Stacey Dales Went After an ESPN Radio Host for Questioning Peyton Manning's Arm Strength

Peyton Manning has, over the course of this season, had stretches where his throws appeared to lack some zip, and that’s especially been the case over the past month or so. This isn’t an indictment on his character, or a declaration that he’s definitely finished. Manning rebounded from a similar scare early in his 2012 return (remember when he got picked off three times by Atlanta?), but he’s 38 years old, has had several neck surgeries, and plays a violent sport where any number of injuries can impact his level of play.

Though Manning did throw some darts last night against the Bengals, many of his passes hung up in the air forever and it felt inevitable that one or some would prove costly. (I’m not just saying that in retrospect.) NFL Network reporter Stacey Dales, who left ESPN in 2009, was on a different wavelength, tweeting:

When ESPN Radio host Jorge Sedano tweeted about the topic (independently), an observer brought Ms. Dales into it, who responded as if he’d @’ed her with a really aggressive statement like “Peyton Manning is a loser who can’t win in the cold” or “Stick a fork in Manning’s career”:

A legend winning games and having diminished capacity from his prime are not mutually exclusive. Did she think this was directed at her? It continued:

And end scene:

This was one of the more baffling media Twitter fights of all-time.