Peyton Manning | Larry Brown Sports

Nick Mangold on Peyton Manning Talk: I’ll Take Joe Montana or Dan Marino Too

January 12, 2012 By Steve DelVecchio Leave a Comment

Jets fans want to see some changes this offseason. After two seasons in which New York reached consecutive AFC Championship games, the Jets struggled mightily this year. Mark Sanchez did not take significant strides in his third full year as a starter and the Jets’ offense looked stale. As a result many fans, some anonymous teammates, and at least one former player want a change at quarterback. One name that has been thrown around quite a bit is Peyton Manning, but who said he was for sale? Jets center Nick Mangold alluded to that during an interview with The Michael Kay Show on Wednesday.

“I think if anybody could get a clean bill of health, shoot, I’ll take Joe Montana if he had a clean bill of health,” Mangold said sarcastically. “Dan Marino, I think, would be another great one. I think it’s all speculation, and I think that Mark Sanchez is my guy. Hes the one I want to go into battle with, and I wouldn’t be too keen to seeing that being changed.

“(Sanchez) puts in more work and more time, cares more about the team than I think anybody else in that locker room. And for somebody to come out and say (he’s lazy), and not put their name behind it, really bothered me.”

The “anonymous” Jets sources seem to feel the same way the fans feel, and despite Rex Ryan’s continuous support of Sanchez they are hoping to force some sort of move. The only problem is star quarterbacks aren’t just sitting out there waiting to be plucked away from their current teams. Everyone likes to talk about Manning being a potential target, but Colts ownership has insisted he isn’t going anywhere. Andrew Luck should be the quarterback of the future, but it’s doubtful Indianapolis will risk trading a healthy Manning and handing the offense over to Luck next season.

Filed Under: Football Tagged With: Nick Mangold, Peyton Manning

Joe Theismann: Colts Should Draft Andrew Luck, Peyton Manning is Done Playing

January 6, 2012 By Steve DelVecchio Leave a Comment

Over the past few weeks, we have heard so many different opinions about what the Colts should do with their draft pick in April that it is just about time to stop listening. Most people seem to believe Andrew Luck is the obvious choice and a quarterback that could contribute almost immediately in Indianapolis. At least one former Colts coach believes Robert Griffin III is the better choice and would have more to offer an NFL offense. Former NFL quarterback Joe Theismann is a member of Team Luck, but for a slightly more dramatic reason.

“First of all, if you’re the Indianapolis Colts, you have to draft Andrew Luck,” Theismann said during an interview with SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Radio on Friday. “He’s as complete a package as you are going to get coming in to professional football. Andrew Luck, if you have him available and you are the Indianapolis Colts and you saw what happened when you lost Peyton Manning, you have to go draft him. Dan Orlovsky, Curtis Painter are not the future of the Indianapolis Colts. So I think you have to draft him irrespective of what gets worked out regarding Peyton.

“I hope (Manning) does come back, but I would say right now on this show, I don’t think Peyton Manning will be back in a uniform to play football, for his health and for his safety. Ever again. I mean, he hasn’t practiced. He hasn’t taken a hit. You’re rolling the dice on $28 million for him to take a hit. Would you do it?”

Manning returned to throwing toward the end of the season, but his future is up in the air. History tells us he’ll do everything he can to get back into playing shape over the offseason, but if he’s at risk of seriously injuring his neck Theismann could be right. Colts fans aren’t yet ready to face the possibility of Manning never playing again because it came on so abruptly, but unfortunately it isn’t that far-fetched an idea.

Filed Under: College Football, Football Tagged With: Andrew Luck, Joe Theismann, Peyton Manning

Andrew Luck Reportedly Expected to Sign with Peyton Manning’s Agent

December 20, 2011 By Larry Brown 2 Comments

Can you say awwwwwkward? In a column at Yahoo! Sports, Jason Cole says Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck is expected to choose Peyton Manning‘s agents to represent him. Luck is expected to be the top pick in the NFL draft, although some teams reportedly prefer Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III. We’ve already heard that Peyton Manning may try to force a trade if the Colts drafts Luck, so this makes matters even more complicated.

Tom Condon and Ben Dogra at Creative Artists Agency (CAA) may end up in a messy situation. If they sign Luck as a client, they’ll try to get him drafted first overall. They’ll also try to negotiate the best possible contract for him, and they might prefer that he begins playing immediately. Would that motivate them to push for Peyton to be traded? I would think so.

You can say that Luck should just choose another agent to avoid the conflict of interest, but why should he have to choose different representation because of the circumstance? Perhaps the only way around this potentially awkward scenario is if the Colts win two more games and don’t get the top pick in the draft.

H/T Evan Silva

Filed Under: Football Tagged With: Andrew Luck, Peyton Manning

Peyton Manning May Force Trade if Andrew Luck Is Drafted

December 10, 2011 By Larry Brown Leave a Comment

When Archie Manning said earlier this week that Andrew Luck and Peyton Manning wouldn’t want to play on the same team, maybe he was just revealing the feelings of his son.

In a column published Friday, Adam Schefter indicated that may be the case.

“But inevitably Manning is going to have to let his feelings be known for the Colts, and the sense around the league is there will not be room for both quarterbacks, Manning and Luck, in Indianapolis,” Schefter wrote. “But after this season, as March begins to creep closer, it’s worth remembering that Eli Manning once navigated his way out of San Diego. And it will not be a surprise if Peyton Manning does the same with Indianapolis.”

