N "if" L: Colts Draft Leaf

[Fx Stryker]

Although Dameshek is out there. His N"if"L segments are pretty funny. This week focuses on the 1998 QB choice.

 

Fun watch.

 

http://www.nfl.com/videos/n-if-l/0ap2000000161778/N-if-L-What-if-the-Colts-had-drafted-Ryan-Leaf

 

[southwest1]

Peyton Manning as a Charger & Drew Brees as a Cowboy...Hmmm...A successful Dallas franchise within this decade? Imagine that...Now, that would have been weird to see...

 

Manning would have had great weapons as a Charger...LT on the ground, Eric Weddle at safety, Vincent Jackson at WR...Manning would have won a ring or 2 easily in CA even with Norv Turner as HC...

 

I'm glad #18 landed in INDY though & Bill Polian would never have made Executive of the Year 6 times under Ryan Leaf at QB I can guarantee that. 

[Jay Kirk]

Peyton Manning as a Charger & Drew Brees as a Cowboy...Hmmm...A successful Dallas franchise within this decade? Imagine that...Now, that would have been weird to see...

 

Manning would have had great weapons as a Charger...LT on the ground, Eric Weddle at safety, Vincent Jackson at WR...Manning would have won a ring or 2 easily in CA even with Norv Turner as HC...

 

I'm glad #18 landed in INDY though & Bill Polian would never have made Executive of the Year 6 times under Ryan Leaf at QB I can guarantee that. 

Your right Brother not even 1 award,remember how mad some were because they took PM instead of Leaf?

[southwest1]

Although with A.J. Smith at the front office helm making key front office decisions who knows...Let's just say that I've never thought that highly of the man as a GM & stop there before I say something "unflattering."

 

His treatment of WR Vincent Jackson during contract negotiations seemed misguided & counterproductive on a Playoff bound/SB contending front to me. If a GM makes bad decisions, even great HOF QBs can't overcome poor business decisions IMO...

[John Dee]

Ya WIN with a QB....     PERIOD.      

 

And I am on record as saying I WANTED LEAF ...  BAD.   

 

I thought Leaf was a "guttsy"   flamethrower in 98.      heheeh... 

 

And Manning was dump off, lollypop throwiing hype machine.   ...   HEHEHEEE>>

 

Oh how I was wrong.

 

 

And So glad......       But honestly back when the Manning Leaf thing was going down...   it was 50/50...      And  I really get a kick out of all the "I knew Manning was the one" crowd..            Some did..

 

But a lot  were like me.....       and wont admit it.

 

 

Hehe...    Go Colts, Go Luck and God Bless America...   RUSH made the RNR HOF.

 

And gave them an appropriate thank you.........

[southwest1]

Your right Brother not even 1 award,remember how mad some were because they took PM instead of Leaf?

Good point Jay. No one in INDY is clamoring or shouting enthusiastically for him now. Leaf would be easy to talk to now. I think he is sitting in prison for home invasion robberies as a result of drug addiction. Kind of sad really. Leaf must pay his debt to society though. Stealing is a crime & Leaf must answer for that.

 

Prison usually makes drug addiction worse though. I hope Leaf gets professional treatment somewhere along the line though. It may take numerous attempts unfortunately. 

[southwest1]

Ya WIN with a QB....     PERIOD.      

 

And I am on record as saying I WANTED LEAF ...  BAD.   

 

I thought Leaf was a "guttsy"   flamethrower in 98.      heheeh... 

 

And Manning was dump off, lollypop throwiing hype machine.   ...   HEHEHEEE>>

 

Oh how I was wrong.

 

 

And So glad......       But honestly back when the Manning Leaf thing was going down...   it was 50/50...      And  I really get a kick out of all the "I knew Manning was the one" crowd..            Some did..

 

But a lot  were like me.....       and wont admit it.

 

 

Hehe...    Go Colts, Go Luck and God Bless America...   RUSH made the RNR HOF.

 

And gave them an appropriate thank you.........

