OT-Colts fire Polian...

[patchick]

I think you have that backwards. Irsay wants to keep Manning and I think the Polian's wanted to pick Luck and possibly deal Manning. The Polians know, and Bill stated that the roster is weak and they have to rebuild the whole thing. The best way to do that is trade Manning now and get two 1st round picks and whatever else comes with the bounty. Suck it up for a year or two while Luck takes his lumps and rebuild through the draft. I'm guessing, becauses Irsay is a fanboy more than a GM/Owner type, that he has sentimental value and doesn't believe his team is as depleted as they are in the talent department.

The problem is that the contract Polian negotiated with Manning is virtually untradeable. They'd have to find somebody willing to pay a $28 million bonus to a 35-year-old QB coming off multiple spinal surgeries and a year on the sidelines. And then expect to get significant value back in return? Not likely.

Their choices are either cut Manning and draft Luck, or keep Manning and put the immensely valuable #1 pick up for bids in the hopes of rebuilding the rest of the team. The second option isn't crazy, IMO.

 

[Deus Irae]

I think you have that backwards. Irsay wants to keep Manning and I think the Polian's wanted to pick Luck and possibly deal Manning. The Polians know, and Bill stated that the roster is weak and they have to rebuild the whole thing. The best way to do that is trade Manning now and get two 1st round picks and whatever else comes with the bounty. Suck it up for a year or two while Luck takes his lumps and rebuild through the draft. I'm guessing, becauses Irsay is a fanboy more than a GM/Owner type, that he has sentimental value and doesn't believe his team is as depleted as they are in the talent department.

The way it's looking now, either the Colts or the Rams are going to be in a great position to trade their pick for a king's ransom. It should be fun watching which decision pays off more down the road.

 

[mgcolby]

The problem is that the contract Polian negotiated with Manning is virtually untradeable. They'd have to find somebody willing to pay a $28 million bonus to a 35-year-old QB coming off multiple spinal surgeries and a year on the sidelines. And then expect to get significant value back in return? Not likely.

Their choices are either cut Manning and draft Luck, or keep Manning and put the immensely valuable #1 pick up for bids in the hopes of rebuilding the rest of the team. The second option isn't crazy, IMO.

I would agree with your first paragraph and think that makes sense. But all it takes is one team with a desperate GM/HC that thinks it is only a QB away from winning it all to make the trade.

 

[letekro]

Re: Polian(s) FIRED!

New regimes = new quarterbacks.

Manning will probably not be on the Colts next year. I hope he isn't wearing green and white.

Well, that all depends on the terms. If they want to give up two No. 1s for him, then, be my guest.

 

[DaBruinz]

I would agree with your first paragraph and think that makes sense. But all it takes is one team with a desperate GM/HC that thinks it is only a QB away from winning it all to make the trade.

Dan Snyder might do it.

The St. Louis ownership might do it.

All I know is that any team that takes Manning out of the AFC will be my favorite team for 5 minutes...

 

[MoLewisrocks]

We may all hate Polian for whining like a little girl, but you cannot deny his talent for building successful teams.

1. He built the Bills team that appeared in four straight SBs.
2. The Panthers teams that in only the franchise's second year appeared in the NFC Championship game.
3. The Colts team that won so many games this past decade.

The guy is better than a lot of GMs out there and will probably find a job sooner than later.

He got a lot of credit for Buffalo's heyday when it was essentially those who came before him. He got a lot of credit for asseembling an expansion franchise on the fly with all the carte blanche they hand out in those situations and he bailed on that sucker once the bill came due, and he got a lot of credit for picking Manning over Leaf...and rode that sucker like a rented mule until his neck broke...

Goes around finally comes around. Bet lots of folks are chuckling tonight... Tried to turn Indy into his own little fifedom for his kid but it turns out old man Irsay's kid who did pay his dues decided the franchise was his and Indy's and not Polian's. And don't be surprised if Irsay also decides the legacy built over the last 13 years remains Mannings - if he can play - and not Polian's. Irsay is loyal to a fault and for him to move on from Polian screams Polian and his kid had become so blatently toxic that Irsay felt justified in moving on from them for the good of the franchise.

