Did they sell out all of the time in the pre-Peyton years, when they had nothing but mediocrity in their (post-move) history?
Ok then…who will sell more jerseys, Luck or Orlovsky and Collins combined?
It comes down to this – high-draft QBs have been showing their stuff out the gate for awhile now, and it’s insanity to think that Indy fans would let a prospect with this much hype ride a clipboard for one minute without having a collective conniption.
Football pre-1998 was a bit of a different creature. But no - Indianapolis was a terrible football town back then. I could see them spiraling back into that pattern with sustained terribleness, but that would take a lot of work. I’m not sure if a town can “become” a football town, but this city is pretty nuts for their Colts.
Most likely Luck, but possibly whatever veteran they bring in will start in week one. Manning will not be on the roster.
I’m not saying it’s a certainty. I’m just saying there are possibilities. The Colts have Orlovsky and Collins. And Manning for that matter. Luck looks great but he’s really an unknown quantity at this point.
Now suppose, hypothetically, another team decides it wants to build its future around Luck. They approach the Colts and offer them a phenomenal trade for their first draft pick. Let’s say the Vikings offer them Adrian Peterson and the third pick.
Now you’re Ryan Grigson. You’ve got the medical reports that Manning will probably be playing in 2012. Worst case scenario, you start Collins for a few games until Manning is fully recovered. And you’ve got a chance to put them out on the field with Peterson plus whoever you get with your third pick - maybe Morris Claiborne or Justin Blackmon. Do you give all this up to take Luck - who might turn out to be another Ryan Leaf or JaMarcus Russell?
Are you saying there’s absolutely no way something like this might happen?
Another not-too-far-fetched possibility is that they draft Luck who has a promising preseason but suffers some injury in the final game that keeps him out of the opener.
The Colts franchise is basically being rebooted. They’re going to stay bad for a good while, even with Manning playing (and hoping not to get a head hit that would make his neck injury, well, permanent). Why would he want to stick around there? There aren’t any more 'ships available to the team in his remaining time there, whatever that is. He can’t improve his public standing or commercial opportunities etc. in Indy any more. He’s a player and he wants to win. If he can still play safely/at all, his best bet is a team that already has all the good young players it needs in place except a QB who can show them how to win. I’m thinking Houston.
It’s Luck. Peyton Manning has played his last down of professional football. He ain’t coming back.
Damn, who did they have before Peyton? I’m drawing a blank.
They had Jeff George. I remember him from when the Colts were still part of the AFC East. I don’t recall if there were other quarterbacks between George and Manning.
Found it. Jim Harbaugh.
Irsay and Manning are doing damage control. If he is at all physically able to play it will be Manning.
Not unless he wants to play for the vet minimum or close to it. Foster, Williams, and a few others are going to want their money this upcoming year. I suppose if they let Williams walk, they could scrape together enough for a semi-competitive offer, but that’d be silly, as silly as this Manning/Irsay kerfuffle has turned into.
You can win with Schaub, provided he’s healthy. It irks me to think of how far this Texans team could have gone in the playoffs with a healthy Schaub. Oh well, at least most of the team is young, and is coming back next year.
Sure. He might plausibly *take *the minimum there, just for a chance to win once more.
Schaub? Let’s just call that theory “unproven” and leave it there.
Until this week I would have put money on Manning but Irsay’s recent comments suggest he is setting things up to avoid a controversy when Manning is cut/traded. I voted for Luck, but if I were running the team I’d trade the pick regardless of whether Manning stays or not. The three first rounders it would fetch could turn the team around in a season or two; Luck won’t even if he lives up to the hype.
I don’t think there’s much question that Schaub is a winning quarterback. The Texans’ problem was always the defense (at least during the Schaub era) until this year.
Based on…? People keep saying this, but it’s pure speculation. The nature of his injury and the procedure he had to fix it aren’t all that risky - it just takes time. I’ve never seen so much medical speculation before that even compares to the conclusion-jumping that people engage in regarding Manning’s neck.
Then why did it take three different surgeries (including one that’s experimental enough that it’s not authorized in the US yet)?
Sources say Manning is not healing.
Three *different *surgeries. Because the first two were procedures with a low chance of success, but an extremely high chance of a very quick recovery, and the third has a much higher chance of success, but a much longer recovery period. If you’re trying to get ready for a $26m football season, which are you going to try first?
It didn’t. Manning has had three cervical spine operations, and his neck is now fine. The most recent operation was a fourth procedure to correct a separate injury to the radial nerve.