In 2010, the Indianapolis Colts won the AFC South by two games with a 10-6 record. In 2009, they were flirting with perfection into December, and ended the season with an NFL-best 14-2 record. And it was just 2007 when the Colts won the Super Bowl.
Now the once-proud team is an embarrassing 0-8. They are 5 games out of the lead in a division that they have owned for a decade. And halfway through the season, they are arguably the worst NFL team in 2011. To wit, the second-worst point-differential in the league belongs to the St. Louis Rams at -105. The Colts, meanwhile, own the worst score in that department at -131 -- almost a full 25% worse than the Rams.
If they had been steadily declining, gradually worsening, we could point to a variety of factors. But no one seriously doubts the cause of Indianapolis’ precipitous demise: Peyton Manning isn’t playing.
Has one player’s absence ever been so sorely felt? Remember, after all, how bravely the Patriots fought their way to a winning record the year that Tom Brady went down in Week One.
And so, by doing absolutely nothing on the field, Peyton Manning is proving his worth like few ever have or ever could. If ever there was a doubt before, the Colts’ organization and fans must surely know now how utterly invaluable to them Manning is.
So what’s all the talk regarding Indy these days? More and more people are discussing the Colts’ inside track in the rush to draft Andrew Luck, as well as what to do about Peyton Manning’s big 2012 contract obligation. Incredible.
In a weird alignment of NFL planets, Manning’s unavailability has both proven his value and jeopardized his pay. It has shown that he is irreplaceable, while prompting very real speculation about his replacement.
One year ago, Peyton Manning was unanimously regarded as one of the three best quarterbacks in the NFL, and he was projected as the eventual heir of every QB record in the books. One year later, he’s on the sidelines, and his team is ogling a 22-year-old from Stanford.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment