Richard Sherman says Peyton Manning throws ducks

Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman has a reputation as a smart player. He also has a reputation as an outspoken, controversial and even disrespectful football player.

For a segment with Sports Illustrated‘s The MMQB, Sherman analyzed who he thought were the most intelligent quarterbacks in the league. His most intelligent quarterback is Denver Broncos signal-caller Peyton Manning. Not too surprising, but he does make one interesting assessment.

Sherman writes:

"When we played Peyton in the preseason, I found a new appreciation for the way he makes adjustments at the line of scrimmage; he controls the protections, and if he sees the blitz coming he slides it. The thing that sets him apart is that he’ll change it to a run play if you don’t have enough players in the box, and they’ll get five or six yards because you’re not ready for it. Nobody else has both the authority to do that within their offense and the understanding to know when it’s appropriate.His arm, however, is another story. His passes will be accurate and on time, but he throws ducks."

There were concerns when Manning was coming back from his neck injury about his arm strength. Still that is a interesting comment on a player who just threw more touchdowns in a season and more yards than any other quarterback in NFL history.