Former teammate may help Raiders shut down Peyton

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New Raiders strongside linebacker Philip Wheeler was a teammate of Peyton Manning's in Indianapolis for four years, going up against him in practice for the first three years of his career.Before Manning missed all of last year with his neck issues.Now that both players call the AFC West home, might Wheeler bring some insight to Oakland in how to defend the new Denver quarterback?"He's going to be in a different situation than he was," Wheeler said in a conference call Monday with Bay Area reporters. "I just know from practice and going against me, he helped me playing against the best quarterback in the league. I know how to step my game up because of that."Manning, though, is known for his audibles."As far as knowing what he's going to do, he's always unpredictable," Wheeler added. "That's why he was so good. You don't know where he is going with the ball. You know what type of play he runs but you don't know when he's going to run it. I feel like I'm better just from going up against him in practice every day and I'll be prepared to face any quarterback like that. I think I can help the team do that."Wheeler, and the Raiders, now get to do exactly that twice a year.

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