The Future of a Legend

I will admit, I never was much of an Indianapolis Colts fan–but I’m even less of one now that Peyton Manning was released. Manning was the sole reason the Colts were anything. He utilized his offense to get maximum results for the tools he had and he manipulated the opponent’s defense to give him what he wanted. For a lot of people, football is just a sport. To Peyton Manning, it’s a science. He will be sorely missed by Indianapolis.

But can you really blame Owner and CEO Jim Irsay for canning Manning? It was either that or pay him the $28 million roster bonus at the beginning of the season. And we don’t even know if Manning is truly back to his old self. The Colts couldn’t possibly afford to keep paying a still questionable Manning the big bucks and find a suitable replacement in this year’s draft. Peyton Manning settled in nicely in Indianapolis after 14 years of football, but it’s now time to move on to greener pastures.

Will he find those pastures in the mountains of Denver? Under Tim Tebow, last year’s offense was questionable. He had talent in his wide receivers, but he couldn’t quite get the ball to them. He preferred the ground and pound strategy and, believe it or not, was actually able to win quite a few games that way.

If Peyton Manning can throw like he used to there is no question in my mind that the Broncos will come away from this season victorious, even with the second toughest regular season schedule. The only thing I would be worried most about is Manning’s defense, which gave away 5,725 yards last season (it was actually better than the Colts, at 5,935).

The biggest question in regard to Manning's return to football is his neck: is it safe for him to play? Having the vertebrae in his neck fused together makes for an apparent soft target. That was probably the leading factor in the Colts' release of him. I wouldn't be too worried about Manning re-injuring himself, though. It's obvious that the defense has to get to him in order to hurt him. Manning has been in football for 14 years. He knows he doesn't have to do all the moves to make the big bucks in the NFL. As long as his line holds up, I don't see why manning should have too much of a chance of re-injuring his neck.

In my opinion, the only hurdle Manning is going to have to overcome is getting used to the thin air in Denver. Coming from Indianapolis to Denver, he’s going to have to do a lot of cardio training to acclimate himself to the much higher altitude. With the former at 845 ft above sea level and the latter at 5,470, come the first home game he’ll be sucking wind. The obvious advantage of that is he will have Godlike cardio at his away games where he’s closer to sea level.

All in all, I’m a little interested in seeing how next season will turn out. Peyton Manning is undoubtedly an all-star quarterback. My prediction is he will not disappoint.