Peyton Manning will be on the phone with brother Eli all week. Eli put up 35 points on the Panthers in Week 15. The Giants' quarterback should have some tips.
What NFL fans may not know: Cam Newton also has an NFL brother. Cecil Newton, Jr., 29, three years Cam's senior, bounced around NFL practice squads for four years. Although he never played an NFL game, Cecil made stops in Jacksonville, New Orleans, Green Bay and Baltimore from 2009-2012.
It was with the Ravens that Cecil found an asset for Cam.
Cecil, a center, practiced alongside Michael Oher from 2011-2012. He saw the story beyond The Blind Side.
"My brother, playing on the offensive line, was around him every day, saw how he brought the professionalism each and every day," Newton said, according to ProFootballTalk. "That's something that stuck out to him, and he told me, 'Mike is someone who will be a key asset to the team."
Oher played with the Ravens from 2009-2013 before signing a four-year, $20 million contract with the Tennessee Titans. Fans of The Blind Side should recall Oher grew up in Memphis. However, the signing did not have a Hollywood ending. Oher struggled in Nashville and missed five games with a toe injury. The Titans released him after the season.
Back on the free agent market, Oher found himself being courted by Cam.
"With the free agent pool, I've sent texts out before, called guys and said, 'We'd love for you to be part of the team.' But Mike was different," Newton said. "I didn't say, 'I want you to be here.' It was, 'I need you.' That's different. Want and need are two different words, and that's what I used in that text, along with other explicit words before the 'need.' And I think he got the feeling from that."
Oher started all 16 games for the Panthers this season, defending Cam Newton's blind side, of course. Now, the quarterback and his left tackle are headed to the Super Bowl.
Don't expect Oher to talk much about The Blind Side in the week leading up to the big game. He keeps mum on his Hollywood portrayal, which Oher feels is exaggerated and misleading.
But he did give us this picture of him celebrating on the field with Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy (portrayed in the movie by Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw) after the Panthers' NFC Championship Game win.
-- Follow Jeffrey Eisenband on Twitter @JeffEisenband.
