When Peyton Manning went off at ‘idiot, liquored up’ Colts teammate during Pro Bowl weekend
Peyton Manning is one of the best quarterbacks of his era and in NFL history. Manning spent the first 13 seasons of his career with the Indianapolis Colts, making it to the Pro Bowl 11 times with the franchise.
However, during his 2002 appearance in the game, Manning was asked about his teammate, kicker Mike Vanderjagt, and the comments he made about him. Manning said:
“I’m out at my third Pro Bowl, I’m about to go in and throw a touchdown to Jerry Rice, we’re honoring the Hall of Fame, and we’re talking about our idiot kicker who got liquored up and ran his mouth off.
"When I get home, I’ll deal with it. If he is still a teammate, we’ll deal with it. That remains to be seen.”
February 2, 2003: At the Pro Bowl, Peyton Manning goes off on the Colts’ “idiot kicker” Mike Vanderjagt. https://t.co/6rWJ79XRtK
Peyton Manning's response was in response to Vanderjagt's comments about his dislike of where the Colts were as a team. He spoke on Manning's lack of enthusiasm and urgency prior to the Wild Card matchup versus the New York Jets in the 2002 season.
Vanderjagt said:
“I’m not a real big Colts fan right now, unfortunately. I just don’t see us getting better. All week before the Jets game I’m like, ‘(No.) 18, we’re going to handle it, me and you we’re going to win this game.’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah, yeah, OK.’ And I’m like, ‘Peyton, show some enthusiasm, you’re the quarterback and we need to win this game.’ I just don’t see it from him."
Vanderjagt added:
"We need somebody who is going to get in people’s faces and yell and scream. I’ve gone over there to the offense and said, ‘Come on.’ They’re just like, ‘Mike, go sit down. You’re the kicker."
Mike Vanderjagt also went after then-head coach Tony Dungy for not being a good motivator in that rant as well.
Peyton Manning and Mike Vanderjagt remained teammates after the comments
Despite the kicker's comments about the franchise quarterback, both were teammates for a few more seasons. The seven-time All-Pro quarterback and Pro Bowl kicker played together for three more seasons after the comments.
Vanderjagt joined the Dallas Cowboys for the 2006 season, ending their time together. Peyton Manning famously signed with the Denver Broncos after the Colts released him following the 2011 season and retired after winning the Super Bowl in 2016.
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