Emmanuel Sanders praises Peyton by slighting Big Ben

Emmanuel Sanders was on radio in Denver, and made some surprising comments. While it's no surprise that a receiver would much prefer Peyton Manning to Ben Roethlisberger, Sanders commented on the leadership of both men.

NFL.com got a hold of the quotes from Sanders on KKFM in Denver:

"(From) a mental standpoint, I don't care to really say this, but I feel Peyton is a far better leader," told KKFM in Denver. "In terms of staying after practice, catching balls, wanting guys to get on the same page with him and things of that sort.

"This is the first time that I had a quarterback that stays every single day after practice, no matter what his accolades," he went on. "From NFL MVP, Super Bowl rings. He keeps guys like me and (Cody) Latimer after practice and we're out there 15, 20 minutes. And he's not one of those guys you gotta go chase down, he's gonna be right at the same spot ready to work, every single day.

This is not about the physical gifts, or intellectual hold on the game. This is Sanders taking a shot at the work ethic and leadership of Roethlisberger, and let's not pretend he actually didn't care to say what he did. He could've simply said that he responded to Manning's leadership strongly, and he enjoyed the work ethic. Sanders could've said a hundred things that would've at least veiled the attack on Big Ben, but that wasn't the point. Sanders wanted everybody to know what he thinks of Big Ben as a leader. In my opinion it comes off sounding like Sanders' belief is that Big Ben got complacent after the super bowl accolades, which is a lofty accusation.

I guess Sanders thinks that Manning would still be hungry after a second championship... gosh if only he could get a second we'd find out.

Is the criticism of Big Ben fair? Let's chat @TheFib0624

--Bill Stiles