NEW YORK – Anyone looking for an expert to discuss the candidacies of Marvin Harrison and Tony Dungy — among 17 Hall of Fame nominees — didn't need to arch very far during Super Bowl week.

"Marvin Harrison had a tremendous impact on my career," said Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, a teammate of Harrison with the Indianapolis Colts. "My very first football game in the preseason, on the third play of the game, I threw my first pass. I threw him about a 4-yard pass, and he ran 48 yards for a touchdown. I said, 'Boy, this NFL is pretty easy. All you do is throw it to Marvin Harrison and he runs for touchdowns.' "

On his former coach Dungy, Manning said: "His calming presence — that face that you see on TV when he's giving away all of our plays on the NBC halftime show — it's that same calm face he always had, which was peaceful for our players in a Super Bowl, in a championship game, in the preseason. It made players on his team play calm and play at a high level."