Peyton’s new place
When the Indianapolis Colts decided to release Peyton Manning, half of the league ran to their phones and punched in the number of Manning’s agent to see if they had a chance of landing the All-Pro MVP.
But let’s cut to the chase and miss out on all the speculation that teams like the Dallas Cowboys might make a play for Peyton. No. So who will be the real players in the market for the signature of Manning, where would he fit best, and who is most likely to get him? Here’s some ideas.
Honourable mentions:
San Francisco 49’ers – If the talks with Alex Smith aren’t going well, the Niners have a shot at Peyton. It would be his best chance to ‘win now’ and with that defense behind him, he’d have to be at 80% to cause other teams to have coronaries. But I just don’t think the offense suits him, and I feel Harbaugh is committed to Smith too much.
New York Jets – “We trust you Mark Sanchez… but here’s Peyton Manning.” Can Rex do that to the young man? He can, and he might try. But even though L.T. has said to manning that NYJ would be a nice place to land, I don’t think he’d be happy with the lack of talent on offense, or the infighting in the locker room, no matter how much leadership he would bring.
Washington Redskins – The Skins need a QB so badly, but Manning and Shanahan working? I can’t see it. The keys to that offense are locked onto Shanahan’s belt, and Manning wants them wherever he goes. The NFC East is also a killer of a division, and it has his brother in it. Too much going against you here Washington.
4. Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks will chase Manning like a dog chases its tail, and will probably have the same amount of success. I have the ‘Hawks at 4 because it is likely that Pete Carroll will break the bank and hand the keys of the offense over to Peyton, but I just can’t see enough talent in the Seattle team to lure him to the North-West, and that’s not even considering the weather in Seattle, its cold and wet, not somewhere for a great to play out his career. Seattle are also in the NFC, and the Manning family want a ‘Manning-bowl’, so any NFC team is less likely.
3. Arizona Cardinals
Larry Fitzgerald and Darnell Dockett have already begged Manning to come and ‘do a Kurt Warner’ in Arizona, and at first look, it seems a decent idea. 7-2 down the stretch last year with John Skelton!? Imagine what Manning could do. The Cards have a decent defense and weapons on offense. But they play in the NFC, one Manning can only face another in the Super Bowl, ‘cos Archie said so’. If Peyton was to disagree with his father however, Arizona looks the best shot for the NFC to steal Manning away from the AFC.
2. Miami Dolphins
He has a house in south beach. Dan Marino could talk him into it. Stephen Ross is getting his chequebook out as we speak. Manning in Miami is an intriguing possibility, as it brings the ‘star power’ that the Dolphins owner wants and needs to sell tickets. The Dolphins improved monumentally over the second half of the season, and as their defense became a decent unit, they established a running game, and then the receivers turned up. Brandon Marshall is underrated, and with Peyton throwing him balls, he could be a real star. Davone Bess, Anthony Fasano and Reggie Bush could provide Manning with the weapons to mount an attack on Tom Brady’s dominance on the AFC East, and we all know how much he’d enjoy that.
1. Kansas City Chiefs
I really like the idea of Manning playing his football in KC. They are a side with good talents both in the receiving corps, and in other places on offense. They will look to upgrade their offensive line in the draft and free agency, and with a huge amount of cap room ($60+ million), they can afford to make plays on even more weaponry to make Peyton feel at home.
Working with Romeo Crennell, a defensive coach, shouldn’t be a problem, don’t forget, he won a Super Bowl with Tony Dungy, and for the record, it’s a very good defense in Kansas. People are saying that the financial commitment to Matt Cassel will prohibit a run on Manning, but Cassel would be the best backup in the league if Peyton goes down, and after sitting behind both Brady and Manning, Cassel can only get better.
The division is also a positive, the AFC West is an eminently winnable division, and if Manning wants to go into a ‘win now’ team, this could be a very good shot. Crennell himself has said ‘we have to go after him if he is available, we’d be mad not to’, a ringing endorsement to the franchise’s owners if I’ve ever heard one.
By the way, he’s 8-1 to go to the Chiefs… #justsaying.
