You can either have your superstar quarterback who has made your franchise everything that is today, or you can draft one of the most highly touted quarterbacks to ever come out of college that could possibly keep your team relevant for the next 10 years or longer?
Yeah, it’s not exactly an easy decision. After a disastrous season the Colts front office has pretty much changed the entire staff. That would leave you to believe they’re also getting ready to change the face of their franchise.
Now, how is anyone going to walk up to Peyton Manning and tell him that he’s not going to be their quarterback anymore? And how are you going to explain to a loyal fan base that the player that’s led them to a Super Bowl in the last five years is being traded?
The fact is I believe Manning’s production is going downhill. He hasn’t looked the same to me since Marvin Harrison left, which was a strange evacuation in itself, and who really knows how healthy he is? Based on that you can’t blame the Colts for doing what’s best for the franchise’s future.
On the other hand you have a quarterback who has yet to prove himself in the NFL. Many experts think he’s ready to make the transition now, but what if he falters early. There have been plenty of quarterbacks taken with the first pick in the draft that haven’t exactly panned out (See JaMarcus Russell).
There is definitely risk in taking a quarterback early and I’m not as sold on Andrew Luck as most of the experts are. Tony Dungy even suggested that the Colts should take Robert Griffin first. While I think Dungy was just being nice, Luck is obviously the first choice in the draft and I think the Colts will make it.
So now what?
The Colts can either trade Peyton and probably get a pretty good return, or they hang on to him and let him mentor Luck for the next three years. Meanwhile Luck gets no game experience and just gets older.
The latter situation worked out great for the Green Bay Packers and Aaron Rodgers, no thanks to Brett Favre who admittedly said he didn’t help Rodgers. So Rodgers could have been dominating the league even sooner?
This decision just seems too easy for the Colts. Somebody is going to have to man up and tell Peyton that his time here is done and that they are moving in a different direction. They can get Luck, trade Peyton for future picks and build a franchise that will be able to compete for Super Bowls in the near and distant future.
Some of the best decision you make in life or in sports are not easy ones. It wasn’t easy for the Braves to tell Smoltz, Glavine and Maddux that they couldn’t take them back. But they did it and they’re better off now because of it. The Braves continued to bring young pitchers through the system and are now setup to compete for years.
Peyton and Colt’s fans are not going to like this decision, but trust me, it’s what’s best for the franchise. I think everyone knows it, but everyone likes and respects Peyton too much to say it to his face. He’s not dumb, even though he acts like it in his commercials. He can see the writing on the wall. He just wants somebody to step up and say it to him.
You can follow Jake on Twitter at: @j8a1k0e or on his MLB Braves blog at: http://bravesandmore.mlblogs.com/
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