Archie Manning backed off his initial statement about Peyton and Luck, later saying the two could play together. That was probably said for PR purposes to make it seem like Peyton is still a friendly guy. We believe his initial words reflected the truth.

Former personnel exec Michael Lombardi says he wouldn’t want to be the GM who trades Peyton Manning, but we think that would be the best move for the team. Peyton Manning is coming off multiple neck surgeries and is 35 years old. You probably have 3-4 years with him at best. Andrew Luck should be able to give the team 12 good years, even if he’s not as good as Peyton his first few years.

H/T Rotoworld

Filed Under: Football Tagged With: Archie Manning, Peyton Manning

Dwight Freeney Says It’s Disrespectful to Other Players to Call Peyton Manning MVP

December 8, 2011 By Steve DelVecchio 1 Comment

It would be almost impossible to argue that Aaron Rodgers isn’t the front-runner for the 2011 NFL MVP award. As both Tom Brady and Kurt Warner expressed, Rodgers could be having the greatest season by any quarterback ever — including Brady’s 2007 campaign. Arguments have been made for Tim Tebow because of his uncanny ability to win under any circumstances, but Joe Theismann and others would laugh at that notion. Then, there is the Peyton Manning debate. With Manning, the Colts reached the postseason in each of the last nine seasons. Without him, they are a whopping 0-12. Does that make Manning an MVP candidate without playing?

As NFL.com shared with us, Dwight Freeney thinks putting his teammate in that discussion is absurd.

“It is disrespectful and it’s ridiculous across the board, to all of the guys who are actually playing the game,” Freeney said. “To the guys who are playing hard, it’s unfortunate that they’re doing something like that. They will and they do look ridiculous doing that.”

Freeney is right about it being ridiculous. The MVP award is reserved for the player who was most valuable to his team this season. If anything, the Colts 0-12 stink-fest proves that Manning was most valuable to his team in each of the last 10 seasons — not this year considering he didn’t play. It’s a nice compliment and a testament to the type of player Manning is, but the fact that people are seriously debating whether or not he deserves the 2011 MVP award is — for lack of a better word — lame.

Filed Under: Football Tagged With: Dwight Freeney, Peyton Manning

Michael Lombardi Wouldn’t Draft Andrew Luck Because He Would Not Want to be GM Who Trades Peyton Manning

December 8, 2011 By Larry Brown Leave a Comment

Archie Manning said earlier this week that Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck and Colts quarterback Peyton Manning would not want to play on the same team. He has backtracked from his comments, but we believe his initial remarks reflect his son’s feelings. Luck is the consensus top prospect entering the draft, and the Colts are interested in drafting him. If they do, they might have to trade Manning. Sounds pretty simple, right?

Maybe not. Former longtime NFL personnel exec, and current NFL insider, Michael Lombardi, placed things in a different context.

“I am not going to be the GM who trades Peyton Manning,” Lombardi bluntly stated on Inside the NFL. “There’s just no chance I’m doing that big boy. No way. He’s going to go put on a Washington Redskins uniform and dazzle DC? I’m not living that life, there’s just no way. If Peyton Manning can play, he’s going to be my quarterback. I’m going to find somebody else. I’m not trading Peyton Manning.”

Lombardi was then pressed by Cris Collinsworth if that means he’d pass on Luck. Lombardi said he would.

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Filed Under: Football Tagged With: Michael Lombardi, Peyton Manning

Archie Manning: Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck Don’t Want to Play Together

December 7, 2011 By Steve DelVecchio Leave a Comment

With Peyton Manning having been out with a neck injury all season, his father has decided to become more vocal. Nobody really knows why Archie Manning has decided to come forward and defend his son Eli or analyze the Colts draft status heading into 2012, but he has. On Tuesday, Archie shed some light on the Andrew Luck situation in Indianapolis. Assuming father and son exchange dialogue from time to time, it’s now pretty obvious that Peyton would rather not play on the same team as Luck.

“I don’t think it’d necessarily be great for either one,” Archie Manning said on FOX Sports 570’s Zakk & Jack Show. “I think Andrew’s the type of mature player, you’ve seen him play he can walk right in. I mean, these other three or four guys that are playing this year, if they can walk in and contribute, Andrew can, too.

“We know Andrew well. He comes down to our camp every year. I used to play with his dad (Oliver). I’m in New York, I heard from him last night. Peyton’s always tried to help Andrew and kind of be a friend, but I doubt if either one of them wants to play on the same team.”

Every rookie wants a chance to start right away. However, I’m sure Luck wouldn’t mind being on the Colts as much as Peyton would mind having him there. Although Peyton insists Phil Simms was wrong in his assertion that a healthy Manning would never let the Colts draft Luck, I’m sure he wouldn’t be all that thrilled with Indy drafting a quarterback with the first overall pick. If Peyton continues to play, he wants to win another Super Bowl. Drafting a quarterback with the top pick in the draft would do nothing to help him personally. For Luck, a chance to study under a Hall of Fame quarterback for a couple seasons wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

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Filed Under: Football Tagged With: Andrew Luck, Archie Manning, Peyton Manning