- Manning is 35, not 37.
- The Dolphins lost 62-7 to the Jaguars in the playoffs in 2000. Does that mean they were more than one player away from success?
- The Colts just gave Manning a contract that will pay him $69 million in the first three years. That’s less than he could have been paid - Brady is getting $100 million over the next four - but it’s enough to make trading him very problematic given the reduced salary cap for the next three years.
- The Colts might get a first round pick for Manning if somebody has the cap space to sign him. They might get three for Luck - or a team’s whole draft and next year’s first round pick, Ricky Williams-style.
- We’re not talking about Aaron Rodgers/Brett Favre here. Favre was pissing and moaning about retirement every single offseason and making it impossible for the Packers to plan long term. Manning has stated that he’ll play at least three more seasons if he is cleared. More importantly, the Packers had three years to assess Rodgers’ understanding of the offense in practice and meetings and film study. Nobody knows a damn thing about Luck.
- What’s “close to another Super Bowl run”? A playoff appearance? I’ll take that bet, as long as it’s a push if Manning is not cleared to play prior to the draft.
Hmmm, depending on the schedule for a particular year and the strength of each division, some shoddy teams often make the playoffs. The AFC South isn’t typically once of the stronger divisions.
How about:
- You win if the Colts must make it to the Conference Semis with Manning as starting QB at any point in his career. I win if he doesn’t.
but…
- It’s a push if Manning doesn’t start again for the Colts for the remainder of his career,
however…
- I win if he’s traded to another team.
for
A $40 bottle of the spirit of choice of the winner.
Lock it in?
By “conference semis”, do you mean the divisional round?
As good as Luck is, no freaking way do they do this. Bradford is an excelent QB and the issues the have had on offense have come from the WRs and the O-line (and the OC <cough>Belichekdeciple<cough>). Bradford was one of the last big contract #1 picks and would be worth way less in trades then the Luck pick. They have too many holes that need to be filled elsewhere and Bradford is not an issue.
One upside to Luck that has not been addressed is that Stanford plays a Pro-style offense. That alone puts him way ahead of any comperable QB coming out of a spread or option-style offense and will greatly lower his prep time in getting him NFL-ready.
Yes. The final four of the conference. Or final 8 teams overall.
What i thought was insane was MIke Golic’s comment that right now he’d rather have Luck than Cam Newton…
Last I checked Newton was DOING it in the league… I think Luck is being set up for failure… the guy can play… but the hype is overwhelming…
Done deal.
As a Buccaneers fan, I am terrified at the prospect that my team will have to play Newton twice a year for a decade-plus.
I’m not scared that my team has to play Matt Ryan. I’m not even really scared that my team has to play Drew Brees. Hell, I was never even really scared of Vick, either; he was never able to do much against us because the Tampa 2 is ideally suited to stopping running quarterbacks.
I would do a happy dance and run naked down the street if the Panthers traded Newton and took Luck.
Confirmed.
I’m a bit upset that I didn’t get to watch Saturday’s Stanford v. Oregon game, but it sounds like Luck played poorly, with a pick 6, a fumble, and another interception. Not playing well in the biggest game of his career is a troubling sign that Luck may just be a franchise quarterback, and not the best prospect in the last 20 years. That game sure makes valuing him interesting.
The bolded and playing well in the NFL aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive unless cocaine.
To be fair, the pick 6 was a ball that should have been caught by his receiver, and instead bounced off him to an Oregon defender who then returned it for a touchdown.
That said, he still played pretty poorly by his standards.
Yeah, but EVERYONE does that against us. 
Based on yesterday’s NFL results, it looks like the Colts will indeed have the first shot at him.
…and punt. And then you’ll owe me a nice bottle of gin. 
That easy, huh? While Luck’s performance this weekend reduces the probability that Manning gets traded, you still are faced with the somewhat challenging hurdle of Manning actually taking this 0-10 team to a divisional playoff game at some point in his career. :dubious:
Also, in fairness to you, there is an issue with the 3rd condition of our bet:
If Manning does take the Colts to the divisional round, you win the bet (even if he is traded to another team at a later point in his career). Rest assured, I won’t take win on a technically.
I hadn’t noticed that.
I thought you were a lawyer. 
Law student. Anyway, ambiguities in agreements are construed against the drafting party, which is you. 
Yes, I’m resurrecting a zombie thread, but can we all agree now that, while it’s far too early to say if Andrew Luck will be a perennial All-Pro or first ballot Hall of Famer, he definitely is not a bust?
Luck wasn’t far and away THE #1 rookie quarterback (RG3 and Russell Wilson were every bit as impressive), but he was everything the Colts could have hoped for. At this point, I’d say the Colts, Redskins and Seahawks would ALL tell you, honestly and sincerely, “We couldn’t be happier- we have exactly the guy we want at quarterback.”
The Colts looked better than they really were because of a very easy schedule and some close wins, and yes, there were two other very good rookie quarterbacks. But that shouldn’t take away from the fact that it looks like Luck is going to be very good for a long time, and all three teams should feel they are set at QB as long as Griffin comes back healthy from his knee reconShanahan.