Yahoo! Michael Silver: Irsay Moving Forward With Qb Luck

[Ohio Colt]

Great read, and I had been waiting for Silver to write a summation on the whole subject because he is always right on.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ms-silver_jim_irsay_peyton_manning_colts_andrew_luck022512

Not a lot of new material, but if anyone accurately paints a picture of how it is and how it will be; just talks reality, it's Silver.

[Ohio Colt]

One notable quote from the article:

As one Colts source said earlier this week, “Luck is The Guy. I don’t care what happens [at the combine]. I don’t care if Griffin flies.”

[Robin]

doubt there anything we haven't heard before

[Ohio Colt]

doubt there anything we haven't heard before

The new part is it's Michael Silver. When he reports something you can take it to the bank. He's accurate. Similar to Jay Glazer over at FOX sports. He knows many inside the NFL well and his relationships with so many people inside so many organizations run deep as friendships.

IF he'd come out and said the opposite, I'd be inclined to believe whatever he reported.

[Phil J]

One notable quote from the article:

As one Colts source said earlier this week, “Luck is The Guy. I don’t care what happens [at the combine]. I don’t care if Griffin flies.”

That is an awesome quote, because it speaks to the fact that rg3 is amazing, but not amazing enough. I can't wait for next season, getting my #12 jersey printed this summer (unless he gets a different number! Lol)

[KeyserSoza]

I have a hard time believing anything a Yahoo! reporter says but I think we all figured this one out anyway

[Ohio Colt]

That is an awesome quote, because it speaks to the fact that rg3 is amazing, but not amazing enough. I can't wait for next season, getting my #12 jersey printed this summer (unless he gets a different number! Lol)

Same here. Waiting until the new Nike jerseys come out after the draft to get my authentic. I am getting excited about this rebuild. Makes watching the combine all that much better to know we're moving full speed ahead with Luck and we're going to put all of our organizational energy towards surrounding him with weapons and hopefully future AFC South championsip team members.

I have a hard time believing anything a Yahoo! reporter says but I think we all figured this one out anyway

Silver is the exception to the rule. Guy is always right on. Really respected, accurate, hard-working reporter. When he or Jay Glazer says something (I would lump Peter King in there too, but King stays away from scathing reports to protect friendships and sources) you can take it to the bank.

[FireJimCaldwell]

I have a hard time believing anything a Yahoo! reporter says but I think we all figured this one out anyway

Yeah the media or the group of 30 minute Colt fans aren't needed to point anything out at this stage of the game.

[Ohio Colt]

Yeah the media or the group of 30 minute Colt fans aren't needed to point anything out at this stage of the game.

Oh I don't know. There's plenty of people who still truly believe Manning is gonna come back and play in Indy next year and far beyond.

[DILLIGAFER]

Oh I don't know. There's plenty of people who still truly believe Manning is gonna come back and play in Indy next year and far beyond.

And you know for a fact that he isnt? Key word there is fact.

[braveheartcolt]

And you know for a fact that he isnt? Key word there is fact.

Absolutely correct. We agree on something. We have no idea if Manning will be a Colt next year. Full stop.

[Peyton and Eli fan]

Choosing Luck over RGIII is not a surprise. It doesn't mean it won't be pey-luck though. I think there's only about a 20% chance of that happening, but it's still a possibility

[WSO]

Nothing new for a lot of us. . we know Luck will be a Colt next season and the probabiliy of Manning being a Colt is slim. I doubt the Colts ever seriously considered RG3 over Luck.

[Ohio Colt]

And you know for a fact that he isnt? Key word there is fact.

Well of course not. But the more Michael Silver's that come out and stake their claim to this happening the closer we are moving to fact. We passed 99.0% a while ago

[Smonroe]

Absolutely correct. We agree on something. We have no idea if Manning will be a Colt next year. Full stop.

We'll know soon enough (if Peyton will be in Indy). Silver is a good writer and seems to be one of the few that actually researches the story instead of just passing on rumors. Still, he has no more inside information than any of the others.

[JoKeR]

Stop offering speculation and opinion as fact. Yeah you might just love the works of this reporter but where's the facts?

Ill wait for Jim and Peyton.

[pacolts56]

We'll know for sure in 11 days or less..... but i think Silver is probably right.

