# Peyton out of Indy! Or: Colts ready to press their Luck **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [March 6, 2012, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peyton-out-of-indy-or-colts-ready-to-press-their-luck/614987 "2012-03-06T23:54:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peyton-out-of-indy-or-colts-ready-to-press-their-luck/614987/61 "2012-03-08T03:05:04Z")
> [@Snickers](#): > > I guess you can call getting to the NFC Championship a “good season” for a just “above-average” quarterback not producing at a top level over 36. :dubious: > > I mean, I’m not really a huge Favre fan, but saying that he wasn’t producing at a top level in 2010 when he was what? 40? is a little disingenuous. Sure, his next year sucked, as did the one previous, but he was pretty stellar that year. Favre was terrific in 2009 and 2007. He was deeply mediocre in 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2010. (71 TD, 88 INT in those 4 years) Hence: > [@](#): > > Favre: Six seasons after age 35; only good in two of them. If you’re going to say someone’s wrong, first figure out what’s being said. > [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > Warren Moon had good years at 39 and 41 (and was okay at 38 and probably better than he looked at 37 considering how the Oilers cratered once he left). But definitely another outlier. Moon also had crappy seasons at 37, 38, 40, and 42. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peyton-out-of-indy-or-colts-ready-to-press-their-luck/614987/62 "2012-03-08T03:11:59Z")
If the Colts are pressing their Luck, I guess that means the franchise will be saying “Big money, big money… no Whammies!” ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peyton-out-of-indy-or-colts-ready-to-press-their-luck/614987/63 "2012-03-08T03:14:51Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > I think it would be incredibly stupid starting Luck this year on such a crappy team, it would hurt his development more than less. Why? I’ve never heard that Luck is some skittish guy who would crumble under pressure … just the opposite. Manning started from day one on a horrible team; other greats have, too. If they wanted to keep Manning around, that’s a defensible choice; but I don’t buy the “Luck would be scarred for life” idea. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peyton-out-of-indy-or-colts-ready-to-press-their-luck/614987/64 "2012-03-08T03:42:39Z")
I hate the “QBs who start too early are damaged” bullshit, personally. I see it constantly on the Browns boards by the army of people who never want to draft real talent at QB. “Oh we’ll just ruin him” The idea that NFL QBs - who got to where they were because they were the hardest workers, most competitive, toughest guys through multiple levels of football, are actually 6 year old girls who will cry and give up if they face adversity just pisses me off. Maybe in extreme cases, like Tim Couch and David Carr, you could make a case that they take a physical beating that can hamper their careers, but unless you’re on an expansion team with some of the worst talent ever assembled, it’s not something to worry about. Great QBs find ways to be great in any situation. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peyton-out-of-indy-or-colts-ready-to-press-their-luck/614987/65 "2012-03-08T14:43:51Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > I hate the “QBs who start too early are damaged” bullshit, personally. I see it constantly on the Browns boards by the army of people who never want to draft real talent at QB. “Oh we’ll just ruin him” > > The idea that NFL QBs - who got to where they were because they were the hardest workers, most competitive, toughest guys through multiple levels of football, are actually 6 year old girls who will cry and give up if they face adversity just pisses me off. Maybe in extreme cases, like Tim Couch and David Carr, you could make a case that they take a physical beating that can hamper their careers, but unless you’re on an expansion team with some of the worst talent ever assembled, it’s not something to worry about. Great QBs find ways to be great in any situation. Well, you might have a point about facing adversity, but there’s a difference between ‘QBs who start too early are damaged’ and ‘QB’s who have a year or two of practice and easier situations learn quicker’. The second one may or may not be generally true, but it’s at least very plausible. The pro game is much quicker than college, defenses are way more sophisticated, reads are harder, and mismatches are much less lopsided, so it’s not ridiculous to expect some kind of learning curve even for very good college QBs. And it’s not ridiculous to find that the learning curve is easier to traverse when there’s less pressure and distraction, even for the most mentally and physically tough individuals. Again, I’m no expert in QB careers, so I’m not saying that there’s evidence the second statement is true or not, but it’s plausible. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peyton-out-of-indy-or-colts-ready-to-press-their-luck/614987/66 "2012-03-08T14:46:16Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Because I think Harbaugh is more of an alpha male coach and Manning would essentially supplant the offensive coordinator, and yeah, because Manning has never operated in an offense that wasn’t tailored to him throwing the ball a lot. Yeah, Harbaugh and Manning just seem to have very clashing personalities. Tony Dungy was the perfect coach for Manning because he let Manning be the offensive leader, but Dungy still got respect from the team. I don’t see Harbaugh letting someone else lead any part of his team. ---
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peyton-out-of-indy-or-colts-ready-to-press-their-luck/614987/67 "2012-03-08T19:30:23Z")
Say what you want about Harbaugh not wanting to relinquish power to his quarterback, but I don’t think a run-first offense is a problem at all. First of all, the Niners had a run-first offense last year because their quarterback was Alex Smith, and not someone like Peyton Manning. In his last year at Stanford (2010), the Cardinal rushed at virtually the same frequency as they passed. Not “pass-wacky,” certainly, but when you’re gaining 5 yards per run, running a lot is a smart move. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peyton-out-of-indy-or-colts-ready-to-press-their-luck/614987/68 "2012-03-08T19:53:56Z")
Should TB kick the tires? IMO It’s no different than Houston or the Jets. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peyton-out-of-indy-or-colts-ready-to-press-their-luck/614987/69 "2012-03-08T20:46:42Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > Well, you might have a point about facing adversity, but there’s a difference between ‘QBs who start too early are damaged’ and ‘QB’s who have a year or two of practice and easier situations learn quicker’. AFAICT, Hamlet was advancing the former, not the latter. > [@etv78](#): > > Should TB kick the tires? IMO It’s no different than Houston or the Jets. It’s significantly different than both, in that both of those teams are already contenders. Also, Josh Freeman is still in the “promising young QB” category; i.e. he may still improve. Schaub and Sanchez are pretty much known quantities at this point, for better or worse (respectively). ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peyton-out-of-indy-or-colts-ready-to-press-their-luck/614987/70 "2012-03-09T03:24:36Z")
