"Ask Howie Long about that," he said, referring to the great Raiders defensive lineman. "I remember we played them in the AFC championship game [in 1991] and he yelled at me. He was like, 'Come on, Kelly! Slow this down, man! Slow it down!' I just started laughing."
As for Manning, he's more of a patient professor.
"Peyton is a pioneer when it comes to a no-huddle that isn't necessarily a fastbreak," Elway said. "It's more, let's just get them to the line of scrimmage and make them commit."
In some circles, Manning's nickname is "Perfect Peyton," and there's no question he's a perfectionist in most aspects of his life. But Hall of Fame coach turned broadcaster John Madden, who is close friends with Manning, said the quarterback isn't necessarily trying to get into the perfect play when he's at the line of scrimmage.
"His whole philosophy is to stay out of a bad play," Madden said. "It's not necessarily to get into the best play where you're going to get the defense every play, obviously you're not. He wants to get into a play that has a chance."
From a defensive perspective, Madden said, there's no surefire way to beat Manning.
"There's no answer to a great quarterback," he said. "There's no, do you blitz them or not, do you zone them or not, do you press him? The only thing you can do with him is disguise, and keep him from knowing what you're doing as long as you can.
"But eventually, you're going to do it and he's going to see it. Whatever you're doing to disguise, you'd better change because he's going to figure you out."
Twitter: @LATimesfarmer