I doubt anyone extends a hand to Polian or his kid any time soon.

 

[mgcolby]

The way it's looking now, either the Colts or the Rams are going to be in a great position to trade their pick for a king's ransom. It should be fun watching which decision pays off more down the road.

IMO, Indy should with out a doubt take Luck and trade Manning. If they can't find a trade partner then keep Manning and have him groom Luck. I think that is a win-win for them.

St Louis should definitely trade the 2nd pick....Bradford is good, between losing receiver after receiver to injury, injuries of his own and the offense as a whole trying to pick up Josh's complicated offense with a revolving door at WR.....really hurt him. But he is the real deal as long as he can stay healthy.

 

[Lansdowne]

Love it. That jerk finally gets his comeuppance.

Remember when he declared the Patriots' run is over? Well, YOUR run is over, and the Pats are still rolling!

 

[mgcolby]

Dan Snyder might do it.

The St. Louis ownership might do it.

All I know is that any team that takes Manning out of the AFC will be my favorite team for 5 minutes...

Honestly, If I'm Washington I would consider it...a solid defense with young talent. A good run game...add a WR say Reggie Wayne to go with Moss and Gaffney, two very good TE's in Cooley and Davis and you might have something.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

I would agree with your first paragraph and think that makes sense. But all it takes is one team with a desperate GM/HC that thinks it is only a QB away from winning it all to make the trade.

There cannot be a trade. Manning's option is due 5 days before the league year begins. There are no trades allowed until FA opens. If the Colts don't pick up the option, Manning is a UFA before the league year begins. If they do pick up the option, he's untradeable because the $28M the Colts would have paid lands on their cap and if they then traded him his dead cap to the Colts in 2012 would be $38M...

 

[Leave No Doubt]

Not quietly asked to retire,FIRED:rocker:

LOL shown no respect whatsoever, banished like he should be for throwing games, plus he wouldn't know what to do with a #1 pick anyway.

2012's on a roll so far: Polian fired like the slime he is, Jests absolutely imploding, our Patriots sitting pretty with HFA and a bye going in.

HAPPY NEW YEAR:singing:

 

[JoeSixPat]

Colts fans may have to begrudgingly give Belichick a point in the "who's a better GM" competition

 

[strngplyr]

Remember after the 06 AFCCG when Polian said "The Patriots time is over." 5 years later the Pats are the #1 seed and BP is FIRED. How ya like them apples, *****?

Patriots had the best record in the NFL in 2007 and 2010 and have the #1 seed in the AFC in 2011. It didn't take until now to prove him wrong.

They have also won 64 games since then, which include 16, 14, and 13 win seasons and appeared in a superbowl.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Honestly, If I'm Washington I would consider it...a solid defense with young talent. A good run game...add a WR say Reggie Wayne to go with Moss and Gaffney, two very good TE's in Cooley and Davis and you might have something.

If he's healthy Manning is going to decide where he plays. He clearly wants to remain in Indy, but he likely isn't happy with the concept of spending a #1 pick on a kid who will replace him in 2-3-4 years. He will want them to trade that pick for more picks with which to build a contender around him. If the Colts choose to walk away and draft Luck, Manning will be a UFA and he will look for the best situation for Peyton Manning to cement his legacy. That will likely be a domed team in a weak division or a warm weather team in a weak division. A team with a new HC he likes would also fit the bill. He isn't learning some other egomaniac's kids offense (in Washington) or joining the circus in NY or Dallas. Isn't going to want to go to the NFCE because of Eli, too. Could see him in the NFCW in Seattle (where Paul Allen has unlimited $$$ and Pete would steer clear of the offense), or in AZ with someone like Whitenhut who has some awesome weapons he could utilize and a track record of playing to a veteran QB's strength with Warner, or back in the AFCS in JAX with a new owner and HC (which would be Irsay's worst nightmare and the reason he won't let him go unless he's really convinced he can't play at all anymore).

 

[patchick]

I would agree with your first paragraph and think that makes sense. But all it takes is one team with a desperate GM/HC that thinks it is only a QB away from winning it all to make the trade.

