The Official 2012 NFL Off-season Discussion Thread

[Javro_07]

The Colts just awarded themselves another 2-14 season. May they rot in hell.

Your not expecting Luck to play? or you think he's going to be as bad as Painter?

[Submerge]

If history has taught us much, don't start a rookie quarterback. Personally I believe they should have kept Manning and have Luck sit behind him for a couple, gaining knowledge and experience. Much like Rodgers did to Favre. See how Manning plays out, if he gets injured you have insurance with Luck. Manning would have been an AMAZING mentor. I didn't think the Colts had anything to lose. If Manning sucks after coming back, you have an easy excuse to replace him. If he comes back amazing, you'll look like the good guys and can worry about Manning-Luck down the road when Luck's contract comes up for renewal. It was a win-win for the Colts, and they blew it.

[Nagflar]

If history has taught us much, don't start a rookie quarterback. Personally I believe they should have kept Manning and have Luck sit behind him for a couple, gaining knowledge and experience. Much like Rodgers did to Favre. See how Manning plays out, if he gets injured you have insurance with Luck. Manning would have been an AMAZING mentor. I didn't think the Colts had anything to lose. If Manning sucks after coming back, you have an easy excuse to replace him. If he comes back amazing, you'll look like the good guys and can worry about Manning-Luck down the road when Luck's contract comes up for renewal. It was a win-win for the Colts, and they blew it.

That's exactly what I think, and that's why I believe they just royally fucked up. If they do announce Peyton's sack tomorrow, they'll lose all the respect they earned in the last 10+ years, plus the best QB of the past 10+ years. Hope they change their mind in the next 12~ hours.

Your not expecting Luck to play? or you think he's going to be as bad as Painter?

Luck or no Luck, the whole team underperformed last season, not just the QBs. They'll probably suck as much as last season, if not more.

[Javro_07]

If the Colts were a possible contender with Manning next year than I could see keeping him but with the holes at other positions I think their better off using the $ they would've paid Peyton and upgrading other positions...particularly the O-line. The Colts organization will look like the bad guys for a while but it will eventually be forgiven if not forgotten by most like the niners/Montana situation of the 90's.

I used to believe in sitting QB's a year or two before starting them too but with the success Flacco,M.Ryan,A.Dalton,C.Newton had in there rookie years I just don't think it's as important nowadays.Luck ran a pro style offense in college so the transition as rookie QB won't be as hard for him as it would be for a quarterback who's used to running a spread offense.

They'll probably suck as much as last season, if not more.

I think Indy will be around the 7-9 mark this year.i've also been predicting a Falcon SB win for 20 years.So we'll see how it turns out

[njdevil]

Luck or no Luck, the whole team underperformed last season, not just the QBs. They'll probably suck as much as last season, if not more.

I have to disagree with you on this point. I don't think the Colts underachieved/underperformed all that much.... rather, I simply think they weren't a very good team to begin with. Their defense had very little going for it after their two pass rushers, their offense was old, and they didn't have much of a running game at all. That's exactly the recipe for a crummy team, and that's the sort of team they've trotted out for a while now. Peyton Manning is simply so good that he can mask a number of deficiencies by himself.

Chances are they'll win more games this season, if only because there's far more room on the upside portion of the ledger than there is on the downside. But they won't be particularly good, and they will need a few years to build up the talent to restore themselves to respectability.

[kidson2004]

Peyton Manning is truly a class act. The way he handled his release is unreal. He'll get one more after this. I'm rooting for him this season!

[Wargazsem]

I am not a Peyton Manning fan at all. However I really hope he can get back to his normal level of play. I would hate to see him go out due to an injury or try and fail.

[Ewok_3000]

Seeing how well Cam Newton did last season, I hope he can do just as well in the upcoming season. Speaking of Newton, him and Steve Smith are the 2 Panthers players up for voting to be the Panthers representative to possibly be on the cover of Madden 13.

[Lasombra]

If history has taught us much, don't start a rookie quarterback. Personally I believe they should have kept Manning and have Luck sit behind him for a couple, gaining knowledge and experience. Much like Rodgers did to Favre. See how Manning plays out, if he gets injured you have insurance with Luck. Manning would have been an AMAZING mentor. I didn't think the Colts had anything to lose. If Manning sucks after coming back, you have an easy excuse to replace him. If he comes back amazing, you'll look like the good guys and can worry about Manning-Luck down the road when Luck's contract comes up for renewal. It was a win-win for the Colts, and they blew it.

