Haven’t we seen this before?
Peyton Manning is a free agent. And this whole Peyton thing makes me wonder why, in both sports and life, the majority is either misguided or just plain wrong. Is it emotions or memories of what athletes once were that makes people lose their minds? Haven’t we seen Peyton’s situation before? EVERY NFL QB’s career is over at some point. Clearly in Peyton’s case he was a great QB, but isn’t it possible this injury is it for him? Fans say the Colts are crazy to let him go. That really makes me laugh. Why would any team pay him $28 million not knowing if he will ever play, let alone play well, again? The Colts made the right choice and cut him loose. Right move.
Think about some of the sad finishes to glorious careers. Joe Montana finished his career as a Chief. Johnny Unitas finished as a Charger. Joe Namath finished up as a Ram.
For the teams that want to spend a ton of money on Peyton and pin their hopes on him, I have one question: “How do you know he is physically ready to play football again?” Go ahead, build your whole offense, player assignments, and draft and free agent picks around Peyton. He’s only coming off 4 neck surgeries! It makes no sense, and most of the teams that want him are already too flawed for Manning to make much of a difference anyway.
The Washington Redskins have made NO good decisions from Bruce Smith to Deion Sanders, to Steve Spurrier to Mike and Kyle Shanahan, and Donovan McNabb and Albert Haynesworth. They have made terrible decisions with current QBs Rex Grossman and John Beck. And now they want Peyton for another “championship run” that will never materialize. That is a disaster waiting to happen. Former ‘Skin QB Joe Theismann said it would be a horrible decision and he was vilified. BUT he was RIGHT! They are a Peyton away from having a killer QB like I am a pair of Nikes away from being Michael Jordan.
The Miami Dolphins brought in Bill Parcells and Tony Sparano. They passed on Drew Brees for Daunte Culpepper. They drafted Chad Henne. They have made poor decisions, but they can avoid another one. Draft a QB or get Matt Flynn for a new coach, but AVOID Peyton.
The Arizona Cardinals … well, really? They just did the “Can’t Miss Kevin Kolb” thing last year and one year later are looking for a replacement … this after playing Kurt Warner. Draft a real QB and build a real team.
The Seattle Seahawks, meanwhile, have fans saying they have an “elite” defense now and just need a QB to take them over the top. Stop! You’re killing me! My sides are hurting I’m laughing so hard! Boy, are they in for a rude awakening. The Seahawks’ defensive backs played way over their heads while holding and pulling on WRs, and will be heavily flagged by wary refs this coming season. Linebacker Brandon Browner playing as a CB got flagged as much as the Cowboys’ Terrence Newman. Something’s not right with him.
Seahawk talk show hosts say, “The Hawks receivers are as good as the Dolphins’.” We have Sidney Rice, who is a very good receiver when healthy, Mike Williams and Doug Baldwin.
I think some people are put on the planet just to make me laugh.
Consider this. Who would you take: Brandon Marshall or Sidney Rice? Rice, even when he is healthy, which isn’t often … not a chance. Brandon Marshall any day of the week. Any Dolphins WR or Mike Williams? Mike Williams is a loser. DOLPHINS.
The whole thing boils down to one thing: Peyton isn’t even ready to play. So, what DO you pay him? Do you pass on drafting a QB to pick up Manning? Don’t do it, but somebody probably will, so here’s my Peyton Prediction: the Eagles take him. Andy Reid steps up in another desperate move, and trades Michael Vick to the Redskins.
My final Peyton word of warning: If you are a team that plays in bad weather, you should definitely forget Manning. Seattle, Denver, NY Jets, picture him out there with a bad neck and a weak arm throwing in the rain, cold and wind. He wasn’t great in bad weather when he was healthy. Buyer beware.
… So, the New Orleans Saints had a bounty system. And so did every other team in the NFL. The only mistake the Saints made was in having Gregg Williams, the dumbest defensive coordinator in the world, on their team. For him to donate his own money AND be the one organizing the system is ridiculous. And now is the time for the commissioner, Roger Goodell, that hypocrite, to back up his talk. He has been dogging players and fining players for hits that are within the rules and claiming player safety. Now he has a coach that has been running a program that spits directly in his face. How will he fine that?
I think Williams should get banned from the league. He knows the policies AND was warned to stop the program and still kept doing it. Oh, and by the way, the Saints’ owner, Tom Benson, fully supports his coach, Sean Payton, and GM, Mickey Loomis, who knew about the Bounty program!
The good news: March Madness is here, baby! The magic of the NCAA tourney opening rounds, the upsets, the heartbreak and then THE BALL IS TIPPED. I can’t wait!
