That's fair, I am making these posts under the assumption he's more or less fully healthy. I don't think he's out of his prime yet/ for a while. He's never relied on his legs to do much for him and I don't anticipate his arm falling off. I think he goes out like Favre does and plays into his 40s.
the biggest issue i've got, outside of the Madden-esque trade, is our OL. if Peyton is going to stand behind our line, he better have a titanium spine, because he's not mobile at all and he's going to get crushed unless changes happen to our line. And with the cap hit Peyton would have, even if we manage to 100% clear Sanchez, we won't be able to make many, if any, significant changes. the one side of the line is downright scary, not to mention our lack of a true blocking TE. I just don't think he would last very long back there.
You may be right, he could still produce on an elite scale. But, would you agree that he would last more than 2 or 3 games with Wayne Hunter or Ducasse on our oline? there would have to be some wholesale changes to our offensive line to entice Manning. Having T.Moore on our staff is a good start, but not enough imo.
I knew this was coming, just didn't expect 9 pages (on my phone) when I first check the board. This is worth bringing up, just because QB is such an important position, and it is holding us back, and its not too often a QB of his caliber comes available. But that would destroy Sanchezs career in New York and who knows what Manning would be after a year off at his age with a screwed up neck. Colts would probably want 2 firsts for him, or a 1st and a player. That's a lot to give for an old qb with injury concerns. Only way its a possibility for me is if Sanchez falls apart and completely bombs the 2nd half, or if he suffers a serious injury (or both). Or if you don't think Sanchez is ever an elite qb, so you get Manning, trade Sanchez, and draft someone to play behind Peyton.
If Payton was our QB we wouldn redesign our line to pass block instead of run block. Rex believes in ground and pound because that's what are personal is geared to. With Payton as our QB we immediately become a down field passing team. Our line would be fine.
A good QB like Manning can compensate for a mediocre line. He can read pre-snap defense and find a quick outlet before the line is exposed. Our line has not been dominant but certainly has been serviceable (except for that Ravens game). With that said, I don't believe Sanchez or Peyton is the answer.
The Colts line hasn't been very good for a few seasons, yet Manning was not getting hit a ton. He gets rid of the ball quickly, unlike Sanchez.
and look where it got him. 3 neck surgeries and a missed season. why would we want to have him AFTER all of that? makes no sense.
Someone would have to teach Ducasse how to pass block then, because B.Moore isn't getting any younger. Did you see the excellent passblocking on Sunday? The line isn't fine.
Its an assumption based on years of Manning making pre snap reads, reading blitzes, and getting the ball out quickly. We would need a new RT, but we need that anyway. And even then, the Colts line hasn't been good in years.
One third of our problems in pass protection is Sanchez taking too long to throw. Another third is his poor pocket presence, instead of the correct shuffles and steps up that you see Manning and Brady do like second nature, Sanchez sprints away from the pocket. The other third is Wayne Hunter. In other words, Manning solves more of our line problem than any lineman. He also the grand poobah of pre-snap adjusters, making him less likely to face unabated rushers.
a year away from the game, 3 major surgeries. i just dont think it's worth the risk and compensation we'd have to provide to Indy and him. We would be crippling ourselves.
You make it seem like Colts under Manning had all pro linemen blocking him for years. No. That's not even remotely halfway close to the disaster that is Colts OL. Saturday might be a competent pass blocker, but other than that, the entire OL is a trainwreck of a disaster. They picked 2 OLs in the 1st round last year because of that. Look at how they are protecting Painter this year, for god's sake. Does that look like a work of all pro line? Jets OL are better than that piece of shit they call OL at Indy. Last, but not the least, Dallas Clark was never a blocking TE either. So if Jets are sticking to Sanchez, then Keller becomes a problem (he cannot block) but if Jets go the other way with Manning, then Keller becomes an asset, not a problem.
Get a new blocking TE and a new RT and our line should look a lot better. Manning is also great at reading defenses to make sure everyone is blocked. It would be a concern, but our line now is still better than the line he had last 3 years, now that Mangold is back.
If Manning is brought in, Sanchez is gone, probably for a 1st. That's really the only way this makes sense. Otherwise, yes, it cripples us.
And really, how tentative would Manning be behind our line (or any line for that matter). Like i said earlier, we wouldn't be getting the QB machine he was back in 2005. If his neck injury is in the back of his mind after every snap, who knows how focused he'll be. I would need to see how Manning rebounds from this injury before I'd support making a pitch to get him. Just my .02.