[Smonroe]

Well of course not. But the more Michael Silver's that come out and stake their claim to this happening the closer we are moving to fact. We passed 99.0% a while ago

See, that's what I don't get with your argument. Irsay has said all along that he'd like to keep Peyton if he's healthy and can play. Peyton has said all along he wants to play and would prefer to end his career in Indy.

The other side of that is that a bunch of reporters that say it won't happen. They also said Peyton would be released by now. It seems to me that we should listen to the two guys who are directly involved in the decision.

It may well be that Peyton leaves, but it certainly isn't a 99% certainty based on sports writer's opinions.

[Ohio Colt]

See, that's what I don't get with your argument. Irsay has said all along that he'd like to keep Peyton if he's healthy and can play. Peyton has said all along he wants to play and would prefer to end his career in Indy.

The other side of that is that a bunch of reporters that say it won't happen. They also said Peyton would be released by now. It seems to me that we should listen to the two guys who are directly involved in the decision.

It may well be that Peyton leaves, but it certainly isn't a 99% certainty based on sports writer's opinions.

Irsay cannot openly suggest he doesn't want PM back. At least he doesn't feel that way. In this one particular situation, there's no rational way for him to be honest. He cannot say that he wishes Manning would have retired. He cannot say that he would just like to move forward with Andrew Luck. If Irsay truly wanted Manning back; why wouldn't he have taken the necessary steps to bring him back? He controls his rights at the moment. He can bring back Manning, and trade the #1 overall pick for a haul to build around a 36 year old QB. But he hasn't done that.

[WSO]

See, that's what I don't get with your argument. Irsay has said all along that he'd like to keep Peyton if he's healthy and can play. Peyton has said all along he wants to play and would prefer to end his career in Indy.

The other side of that is that a bunch of reporters that say it won't happen. They also said Peyton would be released by now. It seems to me that we should listen to the two guys who are directly involved in the decision.

It may well be that Peyton leaves, but it certainly isn't a 99% certainty based on sports writer's opinions.

Well what do you expect Irsay and Manning to say? They are going to say whats right which isn't necessarily the truth. They are very professional.

[Smonroe]

Irsay cannot openly suggest he doesn't want PM back. At least he doesn't feel that way. In this one particular situation, there's no rational way for him to be honest. He cannot say that he wishes Manning would have retired. He cannot say that he would just like to move forward with Andrew Luck. If Irsay truly wanted Manning back; why wouldn't he have taken the necessary steps to bring him back? He controls his rights at the moment. He can bring back Manning, and trade the #1 overall pick for a haul to build around a 36 year old QB. But he hasn't done that.

Yeah, I get what you're saying and agree that may be the case. All I'm saying is that I choose to believe both guys until they're proven wrong. I also believe Irsay, Peyton, and Luck when they all said they could co-exist.

Given that, I'm not sure what steps Irsay would take at this point to bring Peyton back (assuming he'd like to keep both guys).

As others have said, March 8 can't come fast enough...

[UndecidedFrog]

The facts I gleaned from the article above:

1) The Favre / Packers divorce was painful.

2) Bill Polian was dictatorial and paranoid.

3) Chris Polian was a poor evaluator of talent.

4) Jim Irsay fired the Polians and hired Grigson

5) HC Caldwell and S&CC Torine were also fired.

6) Peyton Manning gave an exclusive interview to Kravitz expressing the "eggshell" environment at Colts HQ as "not a very good place for healing"

7) Jim Irsay followed up with his comments to the media about how Manning was being a "politician" and that he should keep things "in-house".

8) During SB week, Jason Cole reported that Manning has not regained his arm strength

9) Manning's camp seemingly leaked that doctors have provided medical clearance for his to play football.

10) Jim Irsay followed up with his tweet claiming that Manning was not cleared to play for the Colts.

Some people will interpret the above facts one way and other people may interpret them another way.

I find the above facts very indicative that there will be a parting of the ways between Irsay and Manning.

In addition, the report did not even discuss the following additional facts:

11) Peyton Manning provided in the Wingo interview: he has no plans to retire, and that he is trying very hard to get better.

12) Jim Irsay provided in the Eisen interview: There are problems with the salary cap.