No problem John. I respect your honesty & that you can openly admit you were wrong. My already high respect for you just skyrocketed John.  Exactly, we are in great QB hands with Luck for the next decade my friend! 

[schwamm]

SD was kind of a circus in the late 90s (not unlike the Jets a couple years ago, before the wheels came off). So I've sometimes wondered if Leaf came apart at the seams because he went to a goofy franchise, and that he might have become something very different had he ended up on a more stable and buttoned-up franchise. Then I remember that the Colts didn't really stabilize until Manning led the team in that direction, so Indy wouldn't have been the place for him either.

Manning, on the other hand, would have excelled anywhere, and would have won a ton of games anywhere. We were blessed!

[southwest1]

I wish they would do an N if L segment on head coaches though...What if Mike Holmgren doesn't land in GB, no Mike Shanahan in Denver, & no Bill Walsh in San Francisco? The intelligence of an HC just like a elite QB cannot be ignored or dismissed...Or Bill Belichick gets hired by the Bears vs the Browns in 1991...They [producers of that TV segment] are too obsessed with QBs IMHO...

[JlynRN]

Fun video to watch !!!  So glad we got Peyton with that draft.

[MrNLM]

1998 was the year that I started to pay attention to football and its rules. Fantasy football took me the rest of the way and here I am a diehard NFL fan. All because of one PM#18 showing up in town. If it were Leaf and not PM... would I be here right now? CRAZY STUFF TO PONDER!!!

[unitaswestand]

The Colts drafting Ryan Leaf and then drafting Michael "Ron Mexico" Vick is one of the scariest thoughts I could think of.  The only thing that could make that worse is if the Colts didn't pick Andrew Luck with the #1 pick last year.   Wow, amazing how a view choices can change history so much.

 

Thanks for John Unitas, Bert Jones, Peyton Manning, and Andrew Luck.  No other team can boast such a great legacy of quarterbacks.

[NewColtsFan]

Peyton Manning as a Charger & Drew Brees as a Cowboy...Hmmm...A successful Dallas franchise within this decade? Imagine that...Now, that would have been weird to see...

 

Manning would have had great weapons as a Charger...LT on the ground, Eric Weddle at safety, Vincent Jackson at WR...Manning would have won a ring or 2 easily in CA even with Norv Turner as HC...

 

I'm glad #18 landed in INDY though & Bill Polian would never have made Executive of the Year 6 times under Ryan Leaf at QB I can guarantee that. 

 

 

I wouldn't bet big that Brees would've been the same without Sean Peyton as his HC.

 

And I wouldn't bet big that Manning would've been as great without the great coaching and the talent around him  he had in Indy.

 

All I'm saying is that they might not have been as great as they have become....

[Dustin]

The Colts drafting Ryan Leaf and then drafting Michael "Ron Mexico" Vick is one of the scariest thoughts I could think of.  The only thing that could make that worse is if the Colts didn't pick Andrew Luck with the #1 pick last year.   Wow, amazing how a view choices can change history so much.

 

Thanks for John Unitas, Bert Jones, Peyton Manning, and Andrew Luck.  No other team can boast such a great legacy of quarterbacks.

 

Green Bay might have something to say about that.

[NewColtsFan]

SD was kind of a circus in the late 90s (not unlike the Jets a couple years ago, before the wheels came off). So I've sometimes wondered if Leaf came apart at the seams because he went to a goofy franchise, and that he might have become something very different had he ended up on a more stable and buttoned-up franchise. Then I remember that the Colts didn't really stabilize until Manning led the team in that direction, so Indy wouldn't have been the place for him either.

Manning, on the other hand, would have excelled anywhere, and would have won a ton of games anywhere. We were blessed!

 

 

How much of a circus could it have been?    Bobby Beathard was their GM.    The man has a pretty extensive history of success.

 

I don't Leaf would've thrived under any other regime on any other franchise....  he had issues that only came into view when he got into the spotlight of the NFL.    

