Let’s back up this garbage truck. In 2011, we had a 36-year-old quarterback who could not grip a football properly. His triceps had withered, and his right arm had turned into a frail reed. He needed spinal fusion surgery, the insertion of a titanium plate in his neck, and that came on the heels of earlier neck operations.
Peyton Manning was trying desperately to get back into shape in hopes of returning to football, even though his neck and spine were in a state of disrepair. And the N.F.L., the players’ union and all of us fans were all right with that.