13) Jim Irsay provided in a statement that Manning will need to re-work his contract to take into account the uncertainty of his health.

[Balzer40]

Irsay cannot openly suggest he doesn't want PM back. At least he doesn't feel that way. In this one particular situation, there's no rational way for him to be honest. He cannot say that he wishes Manning would have retired. He cannot say that he would just like to move forward with Andrew Luck. If Irsay truly wanted Manning back; why wouldn't he have taken the necessary steps to bring him back? He controls his rights at the moment. He can bring back Manning, and trade the #1 overall pick for a haul to build around a 36 year old QB. But he hasn't done that.

Well what do you expect Irsay and Manning to say? They are going to say whats right which isn't necessarily the truth. They are very professional.

This is right. Irsay and Manning are just playing the political correct game in what they are saying. I find it almost comical that people are actually believing what both of them are saying and taking it at face value. There is no easy way out of this situation for either of them, but eventually they will have to come out and say something to the effect that it is in both their best interests to part ways.

[braveheartcolt]

Nobody on here really cared what Polian said (even when most worshipped him), so why do we care what Irsay says?

[JoKeR]

Irsay cannot openly suggest he doesn't want PM back. At least he doesn't feel that way. In this one particular situation, there's no rational way for him to be honest. He cannot say that he wishes Manning would have retired. He cannot say that he would just like to move forward with Andrew Luck. If Irsay truly wanted Manning back; why wouldn't he have taken the necessary steps to bring him back? He controls his rights at the moment. He can bring back Manning, and trade the #1 overall pick for a haul to build around a 36 year old QB. But he hasn't done that.

That's just your observation and your lacking some facts. You don't know if PM and Irsay have been negotiating or not. They seem to be keeping any specifics quiet and don't seem to worried about reporting their every move to the media.

[JoKeR]

You want to know what my issue is with all of this?

You want people to accept Manning will not be a Colt before a split has ocurred. While you guys use opinions of what should happen and rumors to come to conclusions.

[JCPatriot]

On that early January afternoon when the Polians were fired, numerous employees at the team’s training facility passed one another in the halls with huge grins on their faces and literally whistled The Wizard Of Oz standard Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead. Other than that, they didn’t really have an opinion about the moves.

That doesn't sound like "walking on eggshells" to me.

[Smonroe]

Well what do you expect Irsay and Manning to say? They are going to say whats right which isn't necessarily the truth. They are very professional.

I don't expect either guy to lie. There's nothing to be gained from that, except loss of reputations. So Irsay could have said "We'll do what's best for the long term success of the team" and stuck to that. He didn't have to go on TV and make a commitment to keeping Peyton (with qualifiers). He didn't have to continuously discredit reports as erroneous.

I'm not sure what Peyton has said that anyone would consider to be 'not necessarily the truth'. He wants to play. His first choice would be for the Colts, but he understands the business.

I may be foolish or too trusting, but from everything I heard from those two I come up with this conclusion: If Peyton can pass the physical and it's known that he's throwing at a 2010 pace, then Irsay will want to sign him. But Irsay may ask for a contract rework and Peyton may not agree.

I certainly don't come up with it being a forgone conclusion that Peyton is gone today.

[UndecidedFrog]

That doesn't sound like "walking on eggshells" to me.

Perhaps Peyton had a different interpretation of the situation?

[DILLIGAFER]

The facts I gleaned from the article above:

1) The Favre / Packers divorce was painful.

2) Bill Polian was dictatorial and paranoid.

3) Chris Polian was a poor evaluator of talent.

4) Jim Irsay fired the Polians and hired Grigson

5) HC Caldwell and S&CC Torine were also fired.

6) Peyton Manning gave an exclusive interview to Kravitz expressing the "eggshell" environment at Colts HQ as "not a very good place for healing"

7) Jim Irsay followed up with his comments to the media about how Manning was being a "politician" and that he should keep things "in-house".

8) During SB week, Jason Cole reported that Manning has not regained his arm strength

9) Manning's camp seemingly leaked that doctors have provided medical clearance for his to play football.

10) Jim Irsay followed up with his tweet claiming that Manning was not cleared to play for the Colts.

Some people will interpret the above facts one way and other people may interpret them another way.

I find the above facts very indicative that there will be a parting of the ways between Irsay and Manning.