 

He simply couldn't handle it.

[John Dee]

Brees was pretty good with Marty....

[schwamm]

How much of a circus could it have been? Bobby Beathard was their GM. The man has a pretty extensive history of success.

I don't Leaf would've thrived under any other regime on any other franchise.... he had issues that only came into view when he got into the spotlight of the NFL.

He simply couldn't handle it.

There was a reason they were picking second.

[unitaswestand]

Green Bay might have something to say about that.

 

John Unitas and Peyton Manning are arguable the two or two of the greatest QBs of all time.   Bart Starr was a winner but more of a game manager.  I don't think anyone would say Brett Favre is the greatest of all time.  Aaron Rodgers could be.  But so could Luck.  But we had Bert Jones while they had Lynn Dickey (who had a few good years).  I would take the Colts QBs as the best ever.  Actually, SF with Brodie, Montana, and Young were pretty good too.  But we have had four really good QBs.  Bert Jones is underrated because he got hurt.  

[NewColtsFan]

There was a reason they were picking second.

 

 

Well....   yeah,   there's a reason the Colts were picking first in order to take Andrew Luck.

 

But Bill Polian is still one of the best GM's in NFL history.

 

So is Bobby Beathard who won two Super Bowls with Washington and put a Chargers team in the SB as well.    He's one of the best GM's in history as well...

 

Just sayin.....

[schwamm]

Well.... yeah, there's a reason the Colts were picking first in order to take Andrew Luck.

But Bill Polian is still one of the best GM's in NFL history.

So is Bobby Beathard who won two Super Bowls with Washington and put a Chargers team in the SB as well. He's one of the best GM's in history as well...

Just sayin.....

I'm not arguing about the quality of the GM. I remember an interview with Seau, sometime after Leaf was gone from the Chargers, where he was describing the chaos of the SD locker room in the late 90s, with a bunch of flash and "me first" kinda players, and that he felt Leaf just wasn't mature enough to handle it.

[pacolts56]

I think the Manning / Leaf saga was the first time that I remember the now cliche pre-draft assessment that one guy is "more pro-ready" and the other guy has "greater upside".

 

To this day I'm still trying to figure out how one accurately predicts upside.

 

Because the only upside to Ryan Leaf is that someone should have slapped him upside the head.

[JSChicago]

I knew I shouldn't have watched that video; Peyton in San Diego, Leaf in Indy - I haven't been that scared since the first time I saw the Exorcist.

[PrincetonTiger]

A Great video

[scootermac23]

I thought they could've maybe talked about the Colts with Vick on board a little bit

[braveheartcolt]

I can think of a much worse 'what if' scenario. If my father had placed a bet on the New England Patriots to win the Super Bowl in 2004, rather than Indianapolis, I may well have chosen the Evil Empire as my team.....

 

Dad, I am forever in your debt......

[shakedownstreet]

peyton would have pulled an eli and ended up somewhere in the nfc

[Fx Stryker]

peyton would have pulled an eli and ended up somewhere in the nfc

 

Hmm that is interesting. Maybe Archie would have gotten involved.

 

I don't know the reason Eli refused to play in SD. Was it because of the FO and coaching staff?

[SC-Coltsfan]

I will never forget how mad I was. I was at the SC spring game listening to the draft on the radio. I was absolutely furious when we took Manning. The main reason I didn't like the pick was because we played Manning his 4 years at TN and i was never that impressed. To top it off he whined way too much after our last game with him his senior year when he had a horrible game against us. He said he played such a bad game because the only thing we were worried about was ruining his Heisman bid than trying to win that game. I was even madder the next year when we took Edge instead of making the deal with Ditka and NO. I still say that was a bone head move. We could have had NO's entire draft of 8 players and a 1st and 3rd the next year and maybe still could have gotten Edge with the 7th pick we got from NO. If I recall Pollian said he didn't want to make the deal because they couldn't afford all of those picks. I wasn't on the Colts board back then but I imagine that must have caused quite an uproar.