INDIANAPOLIS -- Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning kept quiet about his second knee surgery for one reason: He thought it would give opponents an advantage.
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The two-time NFL player of the year answered questions about the surgery for the first time publicly on Wednesday, two days after coach Tony Dungy confirmed Manning needed two preseason surgeries to clear the bursa sac infection in his left knee.
"The reason I just didn't really confirm or deny it the first time was I just didn't really want the (Chicago) Bears to know they were playing against a guy that was four weeks off of surgery," he said. "I know if I was playing against a corner that was four weeks off of surgery, I would definitely test out how good that surgery was in a game. So I just didn't think it was fair to reveal that information."
The Colts still lost that season-opener at home 29-13.
Manning continues to insist it is irrelevant now that he has produced his two best games of the season. A week ago, he helped orchestrate a remarkable comeback against Houston, rallying from 17 points down with less than five minutes to go, and then threw for three touchdowns in last Sunday's 31-3 victory over Baltimore.
The reward for beating the Ravens was Manning's first AFC Player of the Week award since Dec. 2, 2007.
Because of the double knee surgery, Manning, who has never missed an NFL start, missed training camp and all the preseason games. He's spent the first month of the season trying to get precision timing down with his receivers.
He still wasn't satisfied yet for the 3-2 Colts, but he wants to be finished talking about the knee.
"I was just trying to not give them any type of advantage, whether they change their blitzes or what not," Manning said. "I didn't want to keep it from anybody, and it didn't necessarily have to be a secret. That was just the whole reasoning for it."
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