarterbacks. You cannot play quarterback at any level, even junior high, without taking a leadership position. Three years in high school, three years starting in college, being in your fourth year (in the NFL) and taking a team to the playoffs twice, you are a leader and you're a good leader. The ones who aren't leaders are the ones who don't make it -- at any level. So, yeah, I think you do get defensive when they get on (issues of leadership); it's supposed to be part of the code, somewhat, teammate to teammate.”