Tags
Related Posts
Share This
Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts. They did it right.
Thumbs up to The Colts and Peyton Manning for acting like adults and avoiding another drama filled breakup.
So it is official, the Indianapolis Colts have released Peyton Manning, making Manning a free agent, free to sign with anyone he wants. This, Losers, is how the Brett Favre vs. Green Bay Packers thing should have went down. There are parallels everywhere and the Colts and Manning did it right. Just goes to show how two adults should handle things as opposed to how two hard headed knob shines handle things. To be fair there are some key differences here, both on the player’s front and the front office front. I will detail.
1. Most important. Peyton Manning is/was hurt, Favre was not. The Colts were due to owe manning more money than Obama blows bailing out his buddies. With the uncertainty of the injury status and the amount owed to Manning, the Colts had to get rid of that contract. If Manning had stuck around, the Colts would have had no money to sign Andrew Luck and their free agents. In the Favre / Packers battle, Favre was healthy and still playing at a high level. This added more tension. The Colts had an easy out here, The Packers did not.
2. The Colts outright released Manning. This is what the Favre camp wanted. If the Packers didn’t want him, then release him. Allow him to freely sign with the Vikings. Well, as we know, this did not happen. Teddy played his full hand and shipped Favre to the Jets. This was smart for the Packers, but a kick in Favre’s ass. There was no respect by either side and these type of dick head moves ensued. Dick Head move by The Packers, Class move by The Colts.
3. Manning did not ever threaten retirement or hint at retirement. All throughout his injury, Manning insisted that he still wanted to play so long as his health would allow him. This up front behavior allowed the Colts to weigh all options and make a decision. With Favre’s retirement circus, which renewed yearly, The Packers had no idea what to expect. Dick head move by Favre, class move by Manning.
4. Manning and Irsay are buddies. Favre and Teddy T were not. This is likely the key. Manning and Irsay have been together for 14 years and have a strong friendship. Teddy and Brett did not. So, no respect was paid to either side of the Packer / Favre drama and we saw nothing but respect between The Colts and Manning. Respect causes people to work together, honor each other’s wishes, lack of respect causes underhanded shit and anger.
5. Colts will have Andrew Luck, Packers had Aaron Rodgers. At the time, Rodgers was an unknown, but the Packers spent a #1 on him and it was his time. Rather than threaten Manning with “compete with Luck”, the Colts just ended it. Luck is an unkown, but its the direction of the team for the foreseeable future. It was time to part ways and the Colts and Manning broke up with class.
In the end, the biggest thing here is how things should be handled. In business, in life and in everything, if each side is paid the respect they deserve, things ultimately work out. In the Colts / Manning case, each side respected the other; Manning was up front about his desire, heath and plans. The Colts were honest with Manning in stating that they were moving on without him granting him the full release. Conversely, Teddy T and Bretty Favre were two bone heads who let their egos get in the way and damage the Packer / Favre relationship forever. Bretty should have been honest that he wanted out and to play for the Vikings, Teddy should have just released him outright or leveraged a trade with the Vikings. Either way, it all ended up the way both sides wanted. IN the Colts / Manning case, now both sides can still hug, retire numbers, have homecomings, etc…..while the Packers and Favre must wait until their butthurt stops.
Great article, for the most part. But you must understand the Packers pressured Favre to retire. He wanted to come back, and didnt want to play for any other team. He clearly was not done, and they kept ignoring his request to play somewhere else. He felt stuck, betrayed, and thought his only option was to retire. He did not stop trying to ask to get traded during all this time. The Packers knew what he was capable of, and did NOT want him to play for the vikings (where he asked to be traded to), and DID NOT want him to play against the packers. We all know he “retired” off the jets so he didn’t have to commit to them, and sign with the team he wanted to be on, the vikings to get his revenge vs Teddy T. In his first return back to lambeau he got what he wanted and at the age of 40 proved he still had it.
I am a Packer fan, always will be, but the true fans will always respect what Favre did for this city. I dont blame Teddy T, he got pressured by the old farts on the Packer board who wanted change. I know someone on that board and got my information from them.
On the other side, class act by Colts for sure. I have a lot of respect for how they handled the situation.