Peyton Manning: 'I really pray' Jared Goff breaks my rookie INT record
Peyton Manning still hasn't forgotten about the 28 interceptions he threw during his rookie season, and he's hoping Jared Goff breaks that record.
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It's been nearly two decades, but Peyton Manning still hasn't forgotten about his rookie season and the record he set during that 3-13 campaign. Back in 1998, Manning threw 28 interceptions, setting the record for the most interceptions in a rookie season. It's a record that still stands, which clearly irks Manning.
Even as Manning preps for Super Bowl 50 and potentially his last game, he still hasn't forgotten about it. And, as he revealed during the Broncos' media availability on Thursday, he's praying soon-to-be rookie Jared Goff is the quarterback who breaks the mark.
"We went 3-13, I led the league in interceptions and still hold the rookie record for interceptions, which I really pray maybe this kid Goff who gets drafted this year breaks it this year," Manning said. "I wish Luck would have broken it. Eli would have broken it, but you have to be a 16-game starter. He only started 10 games. It is not one I want to continue to hold."
Coincidentally enough, Goff frequently studied Manning while leading the Cal football team. Back in August, Tony Franklin -- Cal's offensive coordinator at the time who coached Goff for all three of his college seasons -- told me that the two often watched film of Manning, and that Goff tried to mimic Manning's footwork within the pocket.
In fact, Franklin went so far as to say they call the technique "Peyton Manning feet."
"Manning will move from the A gap to the C gap feet -- feet hot, hot all the time, typing all the time. He can throw the ball back across the field because his body position is perfect," Franklin said at the time. "Guys who step have to wait until the foot lands before they can throw the ball."
Our experts expect Goff to get picked in the first round, so he should be given a chance to start immediately, which should make Manning happy. Now, he just needs Goff to turn into an interception machine next fall -- the kind of rookie interception machine we haven't seen since 1998.
