Manning brothers' comments on 'halftime adjustments' cause uproar

Given that a regular season NFL halftime is 13 minutes, the brothers make sense. It leaves little time for coaches to make major changes. Coaches and players have more time during the playoffs or Super Bowl, when halftimes can be much longer.

The comments sparked an uproar on social media. 

Some backed the brothers, noting the short length of the halftime. They also pointed out that if a coach needed his team to make a change, they would do it in the moment and not wait until halftime.

However, others ripped the Mannings. Some said halftime adjustments were common in high school football. Many also pointed to a recent piece by The Athletic’s Matt Barrows in which he gave a rare look inside  the halftime of the San Francisco 49ers. 

The piece noted that players have the first few minutes for themselves. They can change gear or get help in the training room. They also use the minutes to use the restroom.

The next minutes, Barrows stated, are like lectures with the offense and defense gathering. On the offensive side, plays were scribbled on a whiteboard. On the defensive side, defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans reminded players to play hard.

“Let’s go be great!” Ryans said, according to The Athletic. “Finish! Finish! Finish!”

The piece underscores that some teams make small adjustments at halftime or use the moments to institute new plays. But the time is short, as the Mannings noted, leaving little time for sweeping changes.