Some things run in the family. Others don't.
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Over Archie Manning's 14 years in the NFL, the longtime Saints quarterback rushed for 2,197 yards. His sons, Eli and Peyton, who combine for 30 seasons of experience (12 for the Giants' signal-caller and 18 for his older brother, who now plays for the Broncos), make up nearly half that number with 1,135 yards combined on the ground.
But, as evidenced by football's first family, there is more than one track to success at the position.
So when it came to the hallowed 40-yard dash growing up, the first and only set of brothers to win Super Bowl MVPs didn't exactly get recruited based on their speed. At the annual Manning Passing Academy this past weekend in Thibodaux, La., Peyton recalled that simple fact during a question-and-answer session with their 1,200 campers.
"When I was a senior being recruited by Tulane at the Tulane Football Camp, we ran 40s and they said that I ran a 4.88 (seconds) that day," Manning said, tongue firmly in cheek, according to Jeff Duncan of NOLA.com and The Times-Picayune.
In honor of National Sibling Day, we take a look at the best photos of Eli and Peyton through the years!
"I'm pretty sure that was (then Tulane coach) Buddy Teevens just doing some good recruiting. I probably ran about a 5.1.
"I remember Eli was a 7th-grader at the camp, the youngest kid at the camp. He's the only guy who ran his 40 wearing his helmet. I don't know why he had his helmet on. I remember he ran a 6.2, (that) was the time that I heard -- a humbling moment for Eli."
But that didn't mean they didn't work on it.
Peyton, according to the article, also told the story about he and his older brother Cooper and another set of siblings from a nearby school training with a speed coach during high school.
"Cooper ran about a 4.75, which was great (since) he was playing receiver," Peyton said. "I didn't hear my time, but the guy from St. Martin's, who was an offensive lineman, beat me in the 40, and he ran a 5.8. I don't know what I ran, but it was somewhere after that.
"My point was it doesn't matter if you're slow or not strong as an 8th grader or a 9th grader. Go to work at it. If you can't get real fast, (then) jump a lot of rope and get good feet."
In the end, Peyton went on to play at Tennessee and Eli at Ole Miss, and both Isidore Newman School graduates became the first overall picks in their respective draft classes.
While they continue to prepare for a new NFL season, Archie, Cooper, Peyton and Eli just celebrated the 20th anniversary of their camp, which keeps growing. The Manning Passing Academy's list of alumni includes seven No. 1 overall draft picks, including five of the last nine: Jameis Winston, Andrew Luck, Sam Bradford, Matthew Stafford and JaMarcus Russell.
"That's pretty impressive," Eli said, according to NOLA.com. "That was never the goal or the intention, but that's kind of what it's become. A lot of them, they get to the NFL and they say, 'Yeah, I was a camper at the Manning Passing Academy,' and we had no idea. We're not keeping track or recruiting. We treat everybody the same."
