Posts Tagged ‘peyton manning’

Running A Reverse With Manning

Let me start this post by saying that if all things were equal I would take Robert Griffin III over Peyton Manning as the Redskins next quarterback, hands down. However, all things aren’t close to being equal. A little over a month ago I devoted nearly 700 words to the argument against the Redskins signing Manning and here I am about to eat my words. What exactly has changed? Not much, only a couple of inches a tenth of a second.

Prior to the combine skeptics pegged RG3’s height around 6 feet. While 6’ is taller than the average man it makes you Ryan Seacrest against the prototypical NFL quarterback mold. Well, Griffin was closer to 6’3” and he then went out and ran a 4.35-4.41 forty yard dash. This made NFL GM’s, coaches, scouts and most of all the St. Louis Rams harder than Chinese arithmetic. Suddenly, the thought of the Redskins trading the #6 overall pick plus their 2nd rounder to the Rams went out the window. The price of poker has gone up ladies and gentleman. Compensation to the Rams in exchange for the #2 overall pick now looks something like this:

1. Three 1st round picks or
2. Two 1st round picks, a 2nd round pick and a Pro Bowl caliber player

In my opinion both of the options above are entirely too steep of a price to pay for 1 player, especially for a team that’s in the middle of rebuilding. Historically and statistically speaking, quarterbacks drafted in the 1st round have a 50% chance of being a BUST. Only 24% of the time does a quarterback drafted in the 1st round become a franchise QB. The Redskins can ill afford to trade 3 1st round picks away and last I saw they only have 1 Pro Bowl caliber player the Rams may want, Brian Orakpo. Do you want to trade a Pro Bowl player off a roster that has like, 1 Pro Bowl player? Sounds crazy, but it’s clear to me that the best way to continue rebuilding is to sign a 36 year old QB who’s had 4 neck surgeries in the last 18 months.

Also to consider, even if the Redskins decided to pay a king’s ransom in draft picks for RG3, there’s no guarantee that they will get him. The Rams hold all the cards here and the Redskins will not be the only team looking to move up. If it comes down to the Browns or another AFC team bidding against the Skins, the Rams are going to move the pick away from the NFC conference. If the Redskins don’t get Manning and then don’t get RG3, then what? We’re stuck in Suckville for another few years and Dan Snyder’s the mayor.

The Redskins should sign Manning and draft a young quarterback in this years draft. The pick won’t be an elite quarterback prospect, but he should be a QB that fits Shanny’s system and mold and hopefully can develop while riding the bench for a few years behind Manning. Keeping all those draft picks will allow the Redskins to continue to draft young players for the future (continue rebuilding) while the signing of Manning should attract many free agents (win now). It will be the perfect balance. The Redskins got $$ to make an impact via free agency.

The final wild card is Manning’s health…there’s no guarantee that he’s going to be healthy. It’s a medical fact that will take Manning 1 to 3 years to regain strength in his right arm after the type of surgery he had. Manning had the surgery is September of last year, so if he’s a fast healer he should be near 100% early in the 2012 season. If he heals slower…well that would suck. Regardless, The Redskins will have to bring in another veteran QB as an insurance policy, with John Beck the only other veteran currently on the Redskins roster…I prefer it be someone else.

Cheers and Hail

Is Peyton Manning The Next Billy Kilmer?

The last neck I saw that was that long had rings on it...

Unless you live under a rock I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors that Peyton Manning is set to be cast aside by the Colts, a result of neck surgery that has left Manning with a “noodle” arm according to reports. Manning’s passes after surgery have been described as “wounded ducks”. Let’s see here, an over the hill, noodle armed QB who throws wounded ducks…we’re talking about Billy Kilmer right?

It was a little over 40 years ago when the Washington Redskins traded for Billy Kilmer. At the time Kilmer had been in the NFL for 10 years, was 32 years old and was headed to his 3rd NFL team. Kilmer was coming off a horrible season for the New Orleans Saints, a season in which the Saints won just 2 games and Kilmer threw just 6 TD’s vs. 17 INT’s. Kilmer’s performance led the Saints to draft a can’t miss QB prospect out of Mississippi by the name of…Archie Manning.

