The Peyton Manning Discussion thread
 

Had an interesting debate irl and thought I'd share it here. Say Peyton Manning gets injured and misses the whole season, and the Colts go 1-15 and get the #1 pick.

What your you do if your the GM?

Trade the #1 pick for a loads of other picks and make a final superbowl run with Manning?

Take Luck and plan for the future?

I was firmly on the Superbowl Run side of the coin, but I'd like to know what fellow OSers think.

ps Mannings season ending injury is not remotely career threatening.

Re: So if Peyton Manning gets injured....
 

I like the idea of taking a shot at Luck, who will be the most talented QB in the draft next year. Manning may have 2-3 more productive years left. Why not have a guy like Luck learn under one of the best QB's of this generation? If Luck is still on the team for 3 years when Manning retires, there is no guarantee that he'll be as good as Manning. BUT at the same time, I'd guarantee that he won't be a bust.

Re: So if Peyton Manning gets injured....
 

I couldn't give Manning away after all these years. Trade the #1 and take a chance with his last years.

Re: So if Peyton Manning gets injured....
 

I'd take Andrew Luck and have him sit behind Peyton Manning for 4 or 5 years. Let the kid learn from the best.

Re: So if Peyton Manning gets injured....
 

Absolutely take Andrew Luck, as long as he's still the clear cut #1 overall pick. If there's any debate, then you trade down or you pick a different position (and that may still be a good idea if someone steps up as a serious #1 overall pick).

Manning is 35 right now. 36 by next year (when he would be recovered from his hypothetical injury). He'd have what, 4 years left? A possible drop off in production, more susceptible to injury. Let Luck learn for 2-4 years under Manning then take over.

Or... if you're still comfortable with Manning's abilities, trade him after a year or two. Heck, maybe you could even trade Manning to a team looking for a stopgap QB for an otherwise good team.

I don't think there's any negative in taking Luck. He seems like a good kid who won't cry sitting for a few years even if he's behind Manning. I think he'd embrace that opportunity, actually. Much like Rodgers. And there is no one in the history of the game who you can learn the position better from. Just be his shadow.

I would stick with Peyton Manning untill his head actually falls off his injured neck. Personally I think that Peytons injury is news fodder. He is a polarizing figure, and so what better situation than this one to generate news from right?

I think that the Colts can make up games in that division because:
1. Tennessee sucks.
2. Jacksonville has issues on both sides of the ball.
3. Houston has only proven that they cannot be relied upon to win the division.

Until another AFC South team sustains success like the colts have then I can't see anyone in that division leap frogging them yet, even Manning does miss wk 1 or 2 or 3.

Re: So if Peyton Manning gets injured....
 

Without Manning the Colts probably still win more games than the Bengals, so I think this is kind of moot.

With Manning's injury taking the Colts some time to get on the right path this season I think Houston takes the division and the Colts are left with a mediocre draft pick after a poor season.

Re: So if Peyton Manning gets injured....
 

There's no reason to draft a QB if your current QB is still good. Nobody knows when Peyton's play will start tailing off. It might be 1 year, it might be 7 years. Until then, the Colts have no business wasting draft picks on backup QB's when they could draft somebody who can contribute immediately.