Myers' Super Bowl Confidential: Manning's audible led away from Seattle

Pete Carroll and Seahawks brass tried to court Manning, but were never really in play before he picked the Denver Broncos.

Peyton Manning and the Broncos were a perfect match when he was a free agent two years ago. He was looking for a team good enough to win a Super Bowl, and after seeing enough of Tim Tebow, the Broncos were looking for a quarterback good enough to win one.

Pete Carroll will try and stop Manning from completing his dream season in Super Bowl XLVIII on Feb. 2 at MetLife Stadium just as he tried to stop Manning from signing with the Broncos in 2012 by making a strong push for him to join the Seahawks instead.

Considering how good the Seahawks have been for the two seasons Manning has been in Denver, there's a pretty good chance if he signed in Seattle he would have made it to the Super Bowl with them, too, especially with the 'Hawks defense being the best in the NFL.

Carroll found out it was a lot easier to recruit high school kids to play at Southern Cal than it was to convince one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history to play for him.

After the Colts cut Manning coming off his fourth neck surgery, his first visit in March of 2012 was to Denver.

His next stop was Arizona. While he was in Denver, he also met with the Redskins coach Mike Shanahan.

Carroll said two years ago that Manning had called him during the process to talk about signing with Seattle.

So, while Manning was with the Broncos, the Seahawks took their shot, following up on what they believed had been interest by Manning. In a story about the Manning recruiting process back then, Sports Illustrated reported that Carroll and Seahawks GM John Schneider arrived unannounced by plane at an airport in nearby Englewood, Col.

Manning was told that Carroll and Schneider were in town and would like to meet with him on the plane, on his flight to Arizona or have him visit in Seattle. Manning apparently was no longer interested in the Seahawks, because he declined the invitatio7n and Carroll and Schneider never got to meet with him. It was certainly worth the trip even though it didn't pay off.

'We took an approach with this just like we've taken at every other opportunity that comes down the line to help your football team. We go for it,' Carroll said back then.

He said they were 'just competing to try to find a way and we just couldn't pull it off at that time. We had to take a shot at that. It didn't work out for us there.'

The Seahawks then signed free agent Matt Flynn and drafted Russell Wilson in the third round. Flynn didn't work out but Wilson is in the Super Bowl in just his second season.

Baca Juga

Manning's free agents travels took him from the Broncos to the Cardinals and then back to Indianapolis to meet with the Dolphins. He worked out for the Broncos and 49ers at Duke and for the Titans in Tennessee. The Broncos, 49ers and Titans were the three finalists. The Jets were immediately rejected by Manning when they inquired about his interest.

Archie Manning said in the locker room Sunday after the Broncos beat the Patriots that on the weekend Manning visited the Broncos and Cardinals, he had two more visits planned on the trip.

'He called me and said, 'I can't do this,'' Archie said. 'He said, 'They are going to have to come to me or get another plan.''

Manning then went to Duke, where David Cutcliffe, his former offensive coordinator at Tennessee and now Duke's head coach, was supervising his workouts. Eleven days after he visited the Broncos, he signed with them. And now he faces Carroll and the Seahawks in the Super Bowl.

SUPER BOWL SATURDAY? Just a thought: Can you imagine if the metropolitan area gets hit with a snowstorm on Feb. 2 like it did Tuesday? It could lead to the first Super Bowl not played on a Sunday. If there is a blizzard coming in, the Super Bowl could be pushed up to Saturday or back to Monday or later, depending on when it's due to arrive.

According to Weather.com, the conditions in East Rutherford on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., kickoff time for Super Bowl XLVIII : 14 degrees with a wind chill of 1 and 10 mph winds gusting to 18 mph with seven inches of snow already on the ground and snow accumulating rapidly. The NFL is praying Mother Nature gets this out of her system and brings nothing more than flurries on Super Bowl weekend.

'HAWKS BACK IN TOWN The Seahawks and Broncos will arrive on Sunday at Newark Airport. The team hotels are in Jersey City. The Broncos are due to land about 3:30 p.m. with the Seahawks due in about 7 p.m....It will be the first time in exactly six weeks that the Seahawks are making a road trip. Their last flight was Dec. 15 when they travelled home from their 23-0 victory over the Giants.

