NFL Week 15

I thought this article presented an really interesting scenario and makes some pretty bold assertions about some of the big name QBs around the league so I figured it was worth posting for discussion here. It might not be worthy of it’s own thread, but it’s Thursday and there’s no Week 15 thread. Voila!

The Possible Destinations for One Peyton Manning


Date & Time	Favorite	Line	Underdog	Total
12/15 8:25 ET	At Atlanta	-13.5	Jacksonville	42.5
12/17 8:20 ET	Dallas		-7	At Tampa Bay	47
12/18 1:00 ET	At NY Giants	-7	Washington	46.5
12/18 1:00 ET	Green Bay	-13.5	At Kansas City	46
12/18 1:00 ET	New Orleans	-6.5	At Minnesota	51.5
12/18 1:00 ET	At Chicago	-3.5	Seattle		35.5
12/18 1:00 ET	At Buffalo	 PK	Miami		42
12/18 1:00 ET	At Houston	-6.5	Carolina	45
12/18 1:00 ET	Tennessee	-6.5	At Indianapolis	41
12/18 1:00 ET	Cincinnati	-6.5	At St. Louis	40
12/18 4:05 ET	Detroit		-1	At Oakland	47.5
12/18 4:15 ET	New England	-6.5	At Denver	46
12/18 4:15 ET	At Philadelphia	-3	NY Jets		44
12/18 4:15 ET	At Arizona	-6.5	Cleveland	37.5
12/18 8:30 ET	Baltimore	-2.5	At San Diego	44.5

Monday Night Football Line
12/19 8:35 ET	At San Francisco	-3	Pittsburgh	39.5

Actually, I had thoughts of starting that thread myself, and my thinking was much the same as the writer’s, with the exception that I kind of expect the Colts will have to cut him loose to save the $28 million.

To look at the eight teams on that list, I really, really can’t see the Jets or Ravens giving up on young QBs that the current front office drafted and has stood behind. They aren’t going to eat that much crow and give up on Sanchez/Flacco to get a guy who might come in for one season and then be forced to retire. As great as Manning is, it’s a neck injury. He might have five years left … he might also be done for good very soon.

I think Kansas City and Seattle fall in the “places Manning won’t want to play.”

In San Fran and Washington, I have a hard time seeing Manning coexisting with the coaches; Manning has had a lot of say in running the Colts’ offense for the last decade, and I can’t see him choosing to go somewhere and just execute someone else’s system. Harbaugh is going to stick with what’s winning, and develop Kaepernick. Manning and Shanahan would be a horrible match; even if Snyder decides to fire Shanahan (very possible), there’s not a ton of talent on that roster.

Miami and Dallas seem the most likely candidates; high-profile, traditional-power teams with big-splash owners, and decent talent on offense. In Miami, he could get a lot of say in who the offensive coordinator will be and what they run.

49ers fan here. I wouldn’t mind us trading for a healthy Manning. However, I’m not sure he’ll ever play again; I just can’t see the organization sending the Colts what it would take to get him, only to have him retire mid-season with another neck problem.

Much to Omni’s chagrin, looks like Bears WR Sam Hurd got busted for trying to purchase quite a large quantity of coke and weed.

Already covering it in the NFC North thread. Though, with the way news keeps breaking I have a hunch this one will end up with a messy thread of it’s own.

I understand it’s high risk, but Manning is one of the best QB’s ever. And your team is young, talented, and quite good, but missing a great QB who can help you in shootouts. Seems to me that, although it would be a risk, Manning (assuming he checks out with the doctors) would be a fantastic addition to the 49ers. I wouldn’t worry so much about draft picks in the next couple years if, like the 49ers, you have a lot in place already, you’re young, and you’re just a QB away from greatness.

But, still, if Manning checks out, I’m not sure why the Colts would let him go.

The double digit list of NFL players who were allegedly Hurd’s clients could make things very messy indeed.

I hate weeks like this. The Browns have nothing to gain by winning. I don’t care if we beat Arizona. But there’s a good chance they will. And the only purpose it serves is to move us down 5 slots in the draft when we’re finally in a position to try to land a top tier QB.

You won’t even get the “the momentum will carry over next year” supposed benefit to winning out at the end, because they’re just going to get crushed by the Steelers and Ravens in the last two weeks anyway (unless McCoy’s concussion keeps him out longer than this week, then maybe they have a chance)

There’s no upside to a win and lots of downside, yet I can’t really root for my team to lose, so wtf can I do this weekend? ugh.

Don’t worry, the Cardinals are playing very well right now; plenty well enough to beat the Browns.

Oh, and Hamlet, I’m a big fan of Peyton (he and the Colts have been my playoff team to root for this past decade of 49er futility). A large portion of my fan’s heart would love to see him slinging passes in red and gold. He is one of the best ever, and I like him (as opposed to Brady or Roethlisberger). Man, how much would the league fear us with our defense and Peyton Manning?

Oh yeah, very messy.

Holy shit! 5-10 Kilos of coke and 1,000 pounds of weed a week? WTF was he thinking? He already makes 5 million a year. Well, he did. Now he’s looking at serious prison time. I just don’t get it. With any kind of financial planning whatsoever, he should be set for life…hell, his grandkids should be set for life if he can manage money worth a damn. Why throw all that away on drugs?

Um, no. Hurd signed a 3 year deal worth up to $5.15MM, his base salary was the veteran minimum of $650k or thereabouts.

According to reports (news reports of drug values are notoriously inflated, but still) Hurd was going to be buying $575k worth of drugs a week. That’s the wholesale price, I imagine markup is something on the order of 300% of that and he claimed that this was in addition to whatever else he was moving that maxed out his previous supplier. I think it’s safe to say that the NFL was a very small side job for Hurd if even half of this is true, he was shooting for Scarface territory.

ETA: Good line that just came through Twitter “Sam Hurd has only caught “8 Balls” this season”.

I’ve read the indication that he allegedly already had a distribution ring and was trying to expand it. Pro football careers only last so long, y’know…

My bad, but still, 5.15MM over three years is enough to set him up for life.

Define set up. Sure, he could live middle class in the burbs with 2.3 kids like Homer Simpson for that kind of money, none of which was guaranteed by the way, but that’s by no means the dream. Read the numbers again. He’s looking to earn every single week more than he’ll earn this entire year. That’s a hell of a plan.

As a Packer fan, I’m against it. Crabtree, Davis, Gore, and Morgan would be great targets for Manning.

The guaranteed part of that contract was almost certainly less, with the rest being roster and performance bonuses and probably other bonuses for minimum number of appearances for offseason training and such.

He probably would have gotten cut before his last season or re-negotiated, as that last season probably accounted for a good chunk of the money.

And after taxes and the fees for his attorneys and agent, that salary would set him up for a middle class lifestyle and only if he was pretty careful with the money. Most ex-NFL players need to get other jobs after their playing careers, after all. Most seem to find legitimate work, though (OJ Simpson notwithstanding).

The Jaguars / Falcons game is over at halftime. The Jags look completely outmatched…and now MJD has limped off with some sort of leg injury.

Mmmm, it’s nice to have Melissa Stark back in my life.

Is Blaine Gabbert really that bad? I didn’t think he was this bad.