The Browns say they’re not looking at Manning, but I don’t think anyone really expected them to go for him since they’ve been talking to the Rams about trading for the #2 pick and drafting Robert Griffin for months. Manning supposedly wants to sign with a new team quickly - which is in his interest anyway, since he can go anywhere and free agency has not started yet. Once free agency begins, the pool for his services starts to shrink and then the draft is approaching. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peyton-out-of-indy-or-colts-ready-to-press-their-luck/614987/71 "2012-03-09T23:11:10Z")
It looks like the Broncos are being surprisingly aggressive in going after Manning - which I think is a great idea, for whatever it’s worth. The Chiefs may have already offered him a contract. Meanwhile the Colts are not being shy about this whole “we’re going down the crapper headfirst” thing. They’re shopping Dwight Freeney and have released Gary Brackett, Dallas Clark, Melvin Bullitt, Joseph Addai, and (I guess this was a gimme) Curtis Painter. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peyton-out-of-indy-or-colts-ready-to-press-their-luck/614987/72 "2012-03-09T23:21:16Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > It looks like the Broncos are being surprisingly aggressive in going after Manning - which I think is a great idea, for whatever it’s worth. If Manning, who is running neck-and-neck for the title of My Future Ex-Husband, can knock Tebow out of the goddamn news mills that won’t stop covering his every twitch, all my dreams will come true. I don’t even care if he’d be any good on the field. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2012, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peyton-out-of-indy-or-colts-ready-to-press-their-luck/614987/73 "2012-03-10T00:26:51Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > It looks like the Broncos are being surprisingly aggressive in going after Manning - which I think is a great idea, for whatever it’s worth. Channel 4 is going spastic about it even as I watch. They (the Broncos, not Channel 4) are offering him whatever offense he wants to run, and tons of money. I think it’s a good idea too. He can play for two or three years, and if he can’t teach Tebow how to be a pro quarterback, no one can. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2012, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peyton-out-of-indy-or-colts-ready-to-press-their-luck/614987/74 "2012-03-10T18:18:18Z")
Weren’t Sanchize and Freeman in the same draft? ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2012, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peyton-out-of-indy-or-colts-ready-to-press-their-luck/614987/75 "2012-03-10T18:20:17Z")
Anyone else surprised Indy’s blowing it up? ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2012, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peyton-out-of-indy-or-colts-ready-to-press-their-luck/614987/76 "2012-03-10T18:22:29Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Manning supposedly wants to sign with a new team quickly - which is in his interest anyway, since he can go anywhere and free agency has not started yet. Once free agency begins, the pool for his services starts to shrink and then the draft is approaching. Not to mention that whoever signs Manning would have a huge bargaining chip to negotiate with free agents. I’m certain that every free agent receiver is going to be putting in a call to whoever signs him, and I’m sure that Manning will have a _lot_ of input in who that team goes after. ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2012, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peyton-out-of-indy-or-colts-ready-to-press-their-luck/614987/77 "2012-03-10T18:45:58Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > Anyone else surprised Indy’s blowing it up? Why wouldn’t they? Once they decided to move on from Manning, there’s no reason to keep a bunch of veterans around for a last run at the playoffs. Last year made it pretty obvious that the current team was nothing without Manning, so they need to do what they can to move on. The only thing that’s even a little surprising is shopping Freeney… but he just turned 32, has a $19M cap charge this year, and isn’t willing to restructure his contract. If he doesn’t want to pay for a rebuilding team, there’s nothing they can do to make him, and they may as well get what they can for him and bring in some younger players. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2012, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peyton-out-of-indy-or-colts-ready-to-press-their-luck/614987/78 "2012-03-10T19:38:57Z")
I’m channelling Dr. Obvious, but I think [we can cross Washington off the list of possible destinations](http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/washington-redskins-trade-for-no-2-pick/2012/03/09/gIQAH3va2R_story.html)… Add me to the “not surprised Indy is blowing it up” crowd. I wonder if Wayne or Clark will follow Manning wherever he goes? ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2012, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peyton-out-of-indy-or-colts-ready-to-press-their-luck/614987/79 "2012-03-10T23:40:19Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > Weren’t Sanchize and Freeman in the same draft? Yes, but Freeman was excellent in 2009 before regressing last year (as did the whole team); one can hope he returns to that form. Sanchez has been in the league for three years, and without looking, I don’t think he has ever had four good games in a row. > [@etv78](#): > > Anyone else surprised Indy’s blowing it up? As has been said: once you decide not to bring back Manning, all the rest follows. Keeping Clark around as a reliable underneath target might be a good idea, but there’s now no reason for them to have more than a handful of guys over 30. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peyton-out-of-indy-or-colts-ready-to-press-their-luck/614987/80 "2012-03-11T00:02:11Z")
The Jets gave Sanchez a contract extension, so they’ve made their choice. A consensus seems to be developing that it’ll be Miami, Denver, or Arizona, with some of the other teams being out of the running because they’re too terrible. It’s not unreasonable to assume that Washington is trading up in the draft because they got the sense they didn’t have a shot at Manning. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peyton-out-of-indy-or-colts-ready-to-press-their-luck/614987.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peyton-out-of-indy-or-colts-ready-to-press-their-luck/614987.md?page=5)