I don't think they blew it at all. It wasn't a good situation for the Colts either way. I doubt Manning would have wanted to be a mentor for someone, nor want to deal with the circus of his replacement. They had an amicable splitting, both parties are content, and they can move on peacefully. Do we need another Favre drama-fest, which is what would have happened.

[The Legend Killer]

I can't hate the Colts decision on this. Was it handled properly, hardly, but the reality is that you don't know just how healthy or not healthy Peyton Manning is. Is he the franchise, yes! Is that stadium there because of him, absolutely! However, this is a business and the team has to do what's best for the franchise, and it's fanbase. Sometimes that means making the tough unpopular decision. Does it suck for both of them that things had to end this way, of course, but it is what it is. They've got their pick, they have to roll dice, and hopefully Peyton lands somewhere and can still be productive, but that's a big question mark, and when it comes to QB's, question marks can be the death toll for your team.

[njdevil]

Speaking of Newton, him and Steve Smith are the 2 Panthers players up for voting to be the Panthers representative to possibly be on the cover of Madden 13.

In consideration of the Madden "cover jinx", wouldn't you and other Panthers' fans be better off voting for anyone other than those two? Might you do your team some good by voting for say.... Drew Brees?

If I vote, I know I'm going to try and stuff the ballot box for any Patriots who might be in contention.

[Ewok_3000]

Yeah as much as I like Steve Smith and Cam Newton, I'm not voting for a Panthers player to be on the cover of Madden 13. My votes will be going towards the NFC South teams.

[Javro_07]

Colts cleaning house with the release of several players.Most notably TE/Dallas Clark.Opening the door for a possible
Manning/Clark/Wayne reunion some where.

Nfl News

[The Legend Killer]

I've heard that Peyton Manning had the audacity to invade Tim Tebow's territory.

Manning begins free-agency tour by meeting Broncos - NFL - Yahoo! Sports

What are the Broncos thinking? LMAO

[njdevil]

You mean you didn't see the Denver Post (non-scientific) poll where roughly three-fourths of those who responded said they'd prefer Peyton Manning as their QB to Timmy Tebow?

Come now, you know exactly what the Broncos are doing. John Elway doesn't believe in Tebow. Peyton Manning is the one guy he could bring in who the fans would accept replacing Tebow, and that includes the very vocal Tebow crowd.

Allegedly, Peyton Manning and his representitives have told every NFC team that made an inquiry that he's not interested in changing conferences. That doesn't leave a lot of landing spots, and even fewer of them are good teams. I suspect Manning doesn't really want to deal with Belichek and Brady twice per season, which would rule out Miami. So who else really makes sense for Peyton? Houston does, if they decide to go that way.... but otherwise Denver might be the best of the lot AND they don't really have an established quarterback that Manning would disrupt.

[Rubicant81]

As a Broncos fan, I'd take renting 1/5th of the Colt's core players for 3-4 years, and become a serious contender over the Tebow experiment anyday. We have the cap space, and would be willing to add Clark, Wayne, Brackett if it brings us Manning. Our division isn't that tough, but the weather might be a problem if that's a consideration.

Bring on the old Colts, or as they grow up to be - Broncos!

[ooga]

I'm hoping for the Cardinals... Watching Peyton Manning throw bombs to Larry Fitzgerald will be quite fun to watch.

[Kevlar]

With the NY Jets long gone from the Manning Sweepstakes, they sign Mark Sancheez to a 3-year extension.

New York Jets extend Mark Sanchez's deal, end pursuit of Peyton Manning - ESPN New York

I'm sure Jet fans where I'm at are freefalling from their own building. Not getting Peyton is one thing, but giving a young quarterback that question (along with the money) is a whole another deal. The front office better be right about this move or heads with roll in a couple of years.

[njdevil]

I happen to like the Sanchez extension.

Anyone who paid attention to my ranting and raving during the late-season collapse knows I don't hold him responsible for it. Personally, I don't judge Sanchez on the numbers.... he's going to throw a lot of interceptions and have fumble issues because he's trying (too hard) to make plays. I don't like it, but I accept it. What I do judge Sanchez on is the won-loss record, and he has been very good in that regard.

If the Jets rebuild their offensive line, and their new playcaller/offensive coordinator sticks to what the team does well (Ground and Pound), Sanchez will be just fine.

[The Legend Killer]

The Jets extended Mark Sanchez?

Well I have two reactions to this!

First....



Second....



BTW, that second reaction is pretty much the reaction of every contender in the AFC, as they think to themselves, well the Jets aren't really a threat are they?