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"There is a growing schism between Manning and the front office"

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  • "There is a growing schism between Manning and the front office"

    That's an interesting statement from Bob Kravitz....

    Besides that info or observation, and maybe in the context of it, Kravitz asks the question that might be flying under the radar a little too much:
    Why would Manning want to come back to the Colts after having the chance to see what a mess of a team that was constructed for his final years. We shouldn't be in a position to take Luck because this team never should've been this bad in the first place. Not with any kind of common sense that should've told the FO that the team needs to be in win now mode for the closing years of the Manning era.

    That the team should be needing to make a choice between Manning, who at best is probably down to 2...3...4 good years left (IF the injury issue subsides) versus drafting most everyone's dream QB and supposedly securing the position for the next 10+ years might sound good.... But it never should've come to this. The team never should've been this bad for this option to have fallen on their plate. They should've been loading up for the SB in Indy and this 'last' Manning contract to put it all on the line. We should be lamenting the fact the team finally had a top line defense to complement Manning and the offense and what a shame it is Manning is unable to play. We should be discussing the team's coaching and ability to stay competitive even without Manning. We should be talking about how this will pay dividends for the team if and when Manning returns.

    Instead, we're wondering if we can win a game...... and talking about the 'good fortune' of locking in on the #1 pick and what an asset that would be.

    But that misses the bigger issue. The Colts shouldn't be in this position in the first place. It's not good luck... It's mismanagement, complacency, and arrogance all rolled into one.


    Everybody wonders what the Indianapolis Colts are going to do with quarterback Peyton Manning when the time comes in March to make a decision on his $28 million option bonus.

    Nobody has asked this question:

    Would Manning even want to come back?

    (Note to self: Next time we have access to Manning, ask that question, even with the knowledge he's not going to answer it.)

    Seriously, if you're Manning and you have just a few years left to make another Super Bowl run, do you want any part of an organization that might go 0-16 this year? Do you want any part of a team whose owner (Jim Irsay) who has become a reckless Tweeter, whose front office (the Polians) continues to share information you don't want divulged and a coach (Jim Caldwell) who has no power or independence?

    At the age of 35 (36 in March), do you really believe this team is within a year or two of being a Super Bowl contender? With that defense? With these special teams? With this coaching staff?

    Manning embraces history, and I'm sure he wants to be like Dan Marino and John Elway and finish his career where he started. He doesn't want it to finish the way it ended for Brett Favre, Johnny Unitas, Joe Montana, all wearing somebody else's uniforms in their final years.

    But he wants to win.

    And he wants to be surrounded by people who will help him win.

    There is a growing schism between Manning and the front office, and Manning is growing increasingly tired of addressing issues that have leaked out courtesy of Irsay and one of the Polians.

    During Manning's talk Friday with the media, I asked him about vice chairman Bill Polian's recent radio-show assertion that he has spoken with Manning about drafting a quarterback. On his show, Polian said, "Peyton and I have spoken about that, and he's OK with that."

    Manning responded, "First, I want to say any conversations that Bill and I have are alone between he and I. I will say he and I have not had a conversation about the 2012 draft.

    "Bill keeps a lot of players informed on different things, but I've never known who we were going to draft in years past. It's been insinuated that he checks with me. I'm not in personnel. I don't do personnel . . ."

    I followed up, "So are you saying Bill wasn't being truthful?"

    Manning stammered.

    "Maybe a couple of years ago, he would say, 'Eventually, we're going to draft your replacement.' "

    So that conversation never happened?

    "No, no, I don't get into personnel; I don't," Manning said. "I don't know what was said on the radio show, but that's not the kind of conversation that would happen between him and I."

    Polian actually addressed the subject Sept. 12, telling radio listeners, "We look at every position, but Peyton and I did talk when we did this last contract (in August) about the fact that the time is approaching when it's time to take a look at quarterbacks and to evaluate them. We did that last year and there were a couple of quarterbacks we liked and they didn't fall to us in the draft process but had they, I'm sure we would have made a choice there . . ."

    Ultimately, it doesn't matter whether they talked about it or not. I would actually hope they would have talked about it. We're talking about the future of the franchise, right?

    The point being, Manning is tiring of addressing these sorts of things, is unhappy his private conversations have gone public and especially dislikes the insinuation that he's pulling strings. Manning always has been very proprietary about his image and the message that gets conveyed. The front office has done him no favors through these trying times.

    Forget, for one second, the questions about whether the franchise wants him back. If you're No. 18, do you want to come back to this dysfunctional mess?

    Even in a league where teams can rebuild in a hurry -- and the Colts will have the luxury of owning the top pick in every round of the draft -- it's hard to imagine them pulling this defense together quickly enough to make a Super Bowl run. That doesn't even begin to address the continuing issues along the offensive line and in special teams.

    If the Polians are still running the show, don't expect there to be much movement in the way of free agents, especially if they spend a lot to keep wide receiver Reggie Wayne and other veterans.

    Just as the Colts have to make some serious calculations, so does Manning.

    Maybe, just maybe, he will decide he would rather go to Washington, where team owner Dan Snyder will back up a Wells Fargo truck to his house, or to Tennessee, or maybe to New York to play for the Jets.

    Maybe Manning will take this decision completely out of the Colts' hands, telling them, "Don't give me the $28 million. Let me go somewhere else. Or maybe I'll just stay home with my twins."