In addition, the report did not even discuss the following additional facts:

11) Peyton Manning provided in the Wingo interview: he has no plans to retire, and that he is trying very hard to get better.

12) Jim Irsay provided in the Eisen interview: There are problems with the salary cap.

13) Jim Irsay provided in a statement that Manning will need to re-work his contract to take into account the uncertainty of his health.

The point about Manning not being cleared by colts docs in a moot point. If they clear him now, the way i understand it, he can no longer rehab at the colts facility. Correct me if im wrong.

[UndecidedFrog]

The point about Manning not being cleared by colts docs in a moot point. If they clear him now, the way i understand it, he can no longer rehab at the colts facility. Correct me if im wrong.

The fact is that Peyton is not rehabbing at the Colts facilities.

[Smonroe]

The point about Manning not being cleared by colts docs in a moot point. If they clear him now, the way i understand it, he can no longer rehab at the colts facility. Correct me if im wrong.

I think he can rehab at the facility. But he's not allowed or required to workout for team officials according to some sources.

According to the CBA he is allowed to workout on his own at the facility.

[UndecidedFrog]

I think he can rehab at the facility. But he's not allowed or required to workout for team officials according to some sources.

According to the CBA he is allowed to workout on his own at the facility.

Or anywhere else, like at Duke University.

[Portage Coltfans]

Well what do you expect Irsay and Manning to say? They are going to say whats right which isn't necessarily the truth. They are very professional.

Irsay being professional is an opinion, not a fact, many would argue against that. In fact, he has set himself up to be a liar of epic proportions if Manning turns out to be healthy and he cuts him anyways.

[DILLIGAFER]

The fact is that Peyton is not rehabbing at the Colts facilities.

He sure was. Not sure if he still is. Please support this with a link please. I am curious. I know he went to duke for throwing, but he has always done that according to sources.

[subvet]

Great read, and I had been waiting for Silver to write a summation on the whole subject because he is always right on.

http://sports.yahoo....drew_luck022512

Not a lot of new material, but if anyone accurately paints a picture of how it is and how it will be; just talks reality, it's Silver.

Good read yes, but still an opinion piece with nothing that wasn't already discussed and no sarcasm intended, I didn't see any reference to Manning definately not playing next year. Did I miss that part?

[John Dee]

Oh I don't know. There's plenty of people who still truly believe Manning is gonna come back and play in Indy next year and far beyond.

John Clayton is the only one I have heard bend over backward saying Manning will and should stay in Indy...

Nice link bye the way...

[PolkHigh33]

If Irsay truly wanted Manning back; why wouldn't he have taken the necessary steps to bring him back? He controls his rights at the moment. He can bring back Manning, and trade the #1 overall pick for a haul to build around a 36 year old QB. But he hasn't done that.

Boy, that some guys here really don't bore themselves with selling again and again "Manning's gone" opinions as facts...

Maybe Irsay truly wants Manning back and is just looking for any possible option to have the best of both Manning and Luck. I hope that a decision is about to come because it is really getting on my nerves (and it's a pity how it seems to split Colts fans in two bases which is never good for the future).

But: It would just be fun to see all the "Manning's gone" guys eat their words when Irsay is doing the unexpected (which is not absolutely unlikely taking Irsay's special character into consideration).

[John Dee]

Perhaps Peyton had a different interpretation of the situation?

Peyton is not in a position of control NOW, and he has lost his "comfort zone" (staff)

[subvet]

Irsay cannot openly suggest he doesn't want PM back. At least he doesn't feel that way. In this one particular situation, there's no rational way for him to be honest. He cannot say that he wishes Manning would have retired. He cannot say that he would just like to move forward with Andrew Luck. If Irsay truly wanted Manning back; why wouldn't he have taken the necessary steps to bring him back? He controls his rights at the moment. He can bring back Manning, and trade the #1 overall pick for a haul to build around a 36 year old QB. But he hasn't done that.

He's the owner, he can do what he wants to and withstand the fan backlash, there is still a huge waiting list for season tickets so admitting he doesn't want PM would be nothing. As for bringing PM back, where did he go? As far as I know he is still under contract and until told otherwise will be a Colt. Irsay would be a fool to trade the #1 pick, just like he would be if he got rid of Peyton.