2012 NFL season outlook: How Indianapolis Colts will cope without Peyton Manning-NFL Feature – Part one
The quarterback, Peyton Manning, has recently been released by the Indianapolis Colts, after the lengthy period of 14 years he played for the team since his joining in 1998, and a number of football analysts have questioned the credibility of the owner,
Jim Irsay’s decision.
This is something that the future will be bearing a witness to but an even more important question is: How the Indianapolis Colts are going to look like after the end of Manning’s legacy?
Having a close look at Colts’ performance in 2011 National Football League (NFL) season, when the player missed out the entire season with a neck injury, for the first time, an answer is found within.
The two wins and 14 massive losses is the apparent answer to it. However, for this we will have to rephrase the question that: How the Indianapolis Colts had managed without Peyton Manning during the past season? Because, there is going to be a difference,
this year, and that difference will be the draft quarterback, Andrew Luck.
Colts courtesy of their poor performance of the past season have become eligible for signing of the top draft prize.
The league rules dictate that a team who finishes at the bottom of its points-table qualifies for the top draft pick next season.
Colts had remained consistent with the requirement of the rule throughout the past season, and now stand closer to be rewarded with signing of Luck.
Luck is coming out of the college league as the top player and his record speaks of his high calibre and stature in the league.
So Colts can hope he becomes the future’s Peyton Manning for them. For this they will have to wait a little longer. First, his signing is still pending and awaited.
His performance will be crucial for not himself but most importantly for the employer, Jim Irsay, who had taken too much fans’ battering on the issue of Peyton Manning.
The owner has released the player, who broke all the franchise record during his 14 most successful years of his career and Colts history, against wishes of the player and fans.
Peyton had expressed a strong desire to remain as Colts until very last moment. So did the fans, who had campaigned for player’s presence in Indianapolis during the week of Super Bowl and in aftermath.
At the end, none of them sustained in front of Jim Irsay and the owner said the player goodbye from the city in an emotional and tear-ridden media call.
It was not an easy go for all the stakeholders, the owner admitted during the press talk but in the same breath got himself excused while pointing out a number of problems that his franchise is confronted with.
Now with Manning gone, who as of the latest reports has found the Denver Broncos to be his next destination, Irsay has too much on the stake and stands prone to losing it in the future.
First, it is the credibility of his choice of waiving the player. A number of analysts believe Manning’s departure from Colts was premature. The player could have been given another chance, according to them.
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