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P-Day has arrived, and while I still maintain the last place Peyton Manning will want to be is in the shadow of his champion little brother Eli, the Jets would be fools not to be a player in these sweepstakes now.
Message to the Jets: Make your pitch.
A lot of people, myself included, thought it was over for Peyton Manning, thought it would be prudent for him to retire with his health and well-being rather than face mad defensive coordinators aiming to knock him from here to the operating table, bounty or no bounty.
But now that the Colts have decided not to pay him that $28 million, Peyton-hunting season will begin in earnest.
SOURCE: JETS WILL BE IN PLAY FOR PEYTON
Message to Jets: Get your Mann.
If dad Archie Manning is no longer afraid of his middle son playing again, if Papa Archie seems to want him to play again as much as Peyton himself wants to play again following invasive neck surgeries and the fusion of two vertebrae, then it would be negligent on the part of Woody Johnson and Mike Tannenbaum and Rex Ryan not to do their due diligence.
Here came the money quote the other day from Papa Archie:
“Peyton has probably, over the last couple of years, seen four of the top neurosurgeons in America. As a father, that’s what I feel good about. He’s been involved with the right people. One of them did the surgery. Now they cleared him to play. His neck is no different from any player out there. It’s a danger to anyone. That’s football. As a parent, we feel good [about] where he’s at.”
As a football organization, the Jets do not feel good about where Mark Sanchez is at. The Sanchise regressed badly last season. Looked nothing like the wunderkind who played his best in the biggest games and was within 60 minutes of the Super Bowl in his first two NFL seasons.
I still believe he has a future. How bright a future he has, I cannot say for sure.
I also believe the future is now.
It is safe to say Sanchez will never be Peyton Manning. Who knows if Peyton Manning, at age 36, will ever be Peyton Manning again?
The Jets cannot afford not to find out.
Would it be a good idea for the Jets to give up on Sanchez? No, it would not.
It would be a worse idea not to chase a healing, healthy Peyton Manning the way the owner and GM chased Brett Favre in 2008.
They need a leader in their fractured locker room? Heeere’s Peyton.
Think Santonio Holmes would have pulled his act in Peyton’s huddle?
The Colts cutting ties with Manning to pave the way for the Andrew Luck Era was the first big IF that stood in the way of a Jets’ pursuit.
The biggest IF now becomes whether he is more at risk than, say, Mark Sanchez, from a debilitating or, God forbid, a paralyzing injury.
Papa Archie has said Peyton is regaining velocity on his fastball, but what else would you expect him to say when suitors will be lining up for his son the way they will be here?
The Dolphins will be in on Peyton, which means if they land him, Ryan will be forced to defend against him twice a year. The Redskins will be in on him, because Mike Shanahan will figure if he can win a pair of Super Bowls with a thirtysomething John Elway, he sure can with a thirtysomething Peyton Manning. Elway himself figures to join the party, because sorry, Tim Tebow is not taking the Broncos to any Super Bowl. The Cardinals, Chiefs and Seahawks could kick the tires.
As for Sanchez, if his feelings get hurt by Tannenbaum and Johnson flying down to New Orleans and taking Peyton out to dinner at Commander’s Palace, then he simply doesn’t have the mental toughness for the job. Case closed.
Will Peyton Manning want the Jets? Would he want Holmes in his huddle? Would he want to play behind an offensive line that needs to be upgraded? Would he want to play in the northeast? Would he care to step into a fractured locker room that sorely needs another wide receiver? Is Ryan his cup of tea? Would he want to share the spotlight with his two-time champion brother, and be reminded every day he needs one more championship to tie him? Would he want to carry the hopes and dreams of a fan base that has gone 43 years without a championship? Would he want to come here — or go anywhere — to kiss Bill Belichick’s rings?
In my mind, it would be a bigger upset than Super Bowl III if he picked the Jets. But that’s why they play the games. And now it’s time for the Jets to Mann Up and play it.