John Lynch: Peyton Manning is ‘always trying to get the edge’

Reporting from Denver -- John Lynch, the retired All-Pro safety who played for Denver from 2004-07, said the Broncos would have been “foolish” not to pursue Peyton Manning as hard as they did.

“I had the opportunity to play against [John] Elway, [Dan] Marino, Steve Young, Tom Brady,” Lynch said in a phone interview. “But the toughest player I’ve played against is Peyton, just because of the things he can do at the line of scrimmage.

“Are there some holes on Denver’s roster? Yes. But can a great quarterback make up for that and kind of mask those? Absolutely. If you’ve got him, you have a chance. Denver just went from a team that had a number of holes to a team that next year is going to be a contender.”

Lynch and Manning struck up a friendship over the course of their many Pro Bowls together, and the safety quickly learned there was no more competitive player in the league.

“I always had to be careful,” Lynch said of hanging out with Manning in Honolulu, “because you start drinking a couple Mai Tais and all of a sudden Peyton’s trying to pick your brain on Monte Kiffin [Lynch’s former defensive coordinator in Tampa Bay] and what he likes to call in certain situations. That’s what kind of competitor he is. He’s always trying to get the edge.”

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John Lynch: Peyton Manning is ‘always trying to get the edge’