True enough, and while there's a Dan Snyder in the league, there's always hope.

So...dangle Manning for the next 8 weeks, hope to talk somebody out of some picks and talent, and IF nobody bites put the #1 pick up for sale instead?

EDIT: D'oh, I'm forgetting the main point of the untradability -- the fact that trades aren't allowed before the option is due! So I'm back to "sorry, trading Manning isn't an option, thanks to the contract Polian negotiated."

 

[The_Riddler]

While I agree with the general notion regarding Brady/Manning, I do want to harp on a pet peeve of mine:


The Patriots were coming off an undefeated regular season and were going from a difficult schedule to an easy one. They were also replacing Brady with a quarterback who was much better than Curtis Painter.

The Colts, while still a solid and dangerous team, were a team in decline, having fallen from 14 wins to 10 wins over the previous two seasons even with Manning at the helm. The 10 win season had been the worst for the Colts since 2002. So, a team that was in (at least a temporary) decline was replacing an elite QB with a guy who probably doesn't belong in the NFL.

I just see the two situations as too disparate to compare fairly.

Agree 100%, the Pats had enough talent offensively to help Cassel, and as mentioned, they probably had the easiest schedule in the NFL that year.

One other difference. The 2008 Pats actually wanted to win football games, the 2011 Colts didn't knowing that they had a very realistic shot at Luck and they executed their plan to fruition. It's a shame, but they pulled it off.

 

[mgcolby]

There cannot be a trade. Manning's option is due 5 days before the league year begins. There are no trades allowed until FA opens. If the Colts don't pick up the option, Manning is a UFA before the league year begins. If they do pick up the option, he's untradeable because the $28M the Colts would have paid lands on their cap and if they then traded him his dead cap to the Colts in 2012 would be $38M...

Good point. And if they cut him he still counts for 10.6 mil in dead cap money. Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place. And Freeney is due 19 mil next year.....boy what a kick to the gut it would be to have to let one of the GOAT QB's walk and get nothing in return....Good job Bill!

 

[RhodyPatriot]

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

 

[Urgent]

Polian was tremendously successful, and ahead of a lot of GM's with his engagement of the fans.

Sure, the franchise was built around Manning, but it was successfully built around Manning. They consistently found some terrific receivers for him, and then built a front-runner defense with smaller, fast pass-rushers and a decent pass-defending secondary.

Polian argued for rule changes that both appealed to scoring-hungry fans and benefitted his own team.

Many of us disliked him the way we disliked Manning himself, or Marino, or any other major rival. The way other fans dislike Brady and Belichick. We'd probably be huge fans if he was on our side.

So it was not so surprising when the team imploded without Manning. You can blame Polian for not having a better back-up QB. You can also blame every team the Patriots have played since Halloween, and about half the teams in the league for their starters.

I'm not sad to see him go - hard to feel sorry for a rival. But I'm surprised by the reaction.

 

[Fball]

If he's healthy Manning is going to decide where he plays. He clearly wants to remain in Indy, but he likely isn't happy with the concept of spending a #1 pick on a kid who will replace him in 2-3-4 years. He will want them to trade that pick for more picks with which to build a contender around him. If the Colts choose to walk away and draft Luck, Manning will be a UFA and he will look for the best situation for Peyton Manning to cement his legacy. That will likely be a domed team in a weak division or a warm weather team in a weak division. A team with a new HC he likes would also fit the bill. He isn't learning some other egomaniac's kids offense (in Washington) or joining the circus in NY or Dallas. Isn't going to want to go to the NFCE because of Eli, too. Could see him in the NFCW in Seattle (where Paul Allen has unlimited $$$ and Pete would steer clear of the offense), or in AZ with someone like Whitenhut who has some awesome weapons he could utilize and a track record of playing to a veteran QB's strength with Warner, or back in the AFCS in JAX with a new owner and HC (which would be Irsay's worst nightmare and the reason he won't let him go unless he's really convinced he can't play at all anymore).

No way would I rule out the Jets or Miami. Two situations where teams would be instant contenders w/ Manning...