Future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning was a perfectionist on the football field. He demanded the same of his teammates. That’s why Manning will go down as one of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of the NFL.
One of his most-popular teammates Reggie Wayne, who spent a decade with Manning in Indianapolis, just recently spoke up about the quarterback’s work ethic and what his practices looked like.
“Take for example, on Fridays. It was called ‘Perfect Fridays,'” Wayne told the NFL Network (h/t CBS Sports). “He would come out and he would kind of run the show for the beginning of Friday’s practice, and we went out there and he had his cue cards and he went through all the plays that he wanted to run, and, I mean, it was nuts, the way he was prepared (on Fridays).”
To say that Manning and Wayne were a well-oiled machine would be an understatement. Wayne put up seven consecutive 1,000-yard seasons with Manning tossing him the rock in Indianapolis. The two also earned a Super Bowl title with one another.
We shouldn’t be too surprised that Manning expected perfection from himself and his teammates. We are, however, somewhat surprised that perfection itself took place on the practice field over the long haul.
“We went about seven years before anybody ever dropped a ball (during a ‘Perfect Friday’ practice),” Wayne said.
Wayne retired following the 2014 season and is likely a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Manning, who called it quits a season later, will likely join Wayne in Canton shortly after the receiver is inducted.