Daily Madden: Manning On Target In 49er Game
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) - Denver quarterback Peyton Manning went 10 of 12 with two touchdowns to lead the Broncos to a 17-0 score against the 49ers before exiting near the end of the first quarter Sunday. San Francisco won the pre-season game 29-24.
"(Manning) looked awfully good," John Madden told the KCBS morning crew. Manning is coming off a neck nerve injury that sidelined him last season.
"People want to say the neck has affected his arm strength and all that stuff. I don't know that he was ever about arm strength. He's about reading, getting rid of the ball quickly, accuracy, putting the ball on guys... He gets in and out of a play action fake faster than anyone that I ever remember. You know, where he fakes the run, comes out of that and is ready to pass, and passes faster than anyone that I can remember. So he has his quickness, he has his accuracy, the ball is coming out of there, he's not jittery in the pocket. I was really impressed with Peyton Manning."
John said he was also impressed with Terrelle Pryor, one of the Raiders' backup quarterbacks, citing a TD play in Saturday's 31-20 victory over Detroit as an example. "As he came out in the boot, he had a short (receiver), a medium and a deep. Not only did he choose the deep, but he hit the deep in stride for a touchdown. And I thought, 'there you go.' I think all football needs more of that...that was kind of a preview of what he can be."
The 49ers first string defense has given up points on six of seven pre-season drives and hasn't put much pressure on quarterbacks. Should the 49ers be concerned?
"As a coach, I always worried about it," Madden said. "I know it's pre-season, and they'll say they're not game-planning and all that stuff. But I always did (worry)...If we had a bad practice, I would worry. If we would lose a game, I swear, I would believe we would never win another game the rest of our lives." (7:40)
Listen to the John Madden segment live weekday mornings at 8:15 on KCBS All News 740 AM/106.9 FM.
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