Peyton Manning's poise in the 2-minute drill: $98 million.
Peyton's composure, or lack thereof, on a commercial set: Priceless.
Manning acknowledged this week that he and his two buddies, three-time Pro Bowl center Jeff Saturday and right tackle Ryan Diem, struggled to play it straight during their latest MasterCard commercial shoot.
In the opening scene, Manning hands an obviously wrapped football to Saturday and asks him to guess what it is. Saturday then turns to Diem, and they stare at each other with puzzled looks.
"The hardest thing was not laughing between the takes," Manning said, even though Saturday and Diem have no speaking lines.
Manning has been doing the MasterCard commercials for years and they have included such memorable lines such as "Cut That Meat" and "Can you sign the bread for my little brother."
But this one may be best remembered by the Colts for what the public may never see.
"It was fun to do," Manning said. "We had a camera filming behind the scenes, and I can't wait to get those clips in here."
---
WALSH'S LEGACY LIVES ON: Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio runs his practices in Jacksonville using many of the decades-old philosophies of the late Bill Walsh.
"His memory lives on," said Del Rio, a Bay Area product coming home Sunday to face the San Francisco 49ers. "He had a tremendous impact on our game."
Walsh died on July 30, 2007, at age 75 following a long battle with leukemia. The innovative Walsh was nicknamed "The Genius" for his creative schemes that became known as the West Coast offense.
Walsh broke new ground in the NFL on how to run a team and developed a legion of coaching disciples. He won three Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers along the way despite not becoming an NFL head coach until age 47. He helped turn the 49ers into the most successful team of the 1980s.
"In our organization, a lot of the things we do here are things he passed down the coaching tree," Del Rio said.
Such as?
"How practices are scripted, the structure of sessions, time management throughout the week's schedule, "many of the principles he made so popular," Del Rio said.
---
STAFFORD'S STUFF: The Detroit Lions earned a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame this week.
Matthew Stafford's jersey and the game ball from the 38-37 win over the Cleveland Browns was put on display Tuesday as part of the Pro Football Today exhibit.
The jersey had to be cut off of Stafford because he dislocated his left shoulder one snap before connecting on his fifth touchdown with an untimed play set up by a Cleveland penalty in the end zone.
"It's pretty unique to have a jersey like that," Hall of Fame spokesman Joe Horrigan said. "You can obviously tell it was used in a game."
The 21-year-old Stafford set an NFL rookie record with 422 yards passing against the Browns on Sunday, and became the youngest player to throw five TDs in a game, the first rookie to pull off that feat since Ray Buivid did it in 1937.
"We're planning to have the ball part of our permanent display that features rookie records," Horrigan said.
---
BONJOUR BRADY: Browns quarterback Brady Quinn started one of his closest friendships while trying to impress the girls in junior high.
Quinn and Bengals safety Chinedum Ndukwe attended seventh grade together in suburban Columbus, Ohio, meeting in a foreign language class. Ndukwe's family had just moved up from Tennessee, and he didn't know anybody in school yet.
"I don't know if he told the story, but we both were kind of trying to be Casanovas, so we took a French class and we sat next to each other," Quinn said this week. "I was like, 'Why do you want to take French?' He was like, 'So I can smooth-talk to the ladies.' I was like, 'Yeah, me too!' So we both hit it off from there."
They went to Coffman High School together, where Quinn threw a lot of passes to Ndukwe. Their friendship continued at Notre Dame, where Ndukwe switched from receiver to safety. They remain best friends and talk once a week about their personal lives and about football.
"We talk about Xs and Os all the time - different teams, different safeties," Ndukwe said. "I ask his opinion all the time."
When the Browns and Bengals play, they go out to dinner together the night before the game. Their friendship took a new turn this weekend, when Quinn got to oppose Ndukwe. Quinn was expected to make his first career start against the Bengals in Cincinnati, facing off against his close friend for the first time.
"I think we both have an understanding for one another and how we play, but you can't get too overly consumed with that sort of stuff on the field," Quinn said.
Asked how he's approaching their first head-to-head encounter, Ndukwe was low-key.
"Just treat him like any other quarterback," the safety said.
---
WHO CALLED THAT PLAY?: So exactly who is calling the plays for the Washington Redskins these days?
Just about everyone.
Yes, it's been well-documented that the front office stripped coach Jim Zorn of play-calling duties four games ago and gave them to consultant Sherm Lewis.
But Lewis didn't know the whole playbook - he'd only just come out of retirement from calling bingo games - so the team has been working with a convoluted arrangement.
Lewis, in the coaching box working with offensive assistant Chris Meidt, decides whether the play will be a pass or run. If it's a pass, he calls the play down to offensive coordinator Sherman Smith, who relays it to quarterback Jason Campbell.
If Lewis wants a run, he tells Smith - and Smith calls the play.
Meanwhile, Zorn is listening in on his own headset and interjects when he feels the need, especially during the 2-minute drills or in short-yardage situations. He says he called about eight plays in last week's 7-6 loss to Dallas.
Also, to help make the process go more smoothly, Campbell now wears a large wristband that lists the plays.
"Most of the pass routes are going to come from up top," Smith said. "Those guys are going to give me the pass play. I call the run plays. Z-man's there and he can chime in and say 'What do you think about this?' It's not confusing at all to me."
Not confusing? OK, but Lewis' influence isn't as great as it would seem. Zorn explained that the offensive staff still installs the game plan the way it always did, and Lewis makes his calls from a predetermined list of plays. Zorn would be using the same list if he were still calling plays, although he might not be calling them in the same order.
The results were initially encouraging. The Redskins had their best three-game scoring span - 17, 17 and 27 points - immediately after the plan was put in place. And, even though the team scored only six points against Dallas, the offense moved the ball well before stalling in Cowboys territory.
Should the new play-calling scheme get the credit?
"I don't know if it's so much the play-calling," Smith said. "Guys are playing better. I think that has a lot to do with it."
How does Lewis think it's going? He's not saying. He hasn't granted an interview since he got the play-calling gig.
---
AP Football Writer Barry Wilner and Sports Writers Joseph White in Washington, D.C., Joe Kay in Cincinnati, Janie McCauley in San Francisco, Larry Lage in Detroit, and Michael Marot in Indianapolis contributed to this story.
