There's a comeback story here, which started when Manning was cut by the Indianapolis Colts team he helped build and underwent the neck surgeries that seemingly rendered his Hall of Fame arm impotent. Every athlete wants to believe in a second life and forever, Mangold said, and yet there's also an almost-uniform esteem, because of the way Manning prepares (Gonzalez said it is, bar none, the best process he's ever seen), because of how Manning competes, because of those twin comebacks and because, Gonzalez said, the way players view Manning provides a window into how they view their own careers.