40 years later it’s Archie’s son who’s being replaced by the can’t miss prospect, in this case Andrew Luck. It’s Peyton who’s over the hill and throwing the wounded ducks…the Manning’s are coming full circle.

I’m still not sure if the Redskins should sign Peyton Manning or not? But, if Manning were to become the 2nd coming of Billy Kilmer it wouldn’t be so bad. All Kilmer did was lead the Redskins to a Super Bowl, go 50-23 as a starter and lead the NFL in passing during the 72’ season. He would also make a Pro Bowl and the Redskins Ring of Fame.

Noodle arms, wounded ducks…can’t lose?!

Cheers and Hail

The Redskins Shouldn’t Stick Their Necks Out For Manning

picture via cbssports.com

After nearly a month off, I can’t think of a better way to return to blogging than to lead with a cheesy pun in the title of a blog post about an over hyped rumor…I’m back baby!!!

It’s actually kind of amazing that after witnessing 20 years of inconsistent play at the Washington Redskins QB position that I would be against the prospect of obtaining one of the greatest players to ever play the position. I just lost another year of my life watching John Beck and Rex Grossman lead this team to a 5-11 season, surely a near crippled Peyton Manning would be a tremendous upgrade, right?

The simple answer is yes. However, I’m firmly against seeing Peyton Manning in the burgundy and gold. Here’s my reasons the Redskins should not custom make a helmet to fit around Manning’s huge forehead:

#1 Neck injuries and football don’t mix.

This entire post may be a mute point as Manning may never receive medical clearance to play again. But, if he does…how can a team that’s in the middle of rebuilding put the franchise in the hands of a QB who may be one hit away from never playing again? That’s way too risky a proposition for the Redskins to consider.

#2 Manning won’t come cheaply.

Manning is set to earn a $28 million dollar roster bonus from the Colts on March 8. Of course, he’s never going to see that money as he will be released beforehand. I have no doubt that Manning will be looking to recoup a large portion of that money in free agency. If a team’s willing to drop $50+ million for Matt Flynn, there’s going to be a team that’s going to be willing to guarantee Manning $15-20 million for a year of his services. That’s money the Redskins could use to fill other holes on their roster.

#3 Manning doesn’t win in the playoffs.

Manning’s been to the playoffs 11 times in his career and has 1 Super Bowl ring to show for it. If he couldn’t find a way to win more Super Bowls with rosters that were loaded with Pro Bowlers in the prime of his career then how’s he going to win a Super Bowl with an inferior Redskins roster on the downslide of his career? Manning was 1 loss and out in 7 of those playoff appearances.

#4 Manning is the exact opposite of what the Redskins need.

The Redskins need Andrew Luck, whom the Colts will pick #1 overall…oh yeah, the Colts already have Peyton Manning on their team. What I’m trying to say is the Redskins need a young QB to build the future around, not the Colts sloppy seconds. If the Redskins were to sign Manning and have him go down with a career-ending injury…the franchise will be set back another 3-4 seasons. I’m getting too old for that shit!

#5 Manning will not be a good mentor for any future Redskins QB.

Peyton Manning’s next stop is going to be about re-establishing his reputation as the best QB of his era, it’s not going to be about mentoring some rookie backup. In my opinion Manning can be a selfish player. Manning was in control of all play-calling and of his playing time during his Colts career. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen Manning call his own number or call passing plays on 1st and goal from the 1 yard line. I can tell you how many snaps he allowed his backup QB’s to take over the last decade when he was healthy…about as many NFL snaps as I took over that period. So, even if the Redskins signed Manning and then drafted a QB after the 1st round I don’t see that being beneficial for the franchise. Manning’s next gig will be about Manning.

I’m sure that some of you reading this will argue that the risks are worth it and the Redskins should roll the dice…#47 if you’re reading this I’m sure you’re in that category. But, for me…I’ve been thru too many short sided “win now” decisions to last me for my lifetime. Let’s draft our QB of the future.

Cheers and Hail