    It's not beyond the realm of comprehension.
    http://www.indystar.com/article/2011...-Manning-stay-
    Last edited by Bball; 12-07-2011, 02:24 AM.
    Nuntius was right for a while. I was wrong for a while. But ultimately I was right and Frank Vogel has been let go.

    ------

    "A player who makes a team great is more valuable than a great player. Losing yourself in the group, for the good of the group, that’s teamwork."

    -John Wooden

  • #2
    Re: "There is a growing schism between Manning and the front office"

    Exactly why Polian's job should be on the line. He is just flat out over-rated.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: "There is a growing schism between Manning and the front office"

      The more I have pondered this situation the more I keep leaning toward drafting Luck and then trading him to a team willing to give us a ton of picks and 1-2 defensive impact players. Someone may be desperate for a starting caliber quarterback to do a Ditka and give us a ton that we could use right away to right the ship on defense and get an impact RB in the draft that we need that can run over people and also blow by defenders. We have a lot of guys on IR too so getting draft picks would make us deep in talent again so if someone goes down the next guy can step up and fill the spot without a rough transition. I think we have talent on defense but right now with all of the devestating injuries on that side of the ball this year we would be in a little better psoition if half of the guys could have been healthy.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: "There is a growing schism between Manning and the front office"

        I read that article the other day and while I think the "schism" is straight out of the Favre/Childress saga a lot of what Kravitz said I agreed with.

        If you were Manning after witnessing this team and franchise fall apart all around you to the point where even places like Fort Wayne don't want to cover your games when they had before even during the bad years. Why would you want to come back here if you're healthy?

        Coaching sucks, drafting has been bad.. the defense couldn't stop a runny nose... list goes on.

        Sure there's the $$$ but he could get that anywhere if he wants rings he's not going to get anymore here. Its sad to admit but its true barring major changes.

        Then add insult to injury(pardon the pun) the Colts are already gushing over possibly drafting the guy that would replace you rather than thinking of improving the actual team.

        You might as well not be here if that's how its going to be.

        If anything I can't believe only Kravitz is the only media person to be critical of the Colts FO and coaching because the national media hasn't really done much compared to the movements of firing Tom Coughlin bigger market I guess.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: "There is a growing schism between Manning and the front office"

          This is a tough situation and the only option the Colts really have is to say goodbye to Manning. Peyton needs to understand it wouldn't matter if he was Montana, Elway, Marino or Johnny U. The Colts have a stadium to fill the next 15 years and Luck will definitely help.
          Last edited by BlueNGold; 12-07-2011, 10:53 PM.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: "There is a growing schism between Manning and the front office"

            Originally posted by Basketball Fan View Post
            I read that article the other day and while I think the "schism" is straight out of the Favre/Childress saga a lot of what Kravitz said I agreed with.

            If you were Manning after witnessing this team and franchise fall apart all around you to the point where even places like Fort Wayne don't want to cover your games when they had before even during the bad years. Why would you want to come back here if you're healthy?

            Coaching sucks, drafting has been bad.. the defense couldn't stop a runny nose... list goes on.

            Sure there's the $$$ but he could get that anywhere if he wants rings he's not going to get anymore here. Its sad to admit but its true barring major changes.

            Then add insult to injury(pardon the pun) the Colts are already gushing over possibly drafting the guy that would replace you rather than thinking of improving the actual team.

            You might as well not be here if that's how its going to be.

            If anything I can't believe only Kravitz is the only media person to be critical of the Colts FO and coaching because the national media hasn't really done much compared to the movements of firing Tom Coughlin bigger market I guess.
            They were piling on the Colts front office and coach on that ESPN show with Skip Bayless the other day. Pretty much saying they had failed at building a real team. Maybe the Colts should be happy that Tebow mania and the Packers are taking the heat off the team. Then again, maybe not.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: "There is a growing schism between Manning and the front office"

              Originally posted by SycamoreKen View Post
              They were piling on the Colts front office and coach on that ESPN show with Skip Bayless the other day. Pretty much saying they had failed at building a real team. Maybe the Colts should be happy that Tebow mania and the Packers are taking the heat off the team. Then again, maybe not.
              I'm sure the Colts organization is happy after all this collapse is in the back pages(well until the draft or latest Manning update) I mean these players talked about how this wasn't a one man show and well you know the rest.

              The national media doesn't really care about the Colts they care about Manning who just happens to play for this team.

              Its no more apparent than it is this season.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: "There is a growing schism between Manning and the front office"

                I sure hope Manning stays. I like Luck but I think his value to other teams would net us more value via a trade for players and draft picks. If we could move back a spot or two and still get a highly talented guy that would fill a hole immediately and then say several more high draft picks where we get real talent for other positions and maybe 1-2 impact players that are playing at a high level I would think we would ponder that option. For example we get to move back 2 spots and land a true impact player on Peyton's side of the ball like Blackmon from OK St. and get 2 2nd rounders and two third rounders we could possibly end up with 5 impact players that would play right away I think it would be too hard to pass up. We could possibly pick the future QB for our franchise in for example Matt Barkley from USC who I think will be a good QB. Next year could be widely different if we get such a talented rookie class to go with our IR players coming back healthy, we would be a totally different team. Peyton may get pretty excited at the thought of getting another weapon and the relief that we did not draft a QB that would feel that they have to play right away.

                Comment

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