Their final two games of the regular season were at home, then they had the bye and their two playoff games were at home.

The Broncos also played at MetLife this season, beating the Giants 41-23 the second week of the season. The last time both Super Bowl teams played a regular season game at the Super Bowl stadium was in 2009 when the Saints and Colts each played in Miami. That was also the last time both No. 1 seeds made the Super Bowl before the Broncos and Seahawks did it this year. Before that, it was the Bills vs. Cowboys in Super Bowl XXVIII following the 1993 season.

BRONCOS ON THE BOAT Here's a Super Bowl first: The Broncos media sessions on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday will take place on board the Cornucopia Majesty yacht (it can accommodate up to 1,200 guests), which is docked at their team hotel, the Jersey City Hyatt. The NFL was looking to do something different with Manhattan as a backdrop and also to maximize space at the team hotel. In the past, interviews have often taken place in a big tent rather than a hotel ballroom. Let's hope the Hudson River is calm or it's going to be the first time a Super Bowl team has to treat its players for seasickness, even if the boat is to remain docked.

NO ENEMY TERRITORY At least with the Broncos winning, the Jets don't have to worry about Bill Belichick and the Patriots practicing at their facility next week. The Broncos will practice at the Jets complex and the Seahawks will be at the Giants. The Jets facility is definitely more extravagant than the Giants except for one thing: The Giants field house in heated and the Jets field house is not. It does get pretty cold in there. It will be interesting to see if Carroll and Fox elect to practice all week outdoors in the cold or take their teams inside. Also, if it snows on the big practice days of Wednesday or Thursday next week: Will they elect to have their teams get used to messy conditions in the event it snows on game day or will they decide to go inside because either they can't get all their work done in the snow or they don't want to risk injury? One day after the Patriots were eliminated, Bill Belichick was asked if he was a fan of the cold weather Super Bowl. 'I'm just trying to coach the Patriots,' he said. 'I'm not trying to schedule games or be a Super Bowl coordinator.'

EXTRA POINTS The last time John Fox was going into the final year of his contract, Panthers owner Jerry Richardson didn't fire him or extend him. Fox went into the 2010 season as a lame duck, finished 2-14 and was fired. Elway then hired him in Denver. Fox's four-year contract is up after the 2014 season and I don't think getting an extension will be an issue... After Sunday's AFC Championship Game, the three Manning brothers - Peyton, Eli and Cooper - and their father Archie celebrated the Broncos victory at John Elway's restaurant. Elway was also there... According to NFL.com, extra points have a 99.1% success rate since 2004. Roger Goodell told NFL Network that the league could eventually do away with the extra point and adopt a new system. 'There's one proposal in particular that I've heard about,' Goodell said. 'It's automatic that you get seven points when you score a touchdown, but you could potentially go for an eighth point, either by running or passing the ball, so if you fail, you go back to six.' This actually is a pretty good idea. It will speed up the game and reduce injury risk. Coaches will go for the extra point the same way they go for two now. They will opt for the automatic seven unless the score dictates in the fourth quarter than they attempt to get the eight points...The Pro Bowl format has been changed this year as the league does away with conference affiliation. But this issue remains: Players want to be picked for the Pro Bowl to hit their contract incentives and because it's prestigious to be recognized as one of the best, but they generally have no desire to play in the game. The 49ers had eight players picked for the game and not one of them is headed to Honolulu: Linebacker NaVarro Bowman and guard Mike Iupati suffered major injuries in the NFC title game loss to Seattle and RB Frank Gore, LB Ahmad Brooks, TE Vernon Davis, DE Justin Smith, LB Patrick Willis and T Joe Staley reportedly decided not to play. The game is unwatchable - it's more two-hand touch than real football. Football is not conducive to all-star games. The league needs to do away with the Pro Bowl. Tom Brady also opted out of the game and was replaced by Alex Smith.