Tweets of the Weak? Irsay Tackles Peyton

Editor’s Note: This story will be updated. Stay tuned.

Just horsing around or horsepucky? Andrew Luck faces off against predecessor Peyton Manning this Sunday, Oct. 20, in Lucas Oil Stadium. Ahead of that showdown, his boss, Colts owner Jim Irsay, made some statements considered bold for the Midwest in a USA Today piece that ran Tuesday. The Colts owner called an audible, tweaking his erstwhile quarterback over the number of Super Bowls (one) that the team won during Manning’s tenure in Indianapolis. First, here’s the video. Second, former Colts general manager Bill Polian, whether named or not, is also subtly chided here. Among Irsay’s comments:

“[Tom] Brady never had consistent numbers, but he has three of these [Super Bowl rings]. Pittsburgh had two, the Giants had two, Baltimore had two and we had one. That leaves you frustrated.”

“You make the playoffs 11 times, and you’re out in the first round seven out of 11 times. You love to have the Star Wars numbers from Peyton and Marvin [Harrison] and Reggie [Wayne]. Mostly, you love this.”

It goes without saying that Irsay obviously wields a strategic playbook off-field as well, and professional and amateur sports analysts are running amok over the comments. This is armchair quarterbacking to the max. See the latest chatter about the verbal foreplay below.

What say you, Colts/Peyton/Irsay/football fans?

For reference, don’t forget that these two have all but cried together in a press conference: