Koppen: 'Omaha' Came From New England, Basically Means Nothing
BOSTON (CBS) - You can't watch two minutes of a Denver Broncos game without hearing Peyton Manning scream "Omaha! Omaha!" at the line of scrimmage.
But what does it mean, and where does it come from?
Former Patriots and Broncos center Dan Koppen, now a football analyst with CSNNE, joined 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich Friday morning to discuss the origins of "Omaha," as well as give a preview of Patriots-Broncos.
"'Omaha' started in New England. That was from [offensive coordinator] Charlie Weis in like 2000. Then John Hufnagel took it to the New York Giants when he got the offensive coordinator job, maybe in '04 or '05," said Koppen. "Eli Manning does it down there. Then Josh [McDaniels] took it to Denver. Peyton started using that because of Mike McCoy, who took Josh's offense. He used it. Peyton and McCoy were with each other for a year two years ago. That's how it all got started out there."
But what does it mean?
"It means he wants the ball. It's basically a snap count, and it's whether he decides to change it up one week or he can, you know, disguise it or throw a phony 'Omaha' to keep the defense honest. It's basically a snap count."
Koppen spoke great lengths about how OCD Manning is, so "Omaha" could very well mean something different each week, and Peyton is always trying to stay ahead of the defense to keep a competitive advantage.
As former Patriots linebacker Rosevelt Colvin once told Toucher & Rich in regards to Peyton's pre-snap theatrics. . . "Peyton is all hogwash."
Koppen is one of the few players to suit up with both Brady and Manning, so his perspective was unlike most you've been seeing or hearing this week.
Listen below for the full interview!
On Thursday night, Adam Jones was able to catch up with the former Patriots center to help breakdown the 16th meeting between Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. Koppen acknowledged that if the Patriots want to leave Foxborough Sunday with a victory, they must execute their game plan, and beat the best defense Manning has had in his career.
Listen below!
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