Defense must adjust quickly with Manning
Hall-of-Fame coach Marv Levy is an authority on the no-huddle offense who earned a master’s degree in English history from Harvard.
A published author, Levy, 89, recently drew on his literary background when posed this question: Is Denver’s Peyton Manning the ideal quarterback to run a no-huddle attack?
“If you were writing a book of fiction and you wanted a quarterback running it,” Levy said, “then he’d be the guy. I think Peyton is the prototype.”
On Sunday, the 49ers will face Manning in Denver, where he orchestrates the no-huddle offense Levy and the Bills used en route to reaching four straight Super Bowls in the ’90s.
Coach Sam Wyche and the Bengals pioneered the no-huddle in the late ’80s, but the Bills took it a step further: It was their entire offense, not just an element of it.
Levy loved their so-called “K-Gun” attack led by Jim Kelly because it didn’t allow defenses to substitute players, make pre-snap adjustments or catch their breath. He was surprised more teams didn’t use the nohuddle after the Bills’ success.
“Some of the coaches, I think, were reluctant to hand so much over to the quarterback on game day at the line of scrimmage,” Levy said. “I think in order to run the no-huddle you have to cut your playbook back by about 50 percent, and there was also a reluctance to do that.
“Also, there could be a real sentiment among the defensive coaches on staff, ‘Gee, you’ve got us back on the field so darn quick. We need to regroup a little more.’ ”
The no-huddle has increased in popularity over the past 20 years. The Eagles employ a frenetic attack under coach Chip Kelly, while the Broncos use a more deliberate system that gives Manning, 38, time to survey the defense at the line of scrimmage, make a play call and, possibly, call an audible.
Even at that pace, however, it can wear down a defense in Denver’s mile-high altitude. That helps explains why the Broncos have run the no-huddle on 61 percent of their snaps at home and just 14 percent on the road this season, according to Pro Football Focus.
As Levy noted, coaches are hesitant to relinquish their play-calling duties to their quarterback. But that’s not an issue with Manning, who is as revered for his football intellect as his records (he needs three touchdown passes to surpass Brett Favre’s NFL mark of 508).
Levy saw firsthand Manning’s role as, in effect, quarterback-coach early in the quarterback’s 17-year career. Levy frequently visited the Colts because of his close friendship with then-coach Tony Dungy and then-general manager Bill Polian, who had the same role in Buffalo when Levy was with the Bills.
Levy says Manning’s attention to detail helps explain a career that has included 13 Pro Bowls and five MVP awards, two more than any other player.
“Peyton Manning prepares like you can’t imagine. Every. Single. Day,” Levy said. “He was involved in all aspects — not just the strategy. He was discussing the fundamentals. Things that would need to be drilled in practice. It was an amazing immersion into football.”
Niners defensive coordinator Vic Fangio goes back even further with Manning.
In the early ’90s, midway through Fangio’s nine-year tenure as the Saints’ linebackers coach, Manning was a frequent visitor to New Orleans’ facility. His dad, Archie, had been the Saints’ quarterback and still worked with the team. And Peyton, then at Isidore Newman High, often joined informal offseason workouts. Even in that environment, the 15-yearold Manning wanted to win.
“You just knew that he loved football,” Fangio said. “He was thrilled to be there with some other NFL players, but yet he was focused on the task at hand and he wanted to throw the ball well.”
It was the first of many times Fangio saw Manning. In 1998, Manning’s rookie season, Fan- gio game-planned against him as the Panthers’ defensive coordinator. From 1999 to 2001, Manning and Fangio, Indianapolis’ defensive coordinator, often had late-night X’s-and-O’s chats at the Colts’ facility. As the Texans’ defensive coordinator from 2002 to 2005, Fangio strategized against Manning twice a season for their AFC South meetings.
“It’s always challenging when you go against him because he is very, very smart,” Fangio said. “He does a good job before the ball is snapped at figuring out what the defense is trying to do and it helps him play at a more efficient, faster level. And he’s probably the best at that.”
Manning’s ability to make those pre-snap reads is part of what makes him ideally suited to run the no-huddle, Levy said. However, Levy also acknowledged Manning could be the prototypical quarterback to run any NFL offense.
Levy, who is about 10 months shy of his 90th birthday, recalls seeing Hall-of-Famers such as Sid Luckman and Johnny Unitas in action.
Who is the best in NFL history?
“When you start saying who is the greatest quarterback of all time — oh, geez, that’s tough,” he said. “But Peyton Manning is going to be on the ballot. I can safely say that.”