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Prior to the snap of the football, the quarterback goes through a process. Some quarterbacks do very little prior to the snap. Some direct receivers or analyze the defense. The leadership provided pre-snap can instill confidence in a football team, or it can be a precursor to imminent doom (see the 1985 Patriots circa the Super Bowl). No matter a quarterback's pre snap routine, he only gets 45 seconds. One quarterback does more with those 45 seconds than any other I have ever seen. This is the pre-snap routine of Peyton Manning.

The first thing Manning does before the snap is to call a group of three plays. This group of plays always consists of two passes and one run. When his offense walks up to the line of scrimmage and prepares to get set, he waits for the defense to tip him off to the blitz package that they are about to run. This is the critical time when he makes the necessary adjustments to the predetermined protection scheme of his offensive line. All of this takes place in a matter of 10-15 seconds.
Next, Manning will make a judgment as to which of his pre-called plays best suit the positions of the defenders and the personnel his team has on the field. Next is strictly speculation. However, Manning probably calls a run if he feels the defense is about to over blitz or calls one of the passes if he feels he can get favorable coverage on his receivers. This part of the process takes about 10-15 more seconds.
Now comes possibly the most critical part of the decision making process for Manning. He now has 15-20 seconds to watch what the defense is doing, all the while calling out the signals necessary for his teammates to make the proper adjustments. If his blocking scheme matches up unfavorably against a certain defense, he can now audible out of his chosen play and run either of the previously discarded plays. Manning can now move his tight ends to either side of the formation or send them out to become wide receivers. Likewise, he now has to decide whether to move the positioning of his wide receivers or to keep them in their set positions. He then has to snap the ball and run the play that he has finally assembled.
Manning's uncanny ability to do so much in such a short period makes him one of the game's all time greats. The way Manning handles the stress of 50,000 screaming fans and his ability to function so well in such a short time make him very successful. The things that Manning does before the snap of the football make him accountable for every single success and failure. Due to Manning's great judgment and talent, he should have continued success for the foreseeable future.

Learn more about this author, Chris Denney.
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