Orlando Franklin: On being part of history, and what it takes to win big games
Last week against the San Francisco 49ers was an amazing game, it was great to be a part of history of when Peyton Manning broke the career touchdown passes record. It was amazing to be there first hand and to be blocking on the play when he broke the record. It was great that he did it in Week 6, because not only did he break the record he’s going to get a chance to shatter the record and make it so it lasts a long time.
Playing with a guy like Peyton, he brings you to a higher standard. Peyton is the kind of player that demands accountability. He’s a perfectionist and he demands perfection from all his teammates. It’s not okay to mess up and just say “my bad” to Peyton.
I remember when Cody Latimer first got to Denver. It was Cody’s first NFL training camp, about the second week. We were running a two-minute drill against our defence and it was third down and about eight yards. Peyton threw him a route, and Cody did something wrong. Peyton went nuts on him. He went crazy. When Peyton came back to the huddle he said “That’s my bad guys, I never should have thrown him the ball.” It’s a little stressful, especially when you’re a younger guy and you’re being counted on. But it brings out the best in you.
I remember when he first got here, during our first OTA I was stressing out about it. It was different than playing with Tim Tebow or Kyle Orton back there. You’ve got arguably the best quarterback in NFL history you’re blocking for. You want to be on your toes, you want to take care of business. And you know he’s going to give you 100 percent also.
The big difference last week between us and San Francisco was just executing. We knew San Fran was banged up, but what team isn’t banged up at this point in the season? So we were able to go in there and do a couple things very well and capitalize on their mistakes.
This week we play San Diego, a division rival, in the Thursday night game. It’s gonna be a great game because it’s a Thursday night game, and we’re the only teams in the country playing. So everybody’s going to be tuned in and everybody’s going to be excited. We need to play a full 60 minutes. We can’t expect to play 30 minutes and beat San Diego.
It’s going to be tough because we’re on a short week after playing Sunday night and now on Thursday. We do more work mentally on a short week. It’s not a physical week, as opposed to a regular week when you’re gonna go full pads on Wednesday and it’s going to be a grind and you’re pretty much playing another full football game.
This week everything has been more mental. You have to be on your Ps and Qs in meetings, you gotta listen to everything that’s going on. You don’t want to miss anything because nine times out of ten what the coaches are talking about is going to show up in the game.
As an offence we just worry about ourselves and taking care of the football. Our biggest emphasis each week is that each series ends with a kick – an extra kick, a field goal, or even a punt. That means that we’re taking care of the ball. No turnovers.
Personally, there’s stuff I need to work on each week. I thought I got better last week but by no means was I flawless. There’s definitely room for improvement. Even if you’re exactly right technically, and you’re exactly right with your hands and stuff, it still only gives you a chance in this league because you’re playing against the guys that are the best in the world. I’m just trying to improve every week.
Follow Orlando Franklin on Twitter and Instagram.
More from Orlando Franklin:
–How football led me down the right path, and to protecting Peyton Manning
–Giving thanks to the mentors who helped me get where I am today
More NFL coverage from Yahoo Sports:
