Archie Manning probably thought he only was helping his son, but he actually has made Peyton Manning's selfishness sound worse.
The quarterback's father's comments on WDSU-TV in New Orleans, via Larry Brown Sports, revealed that the Broncos signal caller has been dealing with his injured foot since before the season began.
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"He went back this year and he struggled again with injury," Archie Manning told WDSU-TV in New Orleans on Thursday, via Denver's KMGH-TV. "He really had this foot problem. It's been going on for five or six months."
That could explain Manning's awful play in 2015. Had the 39-year-old quarterback been up front with the Broncos, they could've started Brock Osweiler at the beginning of the season and allowed Manning to heal his foot and be back in time for the team's playoff run.
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Or if Manning had been unable to recover fully, Osweiler would have a season's worth of work under his belt to prepare him for the playoffs and give the Broncos a better chance in the postseason.
Now, neither will happen. Manning returned to practice earlier this week, but sat out Friday because of soreness in the foot.
In fairness to Manning, most football players will try to get on the field and ignore any aches and pains. But the quarterback got a first-hand look last season of how much an injury affects his play and still didn't learn that lesson.
With the Broncos' defense and a reasonably healthy Manning -- or maybe even a more seasoned Osweiler -- Denver might've been a clear-cut favorite to win the Super Bowl.
But a Super Bowl favorite fighting for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs wouldn't be a touchdown underdog on the road during a Week 15 game, as the Broncos are Sunday at the Steelers.
Archie Manning also was asked about Peyton's future beyond 2015.
"Peyton's got plenty of sense, so when everything's done at the end of the year he'll sit down and make a decision," Archie said.
Unfortunately for the Broncos, Peyton's decisions in 2015 didn't make a whole lot of sense, and now Denver will be hard-pressed to hoist the Lombardi trophy in February.
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