Peyton Manning praises Cam Newton for chat after Super Bowl loss

Cam Newton, Peyton Manning. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) Cam Newton didn’t make any new friends with his sullen press conference after his Super Bowl loss, but Peyton Manning indicated that the Newton onstage bore little resemblance to the Newton he met at midfield just after the end of the game.

“Cam couldn’t have been nicer to me,” Manning said on the Today Show. “He was extremely humble. He congratulated me, wished me the best. I told him just congratulations on his outstanding season and just what a great future he has ahead of him.”

Newton, of course, was not nearly so gracious in his three-minute press conference, where he sulked and refused to answer in anything more than brief soundbites before leaving. Perhaps he was distracted by Broncos nearby, perhaps he was just livid and disgusted with it all and wanted to get away. Either way, he had one bad experience on the field, and another off it.

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Manning knows a thing or two about Super Bowl losses, and so can sympathize with Newton … unlike, say, Michael Irvin. “He’ll be back in that game, I can promise you,” Manning said. “So, I’ve been on that side of it. It is tough — it is not an easy pill to swallow. But he was very nice to me and I really appreciated that.”

Podcast: Super Bowl wrapup: Denver’s masterful defense, Cam’s pouting: