Let the media questioning of Peyton Manning/Jim Irsay begin...

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

I've never seen such a pandering, man-worshipping organization like the Colts. Not only do they have to draft an offensive playmaker in the first round of each draft, publicly call out the rest of the team after playoff failures, and do everything they can to market the image of "poor Peyton the only guy that contributes to wins", but they also just need to make him the highest paid player in the league. Why can't they just offer him less than Brady and offer him, in addition to ridiculous financial luxury for the rest of his life, a chance to finally ditch the image of a money-hungry athlete by signing a cap friendly deal? I'm talking about a 17-18M contract that would be hailed by the football world as an unselfish discount? No, of course not. The Colts and Manning are too insecure that their golden boy is going down as the #2 QB of his generation, and they are going to try to put all doubt to rest by throwing money at him and weaken the team further.

 

[Rob0729]

As Pats fans, shouldn't we be more concerned about Brady. Everyone knows the Colts are going to sign Manning, but Brady doesn't have a deal and everyone knows he is going to want to get paid and he may want to leave. There is no guarantees that the Pats will be able to get a deal done for Brady..... Oh wait! The media might be wrong about the whole situation.

 

[captain stone]

Glad our QB is already signed and healthy.

Brady is coming off foot surgery, before which he already was a statue in the pocket.
PayaTon's neck situation may be more dire, but Brady is susceptible to a season-ending
knee injury every single time he drops back to pass, moreso than most of the other QBs.

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

Brady is susceptible to a season-ending
knee injury every single time he drops back to pass, moreso than most of the other QBs.

Properly rehabbed after a skillful surgery, a fully healed repaired ACL in a well-conditioned athlete is no more likely to tear than one that has never been torn.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Yeah,
but don't forget that tidbit on the cap structure of this new deal. Each team gets to exempt $3M cap hit from one player's salary in 2011 and $1.5M exemption in 2012.

Not that it really makes much of a difference, but it's actually $1M from each of THREE veteran players' salaries in 2011 and $500Kx3 in 2012.

 

[jetophile]

I heard that Mongoloid Manning isn't even going to be ready for camp. 'Ooooo!, my neck!' Hasn't he had like a zillion months to recover? Sorry, but if that guy doesn't look inbred, I don't know who does. . . except perhaps his ******ed looking brother.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Brady is coming off foot surgery, before which he already was a statue in the pocket.
PayaTon's neck situation may be more dire, but Brady is susceptible to a season-ending
knee injury every single time he drops back to pass, moreso than most of the other QBs.

That just isn't true. Granted, we all know that being reasonable and operating within the constraints of reality just isn't in your M.O., but that statement is just factually incorrect.

 

[Gwedd]

Well, after listening to the Colts these past several moths and these new comments, I'll say this much: I wouldn't be surprised if the Colts decided to blow it all up and start over.

Here's my thinking: Yes, Irsay and Polian always want to win, but they haven't exactly got a coach who lights up the room OR the sidelines. Manning is hurt. Regardless of what the docs say, that neck has been bothering him, and you could see it last year in his movements. Even with the surgery, he's going to be wondering about it until he gets a few hits and games under his belt.

If the Colts open up for Manning, and give him that fat contract, there isn't much left for anyone else and they will have a serious need to keep the franchise off the carpet and unhurt. How's he going to play knowing that he has his money, but he's worried about his neck and he hasn't got a boat load of confidence in that front line?

How's about the the locker room? If Manning gets the big payday and everyone else who has been looking for the cash doesn't, that's going to make for some interesting team dynamics. Especially if they start losing. They all know that Manning isn't afraid to shift the blame to anyone else and to throw teammates under the bus. He's got a nice track record with that.

So how far off then is iot for the Colts to trade Manning and use the picks to build elsewhere, pay off the folks who deserve it and rebuild for a year or two. Heck, Kolb will be available and he's a journeyman QB. Not a GREAT QB, but not one likely to lose a game for you. Maybe they bring in a new head coach too.

I don't think that my scenario is as far out as others may think. Irsay & Polian aren't fools, and they may well feel that the long-term future of the Colts is more important than trying to win with an aging and injured prima donna for a couple more years.

V/R