NFL: Colts should sit Manning regardless of his injury status

I would be fine with seeing Goober pace the sidelines for 17 weeks. If the Colts were smart, they’d sit him for the duration. (Getty Images)

What a shocker, people are frantically trying to be the first to diagnose Peyton Manning’s immediate future to gain more Twitter followers. Sweet. As much as I love the instant information that the Twitterverse provides, it can also make your head spin like you’ve just pounded Patron all night long.

So let me get this straight. One Indy sports guy says Manning has already had a neck procedure and is out for the season. Meanwhile, a sports clown from The Fan says that Manning will soon have another surgery on his neck and will be out for the season. My head hurts from hearing the words procedure, surgery & operation. And you thought Lovie Smith and the Bears were top secret with their injury information. You’d have a better chance finding me at a baby shower than you would getting correct info out of the Colts.

All that matters is that the Colts season has already been flushed down the toilet. Think about what this Colts team is without #18 running everything…It’s a disaster–and the Colts know that. If Manning wasn’t ready for week 1, how could he conceivably be ready for week 4 or 5? Just for arguments sake, even if he makes it back by week 6 vs the Bengals, his team might be 1-4. In the loaded AFC, they wouldn’t recover as Manning got his groove back. Even if they did, they would need vintage 4-time MVP Manning to even get them a wild card. Either way, they aren’t winning the 2012 Super Bowl.

You don’t mess with the spine and neck. Ever. That’s why I would put him IR yesterday and start planning for next season. The Colts have been picking at the bottom of each round for what feels like centuries. That team needs an infusion of high round talent. Who knows, a Manning-less Colts team might be in line for the Andrew Luck pick. Think about that. Hey, it worked for the ’96-’97 Spurs. David Robinson was lost for the season with a back injury, and the Spurs won the Tim Duncan lottery. All that did was win them 4 NBA titles. No big deal. And that Spurs team didn’t have a choice/opportunity like this.

Let’s say the Colts felt Manning had another 3-4 prime years left and entertained offers for the #1 pick (if they got it which is extremely possible if he’s out for the year). Do you have any idea what a team like say, I don’t know the 49ers would pay to move up to take the Stanford QB? The Colts could re-load quickly and be ready to compete again in ’12 with a healthy Peyton. They can also spite the Texans in the process. It could be like, “Okay, you finally broke through when we didn’t have our franchise player. Now try and beat us.” It would be like when the Knicks barely beat the Bulls in ’94 playoffs without MJ. It really didn’t mean anything because the G.O.A.T. wasn’t around. It was made official when the MJ led Bulls ran past the Knicks in ’96 in a 5 game ass kicking.

Injuries happen in the NFL, and this is the ideal opportunity for the Colts to ensure their franchise player’s health and create another run or two at what would be Manning’s 2nd Super Bowl title. You can’t tell me that Bill Polian and Jim Irsay haven’t already had this discussion.