After-Manning-Shock

Jets trade backup QB Drew Stanton to Colts

 Excerpt:

Drew Stanton, the Jets backup quarterback who grew upset with the team when Tim Tebow joined the depth chart, has been traded to the Indianapolis Colts, the Jets announced Friday. The Jets get a sixth-round pick in April's draft in exchange for Stanton and a seventh rounder -- one of the picks acquired from Denver in the trade for Tebow.

Comment: Manning to Broncos .. Tebow to Jets ... Stanton to Colts

Is Manning's future tied to Polian's?

Colts QB Peyton Manning 'surprised and shocked' at Bill Polian being fired Excerpt:

The Manning-Polian partnership began April 18, 1998, when Polian, in his first season as general manager, used the first pick in the draft on an All-America quarterback out of Tennessee. At the time, Manning conceded he knew little of Indianapolis, the Colts and their league-worst 3-13 record, or the players he would be joining. His father, Archie, offered reassurance. "I just remember Dad telling me that Bill Polian will straighten Indianapolis around, that he was the top football guy out there," Manning said. "That excited me. "I'd be the first to tell you that had Bill not been here when I was coming out for the draft, I'm not sure how I would have felt about coming to Indianapolis. He was just an unbelievable draw to come play for the Indianapolis Colts. To me, he defines loyalty. I'll be forever indebted for what he did for me and my career." The news of Polian's departure hit Manning like a pass rusher from his blind side. He never saw it coming.

Comment: See also Now, everything changes for Peyton Manning, Colts:

Given Luck's availability, the Manning health questions and a looming $28 million option bonus, does Irsay keep Manning and try to work Luck into the lineup later on? Does he let Manning walk in free agency? Does he trade the first pick for a ransom and go into Win One For Peyton Mode? It's hard to cut ties to the most important athlete the city has ever known, but it's hard to pass up a quarterback who is generally viewed as one of the best prospects to come along in decades. I know what they should do, and have written it so often, Manning playfully mentioned my newfound role as "Luck's agent." (What's zero percent of mega-millions?) But I don't know what they're going to do on the Manning front. I'm not sure they know. They have 21/2 months to figure it out.

My conclusion: the Peyton Manning era is done.

Peyton Manning NFL MVP

Has Peyton Manning played his last game for the Colts?

Excerpt:

Manning, the Hall of Fame-worthy 35-year-old quarterback, firmly established himself as the most irreplaceable player in the game this season, and did it without taking a single snap. Some have even suggested he deserves Most Valuable Player consideration: With him, the Colts are a perennial Super Bowl contender, without him they're a laughingstock.

One player can have this kind of understandable impact in the NBA, where a LeBron James can leave Cleveland Cavaliers and reduce them from a 60-win team to the worst team in the league. In the NBA, you're talking about five players on the court at a time.

Nobody could have imagined this would happen in football, where Manning is one of 11 players, and doesn't play defense or special teams.

When the New England Patriots lost Tom Brady for the 2008 season, they still went 11-5.

The Colts, who two years ago were in the middle of a debate over whether an undefeated season was possible, are now wondering if they will win a single game. We've always known Manning is he face of the franchise (and, to a certain extent, the entire NFL). Now we're finding out he's the heart, the soul, the brains ... everything.

The Colts aren't just losing this season; they're barely competitive, enduring a season that included a nationally televised, 62-7 shellacking by the Saints in New Orleans.

...

Turns out the Colts picked the perfect year to stink.

If they get the first pick in the draft -- and they have a two-game lead on Minnesota and St. Louis with three games remaining -- they will be in position to pick Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck , by most accounts the best quarterback prospect to come out of college since Hall of Famer John Elway left Stanford and joined the Denver Broncos in 1983.

Not a bad deal: The Colts get 13 years of elite quarterbacking from Manning, suffer for one season, then get Luck for another decade or more of elite quarterbacking.

Comment: Lucky them! Image source