Thursday, March 8, 2012

Peyton, Peyton, Peyton.....

Football. One could fall into a depression waiting until late summer when the preseason begins and fall when the actual games begin.

The Colts decided to end their run with Peyton Manning. It was emotional. It was depressing. And while all the fans grieve their beloved 18 moving on in the world, the rest of the league is excited, waiting for their opportunity to scoop him up. It's not unlike going through a divorce. Both parties moving on after a painful ending to a 14 year marriage. But in the wings, there awaits a room full of beautiful women waiting to pounce on him!

I don't blame the Colts for making the decision that they did. In fact, from a business perspective, the timing couldn't be more perfect for the organization. Having the #1 draft pick in Andrew Luck is too sweet a deal to pass up. But poor Peyton. We feel bad that you just got replaced by the younger woman!

Mortality is a bitch! In fact, it sucks. Although his best years may be behind him, I still think he has a Super Bowl or two in him if he chooses the right team. If you were Peyton, where would you go? 12 teams have made their move to acquire him. 12!

18 has a home in Miami. He spends 3 to 4 months there already so it might be an easy move for the family and all. Plus Miami can be quite sexy, if the right package is presented. But I think two other teams have a better chance at catapulting him to another Super Bowl. Texas and Denver. Stronger protection and better defense. It's a recipe for success. Denver is a three ring circus right now and adding more star power could make it worse. But adding 18 to the Texans...... now that it something that would make very interesting football! The team is poised for a Championship run as it is. Add 18, and it clicks. If I were the owner of the Texans, I'd push hard to put 18 on my roster.

You may only get a couple of years out of Peyton. So Denver might make a harder push and give Tebow a chance to really learn from greatness. Long term, that would make sense for that organization. NYJ, Minnesota, Jacksonville, Seattle, Titans, Arizona, SF and the Skins are not really viable options, in my opinion. These teams need to find a younger QB for the long haul. The formula of getting the QB's at the end of their careers are not working for this group. Maybe you should follow the Colts in their "suck for Luck" campaign.

Which brings me to an issue I have - are we really going to believe that the Colts have had numerous winning seasons and the minute this "fantastic" leader is unable to play for a season, the team falls apart? If that is true, then is Peyton the true leader we all believe him to be?

I was in corporate management for a long time. The one thing that we could measure was the strength of the team AFTER the manager left the store/club. Did the place fall apart? Did the transition go smoothly or did everyone revolt? If the place still ran smoothly and your business continued to increase year after year, then the former manager lead his/her team well. Leadership is not something that happens by the person holding down the fort, but how well the fort is running while the person in charge steps away. I would have expected more from the Colts and the players.

Instead, we saw them unravel at the seam. Was it all an act? Were they using Peyton and his injury to benefit themselves in the long run? If so, then I'm not surprised. This type of cut throat action has been going on for years. It's deceptive, like a cheating spouse. If not, it doesn't bode well for the leaders of that team.

Like any "divorce", 18 may go through a small depression. And his new team may be the rebound relationship. But he'll be professional, as he always is. We'll get the pleasure of seeing him play, even though it's in a new uniform. For it's not always the team that excites us, it's the player. And while he's still got it in him to be competitive, I'm going to watch. And after he's gone, he'll move on to endorcements or sportcasting or possibly coaching. Either way, he'll be great at whatever he does.

He's a winner! And that's what he'll always be. No Luck needed 18....you're the man!


4 comments:

  1. I have had the same thoughts about the leadership trend in that organization as well. Great point made Cindy!
    18 will always do his best but for much longer is the injured fellow going to play? Who knows.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Peyton needs to head west...can we say SF....49ers! Oh man...I just got chills! Both of my favorites in one!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. He is a great leader. Obviously his team couldn't manage without him, it would've been a bit more difficult to suck that bad on purpose!
    I'm not going to pick a team for him...but it will kill me to see him wearing something other than Colts blue.
    He'll always be an Indy man to me!
    It seems to be (even though we could see it coming) one of the hardest breakups ever for the folks of Indiana.
    THANKS TO PEYTON, the Hoosiers are crazy for their team! Coping with his loss is now the new norm!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wanda, I agree with you that it will be very difficult for all of us to see him in another uniform. I try and think positively, reminding myself that we're fortunate to at least get to see him play somewhere.
      Maybe I got it wrong by suggesting his leadership was the culprit. Perhaps the larger issue is the organization's leadership is at fault. I seriously cannot understand how an entire team goes from being one of the best and then the QB goes down and they lose. It seems fishy to me. Like maybe there was some inside revolution going on. That's all speculation anyway.
      In any event, thanks for commenting! You made my day!

      Delete